Latest Current Affairs – May 23 2018
1. Ronaldo named world’s most famous athlete
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been named as the world’s most famous athlete for the third straight year in ESPN’s annual rankings. Ronaldo’s rival Lionel Messi ranked third in the list based on social media following and endorsements, while NBA star LeBron James was placed second. Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli rose to 11th spot from 13th last year.
2. AB de Villiers retires while being number 2 in ODI rankings
South African cricketer AB de Villiers announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket while holding the number two spot in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen. The 34-year-old had scored 773 runs in 19 ODIs at an average of 59.46 last year. Further, the 34-year-old won the ICC ODI Player of the Year for a record three times.
3. Sridevi honoured posthumously with award by BRICS forum
Late actress Sridevi was posthumously conferred with the BRICS Business Forum Leadership Award for Lifetime Achievement in Indian Cinema. The award and memento were co-presented by Union Minister Jitendra Singh and Sridevi’s husband Boney Kapoor’s sister Reena Marwah received the award on behalf of the family. Sridevi passed away in February this year due to accidental drowning.
4. HD Kumaraswamy takes oath as 24th CM of Karnataka
JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy took oath as the 24th Chief Minister of Karnataka and will lead the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. Further, Karnataka Congress chief G Parameshwara took oath as the Deputy CM while Congress MLA KR Ramesh Kumar became the Assembly Speaker. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu also attended the ceremony.
5. Olga Tokarczuk becomes 1st Polish author to win Man Booker
Olga Tokarczuk has won this year’s Man Booker International Prize for her novel ‘Flights’, becoming the first Polish writer to receive the award. The £50,000 prize will be split evenly between the writer and her translator, Jennifer Croft. Tokarczuk’s novel, which was selected out of 108 submissions, links the 17th century to the present day.
6. SpaceX launches NASA satellites to track Earth’s water cycle
Elon Musk-led SpaceX launched twin NASA satellites that would track the Earth’s water movement and ice melt. The GRACE-FO satellites are at an 490-km altitude in a near-polar orbit, circling the Earth once every 90 minutes. The two satellites track movement of mass by measuring deviations caused in their 220-km separation with a hair-width accuracy by gravitational changes.
7. ‘American Pastoral’ author Philip Roth passes away
Author Philip Roth, who was both hailed and derided for laying bare the neuroses and obsessions that haunted the modern Jewish-American experience, died at the age of 85.
Roth wrote more than 30 books, including the 1991 memoir “Patrimony,” which examined his complex relationship with his father and won the National Book Critics Circle Award, and “American Pastoral,” for which he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998.
8. MP govt brings onion crop under Bhavantar scheme
Apparently rattled by steep fall in prices of onions and its possible political implications in an election year, the Madhya Pradesh government has brought the crop under the ambit of “Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana” with an aim to provide relief to farmers.
The aim of the scheme is to primarily support farmers in case of distressed sales in the mandis which fetches them prices below the Minimum support prices (MSP).
The scheme assures that farmers will be paid the difference between the MSP and the price at which they sold the produce in the mandi called as model price. The model price will be calculated by taking the average price of the commodity in Madhya Pradesh and two other states where the crop is grown.
9. Pravin Agrawal Appointed BHEL Director
State-run power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) appointed Pravin L. Agrawal as a part-time official director on its board. An Indian Forest Service officer, Agrawal is presently joint secretary in the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI), Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
10. Madhya Pradesh Launches ‘My MP Rojgar Portal’
The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched ‘My MP Rojgar Portal’ to provide jobs to youths as per their educational qualification, skills, and interest and ensure availability of able candidates to employers as per the need of their business.
The portal was launched as a part of the ‘Ham Chhu Lenge Asman’ Mukhyamantri Career Counselling programme ‘Pahal’ in Model School of Bhopal.
It was prepared by the Madhya Pradesh Skill Development and Employment Generation Board under youth empowerment mission.
11. India ranks 145th among 195 countries in healthcare access, quality: Lancet Study
India ranks 145th among 195 countries in terms of quality and accessibility of healthcare, behind its neighbours like China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, according to a Lancet study. Goa and Kerala had the highest scores in 2016, each exceeding 60 points, whereas Assam and Uttar Pradesh had the lowest, each below 40.
The five countries with the highest levels of healthcare access and quality in 2016 were Iceland (97.1 points), Norway (96.6), the Netherlands (96.1), Luxembourg (96.0), and Finland and Australia (each with 95.9).
According to the study, India performed poorly in tackling cases of tuberculosis, rheumatic heart diseases, Ischemic heart diseases, stroke, testicular cancer, colon cancer and chronic kidney disease among others.
12. DAC approves measures to simplify Defence Procurement Procedure
In a major move, the Defence Ministry approved a series of measures to simplify procurement of military platforms and weapons for the three services with an aim to speed up their modernisation. The changes include devolution of powers within the ministry and the service headquarters, concurrent running of the acquisition process instead of sequential stage clearance, deletion of repetitive processes and aligning of various documents with revised financial guidelines.
13. Nidaan: Rajasthan Government launches software for disease monitoring
A new software, ‘Nidaan’, has been launched in Rajasthan for presumptive diagnosis and monitoring of seasonal and non-communicable diseases as well as the trends of ailments found in specific areas. It is expected to help in formulation of specific action plans for control of diseases. “Nidaan” will facilitate online entries of as many as 46 diseases and healthcare services available for their treatment in different institutions.
