GK & Current Affairs Quiz: May 21-22, 2017

Notes:
Anshu Jamsenpa, the Indian mountaineer from Arunachal Pradesh, has set the world record by becoming the world’s first woman to conquer Mount Everest twice within five days. Jamsenpa along with Nepali climber Furi Sherpa scaled the peak at 8:00 am on May 21, 2017. Earlier, she stood atop of world’s highest mountain on May 16, 2017. With this, Jamsenpa has also become the first Indian woman to scale Mt Everest for the fifth time. Beside this, Indian climbers Dhankude Kishor Dattatraya and Brij Mohan Sharma also scaled Mt. Everest on May 20, 2017. Brij Mohan Sharma, popularly known as Breeze Sharma has become the first civilian from the Indian Navy to summit Mount Everest. Earlier, Chhurim Sherpa (a Nepali mountaineer ) had scaled Mt Everest twice within a week, reaching the roof of the world first on May 12, 2012, then again on May 19.

Notes:
Two Indian peacekeepers, Rifleman Brijesh Thapa and Private Ravi Kumar will be honored posthumously with a prestigious United Nation (UN)’s Dag Hammarskjold Medal for their courage and sacrifice in the line of duty. They are among 117 military, police and civilian personnel who will be awarded with the UN Medal on the 2017 International Day of UN Peacekeepers to be observed on May 29. Permanent Representatives to the UN will collect the medals on behalf of the fallen peacekeepers. Currently, India has deployed more than 7,600 military and police personnel to UN peace operations in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, Liberia, the Middle East, South Sudan, Sudan and the Western Sahara.

Notes:
The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) is observed every year on May 22 to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. The 2017 theme “Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism” provides an opportunity to raise awareness and action towards the important contribution of sustainable tourism both to economic growth and to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Notes:
The Maharashtra government has decided to form ‘Good Morning’ squads to curb open defecation in all villages and districts across the State. These squads will comprise representatives of local bodies, self-help groups, NGOs, students and social workers working in the area of sanitation and cleanliness. The squads will also check whether residents have access to toilets. They also have the right to take up issues, such as the pending construction of toilets, with the local civic bodies and help speed up the work.

Notes:
Iran’s incumbent President Hassan Rouhani has won his second term defeating his conservative rival Ebrahim Raeisi with a huge margin of votes in the the 2017 Presidential election of Iran. With this, he became the second Iranian President, after Mohammad Khatami, to win a presidential victory as an incumbent with an increased electoral mandate. Rouhani is considered to be a moderate and pragmatic politician.

Notes:
R. Vaishali from India has won the 2017 Asian Continental Women Blitz Chess Championship with 8 points from nine rounds in Chengdu, China. She was at her best in the Blitz event and won seven games and posted two draws in the nine-round event. Vaishali drew her final round game against Uurt-saikh Uuriin-tuya of Mongolia to finish half-a-point ahead of Iran’s Saras-dat Khademal-sharieh and clinch the gold medal. Her compatriot Padmini Rout finished 3rd with seven points after a last round win over Yuxin Song of China.

Notes:
Indian squash player Harinder Pal Sandhu has won the 2017 Men’s Makati Open Squash tournament by defeating Mohd. Syafiq Kamal of Malaysia in the final by 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City, Phillipines. In the women’s final, Japan’s Satomi Watanabe bagged her first career title by beating Wales’ Deon Saffery.

Notes:
Alexander Zverev (20), a German professional tennis player, has won the 2017 Men’s singles Rome Masters tennis tournament by defeating four-time champion Novak Djokovic in the final by 6-3, 6-4 in Rome, Italy. With this win, Zverev became the youngest player since Djokovic in 2007 to win a Masters 1000 title and the first player born in the 1990s to do so. Beside this, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine has won the women’s singles Italian Open tennis title Simona Halep of Romania.

Notes:
The World Metrology Day (WMD) is observed every year on May 20 to mark the signing of the Metre Convention on May 20, 1875. The Convention set the framework for global collaboration in the science of measurement and in its industrial, commercial and societal application. The 2017 theme is “Measurements for transport”.

Notes:
Bengaluru FC has won the 38th edition of Indian Federation Cup Football tournament on May 21, 2017 by defeating defending champions and 14-time winners Mohun Bagan at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha. The match went into extra time after neither of the teams could break the deadlock in 90 minutes. Then, CK Vineeth scored twice for Bengaluru FC in extra time helping them to win the tournament for just the second time. With the win, Bengaluru also sealed a berth for next year’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup. It also became the 8th team to have won more than one Federation Cup title.