Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
Raheem Sterling, the Manchester City and England forward, has been named the 2019 footballer of the year by the Football Writers’ Association (FWA). He topped the poll of the 400-strong FWA membership as a clear winner, with 62% of the votes.

Notes:
Pungam Kannan (80), the former Indian footballer, has passed away at Kolkata, West Bengal. Born in Vandavasi in Tamil Nadu, Kannan played 14 matches for India & was the former Mohun Bagan & East Bengal forward. He won Santosh Trophy for Bengal twice in a row (1971-73) and was the top-scorer. It was legendary German coach Dettmar Cramer who had given him the best appreciation by calling him ‘Pele of Asia’ in 1968 when he was invited by the AIFF to conduct two-week coaching in Mumbai.

Notes:
The International Dance Day (IDD) is observed every year on 29th of April to celebrate the birth anniversary of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727–1810), the creator of modern ballet. The day is a celebration day for those who can see the value and importance of the art form dance, and acts as a wake-up-call for governments, politicians and institutions which have not yet recognised its value to the people. It strives to encourage participation and education in dance through events and festivals held on the date all over the world.

Notes:
Arjuna awardee and star Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar won the ‘Outstanding achievement as a player award’ at the 4th edition of the annual India Golf Industry Association (GIA) awards at the Delhi Golf Club. The GIA awards were held along with the 8th India Golf & Turf Expo (IGTE), South Asia’s largest golf trade show. Bhullar won the 2018 Fiji International, a European Tour event, and also holds the rare distinction of becoming the youngest golfer on the Asian Tour to achieve nine career victories on tour.

Notes:
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has launched an awareness programme on Goods and Services Tax (GST) in collaboration with Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Institute Limited to help small scale businesses. The purpose of the GST programme is to impart basic knowledge and skills required to fulfil various requirements under the GST Act. It would be beneficial to people who are engaged in maintaining accounts and filing of various indirect tax returns. The main objective of the programme is to impart skills to book keeping professionals to file various regular GST returns along with the various compliance requirements. Those who have passed Class 12 are eligible for the course, which will be offered in January and July cycle of admissions.

Notes:
Israel has recently honoured 1971 war hero Lt. Gen. (retd) Jack Farj Rafael (JFR) Jacob with a plaque on Ammunition Hill Wall of Honour in Jerusalem. Lt. Gen. Jacob, who died in 2016 at the age of 92 , negotiated the historic surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka after the 1971 Bangladesh’s liberation war,. He was one of the most prominent members of India’s relatively small Jewish community, and also served as a Lieutenant General in the Indian Army and later as a Governor of two Indian states-Goa and Punjab. The Wall of Honour at the Ammunition Hill pays tributes to the heroism and courage of Jewish soldiers who fought in the defence of their countries they lived in implementing values of bravery, loyalty, commitment and dedication to a mission, leadership, creativity, camaraderie and sanctity of life.

Notes:
The former Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara has become the first non-British President of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). He will begin his one-year tenure in October 2019 and will succeed Anthony Wreford. His tenure will include two England test matches against West Indies and Pakistan and the launch of The Hundred competition – the England and Wales Cricket Board’s new 100-ball cricket format. MCC, which owns Lord’s and acts as the guardian of the laws of the game, was founded in 1787 and lists 168 presidents in its history.

Notes:
World No. 1 Bajrang Punia won the gold at the 2019 Ali Aliyev wrestling tournament. In the final of men’s 65kg freestyle, he defeated Viktor Rassadin inin Kaspiisk, Russia on May 2. Bajrang got the better of the local favourite 13-8 in his final bout after being down 0-5 at one stage. The 25-year-old Indian grappler had won a gold medal last week at the Asian Championships in Xi’an, China.

Notes:
In a major diplomatic victory for India, Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar was listed as a designated terrorist by the UN Security Council 1267 Committee on 1st May 2019 after China lifted its block on the move. The move will lead to sanctions on Azhar’s travel and his ability to secure finance for his group. Significantly, the reasons for listing did not mention the Pulwama attack of February 14, for which the JeM had claimed responsibility. The reasons for designating Azhar as a terrorist as per latest listing included his support for the JeM since its founding, being associated with the Al-Qaeda by recruiting for them and “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities or supplying, selling or transferring arms and related material”. It also pointed to his role in recruiting fighters in Afghanistan. The JeM itself was sanctioned by the 1267 Committee in 2001. A UNSC designation will subject Azhar to an assets freeze, travel ban and an arms embargo. An assets freeze under the sanctions committee requires that all states freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities.

Notes:
Dilip Kumar, a 1995-batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre, has been appointed as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the office of Lokpal. He has been appointed for a period of six months on additional charge basis or till a new incumbent joins the post. It is perhaps the first official appointment of a bureaucrat in Lokpal. Prior to this post, he was joint secretary at National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Earlier, on 23rd March 2019, President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose as the chairperson of the anti-corruption ombudsman. According to the rules, there is a provision for a chairperson and a maximum of 8 members in the Lokpal panel. Of these, four need to be judicial members.