CURRENT AFFAIRS MAY/05/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS MAY/05/2015

1.WORLD ASTHMA DAY OBSERVED: YES, YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR ASTHMA

To most people ‘breathtaking’ means unique or spectacular, to those with asthma the meaning is different; Asthma can literally take your breath away

World Asthma Day is celebrated every year on the first Tuesday of May the world over by Global Initiative for Asthma Management (GINA), a collaboration of National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, USA and the World Health Organization.

This year, the theme for World Asthma Day is, “You Can Control Your Asthma”. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 60,000 die of asthma in India every year.

2.NABARD SANCTIONS RECORD RS 12,406 CRORE IN PUNE ACHIEVED ALL TIME HIGH PERFORMANCE

Maharashtra Regional Office of NABARD in Pune has achieved all time high performance with sanction of Rs 12,406 crore and disbursement of Rs 11,315 crore for various development programmes during last fiscal year 2014-2015

Refinance support of Rs 700 crore for rural infrastructure and Rs 409 crore to other new business products was also provided by NABARD in Maharashtra

NABARD has supported rural population by increasing capital formation in agriculture and towards drought mitigation measures NABARD has extended refinance assistance of Rs 3082 crore primarily under minor irrigation, land development, farm mechanization and Horticultural sector

MoU was also signed between Government of India, Government of Maharashtra and NABARD for Revival Package of 3 Unlicensed District cooperative banks, Wardha, Nagpur and Buldana involving financial assistance of Rs 379 crore

3.INDIA'S TOP SHOOTERS WIN 3 GOLD, 2 BRONZE MEDALS AT INTERNATIONAL SHOOTING COMPETITION OF HANNOVER IN GERMANY

India's top rifle shooters have brought glory to the nation by winning a rich haul of three gold and two bronze medals at the International Shooting Competition of Hannover in Germany

Beijing Games gold medallist Abhinav Bindra has won both the individual and team gold in his pet 10 metre air rifle event.

Upcoming talent Chain Singh added the 50 metre men’s rifle prone yellow metal to his 10 metre air rifle team gold, which he won alongside Bindra and Gagan Narang.

The two Bronze medals came though Narang in the men’s 50 metre rifle 3 positions event, and Apurvi Chandela in women’s air rifle event

4.ARMY ATHLETES EMERGE CHAMPIONS IN 19TH FEDERATION CUP NATIONAL SENIOR ATHLETIC CHAMPIONSHIP

The Indian Army team emerged champions in the 19th Federation Cup national senior athletic championship, scoring 123.5 points at the end of the four-day event at the Mangala stadium ,Karnatka

The Tamil Nadu team came second by securing 114 points The overall men's championships also went to the Army and Tamil Nadu with 123.5 and 48 points respectively.

Kerala claimed the overall championship in the women's category with 86 points followed by Karnataka with 68 points

5.BHEL COMMISSIONS BIJLEE UTPADAN'S THERMAL UNIT IN (KBUNL) BIHAR

Bhel commissioned a thermal unit of Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Limited (KBUNL) in Bihar

This is the first 195 MW unit to be commissioned by Bhel at the 2x195 MW Muzaffarpur thermal power station of Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Limited (KBUNL) in Bihar

KBUNL is a joint venture of NTPC and Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited The second 195 MW unit is expected to be commissioned in the current financial year (2015-16)

6.Mazen Darwish winner of UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize

The winner of the 2015 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize is Syrian journalist and human rights activist, Mazen Darwish, currently imprisoned

The Prize will be awarded during the celebration of World Press Freedom Day, 3 May, which will this year be hosted by Latvia

Mazen Darwish has been recommended in recognition of the work that he has carried out in Syria for more than ten years at great personal sacrifice, enduring a travel ban, harassment, as well as repeated detention and torture

About Mazen Darwish

Mazen Darwish, a lawyer and press freedom advocate, is the president of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (CMFE), founded in 2004

He is also the founders of the Voice newspaper and syriaview.net, an independent news site, which has been banned by the Syrian authorities In 2011,

Darwish established Media Club, the first Syrian magazine about media affairs

He has been detained since February 2012, when he was arrested with colleagues Hani Al-Zitani and Hussein Ghareer.

7.INDIA HOME TO 48 DIFFERENT SPECIES OF BUMBLEBEES

Of the 250 known species of bumblebees,India is home to 48 different species species Indian Bumblebees written by entomologist M.S. Saini and co-authors Rifat H. Raina and Harpeet Singh Ghator, revealed this fact

They are mostly characterised by black, yellow and reddish body hair, and often striped, bumblebees are generally found on altitudes of 2,000-15,000 feet along the entire Himalayas, from Jammu & Kashmir to Nagaland.

Bumblebees are important to the ecosystem, as without them seed setting and fruiting will not take place in many plants as they pollinate vegetables, fruit trees, cash crops and even ornamental and medicinal plants high in the Himalayas

Like the honeybees, bumblebees are social insects and live in colonies — the size of which depends on the species

8. AUTHOR AND SCREENWRITER MICHAEL BLAKE OSCAR - WINNING "DANCES WITH WOLVES " WRITER PASSES AWAY

Author and screenwriter Michael Blake, who won an Oscar for his movie "Dances With Wolves" which was made own novel, has died at the age of 69.

Michael Blake wrote the novel Dances With Wolves in 1988, which he turned into an Oscar-winning film starring Kevin Costner in 1990

The 1990 film, which Kevin Costner directed and starred in, won seven Oscars including Best Picture and Best Screenplay for Blake

9. SANDEEP JAJODIA REMOVED FROM THE FROM THE POST BOXING INDIA PRESIDENT

Boxing India president Sandeep Jajodia was removed as the president of the Boxing India as he lost the no-confidence motion 2-55 in a special general meeting 

Accepting the defeat, Jajodia sent a letter to all the members appealing them to think for the betterment of the sport

The Boxing India took charge on September 11 last year, and received a huge blow in just eight months