Daily News

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43 of 100 - India has most cities in the world vulnerable to environmental risks

Of the 100 most vulnerable cities, 99 are in Asia, as per report by research firm Verisk Maplecroft. Of those, 37 are in China & 43 are in India, the world’s 1st & 3rd biggest emitters of greenhouse gases respectively. Globally, 1.5 billion people live in 414 cities that are at high risk from pollution, water shortages, extreme heat, natural hazards etc.

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Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, topped the list of combined risk

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BRICS agrees to devise framework for social security agreement

1st meeting of BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) was held virtually from May 11-12, during which, member-countries agreed to formulate a framework on Social Security Agreement.

Social Security Agreement would help the international workers to port their benefit to their home countries thereby preventing loss of their hard-earned money.

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BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa

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Odisha to allow vaccination for vulnerable people without ID proof

The Odisha government has announced that it will administer COVID-19 vaccines to vulnerable people who do not possess any ID proof as a part of its effort to inoculate the entire population of the state. vulnerable groups of citizens may not possess any of the seven prescribed identity cards for registration on CoWIN.

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Odisha Governor: Ganeshi Lal
Capital: Bhubaneswar

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New Zealand wicketkeeper BJ Watling to retire after World Test Championship final on England tour

New Zealand wicketkeeper BJ Watling said he took the decision in order to spend more time with his family. Watling, who has represented New Zealand in 73 Tests, will retire after the World Test Championship final, starting June 18 in Southampton.

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New Zealand Prime minister: Jacinda Ardern;
Capital: Wellington

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4th India-Swiss Financial Dialogue was held virtually through video conferencing

Talks for collaboration on various aspects including investments, International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA), National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), FinTech, sustainable finance and cross border financial services were held during the forum.

Did you Know

India-Switzerland Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) is under negotiation.

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SpaceX will launch a satellite to the Moon next year funded entirely with the cryptocurrency Dogecoin

The satellite, dubbed DOGE-1, will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the first quarter of 2022, the Calgary-based company said in a statement. The cubic satellite, weighing 40 kilograms, will aim to obtain "lunar-spatial intelligence from sensors and cameras on-board," according to the statement.

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Canadian company Geometric Energy Corporation, will lead the lunar mission

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India-born Rajesh Agrawal re-appointed London's deputy mayor for business

India-born entrepreneur Rajesh Agrawal has been re-appointed as London's Deputy Mayor for Business by Mayor Sadiq Khan after he won a second term in local elections last week. Agrawal is also the co-chair of the Labour Friends of India (LFIN) diaspora representative group of the Opposition Labour Party.

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UK Prime minister: Boris Johnson
Currency: Pound sterling

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Punjab gets its 23rd district, Malerkotla

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh declared Malerkotla as the 23rd district of the state on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

Recalling the rich and glorious history of Malerkotla, CM said its conversion into a district, which was a long-standing demand of the local people, would ease the hardships of such people & enable them to resolve their administrative problems

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Punjab Capital: Chandigarh
Governor: V. P. Singh Badnore

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Punjab joins COVAX to procure Covid-19 vaccines at affordable prices

The Punjab government joined the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) initiative to procure Covid-19 vaccines globally at the best price, becoming the first state in India to do so, chief minister Amarinder Singh’s office announced recently. The decision to join COVAX alliance was taken during a virtual Cabinet meeting, chaired by the chief minister.

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Union health minister: Dr Harsh Vardhan

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Google fined 102 million euros by Italy's antitrust for abuse of dominant position

Italy's competition watchdog said that it had fined Google 102 million euros for abuse of dominant position due to its Android mobile operating system and its app store Google Play.

Google was also recently fined by France, in December last year. France's competition authority fined Google 150 million euros ($167 million) for anti-competitive behaviour.

Did you Know

CEO: Sundar Pichai
Parent organization: Alphabet Inc.
HQ: Mountain View, California, USA

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IIT Ropar Designs Eco-friendly Mobile Cremation System

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar, Punjab has designed an eco-friendly cremation cart amid the rise in the Covid-19 cases. The cart is fitted with stainless steel insulation for ensuring no heat loss and less wood consumption. The cart has been developed in collaboration with the company Cheema Boilers Limited.

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IIT-Kharagpur’s product COVIRAP can detect possible novel coronavirus in 45 minutes

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Former Union Minister Matang Sinh dies of Covid-related complications

Former union minister and Congress leader, Matang Sinh died in a hospital in New Delhi following COVID-19 related complications.

Singh was elected to the Upper house in 1992 from Assam. He was union minister of state in parliamentary affairs from 1994 to 1998.

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Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd conferred with ‘Green Urja Award’

Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has been recently, conferred the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) with the ‘Green Urja Award’. The agency has been awarded for being the leading public institution in financing institution for renewable energy.

Did you Know

IREDA, is under the administrative control of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy

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Financial Express Managing Editor Sunil Jain passes away

Sunil Jain, Managing Editor of The Financial Express, passed away at AIIMS due to post Covid-19 complications.

He was 58. A graduate of Delhi School of Economics, Jain wrote extensively on issues like regulatory capture, highlighting details of faulty decisions by the telecom as well as various electricity regulators.

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May 16 is observed as the National Dengue Day in India

This day aims at spreading awareness about dengue, informing people about the disease, and encouraging them to take the necessary precautions to prevent it.

The bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito is responsible for the transmission of dengue infection.

This viral disease is caused by the dengue virus (DENV, 1–4 serotypes)

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