Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
After 29 glorious years of service from 1990 to 2019, the Indian Coast Guard ship (ICGS) Vigraha has recently decommissioned at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh on May 16. During the 29 years of service, the ship has participated in major coast guard operations involving search and rescue, anti-poaching, pollution response, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, repatriation and joint exercises among others. ICGS Vigraha was the 7th Vikram-class offshore patrol vessel built by the Mazagaon Dock Limited, Mumbai and it was commissioned on April 12, 1990.

Notes:
The World AIDS Vaccine Day (WAVD) is observed every year on 18th May to spread awareness about the urgent need for a vaccine to prevent HIV infection and AIDS. The day is also known as HIV Vaccine Awareness Day. It is also a day to thank volunteers, researchers, scientists, community member, health professionals and everyone else who is working to eradicate the disease and find ways for safe and effective HIV vaccines.

Notes:
Joko Widodo has been officially re-elected to a second term as President of Indonesia. His win is a victory for stability and continuity in Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest country and a geopolitical anchor for the region. Widodo and his vice-presidential running mate Ma’ruf Amin won the election by a 55.5% to 44.5% margin over rival Prabowo Subianto and Sandiaga Uno. The two rival election campaigns focused on the economy, infrastructure and corruption. Religion was also a core issue. Though Indonesia has no official state religion and the right to practise other faiths is enshrined in the constitution, some 80% of the country is Muslim.

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India’s social media platform – Helo has become the official team sponsor of Indian Wheelchair Cricket Association for 2019 Asia Cup, which has started on May 15 in Nepal. This association makes Helo the first social media app to host and promote Indian Wheelchair Cricket on its platform. As part of the association, Helo will now be the official digital media partner for the team during the tournament. In preparation for the tournament, more than 200 Wheelchair Cricket players have joined Helo as part of this campaign to connect with their local communities across India. The Wheelchair Cricket Association is affiliated to the Disabled Sporting Society and has 16 state teams under it. The players are 70-90 per cent physically challenged and will do batting, bowling, fielding and running on wheelchairs only.

Notes:
An author from Oman, Jokha Alharthi has won the prestigious 2019 Man Booker International Prize for her novel “Celestial Bodies”, which reveals her Omani homeland’s post-colonial transformation. Her novel tells the story of three sisters of a desert country confronting its slave-owning past and a complex modern world. With this feat, Alharthi has become the first Arabic-language writer to take the prize. The prestigious 50,000-pound (Over 44 lakh rupees) prize, which celebrates translated fiction from around the world, is divided equally between the author and the translator. Alharthi’s translator was U.S. academic Marilyn Booth, who teaches Arabic literature at Oxford University. 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. This is the final year of the prize being sponsored by investment firm Man Group, which has backed the prizes for 18 years. From next year, the award will be known as the International Booker Prize.

Notes:
The Prime Minister of United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum has launched the permanent residency system “Golden Card” for expats investors, entrepreneurs, specialized talents and researchers to be a part of the UAE’s success story. The move is expected to attract more Indian professionals and businessmen to the Gulf nation. The new permanent visa will generate foreign investment, encourage entrepreneurship, and attract top engineers, scientists and students. The Golden Card offers unprecedented benefits to the cardholders and their families while creating an attractive environment for business and growth. It will also increase the UAE’s competitiveness and reaffirms the country’s position as a global incubator. The benefits of the permanent residency also include the spouse and children of the cardholder to ensure cohesive social ties. The new permanent residency initiative has identified the first 6,800 qualified expats from over 70 countries, to benefit from the Golden Card scheme’s unprecedented benefits.

Notes:
Surya Prakash (79), a well-known artist from Telangana, has passed away in Hyderabad on May 21, 2019. Born on 23rd March 1940 in Madhira of Khammam district, the artist known for his abstract landscapes drew heavily on his love for nature. His works were mainly in oils and acrylic, and he was inspired by French impressionists. The best places where his creative paintings stand out in Hyderabad are the LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). He has done nearly 60 solo exhibitions and over a century of groups shows, displaying the breadth and depth of his work. He received ‘Kala Vibhushan’ award and other honours.

Notes:
The World Hypertension Day (WHD) is observed every year on May 17 to spread awareness about the disease that the World Health Organisation (WHO) calls a “silent killer” and “global public health issue”. The 2019 theme “Know your numbers” is meant to raise awareness about high blood pressure in people across the world. The idea is to make sure you check your blood pressure regularly and know your numbers in order to necessary action on time. Hypertension or high blood pressure is a condition in which there is long-term high force of blood against artery walls. The force is high enough to cause numerous health problems like heart disease and stroke. Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood heart pumps and the amount of resistance blood flow in arteries. The more blood your heart pumps, the narrower your arteries and the higher your blood pressure.

Notes:
The World Bee Day (WBD) is celebrated every year on May 20 to acknowledge the role of bees and other pollinators for the ecosystem. It provides an opportunity for governments, organizations, civil society and concerned citizens everywhere to promote actions that will protect and enhance pollinators and their habitats, improve their abundance and diversity, and support the sustainable development of beekeeping. 20 May coincides with the birthday of Anton Janaa, who in the 18th century pioneered modern beekeeping techniques in his native Slovenia and praised the bees for their ability to work so hard, while needing so little attention. The 2019 theme ‘Save the Bees’ is meant to raise awareness on the increasing need to preserve bees and other pollinators.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has unveiled a new strategy to dramatically cut deaths and injuries from snakebites, and also warned a lack of anti-venoms could soon spark a “public health emergency”. Each year, nearly three million people are bitten by poisonous snakes, with an estimated 81,000-138,000 deaths. The aim of the strategy is to cut snakebite-related deaths and disabilities in half by 2030. An important part of the strategy is to significantly boost production of quality anti-venoms. The strategy also called for integrating snakebite treatment and response into national health plans in affected countries, including better training of health personnel and educating communities. Snake venom can cause paralysis that stops breathing, bleeding disorders that can lead to fatal haemorrhage, irreversible kidney failure and tissue damage that can cause permanent disability and limb loss. Most snakebite victims live in the world’s tropical and poorest regions, and children are worse affected due to their smaller body size. In a new report, the UN health agency urged the international community to take steps to address the problem, which it warned had long been dangerously under-estimated and neglected.