1) World Turtle Day celebrated on 23 May
•The World Turtle Day is observed on May 23 every year by American Tortoise Rescue, a nonprofit organization. The day is celebrated to raise awareness among people to protect turtles and tortoises and their disappearing habitats around the world. The day is being celebrated since 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue, a nonprofit organization established in 1990 for the protection of all species of tortoise and turtle. The theme of 2021 World Turtle Day is “Turtles Rock!”.
2) Italy hosts the Global G20 Summit
•The Global G20 Health Summit was co-hosted by European Commission along with Italy as part of its G20 presidency amid the surge and spread of coronavirus cases. The summit adopted the agenda to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic. It also decided to develop and endorse a Rome Declaration of principles.
•Summit noted the risk of more transmissible variants has increased with nine people losing their lives to Covid-19 per minute. As per WHO officials, the future of the pandemic is in hands of G20 leaders. G20 has also contributed to the launch of ACT-Accelerator as it was launched after G20 called for a global mechanism to accelerate the development of tests, treatments and vaccines.
3) ‘India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present’ is authored by Shivshankar Menon
•A book has titled ‘India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present’ is authored by Shivshankar Menon. He was the Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser and Foreign Secretary, is exploring these phases in their historical context to tell the story of how India weathered the many geopolitical storms of the past in his latest book.
•Menon has taken a different approach to history. He underscores the seriousness of China taking Tibet in 1950, which, according to him, was a pivotal moment in India-China relations, but challenges the argument that India failed to stop the Chinese invasion.
4) Cyclone Yaas to hit West Bengal, Odisha
•A category 5 cyclonic storm has been forecasted to make its landfall along the coastline of West Bengal and Odisha between May 26-27. Once formed, the cyclone will be named ‘Yaas’. Yaas will be as deadly as Amphan which was also formed in the Bay of Bengal in May last year. Yaas, named by Oman as such, refers to a Jasmine-like tree that has a good fragrance.
•A rotational list of the names of cyclones is maintained by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), with the names specific for each tropical zone. If a cyclone is especially deadly then its name is never used and is replaced by another name. The list has a total of 169 names at present which will be used on a rotational basis.
5) Narinder Batra re-elected as FIH President
•Narinder Batra has been re-elected as the President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for the second consecutive term. He was elected during the virtual 47th Congress of FIH, where he beat Marc Coudron, Chief of Belgium Hockey Federation, by just two votes. He will hold the office until 2024 because the FIH has reduced the term from four to three years.
•The veteran Indian sports administrator is the only Asian to be appointed to the top post in the world body’s 92-year-old history. He is also the President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and a Member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
6) Himanta Biswa Sarma elected to BWF Council
•The Badminton Association of India (BAI) President Himanta Biswa Sarma has been elected as a Member of the c for the period 2021-25. Sarma was elected among 31 contestants to the 20-member BWF Council on May 22, 2021, at the virtual AGM and Council election of BWF, where he got 236 votes in favour. He is also the Vice President of Badminton Asia and the Chief Minister of Assam.
7) Naturalist Jane Goodall wins 2021 Templeton prize for life’s work
•The naturalist Jane Goodall has been announced as the 2021 winner of the Templeton Prize in recognition of her life’s work on animal intelligence and humanity. Goodall built her global reputation on her groundbreaking studies of chimpanzees in Tanzania in the 1960s.
•The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, “whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton’s philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest questions of the universe and humankind’s place and purpose within it.”
8) Asia’s richest and second richest persons are now Indians
•Billionaire Gautam Adani has edged past Chinese tycoon Zhong Shanshan to become the second-richest Asian, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. China’s Zhong was the richest Asian till February when he lost the crown to Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest person and chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd.
•However, while Ambani lost $175.5 million this year, Adani’s wealth surged by $32.7 billion to touch $66.5 billion, against Zhong’s $63.6 billion. Ambani’s total wealth now stands at $76.5 billion, making him the 13th richest in the world, followed by Adani at 14th.
9) A book title “Nehru, Tibet and China” authored by Avtar Singh Bhasin
•A book has titled “Nehru, Tibet and China” authored by Avtar Singh Bhasin. The book based on years of meticulous archival research, this book in fascinating detail, analyses the events from 1949 to the Indo-China war in 1962 and its aftermath to explore the answers to these burning questions.
10) FIFA U-17 women’s World Cup to be held in India in October 2022
•The U-17 women’s World Cup will be held in India from October 11 to 30 next year, Fifa Council said on 21st May. India was earlier scheduled to host the 2020 U-17 World Cup but it was postponed to 2021 before being cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The FIFA Council approved key dates for the international match calendars, including the dates of the 2022 U-17 World Cup in India.
•The Council also approved dates for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022 (11-30 October 2022), FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica 2022 (10-28 August 2022), as well as a 14-team playoff for the FIFA Arab Cup 2021, taking place between 19 and 25 June this year and Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 from July 20 to August 20, 2023.
