Latest Current Affairs – May 22 2018
1. Cong MLA Parameshwara to be Karnataka’s 1st Dalit Deputy CM
After the JD(S)-Congress announced the cabinet positions in Karnataka, five-time Congress MLA G Parameshwara was selected as the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister. Parameshwara, who has served as Karnataka Congress Committee President for over seven years, is the first Dalit leader to be appointed to the post. Congress MLA KR Ramesh Kumar has been selected as the Assembly Speaker.
2. Punjab has the lowest meat consumption in India
Punjab has the lowest consumption of meat in India, with 10% of the men and 4% of the women in the state eating meat weekly, the IndiaSpend analysis of national health data has revealed. Rajasthan and Haryana are the second and third lowest meat-consuming states, the analysis further revealed. Additionally, meat-consumption is highest in south and northeast India.
3. Lage Raho Munna Bhai’ actor Hemu Adhikari passes away at 81
Actor Hemu Adhikari, known for his cameo appearance in Rajkumar Hirani’s ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’, passed away at 81 due to a lung ailment at his residence in Dadar, Mumbai on Monday. Hemu was suffering from a lung infection for the past one-and-a-half years. The actor was also known for his contribution to Marathi theatre.
4. US threatens Iran with ‘strongest sanctions in history’
The US has threatened to impose the “strongest sanctions in history” on Iran if it does not accept several demands made by the country. Minimising Iran’s role in the Middle East, ending its support for Yemen’s Houthi rebels, withdrawing all forces from Syria, and an end to its nuclear weapons programme are among the 12 demands listed by the US.
5. Astronomers propose new evidence for Planet Nine
Astronomers have discovered that an object beyond Neptune orbits the Sun in a plane nearly perpendicular to the plane established by the known planets, which could be due to gravity from Planet Nine. Plane Nine is believed to be roughly four times the size of Earth, but with 10 times its mass, taking around 10,000-20,000 years to orbit the Sun.
6. Paytm acquires Chennai-based TicketNew for $40 million
Paytm, the brand owned by One97 Communications, has acquired Orbgen Technologies, the entity that operates Chennai-based online ticketing platform TicketNew. Sources put the deal size at around $40 million. Last year TicketNew raised Rs 1.2 billion from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
With this acquisition, Paytm hopes to take on major players such as BookMyShow. According to the company, the acquisition will help it attain leadership status in south India.
7. Novel robotic system can grow mini human organs
Scientists have developed an automated robotic system that can rapidly produce mini human organs required for medical research and drug testing.
In recent years, researchers have been increasingly successful in growing stem cells into more complex, 3D structures called mini-organs or organoids. These resemble rudimentary organs and in many ways behave similarly. While these properties make organoids ideal for biomedical research, they also pose a challenge for mass production. The ability to mass produce organoids is the most exciting potential applications of the new robotic technology.
8. Black Panther: Chhattisgarh to get specialised anti-Naxal combat force
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Chhattisgarh would get a specialised anti-Naxal combat force called the “Black Panther”, on the lines of the Greyhounds unit. The Greyhounds is a special force in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh that specialises in anti-insurgency operations against Naxals and Maoists.
9. 22 May: International Bio-diversity Day
The United Nations has proclaimed May 22 The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. The aim to celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity is to make people aware of the importance of biodiversity issues.
Theme for 2018 – Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity
The theme was chosen to mark the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity and to highlight progress made in the achievement of its objectives at the national and global levels.
10. UDAN scheme: First commercial flight of Arunachal Pradesh lands at Pasighat
A wartime airstrip laid 66 years ago helped Arunachal Pradesh create history by becoming the last of the eight northeastern States to be on India’s commercial flight service map. Pasighat Airport, too, made it to the record books — as India’s easternmost airport with civilian operations — when an Alliance Air flight touched down from Kolkata via Guwahati carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and other passengers.
Pasighat, about 570 km northeast of Guwahati, is the headquarters of East Siang district and the State’s oldest city. Pasighat Airport, one of six operational advance landing grounds (ALGs) in Arunachal Pradesh primarily for military use, was laid in 1952 but was virtually abandoned after the China-India war in 1962 until the Indian Air Force took it over in 2010.
11. South Korea Won Asian Champions Trophy 2018
The Indian women’s Hockey team failed to defend its crown at the fifth Asian Champions Trophy, as it lost to hosts South Korea, 0-1 in the summit clash at Donghae City, South Korea. The final was India’s first defeat of the tournament. South Korea has lifted the title for the third time after having won it in 2010 and 2011. Indian striker Vandana Katariya was declared player of the tournament while youngster Lalremsiami was named as the upcoming player of the tournament.
12. Prajnesh Gunneswaran Won T.K. Ramanathan Award For 2017-18
Prajnesh Gunneswaran won the prestigious T.K. Ramanathan award for the year 2017-18 at the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) annual day function at the SDAT tennis stadium. He received a cash prize of Rs. 30,000.
13. Tamil Nadu To Build Indias Next Generation Defence Aircraft
The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which had conceived and designed the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, has set the ball rolling for building the next generation defense aircraft, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), by extending an invitation to private players in Coimbatore to build a technology demonstrator.
The project to be implemented in Sulur in Coimbatore district which may house the permanent base of the Tejas squadron marks Tamil Nadu’s first major defense aircraft project.
14. Japanese Director Won Cannes’ Top Award
Asian, Arab, and women filmmakers scored big at the closing ceremony of the 71st Cannes Film Festival, while Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda took home the top prize — the Palme d’Or. Kore-eda, in the festival’s main competition for the fifth time won the Palme d’Or for ‘Manbiki Kazoku’ (Shoplifters). Kore-eda is only the second Asian Palme d’Or winner this millennium (after Thailand’s Apichatpong Weerasethakul for ‘Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives’, 2010).
