Current Affairs Daily Digest – May 18 2019
1. Indian filmmaker wins 3rd prize at film contest in Cannes
Indian filmmaker Achyutanand Dwivedi’s three-minute film ‘Seed Mother’ won the third prize in the international section of ‘Nespresso Talents 2019’, a competition at Cannes Film Festival.
Dwivedi’s film is based on Rahibai Soma Popere, a conservationist who encouraged the use of traditional farming methods in villages of Maharashtra. The theme of this year’s contest was ‘We Are What We Eat’.
2. PM’s Secretary PK Mishra wins UN’s Sasakawa Award
Dr PK Mishra, Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, has been conferred the 2019 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
“He received the award for his dedication to improve the resilience of communities most exposed to disasters and his personal commitment to social inclusion”, the government said in a statement.
3. HDFC digital banking head Nitin Chugh quits, joins Ujjivan as CEO
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has appointed Nitin Chugh as the next Managing Director and CEO for three years starting December 1. Chugh, who has worked with HDFC Bank since April 2001, currently serves as its digital banking head. He will join Ujjivan as President in August and will work closely with current chief Samit Ghosh to
ensure a “smooth transition”.
4. B’desh beat Windies to win 1st-ever multi-nation ODI tournament
Bangladesh won their first-ever multi-nation ODI tournament by beating the Windies by five wickets via the DLS method in the tri-nation tournament in Dublin on Friday.
Mosaddek Hossain, who hit the left-arm spinner Fabian Allen for 25 runs in one over, guided his side to the win after hitting Bangladesh’s fastest ODI half-century
which came in 20 balls.
5. I. M. Pei, a pillar of modern architecture, dies at 102 in US.
I M Pei, a dominant figure in American architecture for more than three decades who designed the Louvre’s crystal pyramid and the angular East Building of Washington’s National Gallery of Art, has died. He was 102.
His some renowned works includes:
The trapezoidal addition to National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
The chiseled towers of National Center of Atmospheric Research that blend in with reddish mountains in Boulder, Colorado.
The multi-shaped Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, that is on shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Shows he captured the spirit of rebellion.
He revived The Louvre with a Giant Glass (about 22-metre) pyramid in Paris.
Bank of China tower in Hong Kong.
He even designed the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, which opened in 2008 to fanfare.
6. US President unveils Merit-Based Immigration System.
The United States President Donald Trump has proposed rolling out of a new immigration plan named ‘merit-based immigration system’. The announcement was made in his recent immigration policy address speech in Rose Garden at White House.
The new ‘merit and point based immigration policy’ recently proposed by US President Trump will replace the existing green cards (given by US) with ‘Build America’ visa.
7. New surface-to-air missile technology reduces radar signature of Navy fleet
The eponymous Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MR-SAM), jointly developed by India and Israel to defend the Navy’s warships against incoming anti-ship missiles, achieved a crucial landmark on Friday. MR-SAMs fired simultaneously from different vessels were directed to two different targets by a single warship, allowing a naval
flotilla to reduce its give-away electromagnetic signature.
In a statement of confidence in the MR-SAM, which has been developed by the Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) in cooperation with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), the defence ministry announced that the missile system would be fitted “on all future major warships of the Indian
Navy.”
8. ICC World Cup 2019: Sourav Ganguly, Sanjay Manjrekar named in ICC commentary panel
Former cricketers Sourav Ganguly and Sanjay Manjrekar have been named in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) commentary panel for the upcoming World Cup, beginning May 30 in England and Wales.
