Current Affairs - May 28, 2019 Current Affairs

China won the badminton world mixed-team championship, Sudirman Cup 2019 in Nanning, China. They beat Japan in men's doubles, women's singles and men's singles to clinch the title for the 11th time. In the latest Men' singles match, Shi Yuqi stunned world champion Kento Momota 15-21, 21-5,21-11. Japan have never won the Sudirman Cup.

Pema Khandu will be sworn-in as the new Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh for the second time on May 29, 2019. The move follows landslide victory of the BJP in the state's assembly elections with 41 seats in the 60-member house.

Indians had a good day at the year's third International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle and Pistol tournament in Munich, Germany. Apurvi Chandela grabbed a gold, winning the women's 10m Air Rifle competition after a closely-fought contest. She shot a score of 251 in the final to outshine Wang Luyao of China, who shot 250.8. This was Apurvi's second ISSF World Cup gold of the year followed by a world record score in New Delhi in February. This was also her career's fourth ISSF medal.

India has been elected to the Executive Board of the first UN-Habitat Assembly. First session of the UN-Habitat Assembly will be held from 27-31 May 2019, at the headquarters of UN-Habitat in Nairobi. The Theme is: "Innovation for Better Quality of Life in Cities and Communities". The Sub-theme as: "Accelerated implementation of the New Urban Agenda towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals". During the first session, The Assembly is expected to establish the Executive Board of UN-Habitat and elect its members, to review and approve the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2020-2025 and also review the Progress in the implementation of New Urban Agenda, among other things.

Acharya Balkrishna, the Managing Director of Patanjali Ayurved won "United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) 10 Most Influential People in Healthcare Award" in Geneva, Switzerland. He received the award on behalf of Patanjali Group of Institutions. He was a representative from India at LINSDG. The award was conferred to him for the contributions made by Patanjali in curing lifestyle diseases with Yoga, Ayurveda and traditional Indian methods. He dedicated the award to all those who contributed to mainstream Yoga and Ayurveda at the Global Level.

The nation pays homage to first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his 55th death anniversary on 27th May 2019. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India. Jawaharlal Nehru emerged as an eminent leader of the Indian independence movement under the tutelage of Mahatma Gandhi. Nehru held the post from its establishment as an independent nation in 1947 until his death on 27th May 1964. Shantivan is the Samadhi of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Sri Lanka's navy has launched extra vigil on its northern seas in wake of media reports that some terrorist elements may have left the country to land on Indian shores. Earlier, several media outlets reported that a group of 15 suspected Islamic State terrorists were fleeing Sri Lanka towards the Kerala Coast. Coastal security has been beefed up across the Kerala coast in wake of reports.

India's 17-year-old shooter Saurabh Chaudhary broke his own junior and senior world record to win his second gold medal in 10m Air Pistol event in ISSF Gold Cup 2019. Saurabh won 10m Air Pistol event with 246.3 points, breaking his own senior record of 245 points and junior record of 245.5 points. This is Saurabh's second gold in the same event.

High Quality Liquid Assets means liquid assets that can be readily sold or immediately converted into cash at little or no loss of value or used as collateral to obtain funds in a range of stress scenarios.

Telangana will have 1st blockchain district. Land at subsidised rates, funding of research and regulatory and policy support are among the features of Telangana government's draft Blockchain Policy. It is aimed at wooing firms and startups in the field to set up shop in the state.

Lewis Hamilton won the Monaco Grand Prix to extend his championship lead over Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton struggled with grip in the latter stages and was under constant pressure from Red Bull's Max Verstappen. But Verstappen had earlier picked up a five-second time penalty. So even though he finished just behind Hamilton, Verstappen was fourth overall behind Bottas in third and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in second. But Verstappen had earlier picked up a five-second time penalty. So even though he finished just behind Hamilton, Verstappen was fourth overall behind Bottas in third and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in second.

US President Donald Trump got the red carpet treatment at Japan's Imperial Palace where he made history, becoming the first world leader to meet with the new emperor of Japan Naruhito. The US President is on a four-day state visit to Japan. Trump will go to the Japanese state guest house later for meetings and joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

International Day for Biological Diversity tree ambulance was inaugurated in Chennai, Tamil Nadu by Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu. The initiative was proposed by Green man of India, Dr K Abdul Ghani and it is sponsored by the SASA Group. The ambulance can be availed through the number 9941006786 and volunteers can register on www.treeambulance.org. The Services provided by Tree Ambulance first-aid treatment are uprooted tree planting, seed bank, seed ball distribution, plant distribution, aiding tree plantation, shifting trees, a survey of trees and removal of dead trees.

India's Mahesh Mangaonkar for the second time in the Sekisui Open in Kriens, Switerzland. Three years back he had won it the first time. Sekisui Open is a Challenger tour event of the Professional Squash Association (PSA), the world body which governs the sports. Top-seeded Mahesh beat third seed Bernat Jaume of Spain in four games 11-9, 3-11, 11-5, 11-5 yesterday to win his 8th PSA title.

Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) president Prem Singh Tamang, popularly known as PS Golay took oath as the Chief Minister of Sikkim. He was administered the oath by Governor Ganga Prasad at Paljor Stadium in Gangtok. Mr. Golay is not a member of the State Assembly at present as he did not contest the polls. The 51-year-old party chief when he was taking the oath in the Nepali language. Former Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and senior Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) leaders were conspicuous by their absence at the swearing-in ceremony. The SKM won a slender majority in the 32-member Sikkim Legislative Assembly by bagging 17 seats against 15 won by the SDF.

The Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) successfully test-fired the new version of the Akash surface-to-air defence missile system with a new indigenously-developed seeker in Balasore off the Odisha coast on 27 May. This is the second successful test of the missile. The medium range multi-target engagement capable missile was developed as part of the Integrated Guided-Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) other than Nag, Agni, Trishul, and Prithvi missiles.

Bayern Munich clinched German Cup 2019. Bayern Munich defeated RB Leipzig. Bayern Munich won the final 3-0 for their 19th DFB-Pokal title. With the win, Bayern completed their 12th domestic double.

Russia launched the world's largest nuclear-powered icebreaker 'Ural' at the Baltic Shipyard in St Petersburg in order to improve its ability to tap the Arctic's commercial potential. Russia is preparing for shipping via the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The Ural will be given to Russia's state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom in 2022 after the other 2 ice-breakers Arktika (Arctic) and Sibir (Siberia) enter into service. The Arktika was floated in 2016.

Facebook is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency in early 2020, allowing users to make digital payments in a dozen countries. The currency, dubbed GlobalCoin, would enable Facebook's 2.4 billion monthly users to change dollars and other international currencies into its digital coins. The coins could then be used to buy things on the internet and in shops and other outlets or to transfer money without needing a bank account. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder, and chief executive of Facebook, last month met the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, to discuss the plans.

The Orchha town of Madhya Pradesh has been included in tentative list of the World Heritage Sites of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). It is famous for its four palaces - Jahangir Palace, Rai Praveen Mahal, Raja Mahal, and Sheesh Mahal.