Measles record means US could lose eradication status

Measles record means US could lose eradication status

The number of US measles patients has reached a record high and may cause the nation to lose its "measles elimination status

Sixty new cases were reported in the past week, bringing this year's total to 971 cases in 26 US states - the highest since 1994.

The disease was declared effectively eliminated from the US in 2000.

Recent outbreaks have been attributed to foreign travellers spreading it to those lacking vaccinations in the US.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement on Thursday: "If these outbreaks continue through summer and fall, the United States may lose its measles elimination status.

 That loss would be a huge blow for the nation and erase the hard work done by all levels of public health.

 The measles elimination goal, first announced in 1963 and accomplished in 2000, was a monumental task.

International Day of UN Peacekeepers being observed

International Day of UN Peacekeepers being observed

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is being observed  Wednesday, 29 May, 2019

The objective is to pay tribute to the invaluable contribution by the uniformed and civilian personnel and to honour more than 3,800 peacekeepers who have lost their lives while rendering peacekeeping services.

The theme this year is “Protecting Civilians, Protecting Peace”.

The first UN peacekeeping mission was established on 29th May 1948, when the Security Council authorized the deployment of a small number of UN military observers to the Middle East.

Since then, more than one million men and women have served in 72 UN peacekeeping operations, directly impacting the lives of millions of people, protecting the world’s most vulnerable and saving countless lives.

India is the 4th largest troop contributor to the UN peacekeeping missions. 

UN peacekeeping has helped countries move from war to peace.

At present, India contributes about 6,400 peacekeepers to various missions across the world.

The country has the largest percentage of women in the police force, at around 32 per cent, contribution to the future of peacekeeping.

Sri Lanka signs tripartite agreement with India and Japan

Sri Lanka signs tripartite agreement with India and Japan

Sri Lanka has signed a tripartite agreement with India and Japan for development of eastern terminal of Colombo port.

The Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) was signed in Colombo

 As per the agreement, Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) will hold 51 per cent majority stake in the port development while Japan and India will have combined stake of 49 per cent.

The three governments have decided to work out details at joint working group meetings and advance their cooperation towards early commencement of work and operation of the terminal.

The deal is significant as over 70% of India’s transhipment business is handled at Colombo ports.

One of the terminals is controlled by Chinese company and there was a long-pending proposal to handover the development of Eastern terminal to an Indian company.

The deal is part of Memorandum of economic cooperation signed between India and Sri Lanka in 2017.

2019 European Parliament election

2019 European Parliament election

An election of the European Parliament was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979.

As of 2018, a total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million people from 28 member states.

In February 2018, the European Parliament had voted to decrease the number of MEPs from 751 to 705 if the United Kingdom were to withdraw from the European Union on 29 March 2019

However, the United Kingdom participated alongside other EU member states after an extension of Article 50 to 31 October 2019.

The European People’s Party group won 178 seats and remained the largest political group in the legislature.

The second largest group is the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) with 152 seats,

2019 Copa del Rey Final

2019 Copa del Rey Final

The 2019 Copa del Rey Final was a football match played on 25 May 2019 that decided the winner of the 2018–19 Copa del Rey, the 117th edition of Spain's primary football cup.

The match was played at the Estadio Benito Villamarín in Seville between Barcelona and Valencia

Valencia won the final 2–1, achieving their 8th title overall and the first since 2008.

Barcelona were competing in their 41st Copa del Rey final, extending the competition record, and had won a record 30 titles prior.

They were the reigning champions

Cyril Ramaphosa sworn in as South Africa's president

Cyril Ramaphosa sworn in as South Africa's president

Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in for a five-year term as South Africa’s President yesterday.

Head of the African National Congress Ramaphosa was officially elected as President by Parliament during its first sitting following the sixth general elections.

Former president Jacob Zuma, resigned in February last year

Ramaphosa is expected to announce his new Cabinet .

The South Africa Constitution requires voters to choose a party, which then selects members to go to the National Assembly, where they choose the President.

World Turtle Day

World Turtle Day

the purpose of World Turtle Day, May 23, sponsored yearly since 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue, is to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive.

World Turtle Day is celebrated around the globe in a variety of ways, from dressing up as turtles or wearing green summer dresses, to saving turtles caught on highways, to research activities. Turtle Day lesson plans and craft projects encourage teaching about turtles in classrooms

Date: Thursday, 23 May, 2019

Algeria and Argentina certified malaria-free by WHO

Algeria and Argentina certified malaria-free by WHO

Algeria and Argentina have been officially recognized by WHO as malaria-free.

The certification is granted when a country proves that it has interrupted indigenous transmission of the disease for at least 3 consecutive years.

Contracted through the bite of an infected mosquito, malaria remains one of the world’s leading killers, with an estimated 219 million cases and over 400 000 malaria-related deaths in 2017.

Approximately 60% of fatalities are among children aged under 5 years.

Algeria is the second country in the WHO African Region to be officially recognized as malaria-free, after Mauritius, which was certified in 1973.

Argentina is the second country in the WHO Region of the Americas to be certified in 45 years, after Paraguay in June 2018.

Algeria and Argentina reported their last cases of indigenous malaria in 2013 and 2010 respectively.

Oman author Jokha Alharthi wins Booker International Prize

Oman author Jokha Alharthi wins Booker International Prize

An author from Oman has won the prestigious Man Booker International Prize for "Celestial Bodies", the story of three sisters of a desert country confronting its slave-owning past and a complex modern world.

Jokha Alharthi, the first Arabic-language writer to take the prize, will split the 50,000 pounds or 64,000 US dollar prize with her UK-based translator, Marilyn Booth.

 "Celestial Bodies" beat five other finalists from Europe and South America, including last year's winner, Poland's Olga Tokarczuk.

The prize is a counterpart to the Man Booker Prize for English-language novels and is open to books in any language that has been translated into English.

Indian peacekeeper will be honoured posthumously by UN

Indian peacekeeper will be honoured posthumously by UN

An Indian peacekeeper is among the 119 military, police and civilian personnel who will be honoured with a prestigious UN medal this year for courage and sacrifice in the line of duty.

Police Officer Jitender Kumar made the supreme sacrifice while serving in the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Central African country of Congo.

 He will be honoured posthumously with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal on Friday as the world organisation observes the International Day of UN Peacekeepers.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin would collect the medal on behalf of the fallen Indian peacekeeper at a solemn ceremony at the UN in New York.

India is the fourth largest contributor of uniformed personnel to the UN peacekeeping.

It currently contributes more than 6,400 military and police personnel to the UN peace operations in Abyei, Cyprus, Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, West Asia, South Sudan and Western Sahara.

World Metrology Day

World Metrology Day

World Metrology Day is an event occurring on the 20th of May celebrating the International System of Units.

The date is the anniversary of the signing of the Metre Convention in 1875. Metrology is the study of measurement.

The World Metrology Day project is currently realized jointly by the BIPM and the OIML.

The theme for World Metrology Day this year is, The International System of Units - Fundamentally better.

The theme has been chosen because on 16 November last year, the General Conference on Weights and Measures agreed perhaps one of the most significant revisions to the International System of Units since its inception.

Research into new measurement methods, including those using quantum phenomena, underpin the change.

The International System of Units is now based on a set of definitions each linked to the laws of physics and have the advantage of being able to embrace further improvements in measurement science and technology to meet the needs of future users for many years to come.

Australian PM Scott Morrison won federal elections

Australian PM Scott Morrison won federal elections

Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Liberal-National Coalition won the federal elections.

Prime Minister Morrison has declared victory after his coalition defied opinion polls and secured a surprise win over the opposition Labor Party.

The polling held yesterday for all 151 seats in the House of Representatives.

Australia has mandatory voting for people aged 18 and over.

Scott John Morrison is an Australian politician serving as Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the Liberal Party since 2018. He served as Treasurer of Australia from 2015 to 2018. Morrison was first elected Member of Parliament for Cook in 2007.

Lyon demolish Barcelona to win Women's Champions League

Lyon demolish Barcelona to win Women's Champions League 

Lyon win fourth straight European title with 4-1 win

The French giants were 4-0 up at half-time thanks to goals from Dzsenifer Marozsan and an Ada Hegerberg hat-trick, while Asisat Oshoala scored an 89th minute consolation goal for Barca.

UEFA Champions League final match between Olympique Lyon and FC Barcelona was played at the Groupama Arena in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, May 18, 2019.

Olympique Lyonnais Féminin is a French women's football club based in Lyon. It is the most successful club in the history of Division 1 Féminine with fourteen league titles as Olympique Lyonnais and four league titles as FC Lyon before the acquisition. 

Manager: Reynald Pedros 

Arena/Stadium: Lyon Olympic Stadium

Founded: 2004

Capacity: 1,524

Leagues: UEFA Women's Champions League, Division 1 Féminine

World Hypertension Day

World Hypertension Day

World Hypertension Day is a day designated and initiated by The World Hypertension League, which is itself an umbrella to organizations of 85 national hypertension societies and leagues.

 The day was initiated to increase the awareness of hypertension. 


 The WHL launched its first WHD on May 14, 2005.

Since 2006, the WHL has been dedicating May 17 of every year as WH

the theme for World Hypertension Day is Know Your Numbers with a goal of increasing high blood pressure (BP) awareness

Date: Friday, 17 May, 2019

China will host 2023 Asian Cup

China will host 2023 Asian Cup

South Korea have abandoned their bid to stage Asian Cup Football tournament in 2023, leaving the sole other bidders China with a free run to become hosts.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said in a statement that it had pulled out to strategically focus on a joint bid with North Korea to host the Women's World Cup in the same year.

The KFA announced the joint bid in March, but diplomatic contacts between Pyongyang and Seoul have since dwindled with North Korea-US nuclear talks deadlocked.

Paris summit against online extremism

Paris summit against online extremism

French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will launch an ambitious new initiative aimed at curbing extremism online.

 The initiative, "Christchurch Call", was pushed by Ms Ardern

Participants will be asked to pledge to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content on social media and other online platforms.

The political meeting will run parallel to an initiative launched by Macron called Tech for Good.

This will bring together 80 tech chiefs in Paris to find a way for new technologies to work for the common good.

Other key leaders attending include Jordan's King Abdullah II, Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau, British Prime Minister Theresa May and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

Prominent figures from tech and social networks will also be present, like Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and Uber CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi.

New plastic that could be fully recycled created by Berkeley Lab

New plastic that could be fully recycled created by Berkeley Lab

The scientists have created a next-generation plastic that can be fully recycled into new materials of any colour, shape, or form, without loss of performance or quality.

A team of researchers at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has designed a recyclable plastic that, like a Lego playset, can be disassembled into its constituent parts at the molecular level.

they have discovered a new way to assemble plastics that takes recycling into consideration from a molecular perspective.

All plastics, from water bottles to automobile parts, are made up of large molecules called polymers, which are composed of repeating units of shorter carbon-containing compounds called monomers.

 the problem with many plastics is that the chemicals added to make them useful, such as fillers that make a plastic tough, or plasticisers that make a plastic flexible are tightly bound to the monomers and stay in the plastic even after it is been processed at a recycling plant.

unlike conventional plastics, the monomers of PDK plastic could be recovered and freed from any compounded additives simply by dunking the material in a highly acidic solution.

The acid helps to break the bonds between the monomers and separate them from the chemical additives that give plastic its look and feel.

After testing various formulations, the researchers demonstrated that not only does acid break down PDK polymers into monomers, but the process also allows the monomers to be separated from entwined additives.

Cannes Film Festival began today in France

Cannes Film Festival began today in France

One of the most prestigious international event from the world of cinema, Cannes Film Festival will begin today in France.

Information and Broadcasting Secretary Amit Khare, who is leading Indian delegation at Cannes, will inaugurate India Pavilion tomorrow.

The Pavilion will showcase Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional diversity, with the aim of forging international partnerships in distribution, production, filming in India.

Indian Delegation will also release a special poster to mark the golden jubilee of International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2019).

Indian racer Jehan Daruvala wins inaugural round of FIA Formula 3 Championship

Indian racer Jehan Daruvala wins inaugural round of FIA Formula 3 Championship

Young Indian racer Jehan Daruvala, driving for Prema Racing, won the inaugural round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, one of the support events to Formula One in Barcelona .

The all-new FIA F3 Championship was created by merging the erstwhile GP3 Championship and FIA F3 European Championship, resulting in an ultra-competitive 30 car grid.

The only Indian on the grid, 20-year-old Jehan started from the second position and grabbed the lead into the run down to the first corner.

jehan is the only Indian to win a Grand Prix when he won the New Zealand Grand Prix and later went on to become the only Indian to win a race in the erstwhile FIA F3 European Championship, which used slower cars.

International Migratory Bird Day

International Migratory Bird Day is a conservation initiative that brings awareness on conserving migratory birds and their habitats throughout the Western Hemisphere.

This program is dedicated to international conservation efforts and environmental education in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Originated by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, it is now coordinated by Environment for the Americas

International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) officially takes place on the second Saturday in May in the U.S. and Canada and on the second Saturday of October in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean each year.

The theme for this year is “Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution!”.

Which country became second country to declare climate emergency?

Which country became second country to declare climate emergency?

Options

1) Ireland

2)Norway

3)sweden

4)finland





answer


1) Ireland



Other details


Ireland has declared climate emergency in their country, to be the second country after Britain to do so.

Britain's parliament became the first in the world to declare a climate emergency, passing the largely symbolic motion on May 1.

The step followed 11 days of street protests in London by   environmental campaign groups.

US imposed duty on iron, steel, aluminium and copper sectors of which country?

US imposed duty on iron, steel, aluminium and copper sectors of which country?

Options

1) Iran

2)Iraq

3)China

4)Turkey

answer

1) Iran


Other details

US has imposed sanctions on Iran's iron, steel, aluminium and copper sectors.

The move is aimed at stopping Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

US has now imposed sanctions on Iran's top three exports - oil, petrochemicals and metals.

the US will aggressively enforce its sanctions, and those who continue to engage in a sanctionable activity involving Iran will face severe consequences

when is World Red Cross Day celebrated?

when is World Red Cross Day celebrated?

Options

1) 8 May

2)9 May

3)7 May

4)6 May

answer

1) 8 May


Other details

World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is an annual celebration of the principles of the International Red Cross Movement.

World Red Cross Red  is celebrated on 8 May each year.

 This date is the anniversary of the birth of Henry Dunant, who was born on 8 May 1828.

Henry Dunant had generated the Red Cross Committee of the International (ICRI) in 1863 in Switzerland, Geneva.

He   was also the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

when is World Asthma Day celebrated?

when is World Asthma Day celebrated?

Options

1)  May 7

2) May 8

3) May 9

4) May 10

answer

1)  May 7


Other details

World Asthma Day is an annual event organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma to improve asthma awareness and care around the world.

 World Asthma Day takes place on the first Tuesday of May.

 The inaugural World Asthma Day was held in 1998

theme  2019 is “STOP for Asthama”

where was 9th IBSA Trilateral Ministerial Meeting held?

where was  9th IBSA Trilateral Ministerial Meeting held?

Options

1) India

2)Brazil

3)south africa

4)none of the above

answer

1) India


Other details

 The IBSA (India, Brazil & South Africa) Sherpas’ Meeting, following the 9th IBSA Trilateral Ministerial Meeting, was held in Cochin from May 3-5, 2019.


Sherpas reviewed the progress made under IBSA, since their last meeting. IBSA Sherpas also reviewed the functioning of the Joint Working Groups

when was World Laughter Day celebrated?

when was World Laughter Day celebrated?

Options

1) 5 may

2) 4 May

 3)6 May

 4)7 May

answer

1) 5 may


Other details

World Laughter Day takes place on the first Sunday of May of every year .

The first celebration was on May 10, 1998, in Mumbai, India

The day is now celebrated worldwide

 The first World Laughter day named HAPPY-DEMIC took place outside India on January 9, 2000 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

when is Coal Miners Day celebrated?

when is Coal Miners Day  celebrated?

Options

1) 4 may

2)5 may

3)6 may

4)7 may

answer

1) 4 may


Other details

Coal Miners Day is observed every year on 4 May to highlight the toughest profession and the people working in coal mines.

This day show appreciation for the sacrifices, honour the accomplishments and remember the tragedies that these hardworking individuals experience

World Press Freedom Day

World Press Freedom Day

The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and marking the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in Windhoek in 1991.

World Press Freedom Day  was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO's General Conference.

The theme of World Press Freedom Day this year is, Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.

The 26th celebration of World Press Freedom Day is jointly organized by UNESCO, African Union Commission and the Government of Ethiopia. The main event is being held at the African Union Headquarters at Addis Ababa.

Lebanon's capital Beirut has set a new Guinness World Record

Lebanon's capital Beirut has set a new Guinness World Record for the number of national flags raised in a city for 24 hours.

The Beirut Alive Association in the national capital on Sunday raised a total of 26,852 Lebanese flags breaking New York's Waterloo record of 25,599 flags

British PM Theresa May sacked defence Secretary

British PM Theresa May sacked defence Secretary

British Prime Minister Theresa May has sacked defence Secretary Gavin Williamson

it was after a probe into the leak of news that Britain had conditionally allowed China's Huawei to develop the UK 5G network.

The UK is opposed to Huawei's involvement.

Japan's new Emperor Naruhito ascended throne

Japan's new Emperor Naruhito ascended throne

Japan's new emperor, Naruhito, has formally ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne, replacing his father, Akihito, who had abdicated a day earlier.

In a morning ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, today, Naruhito became the 126th Emperor of Japan.

A new imperial era called Reiwa, which means order and harmony, has now begun.

The emperor in Japan holds no political power but serves as a national symbol.