Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
On May 21, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended a two-day meeting of the 2019 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Ms. Swaraj took up terror strikes at Pulwama and Sri Lanka and urged member nations of SCO for greater counter-terror cooperation. She said that India is open to strengthen the Regional Anti-Terror Structure (RATS) of SCO to fight terrorism and security challenges in the region. She added that SCO must support the member countries’ candidatures for the non-permanent membership of UNSC for the years 2021-2022 and 2027-2028. The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Along with India, Pakistan was also granted the SCO membership in 2017.

Notes:
Dr. Hema Divakar, a Bengaluru-based medical doctor, has been honoured with the ‘Global Asian of the Year 2018-19’ award in Dubai recently for her yeomen services and contributions to the women’s healthcare ecosystem, in India. Dr. Divakar received the award at the Asian Business & Social Forum 2019 under the ‘In Service of the Society and the Nation’ category from UAE’s Trade Promotion Director Mohammed Naser Hamdan Al Zaabi. The award is conferred on those who stand out for vision, action and ingenuity and represent contemporary ideas to make global impact.

Notes:
Sethu FC has clinched their first ever Indian Women’s League trophy after defeating Manipur Police 3-1 at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana on May 22, 2019. The Sethu FC is an Indian women’s football club based in Tamil Nadu. The Indian Women’s League is the top division women’s professional football league in India. The 2018-19 season is the third season of the Indian Women’s League. The league is ran by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

Notes:
In Ukraine, comedian and political newcomer Volodymyr Zelensky has been sworn-in as the new President of war-torn country. He starred in the long-running satirical drama ‘Servant of the People’ in which his character accidentally becomes Ukraine’s president. He plays a teacher who is elected after his expletive-laden rant about corruption goes viral on social media. He ran under a political party with the same name as his show. With no previous political experience, Mr Zelensky’s campaign focused on his difference from the other candidates rather than on any concrete policy ideas. Despite this, he stormed to victory and won 73% of the vote.

Notes:
The 2nd edition of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Mass Media Forum was held at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from 23-26 May, 2019. A delegation from I&B Ministry represented India at the Forum. The Forum was inaugurated by the President of Kyrgyz Republic Mr. S. Jeenbeko. The President in his inaugural address highlighted the importance of Mass Media organizations of SCO countries in accomplishing the SCO objectives of mutual trust, friendly relations with neighbors and regional security in line with the “Shanghai Spirit”. The Forum aims to strengthen the exchange and cooperation in the field of mass media amongst SCO countries. It offers a unique platform for active work through mass media to create an objective vision of the organization and strengthen its positive image in the global information space.

Notes:
The World Thyroid Day (WTD) is observed every year on May 25 to promote awareness and understanding of thyroid health and the advances made in treating thyroid diseases. The thyroid gland is an important part of the body and is extremely important as it regulates metabolism, affects energy levels, crucial body functions, and heart rate. Abnormalities in the thyroid gland can lead to excess production of the thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism), less production of the thyroid gland (hypothyroidism), thyroid nodules (lumps in the thyroid gland), goitre (enlargement of the thyroid gland), thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid gland) and thyroid cancer.

Notes:
The Union government has constituted the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal to adjudicate whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as an unlawful association. The Tribunal is comprised of sitting Judge of Delhi High Court Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal. Earlier, the Home Ministry had issued a notification extending ban on LTTE in India for a further period of five years. LTTE was banned in India after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

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 scientists at the Stanford University in the US have developed a more stable prosthetic foot which they say could make challenging terrain more manageable for people who have lost a lower leg. The new design has a kind of tripod foot that responds to rough terrain by actively shifting pressure between three different contact points. Prosthetic emulators allow them to try lots of different designs without the overhead of new hardware. According to the study published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, prosthetic limbs can better handle the rough ground. Outfitted with position sensors and motors, the foot could adjust its orientation to respond to varying terrain, much as someone with an intact foot could move their toes and flex their ankles to compensate while walking over rough ground.

Notes:
The IIT-Madras has recently launched an Integrated Database on Infrastructure Projects (IDIP) at the 15th World Conference on Transport Research conference held at IIT Bombay. The purpose of the data platform is to enhance the efficiency of infrastructure development and enable effective decision-making among different stakeholders involved in the sector. The initial focus of IDIP will be on the road sector, which has received the highest private investment among all infrastructure sectors. The PPP programme in the road sector in India is the largest in the world. The platform includes data coverage across the project life cycle comprising development, construction and operation phases. In addition to roads, other sectors such as railways, ports, and airports would also be included in the platform shortly.