Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
On May 26, China clinched the badminton world mixed-team championship at the 16th edition of the Sudirman Cup 2019 in the Chinese city of Nanning. They beat Japan in men’s doubles, women’s singles and men’s singles to clinch the title for an 11th time. In the latest Men’ singles match Shi Yuqi stunned world champion Kento Momota 15-21, 21-5,21-11. Japan has never lifted the mixed-team world championship since it began in 1989.

Notes:
In squash, Mahesh Mangaonkar from India has clinched the Sekisui Open title for the second time in his career in Kriens, Switzerland on May 25, 2019. In the final, Top-seeded Mahesh beat third seed Bernat Jaume of Spain in four games 11-9, 3-11, 11-5, 11-5. He had won the corresponding title for the first time in 2016. Sekisui Open is a Challenger tour event of the Professional Squash Association (PSA), the world body which governs the sports .

Notes:
The architectural heritage of Orchha town in Madhya Pradesh has been included in UNESCO’s tentative list of world heritage sites following a proposal sent by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to the U.N. body. According to the rules, to be a part of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites, the heritage or any historical site first has to be on the tentative list. After it makes to the tentative list, another proposal is sent to the UNESCO. Orchha town is situated on the banks of the Betwa river in Niwari district of MP’s Bundelkhand region. The town was built by King Rudra Pratap Singh of Bundela dynasty in the 16th century. The ancient town is famous for its Chaturbhuj Temple, Orchha fort complex, Raja Mahal among others. The Bundela architecture has Mughal influence since the two dynasties were very close. The famous King of Bundela dynasty Veer Singh Dev was a close friend of Mughal emperor Jahangir and fought wars as Akbar’s aid.

Notes:
The first session of the UN-Habitat Assembly has started at the headquarters of UN-Habitat in Nairobi, Kenya on May 27, 2019. In it, India has been elected to the Executive Board of the UN-Habitat Assembly. The special theme for 2019 Assembly is ‘Innovation for a better quality of life in cities and communities’ with the sub theme of ‘Accelerated Implementation of the New Urban Agenda towards achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals’. The 5-day Assembly will be attended by four Heads of State, over 40 ministers and high-level representatives from 116 countries with over 3,000 delegates attending. During the first session, The Assembly is expected establish the Executive Board of UN-Habitat and elect its members, to review and approve the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2020-2025 and also review the Progress in implementation of New Urban Agenda, among other things.

Notes:
The commandant of the Indian Army Infantry School, Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar has been appointed as the new Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). He succeeded Lieutenant General Frank Kamanzi of Rwanda who completes his assignment on May 26. India is the fourth largest contributor of uniformed personnel to the UN peacekeeping missions, and currently contributes more than 6,400 military and police personnel to the UN peace operations in Abyei, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, the Middle East, South Sudan and the Western Sahara. India is the second highest troop contributing country to UNMISS with 2,337 Indian peacekeepers, second only to Rwanda with 2,750. In addition, India currently contributes 22 police personnel to UNMISS.

Notes:
The International Everest Day (IED) is observed every year on May 29 to mark the first successful climb to the world’s highest peak Mount Everest. On this day in 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa reached the zenith of the mountain and became the first humans to achieve the feat in memory of the first summit of Mt. The day is celebrated with memorial events, processions, and special events in Kathmandu and the Everest region. Nepal decided to observe the day as International Everest Day (IED) since 2008, when the legendary climber Hillary passed away.

Notes:
Gian Chand (93), the veteran freedom fighter, has passed away at his native village in Mohalla Ramgarh of Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh on May 27, 2019. Born on 26th October 1926, Chand was a member of Azad Hind Fauj led by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

Notes:
The Telangana government has decided to set up the India’s first ‘Blockchain district’ in Hyderabad to create an ecosystem for all the start-ups and institutes working in the space. Though the Blockchain technology encompasses all domains, the district would focus on banking, financial services and insurance; pharma and healthcare; logistics and supply chain; and the government sectors. The district would have a co-working space, an international liasioning office, a T-Hub-like incubator to mentor early-stage start-ups in the Blockchain space and a supporting R&D institute to promote innovation.

Notes:
Murray Gell-Mann (89), a Jewish American physicist who theorized the existence of the quark and won a Nobel Prize for his method of classifying particles, has passed away in New Mexico on May 24, 2019. He transformed physics by devising a method for sorting subatomic particles into simple groups of eight, based on electric charge, spin and other characteristics. He called his method the “eightfold way” after the Buddhist Eightfold Path to enlightenment. Later he developed the theory that identified “quarks,” indivisible components of Earth’s matter that make up protons, neutrons and other particles.

Notes:
The IIT- Guwahati has signed a MoU with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to set up a Space Technology Cell (STC) within the premise of IIT Guwahati. The new IITG-ISRO STC would be first-of-its-kind in the North-east region to augment research and capacity building processes in the field of space-technology. Through the STC, IIT Guwahati aspire to partner with ISRO for performing cutting edge research not only catering to the socio-economic needs of the Northeast but also to contribute towards the basic research activities of various ISRO projects across India. With STC, the Institute of IIT Guwahati and ISRO can work together to solve space science related problems in the modern world.