Notes:
The 22nd edition of Asian Athletics Championship will be held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, which has been scheduled to be held from July 1 to 4, 2017. Recently, the Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik has unveiled the logo and mascot of the championship. The logo depicts an athlete crossing the finishing line with historical tourist attractions of Odisha in the backdrop, while “Olly Turtle” has been declared the mascot of the Championship that represents the famous Olive Ridley sea turtle. The mascot personifies qualities like tactful planners and being cautiously wise. More than 700 athletes from around 45 Asian countries will participate in 42 sports of the tournament.

Notes:
India’s first bio-refinery plant has been inaugurated by the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highway Nitin Gadkari at Rahu in Pune district, Maharashtra. The plant will produce ethanol from variety of biomass. The bio‐refinery plant is capable of producing one million litre of ethanol per annum by processing a variety of agro-residue like rice and wheat straw, cotton stalk, cane trash, corn cobs with superior product yields. Biofuel is cost‐effective and pollution‐free.

Notes:
Emmanuel Macron, a former civil servant and investment banker, has won the 2017 Presidential election of France and will take office on May 14, 2017. With this, he will become the youngest President in French history and the youngest French head of state since Napoleon. Beside this, Macron will also become the first President from outside the two traditional main parties since the modern republic’s foundation in 1958. He fought the election under the banner En Marche! a social-liberal political party founded by him on April 2016.

Notes:
India has been unanimously elected as the new President of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN–Habitat), an organ of the United Nations’ Organisation (UNO) that promotes socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements across the world. Since the UN-Habitat came into being in 1978, it is only the third time that India has been elected to lead this important organization after 2007 and 1988. The UN-Habitat reports to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Notes:
The 26th session of the Governing Council (GC) of UN-Habitat-2017 has started at the United Nations Offices in Nairobi, Kenya from May 8, 2017 with the theme “Opportunities for effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda”. The focus of the theme is on inclusive, sustainable and adequate housing for a better future and planning and financing sustainable urbanization and integrated human settlements. The 4-day session will be chair by M.Venkaiah Naidu, the Union Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation of India. Naidu will preside over the deliberations of the Governing Council of UN-Habitat for the next two years. Apart from this, Venakiah Naidu will also chair the Bureau Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Ministers’ Conference on Housing and Urban Development beginning in Nairobi on May 8, 2017.

Notes:
The 7th edition of multinational military exercise “Eager Lion” has started in Jordon from May 8, 2017. Approx 7,400 troops from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Arab Gulf region are taking part in the exercises which run to May 18th, including from United States, Britain, Japan, Kenya, Pakistan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The man oeuvres would include border security, cyber defence, and “command and control” exercises, to bolster coordination in response to threats including terrorism. Jordan is a key recipient of US financial aid and a partner in the US-led coalition battling Islamic State group jihadists in Syria and Iraq.

Notes:
The 33rd edition of joint military exercise “Balikatan ( or Shoulder-to- Shoulder)” has started between Philippines and the United States on May 8, 2017 at Camp Aguinaldo in Manila, Philippines . The focus of the 10-day exercise is on disaster response and counter terrorism while excluding territorial defense operations. Approx 5,400 personnel will be involved in the drills exercise.

Notes:
The World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is observed every year on May 8 to commemorate the birth anniversary Jean Henry Dunant, the founder of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize. The 2017 theme is “Less Known Red Cross Stories”.

Notes:
The Navegaon National Park is located in the Gondia district of Maharashtra. It is a popular forest resort in the easternmost part of Maharashtra and was built in the 18th century. It is home to number of fishes, 209 species of birds, 9 species of reptiles and 26 species of mammals which includes Tiger, Panther, Jungle cat, Small India Civet, Palm Civet, Wolf, Jackals, Bisons, Sambars, Nilgais, Chitals, Wild boars, Sloth Bears, and Nathan Lewis.

Notes:
Indian boxer Kavinder Singh Bisht (52kg) qualified for the World Championships in the 52 kilogram category after getting a walkover against Malaysia’s Salam Abdul Kasim at the Asian Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on May 7, 2017. The other Indians to have qualified for the World Championships are Vikas Krishan (75kg), Amit Phangal (49kg), Shiva Thapa (60kg), Sumit Sangwan (91kg), Satish Kumar (+91kg) and Manoj Kumar (69kg).