US has announced tariffs on all Mexico goods

US  has  announced tariffs on all Mexico goods

US  has announced tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico in a bid to curb illegal immigration.

 from 10 June a five per cent tariff would be imposed and slowly raised until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied.

US has declared a national emergency to tackle what it claims is a crisis at the US southern border.

International Everest Day

International Everest Day

International Everest Day is being observed on  wednesday 29 may 2019.

 Nepalese Tenzing Norgay and New Zealand's Edmund Hillary had climbed the Mt. Everest on this day in 1953, as the first humans to achieve the feat.

Nepal decided to observe the day as International Everest Day since 2008, when the legendary climber Hillary passed away.

Everest Day on May 29 every year in memory of the first summit of Mt. Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa on the day in 1953.

The day is celebrated with memorial events, processions, and special events in Kathmandu and the Everest region.

Former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has been elected as the new speaker

Former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has been elected as the new speaker

Former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has been elected as the new speaker of Parliament.

Mr. Nasheed received the support of 67 MPs in 87 member parliament during a secret ballot held last night during first sitting of the new parliament.

His rival and former speaker Qasim Ibrahim received 17 votes.

Earlier, Mr. Nasheed, who leads the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) was unanimously nominated for the post of the speaker by its newly elected MPs on Monday.

Another MDP MP Eva Abdulla has been elected for the post of deputy speaker.

Lewis Hamilton won Monaco Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton won Monaco Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton beat Max Verstappen

Verstappen dropped from second on the road to fourth in the results because of a five-second penalty, promoting Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel to second and Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas to third.

Hamilton now holds a 17-point lead over his team-mate in the championship.

Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton is a British racing driver who races in Formula One for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. he is A five-time Formula One World Champion

The Monaco Grand Prix  is a Formula One motor race held each year on the Circuit de Monaco.

Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world and, with the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, forms the Triple Crown of Motorsport.

World Thyroid Day

World Thyroid Day is celebrated every year on May 25th across the globe.

The significance of this day is to raise awareness about the prevention and treatment of thyroid related disorders

Various campaigns and sessions are conducted in India as well as different parts of the world in order to educate people about the timely diagnosis as well as the significance of inculcating iodized salt in our daily diet.

This day was celebrated for the first time in 2008 by the American Thyroid Association(ATA) and European Thyroid Association(ETA).

US confirms approval of 8.1 billion dollars in arms transfers to Saudi, Jordan and UAE

US confirms approval of 8.1 billion dollars in arms transfers to Saudi, Jordan and UAE

The United States has confirmed approval of 8.1 billion US dollars in arms transfers to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates

The equipment includes aircraft support maintenance; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; munitions; and other supplies, reported news agency Sputnik.

This comes hours after a US Senator Bob Menendez said that US President Donald Trump administration has invoked a provision in US Sales arms legislation that would allow the White House to sell arms to Suadi Arabia by bypassing Congress.

Mr. Trump last month vetoed Congress resolution to end US involvement in the Yemen War.

Theresa May will resign as prime minister

Theresa May will resign as prime minister

British Prime Minister, Theresa May today announced that she is quitting as UK Conservative leader on June 7 in the best interests of the country, paving the way for a contest to decide the new Prime Minister after she failed to win over her ministers with a revised strategy to withdraw Britain from the European Union.

The 62-year-old May said she had kept Queen Elizabeth II informed of her exit timetable,

she would be presiding over US President Donald Trump's state visit to the UK in early June.

Theresa Mary May is a British politician serving as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2016.

She was first elected Member of Parliament for Maidenhead at the 1997 general election, and served as Home Secretary from 2010 to 2016.

UN forecasts global economy to grow 2.7% in 2019

UN forecasts global economy to grow 2.7% in 2019

The United Nations downgraded its forecast for world economic growth, announcing that it expects overall growth of 2.7 per cent this year and 2.9 per cent in 2020.

In a revision of its earlier economic outlook, the international body modified downward the figures it had published in January, when it said that it expected the world economy to grow by 3.0 per cent both in 2019 and in 2020

The downward adjustment came as a result of trade tensions and political uncertainty, a complicated confluence of internal and external factors affecting most of the developed and developing economies

Thus, after growing at a 3.0 per cent clip in 2018, according to the UN figures, the world economic growth rate is predicted to slow slightly to 2.7 per cent this year, taking these adjusted figures into account, a situation that reinforces the theory that the current cycle of growth has reached its peak.

The UN predicts for 2019 that the United States` economy will grow at 2.3 per cent, while the European Union`s overall economy will expand at 1.5 per cent, Japan at 0.8 per cent and Russia at 1.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, the developing economies as a group will expand at 4.1 per cent, with Latin America and the Caribbean bringing up the rear with growth of just 1.1 per cent.

International Day for Biological Diversity

International Day for Biological Diversity

The International Day for Biological Diversity (or World Biodiversity Day) is a United Nations–sanctioned international day for the promotion of biodiversity issues. It is currently held on May 22

The International Day for Biological Diversity falls within the scope of the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals.

The critical role of biodiversity in sustainable development was recognized in a Rio+20 outcome document, "The World We Want: A Future for All".

From its creation by the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly in 1993 until 2000, it was held on December 29 to celebrate the day the Convention on Biological Diversity went into effect. On December 20, 2000

the date was shifted to commemorate the adoption of the Convention on May 22, 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit

the theme of the 2019 edition will be ‘Our Biodiversity, Our Food, Our Health’.

Joko Widodo elected President of Indonesia for second term

Joko Widodo elected President of Indonesia for second term

Indonesia's Joko Widodo has been re-elected as president of the country, beating rival Prabowo Subianto, a retired general.

The elections commission has said Widodo and his vice-presidential running mate Ma'ruf Amin won the election by a 55.5 percent to 44.5 percent margin over Subianto and Sandiaga Uno.

The commission was expected to announce the official results of the April 17 poll

Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician who is the seventh and current President of Indonesia

Indonesia, a Southeast Asian nation made up of thousands of volcanic islands, is home to hundreds of ethnic groups speaking many different languages.

Capital: Jakarta
Regional languages: Over 700 languages
Currency: Indonesian rupiah

World Bee Day

World Bee Day

World Bee Day is celebrated on May 20.

 On this day Anton Janša, the pioneer of beekeeping, was born in 1734.

The purpose of the international day is to acknowledge the role of bees and other pollinators for the ecosystem.

Honey bees and other pollinators like butterflies, bats and hummingbirds are increasingly under threat. Without them, we wouldn't have any food to eat

 2019 theme  ‘Save the Bees’.

Karolina Pliskova wins Italian Open

Karolina Pliskova wins Italian Open

Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova Defeated Britain's Johanna Konta 6-3, 6-4 to win the WTA Italian Open in Rome today.

She clinched her 13th career title, in the final major warm-up tournament on clay before French Open starts on Sunday.

Pliskova is the 2017 French Open semi-finalist.

Top seeds Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova had pulled out injured during the event, while Roland Garros champion Simona Halep crashed out in her opening match in Italy.

Four-time Rome winner Serena Williams also withdrew before the second round as her return after a two-month layoff was cut short when her knee injury flared up.

Manchester City Won FA Cup final

Manchester City Won  FA Cup final

Manchester City became the first men's team in history to win the English domestic treble, beating Watford 6-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley.

Not since the Arsenal Ladies team of 2007 has a team won the FA Cup, League Cup and Premier League title.

Manchester City Football Club is a football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's, it became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894.

Manager: Pep Guardiola Trending

Owner: Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Arena/Stadium: Etihad Stadium

CEO: Ferran Soriano (1 Sep 2012–)

World Information Society Day

World Information Society Day

World Information Society Day was an international day proclaimed to be on 17 May by a United Nations General Assembly resolution, following the 2005 World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis.

The day had previously been known as 'World Telecommunication Day' to commemorate the founding of the International Telecommunication Union on 17 May 1865

 It was instituted by the Plenipotentiary Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973.

The main objective of the day is to raise global awareness of societal changes brought about by the Internet and new technologies.

It also aims to help reduce the digital divide.

theme: “Bridging the Standardization Gap”.

Date: Friday, 17 May, 2019

US has rolled out a merit-based immigration system

US   has rolled out a merit-based immigration system

US has rolled out a merit-based immigration system from which foreigners, including hundreds and thousands of Indian professionals and skilled workers, waiting to get Green Cards or permanent legal residency stand to benefit.

under the proposed system permanent legal residency would be given based on points for their age, knowledge, job opportunities and civic sense.


The proposals significantly increase the quota for skilled workers from the existing nearly 12 per cent to 57 per cent. Besides, immigrants will be required to learn English and pass a civics exam prior to admission.

Mexico City declared environmental emergency

Mexico City declared environmental emergency

Mexico City has declared an environmental yesterday, ordering vehicles off the road and postponing the semi-finals of the first-division football league as a blanket of smog enveloped the sprawling capital. 

A series of wildfires on the city's outskirts have combined with stagnant weather conditions to cloak the metropolitan area of more than 20 million people in a grey cloud.

Pollution levels passed the critical 150 points on the authorities' air quality index.

The Mexican football league said that under the recommendation of city officials, it had decided to postpone the first leg of the first-division semi-final between Leon and Mexico City club America from today night to tomorrow because of the pollution.

India's GS Lakshmi became first woman on ICC international panel of match referees

India's GS Lakshmi became first woman on ICC international panel of match referees

India's G.S. Lakshmi has become the first woman to be appointed to ICC's international panel of match referees and will be eligible to officiate in international games with immediate effect.

Claire Polosak had become the first ever woman umpire to stand in a men's ODI, earlier this month.

Lakshmi, 51, who first officiated as a match referee in domestic women's cricket in 2008-09, has overseen three women's ODI matches and three women's T20 International matches.

WTO ministerial meeting of developing countries began in Delhi

WTO ministerial meeting of developing countries began in Delhi

The World Trade Organisation, WTO ministerial meeting of developing countries began in New Delhi today.

The two-day meeting is being held at a time when the multilateral rule-based-trading system is facing serious and grave challenges.

The meeting will provide an opportunity for the Ministers to discuss various issues and the way forward.

On the first day today, a meeting of senior officers of the participating countries is being held.

The Ministerial Meeting will be held tomorrow.

Sixteen developing countries and six Least Developed Countries, LDCs are participating in the meeting.

It includes China, South Africa, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Bangladesh.

The Director-General of WTO Roberto Azevedo is also participating in the meeting.

Novak Djokovic won Madrid Open title

Novak Djokovic won Madrid Open title

Top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia beat Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-3, 6-4  yesterday to win his third Madrid Open title.

The world number one was able to improve on his epic 7-6, 7-6 semifinal win over Dominic Thiem of Austria for a more straightforward victory over Tsitsipas, who is still searching for his first Masters 1000 title.

Djokovic lifted the title in Madrid after progressing through the week without losing a set and has now won 33 Masters 1000 titles - the same number as Rafael Nadal and five more than Roger Federer.

UN to hold 2020 ocean conference in Lisbon

UN to hold 2020 ocean conference in Lisbon

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Thursday decided to hold its 2020 high-level conference early June in Portugal’s Lisbon to support the sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources.

The UNGA “decides to convene the high-level 2020 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development in Lisbon, from June 2 to 6, 2020,”


the resolution adopted by the 80th plenary meeting of the UNGA 73rd session.

 the conference shall “involve all relevant stakeholders,” bringing together governments, the UN system, intergovernmental organizations and all other actors to assess challenges and opportunities relating to, as well as actions taken toward, the implementation of Goal 14,

theme of the conference shall be “scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions.”

where will WTO ministerial meeting of developing countries take place?

where will WTO ministerial meeting of developing countries  take place?

options

1) New Delhi

2)mumbai

3)pune

4)kochi

answer

1) New Delhi


Other details

The World Trade Organisation, WTO, ministerial meeting of developing countries will take place on 13-14 of this month in New Delhi.

The meeting is being held at a time when the multilateral rule-based-trading system is facing serious and grave challenges.

It will provide an opportunity to the Ministers to discuss various issues and the way forward. On the first day, there will be a meeting of senior officers of the participating countries. On the 2nd day, the Ministerial Meeting will be held.

Sixteen developing countries and six Least Developed Countries are participating in the meeting.

 

where is Shotgun World Cup being organized?

where is Shotgun World Cup  being organized?

Options

1) Korea

2)japan

3)china

4)france

answer


1) Korea


Other details

third International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Shotgun Stage 2 is being organized in Changwon, Korea.

when is World Thalassaemia Day observed?

when is World Thalassaemia Day observed?

Options

1) 8 May

2)7 May

3)9 May

4)6 May

answer

1) 8 May


Other details

For the global thalassaemia family, the 8th of May constitutes a very special day as it is dedicated to both commemorate the thalassaemia patients

 theme  “Universal Access to Quality Thalassaemia Healthcare Services: Building Bridges with and for Patients”.

when was World Athletics Day celebrated?

when was World Athletics Day celebrated?

Options

1) may 7

2)May 8

3)May 9

4)May 10

answer

1) may 7


Other details

The World Athletics Day-2019 is observed on the 7 May.

the IAAF (International Amateur Athletic Federation) is authorised to decide the date of this day.

The first World Athletics Day was observed in the 1996.

The International Association of Athletics Federations is the international governing body for the sport of athletics.

It was founded on 17 July 1912 as the International Amateur Athletic Federation by representatives from 17 national athletics federations at the organization's first congress in Stockholm, Sweden. 

Headquarters: Monaco

President: Sebastian Coe

Founded: 17 July 1912, Stockholm, Sweden

Membership: 215 member federations

Where was G7 Environment Ministers meeting organized?

Where was G7 Environment Ministers meeting organized?

Options

1) France

2)Germany

3)Spain

4)US

answer

1) France


Other details

 Ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States gathered for the two-day meeting in the northeastern city of Metz.

They were due to discuss measures to tackle deforestation, plastic pollution and the degradation of coral reefs and try to form alliances between nations to act on them.
  
Joining the ministers were delegations from the European Union as well as Chile, Egypt, the Fiji Islands, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Niger and Norway.

Indian boxers won six medals at 36th Feliks Stamm International Boxing

Indian boxers won six medals at 36th Feliks Stamm International Boxing

Indian boxers finished with a rich haul of six medals, including two gold   at the 36th  Feliks Stamm International Boxing Tournament in Warsaw, Poland

Gaurav Solanki and Manish Kaushik bagged one  gold each.

 Indian boxers also clinched a silver and three bronze.

The 22-year-old Solanki  out-punched England's William Cawley 5-0 in 52 kilogram  on his way to the  coveted yellow metal.

In 60 kilogram weight category, Kaushik   beat Morocco's Mohamed Hamout 4-1.

The six-day competition saw boxers from all over the world participating in 10 categories in the men's section and in five categories in the women's section as they gear up for the World Championships later in the year.

when is International Firefighters' Day celebrated?

when is International Firefighters' Day celebrated?

Options

1)  May 4

2) May 5

3) May 6

4) May 7

answer

1)  May 4

Other details

International Firefighters' Day is observed on May 4. It was instituted after a proposal was emailed out across the world on January 4, 1999 due to the deaths of five firefighters in tragic circumstances in a bushfire in Australia

The symbol for International Firefighters Day is a red and blue ribbon. The color red signifies fire and the blue denotes water.

These colors also signify emergency services around the world.

World Bank gave 545 million dollars for cyclone-hit southern Africa

World Bank gave 545 million dollars for cyclone-hit southern Africa

The World Bank will extend more than half-a-billion dollars in grants for cyclone-ravaged southern African countries.

A total of up to 545 million US dollar will be disbursed to Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi - the three countries hit by Cyclone Idai in March.

Cyclone Idai devastated the port city of Beira and its surrounding areas when it hit on March 14, killing more than 600 people.

Weeks later a fresh massive storm, Cyclone Kenneth, lashed the northern coastal regions of Mozambique which killed 41 people.

Mozambique, which received 350 million US dollar from the total aid, will use the funds to rebuild water supply systems and damaged public infrastructure.

Malawi, will get 120 million US dollar while Zimbabwe will receive 75 million US dollar for social welfare programmes for cyclone victims.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt will leave Alphabet’s board

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt will leave Alphabet’s board

Eric Emerson Schmidt is an American businessman and software engineer. He is known for being the Chairman of Google from 2001 to 2011, Executive Chairman of Google from 2011 to 2015 and executive chairman of Alphabet Inc. from 2015 to 2017

Eric Schmidt will depart Alphabet’s board this June, after holding a seat for 18 years.

 His departure comes just over a year after Schmidt stepped down from his role as Alphabet’s executive chairman

Schmidt has been a key presence at Google during his time with the company. H

e initially took a board seat in 2001, when he was made CEO of Google a role he was given essentially to lend business expertise to what company founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin had been building.

In 2011, he left the CEO position and become Google’s executive chairman.

At the beginning of 2018, he stepped down from that role and became a regular board member.

Russia signed into law a sovereign internet bill

Russia  signed   into law a sovereign internet bill

Russia President Vladimir Putin today signed into law a sovereign internet bill which will allow Russian authorities to isolate the country's internet

Russian lawmakers insist the new law is necessary to ensure the security of Russia's online networks

The text of the law was published today but it will not come into effect until November.

The measures include creating technology to monitor internet routing and to steer Russian internet traffic away from foreign servers, ostensibly to prevent a foreign country from shutting it down.

International Workers' Day

International Workers' Day

International Workers' Day, also known as Workers' Day, Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement which occurs every year on May Day

The day is celebrated to honour the contribution of working men and women. The theme of Labour Day this year is - Uniting Workers for Social and Economic Advancement.

Labour Day aims to pay tribute to workers sacrifices in achieving economic and social rights all over the world.

During industrialization at the beginning of the 19th Century, the industrialists used to exploit the labour class and made them work up to 15 hours a day.

The workers rose against this exploitation and demanded paid leaves, proper wages and breaks for the workforce.

The day marks the victory of the workers' movement for eight hours of work. In India, the first Labour day or May Day was celebrated in 1923 in Chennai.