1. The World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is celebrated every year on 8th May 

• May 8 is observed as the World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day. Every year, the day celebrates the principles of the “International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement”. 
• The celebrations aim to pay tribute to the volunteers who participated in the event as well as welcome their precious contribution to helping people in need. Mainly, World Red Cross Day focuses on the food shortage, natural calamities, war as well as diseases of the epidemic.
• This day commemorates the birth anniversary of the Red Cross and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)  founder Henry Dunant. Henry Dunan won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.
• The Red Cross Society has won the Nobel Prize thrice: in 1917, 1944 and 1963. No other organisation has won the Peace Prize more than the Red Cross.

2. CSIR approves multi institutional project to develop human monoclonal antibodies (hmAbs) under NMITLI program

• CSIR through NMITLI program has approved a project towards development of human monoclonal antibodies (hmAbs) that can neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in patients.
• This project on generation of neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies as a therapeutic strategy will be implemented by a multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary team.
• The project aims to generate hmAbs to SARS-CoV-2 from convalescent phase of COVID-19 patients and select high affinity and neutralizing antibodies. The project also aims to anticipate future adaptation of the virus and generate hmAbs clones that can neutralize the mutated virus so that could be readily used for combating future SARS-CoV infections.
• The project will be implemented by National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), IIT-Indore and PredOmix Technologies Pvt. Ltd. 

Foot notes:
About CSIR(Council of Scientific and Industrial Research):
Director: Dr Shekhar C Mande
President: PM Narendra Modi
Headquarters: New Delhi
Founded: 26 September 1942

3. UNEP extends Bollywood actress Dia Mirza’s term as Goodwill Ambassador till 2022

• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the leading environmental authority in the United Nations (UN) system, has extended the Bollywood actress & environmentalist DiaMirza‘s term as its National Goodwill Ambassador for another two years till the end of 2022.
• Dia mirza (38) from Hyderabad (Telangana), was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador in 2017. She is also a United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (SDG) Advocate.
• The role of Goodwill Ambassadors on the request of the United Nations is to create awareness and raise funds, engage in public advocacy etc. Their term of service is 2 years. The Goodwill Ambassadors are not paid under the UNEP. However, they are provided with a symbolic payment of 1 USD per year.

Foot Notes:
About the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):
Headquarters– Nairobi, Kenya
Executive Director– Inger Andersen
Regional Director and Representative for Asia and the Pacific– Dechen Tsering

4. Rajnath Singh inaugurates Link Road to Kailash Mansarovar via video conferencing

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Link Road to Kailash Mansarovar via video conferencing.
• The link road connects Dharchula to Lipulekh, China Border which is known as Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra Route.  
• Mr Singh congratulated the Border Roads Organization (BRO) engineers and personnel whose dedication made this achievement possible.

Foot notes:
About BRO(Border Roads Organization):
Headquarters: New Delhi
Director-General: Lt. Gen.Harpal Singh
Founder: Jawaharlal Nehru
Founded: 7 May 1960

5. UP becomes first state to provide a facility of beds with ventilators in each district of the state

• Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in the country to provide the facility of beds with ventilators in hospitals of each and every district of the state. 
• Now, all 75 districts of the state can provide higher levels of care to the patients of COVID-19.
• Uttar Pradesh has 24 testing labs for COVID-19 now and around 1,300 beds with a ventilator to fight with this disease. 
• The government tries to save the lives of people from COVID-19 through community surveillance.
• For this, the government has constituted a Village Supervision Committee or Gram Nigrani Samiti in every village to curb the spread of Corona.

Foot Notes: About Uttar Pradesh
Capital: Lucknow
Governor: Anandiben Patel
Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath

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6. Astronomers find Jupiter like cloud bands on closest brown dwarf 

• A team of astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) discovered that the Luhman 16A, closest known brown dwarf showing signs of cloud bands similar to the Jupiter and Saturn using the technique of polarimetry to determine the properties of atmospheric clouds outside the solar system .
• Luhman 16A is a part of a binary system containing a second brown dwarf, Luhman 16B both having similar mass and temperature. It is presumed that both are formed at the same time and show different weather like the Earth and Venus which are twin with different weather.

7. Kumar Sangakkara set for the second term as MCC President

• The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) decided to recommend a second term for its President Kumar Sangakkara as the current activities at the club have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman became the first non-British President of the club when he assumed office on October 1 last year.
• Sangakkara is all set to enter an elite list of people who have served multiple terms.

8.  ABD approved 500 million dollar loan to Bangladesh to fight COVID-19 Pendemic 

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday approved an additional loan of 500 million  dollar to Bangladesh to manage the impact of Corona virus on its economy and public health.
• ADB said that the loan will benefit 15 million poor and vulnerable people of Bangladesh. It said that around 1.5 million workers, mostly women, in export industries will receive salary support.
• The assistance is part of the dollar 20 billion extended assistance for developing countries’ response to the pandemic announced by ADB on April 13. Earlier, ADB had approved 100 million dollar concessional loan for Bangladesh to support its immediate public health requirement arising out of Corona outbreak.

Foot notes:
About ABD(Asian Development Bank):
Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines
President: Masatsugu Asakawa
Purpose: Economic development

About Bangladesh:
Capital: Dhaka
Currency: Bangladeshi taka
Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina

9. Smart City Nashik uses several creative initiatives to fight coronavirus

• Smart City Nashik takes several measures and initiatives to fight COVID-19. The measures taken by the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) at the city level include: Spraying of Sodium Hypochlorite by means of 8  Tractors and 13 Pumps on an area of 36 sq.km at various NMC Offices, Quarantine Facilities, and across the City. Spraying of pesticides was done by 287 Malaria fighting workers on across 37.5 Sq. Meter & 109 Km of the area across the city respectively.
• The collection of door-to-door waste and disposal from Home Quarantined households is undertaken by Corporation’s sanitation workers separately.
• NMC has initiated 24*7 Helpdesk System for Inbound calls & pre-recorded, outbound text and voice messages to citizens to get information about the COVID-19. 

10. Creator of “Finding Nemo & Toy story”, Rob Gibbs passes away

• Rob Gibbs, who worked on films like Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo, Inside Out, Onward, Monsters, Inc. and Incredibles 2 died at the age of 55. 
• The Pixar director, story artist and writer worked at the Pixar studios for 20 years. 
• Gibbs’ also has the short film Tokyo Mater (2008), the series Mater’s Tall Tales and Tales From Radiator Springs, all emanating from the Cars franchise, Brave (2012), Monsters University (2013), 
• Incredibles 2 (2018) and the upcoming Monsters at Work series for Disney+ to his credit.