Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
Raheem Sterling, the Manchester City and England forward, has been named the 2019 footballer of the year by the Football Writers’ Association (FWA). He topped the poll of the 400-strong FWA membership as a clear winner, with 62% of the votes.

Notes:
Claire Polosak from Australia created history by becoming the first female umpire to stand in a men’s One-Day International (ODI). On 27th April 2019, she has officiated the final of the World Cricket League Division 2, between Oman and Namibia, who both secured ODI status after finishing in the top two positions of the table. In all, Polosak has officiated 15 women’s ODIs, and was part of the team that stood in the 2018 ICC T20 Women’s World Cup, including in the semi-final between England and India. She also officiated in four matches at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017.

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Archaeologists in Telangana have recently unearthed a rare life-sized stucco sculpture from a Buddhist site at Phanigiri in Suryapet. It is considered to be the biggest stucco sculpture found in the excavations in the country till date. The sculpture is about 1.73 metres in height and 35 cm in width. According to officials of department of heritage, the sculpture represents one of the Bodhisattvas belonging to the Jathaka Chakra. It is believed that a life size stucco Bodhisattva was created nearly 1,700 years ago by craftsmen at Phanigiri at the peak of Ikshavaku dynasty rule. Apart from the life-sized stucco, these excavations brought to light a Mahastupa, apsidal chaitya grihas, votive stupas, pillared congregation halls, viharas, platforms with staircases at various levels, sculptural panels with Brahmi inscriptions, belonging to Satavahana period from first century BC, continued with Mahayana till the end of Ikshuvaka period and others in 3rd – 4th century AD.

Notes:
Israel has recently honoured 1971 war hero Lt. Gen. (retd) Jack Farj Rafael (JFR) Jacob with a plaque on Ammunition Hill Wall of Honour in Jerusalem. Lt. Gen. Jacob, who died in 2016 at the age of 92 , negotiated the historic surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka after the 1971 Bangladesh’s liberation war,. He was one of the most prominent members of India’s relatively small Jewish community, and also served as a Lieutenant General in the Indian Army and later as a Governor of two Indian states-Goa and Punjab. The Wall of Honour at the Ammunition Hill pays tributes to the heroism and courage of Jewish soldiers who fought in the defence of their countries they lived in implementing values of bravery, loyalty, commitment and dedication to a mission, leadership, creativity, camaraderie and sanctity of life.

Notes:
The first part of the Indo-French joint naval exercise – Varuna 19.1 – has started off the Goa coast from 1 to 10 May 2019. The exercise will see the participation of the French Navy’s aircraft carrier FNS Charles de Gaulle, two destroyers, FNS Forbin and FNS Provence, the frigate FNS Latouche-Treville, the tanker FNS Marne and a nuclear submarine. From the Indian side, the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, destroyer INS Mumbai, the Teg-class frigate, INS Tarkash, the Shishumar- class submarine, INS Shankul, and the Deepak- class fleet tanker, INS Deepak, are taking part in the exercise. The exercise is being conducted in two phases. The harbour phase at Goa would include cross-visits, professional interactions and discussions and sports events. The sea phase would comprise various exercises across the spectrum of maritime operations. The second part of the exercise – Varuna 19.2 – is scheduled to be held in May end in Djibouti.

Notes:
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has decided to observe its retaliatory action on February 27 against the Indian air strikes on the Balakot terror camp as ‘Operation Swift Retort’. The tensions between India and Pakistan had escalated after the 14th February 2019 attack by a Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) suicide bomber in Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. 13 days later, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, the PAF retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in aerial combat and captured IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was later released and handed over to the Indian side on March 1.

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On 30th April 2019, Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) barred the National Stock Exchange from raising money on the securities market directly or indirectly for six months on the collocation case. This means the NSE will not able to access the capital market in terms of IPO during this period. The regulator has also asked the exchange to disgorge around Rs 1,000 crore (i.e. Rs 624.89 crore plus 12% interest) from April 1, 2014 to the SEBI’s Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF). As per 104-page SEBI order, NSE has committed a fraudulent and unfair trade practice as contemplated under the SEBI (PFUTP) Regulations and has not exercised the requisite due diligence while putting in place the TBT architecture. Here, PFUTP refers to Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices rules. Tick-by-Tick (TBT) is a data feed that which provides information regarding every change in the order book on the NSE. The Co-location refers to the system wherein a broker’s server is kept in the exchange premises to reduce latency (or delay in computing terms) while executing trades.

Notes:
M Jayshree Vyas, a professionally-qualified chartered accountant, has been appointed as the first independent woman director of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Though still late by at least a few weeks from the deadline of April 1 given to all top 500 listed companies based on their market capitalisation for appointing an independent woman director on their board. The delay happened as BSE was awaiting market regulator SEBI’s approval on the appointment. As of April 6, 51 of the top 500 NSE-listed companies by market capitalisation (including BSE) did not have independent woman director, according to nseinfobase.com run by Prime Database. In March alone, about 50 companies made a beeline to appoint an independent woman director. BSE already has two non-executive women directors namely Usha Sangwan and Rajeshree Sabnavis on its Board. The Companies Act of 2013 mandates a certain class of companies to have at least one woman director on board. SEBIs, in compliance with the Companies Act 2013, made it compulsory to have at least one woman on a board from October 2014.

Notes:
Mangaluru City Police has launched an all-women police patrol unit ‘Rani Abbakka Force’ for the protection of women and children. The force will cover the malls, beaches, educational institutions, places of religious importance, and public transport system in the city. It will handle issues related to eve-teasing and chain-snatching, among others. The all-women police patrol force has been named after the 16th century warrior of coastal Karnataka, Queen Abbakka of Ullal near Mangaluru, who fought the Portuguese in the 16th century. At present, 50 women policewomen have been deployed in ‘Rani Abbakka Force’ in the city, with each patrol team having five policewomen. The Rani Abbakka Force was also launched by the Udupi district police recently.

Notes:
King Maha Vajiralongkorn has been crowned as the Rama X of Thailand in a dazzling show of pageantry on behalf of the Thai people. This marked the first ascension of a new monarch in seven decades. The key rituals of the elaborate 3-day coronation ceremony began at the Grand Palace in Bangkok on May 4, 2019. King Vajiralongkorn is the 10th monarch of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since 1782. The last coronation was held in 1950 for the king’s father Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thailand has been run by an arch-royalist junta since 2014. The monarchy takes primacy in the country but it is buttressed by the army. Thailand has a constitutional monarchy since 1932, but the royal family is highly revered by Thais and wields considerable power. Thailand also has strict laws, called lese majeste, which ban criticism of the monarchy. The laws have shielded the royal family from public view and scrutiny.