1. Russia launches new nuclear-powered icebreaker in bid to open up Arctic

• Russia launched a nuclear-powered icebreaker, part of an ambitious programme to renew and expand its fleet of the vessels in order to improve its ability to tap the Arctic’s commercial potential.
• The ship, dubbed the Ural and which was floated out from a dockyard in St Petersburg, is one of a trio that when completed will be the largest and most powerful icebreakers in the world.
• The Ural is due to be handed over to Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom in 2022 after the two other icebreakers in the same series, Arktika (Arctic) and Sibir (Siberia), enter service.

Foot Notes:

About Russia

1. President: Vladimir Putin
2. Capital: Moscow
3. Currency: The Russian ruble
4. PM : Dmitry Medvedev

2. IOB launches ‘Bank on Wheels’ in 13 TN districts

• Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) on Monday launched ‘Bank on Wheels’ in all its 13 Lead Districts in Tamil Nadu, for enhancing customer service and bringing banking services on wheels to rural and semi urban areas of the State.
• The ‘Bank on Wheels’ has been launched in Kanyakumari, Karur, Nagapattinam, Perambalur, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Thanjavur, Tiruchirapalli, Tirunelveli, Tiruvarur, Virudhunagar and Chennai. It has been launched in Vijayawada, Kakinada and Thiruvananthapuram regions.
• The facility will enable the public, especially the senior citizens of the society, to conveniently get doorstep banking facility available at identified locations of the Lead Districts.

Foot Notes:

About IOB

1. MD & CEO: R Subramaniakumar
2. Headquarters: Chennai.
3. Founder: M. Ct. M. Chidambaram Chettyar
4. Founded: 10 February 1937

3. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz ousted in the no-confidence vote

• Austrian Parliament has removed Chancellor Sebastian Kurz from office as he lost the no confidence in a special Parliamentary session. His previous coalition ally, the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) and the opposition Social Democrats (SPO) backed the no-confidence motions.
• Austria’s President Alexander Van der Bellen named Vice Chancellor Hartwig Loger as the interim leader. Loger will serve until a new transitional government can be appointed ahead of elections expected in September.

Foot Notes:

About Austrian

1. Chancellor: Sebastian Kurz
2. Capital: Vienna
3. National language: Austrian German
4. Currency: Euro

4. Indian Army officer appointed the commander of UN Mission in South Sudan

• UN Secretary, General Antonio Guterres, has appointed Indian Army officer, Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar, as the new Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.
• The UN chief made the announcement that 57-year-old Lieutenant General Tinaikar will succeed Lieutenant General Frank Kamanzi of Rwanda who completes his assignment.
• The decorated Indian Army officer “has had a long and distinguished career with the Indian Armed Forces spanning over 34 years,” a statement by the UN Spokesperson said. He has won the Sena Medal and the Vishisht Seva Medal for his service.

Foot Notes:

About Indian Army

1. Motto: "Service Before Self"
2. Founded: 1 April 1895, India
3. Headquarters: New Delhi
4. Commander-in-Chief: President Ram Nath Kovind
5. Chief: General Bipin Rawat.

About South Sudan

1. Capital: Juba
2. Currency: South Sudanese pound
3. President: Salva Kiir Mayardit

5. Maldives Ex-Leader Mohamed Nasheed Tipped As New Speaker

• The former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed has been nominated as the country's parliamentary speaker and is set to be sworn in Tuesday, a party official said.
• Nasheed was unanimously chosen to head the People's Majlis, or the parliament, by his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) which won a near three quarter majority in the 87-member assembly in April.
• "He is unanimously chosen as the Speaker," a party official told AFP. "He will be sworn in at the inaugural session of the new parliament elected at the historic April vote."

Foot Notes:

About Maldives

1. Capital: Malé
2. Currency: Maldivian rufiyaa
3. President: Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
4. Continent: Asia

6. DRDO successfully test fires new version of Akash air defence missile

• DRDO successfully test fired the new version of the Akash surface to air defence missile system with a new indigenously-developed seeker.
• The medium range multi-target engagement capable missile was developed as part of the Integrated Guided-Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) other than Nag,
• Agni, Trishul, and Prithvi missiles. The supersonic missile has a range of around 25km and up to the altitude of 18,000 meters.

Foot Notes:

The Defence Research and Development Organisation

1. Founded: 1958
2. Headquarters: New Delhi
3. Motto:"Strength's Origin is in Science"
4. Minister responsible: Nirmala Sitharaman
5. Chairman: G Satheesh Reddy

7. V D Savarkar's birth anniversary being celebrated on 28 May.

• Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar's birth anniversary is being celebrated.Born  in 1883 near Nasik in Maharashtra, Savarkar was popularly called Veer Savarkar. He was a revolutionary who fought against the British Government.
• In a tweet, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said, the nation will always remember the sacrifices made by Veer Savarkar during the freedom struggle.
• Mr Modi said, Veer Savarkar epitomises courage, patriotism and unflinching commitment to a strong India and he inspired many people to devote themselves towards nation building.

Foot Notes:

About Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar

1. Born: 28 May 1883, Bhagur
2. Died: 26 February 1966, Mumbai
3. Party: Hindu Mahasabha

8. Government invites BIMSTEC leaders for the swearing-in ceremony on May 30

• Leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) have been invited for PM Modi’s swearing-in ceremony to be held on 30th May. However, Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina will not attend the event due to her prior commitments. Myanmar State Councillor Aung Saan Suu Kyi’s presence is also uncertain as she is travelling overseas. Kyrgyzstan, the current chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), too, has been invited for the event.
• Apart from India, BIMSTEC comprises Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar. Indian-origin Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth, who visited India for Pravasi Bhartiya Divas in January, has also been invited for the May 30 event.

Foot Notes:

About BIMSTEC

1. Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
2. Founded: 1997
3. Secretariat: Dhaka, Bangladesh

9. Madhya Pradesh’s Orchha makes it to tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites

• The architectural heritage of Orchha town in Madhya Pradesh which depict peculiar style of the Bundela dynasty have been included in UNESCO’s tentative list of world heritage sites following a proposal sent by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to the U.N. body.
• The ASI had sent a proposal to the UNESCO on April 15, 2019 to include the sites in its list, an ASI official told PTI.According to the rules, to be a part of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites, the heritage or any historical site first has to be on the tentative list. After it makes to the tentative list, another proposal is sent to the UNESCO, the official said.
• Orchha is situated on the banks of the Betwa river. It is located around 80 km away from Tikamgarh district in Madhya Pradesh and 15 km from Jhansi of Uttar Pradesh. Orchha was built by king Rudra Pratap Singh of Bundela dynasty in the 16th century. The ancient town is famous for its Chaturbhuj Temple, Orchha fort complex, Raja Mahal among others.

Foot Notes:

About UNESCO

1. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
2. Headquarters: Paris, France
3. Head: Audrey Azoulay
4. Founded: 16 November 1945, London, United Kingdom
5. Formation: 4 November 1946
6. Founders: India, United States, France, Australia, Turkey, Mexico

About Madhya Pradesh

1. Capital: Bhopal
2. Chief minister: Kamal Nath
3. Governor: Anandiben Patel
4. Districts: 52.

10. India elected to Executive Board of first UN-Habitat Assembly

• India has been elected to the Executive Board of the first UN-Habitat Assembly, announced by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. India has been elected to the Executive Board of the first UN-Habitat Assembly at the Plenary Session of the Assembly being held in Nairobi.
• The first session of the UN-Habitat Assembly started on May 27th at the headquarters of UN-Habitat in Nairobi and will go on till May 31st. The special theme for the UN-Habitat Assembly is “Innovation for Better Quality of Life in Cities and Communities”.

Foot Notes:
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)

1. Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya

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