Notes:
El Salvador has become the first country in the world to ban the mining of metals to protect water sources and the environment. According to the text published on April 27, 2017 in the official journal the law bans prospection, exploration, exploitation, extraction or processing of metallic minerals in El Salvador. The new law entered into force after being signed by President Salvador Sanchez Ceren and will protect poor rural communities threatened by proposed mining projects.

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Bhubaneswar has become the first Indian city to won 2017 Pierre L’enfant Planning Excellence and Achievement Awards-2017, which is instituted by the American Planning Association (APA). The No.1 smart city Bhubaneswar has received this award for good and advanced town planning and engaging its residents in the planning process. The association selected five excellence award recipients, which will be honoured at an awards luncheon at the association’s National Planning Conference in New York on May 8, 2017. Notably, the American Planning Association honours comprehensive planning efforts and inspiring individuals to recognize outstanding community plans, planning programs and initiatives, public education efforts, and individuals for their leadership on planning issues.

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Yashwanth Naidu, a deaf and Dumb Cricketer from Andhra Pradesh, has been declared Man of the Tournament in the T-20 Asia Cup for his controlled bowling at Dhaka, Bangladesh. In the triangular tournament, India beat Bangladesh and Pakistan in the T-20 Asia Cup to lift the Trophy. Earlier, during 2016, Naidu was instrumental in India winning the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and during 2015 when India lifted the World Cup, his bowling won laurels of all.

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Prof. Sankha Ghosh, an eminent Bengali poet and literary critic, has been conferred the 52nd edition of the Jnanpith Award (2016) by President Pranab Mukherjee at a function in New Delhi on April 27, 2017. He was awarded for his outstanding contribution in the field of literature. Excerpt of Ghosh’s classic creations are Adim lata -gulmomay, Murkho Baro, Samajik Noy and Baborer Prarthana. With this, Prof. Ghosh has become the 6th Bengali author to win India’s highest literary award after Mahasweta Devi, Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Ashapurna Devi, Subhash Mukhopadhyay and Bishnu Dey.

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Bollywood Actor Shah Rukh Khan has become the first Indian actor to deliver a speech at the internationally acclaimed TED Talks. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. He attended ‘Ted 2017 – The Future You’ conference at Vancouver, Canada on April 27, 2017 and spoke on various issues beginning from his startdom to the changes world has experienced with the introduction of internet. Shah Rukh Khan has also partnered with TED to host the hindi version of the famous talk show. TED talks is famous for its motivational and inspirational speeches around the world.

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Vinu Chakravarthy (71), the veteran Tamil actor and scriptwriter, has passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was well known for his unique stentorian voice and trade mark pauses in dialogue delivery. He acted in over 1,000 Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Badaga and Malayalam languages films playing villain, comic roles and supporting characters. He has also directed movies on his own and is credited with introducing Silk Smitha

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India has been ranked 136th out of 180 countries in the latest annual World Press Freedom Index (WPFI-2017). As per report, the rank has been slipped 3-places due to threats from (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi’s nationalism” and growing self-censorship in the mainstream media. The report also mentioned that journalists were increasingly targets of online smear campaigns and threats. The 2017 WPFI compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reflects a world in which attacks on the media have become commonplace and strongmen are on the rise. The index is topped by Norway, followed by Sweden, Finland and Denmark. China has acquired 176th position among 180 nations and is described as the “world’s leading prison for citizen journalists”.

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The 2017 World Immunization Week (WIW) has started from April 24, 2017 to raise awareness about the critical importance of full immunization throughout life and its role in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The week long global public health campaign is celebrated with theme “Vaccines Work” to highlight the importance of immunization as a top global health investment priority and to promote understanding of the action steps required to achieve the Global Vaccine Action Plan.

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The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is an annual international campaign to promote safe, healthy and decent work. It is held on 28 April and has been observed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) since 2003. As per estimate, every day 6300 people die at a result of occupational accidents or work related diseases which mean that there are more than 2.3 million deaths per year. The human cost of this daily adversity is vast and the economic burden of poor occupational safety and health practices is estimated at 4% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) each year. The 2017 theme “Optimize the collection and use of occupational Safety and Health (OSH)” focuses on the critical need for countries to improve their capacity to collect and utilize reliable Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) data.

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The Indian short film “Azaad” will be screened by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organisation (UNESCO) as part of 2017 World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) event, which will be held from May 1-4, 2017 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The movie is written and directed by Rahul V. Chittella, which tells the story of the dysfunctional relationship between a father and his son. The WPFD is observed every year on May 3 to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. The 2017 theme is “Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies“.