Nepals 17th Republic Day

♦ Nepal celebrates Republic Day on 28th May. Its Nepal's 17th Republic Day. 

♦ In 2008 May 28, Nepal’s Parliament, through a historic declaration, abolished the 240-year-old monarchy after the successful conclusion of the People’s Movement II. Nepal was declared a Federal Republic Democratic state on May 28, 2008.

♦ Nepal's President: Ram Chandra Poudel

♦ Nepal's Prime Minister: Pupsha Kamal Dahal
 

Lithuanias President Gitanas Nauseda

♦ Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda won re-election in the presidential elections. Nauseda won the 74.43 percent vote share and his rival Ingrida Simonyte got a 24.06% vote share.  

♦ Earlier in 2019, Nauseda beat Simonyte and bagged victory with 66 per cent of the vote.

Global Cities Index 2024

♦ Delhi has placed 350 in the Global Cities Index 2024, making it the highest-ranked Indian city. Oxford Economics released this report. A total of 1000 cities are present in this index worldwide. 

♦ New York (USA) achieved the highest ranking in this index, followed by London (UK) and San Jose (USA) securing the 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively.  The other top-ranked cities in this index are:Tokyo (Japan) - 4th, Paris (France) - 5th, Seattle (USA) - 6th, Los Angeles (USA) - 7th, San Francisco (USA) - 8th, Melbourne ( Australia) - 9th, Zurich (Switzerland) -10th 

♦ This annual report ranks roughly 1,000 largest cities worldwide, spanning 163 different countries in five crucial categories: Economics, Human Capital, Quality of Life, Environment, and Governance. 

♦ The top cities in India and their respective global rankings are :  Delhi - 350, Bengaluru - 411, Mumbai - 427, Chennai - 472, Kochi - 521, Kolkata - 528, Pune - 534, Thrissur - 550, Hyderabad - 564, Kozhikode - 580.

♦ Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh ranked last in the index (1000th place).

International Solar Alliance (ISA).

♦ Spain has become the 99th member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). Spain handed over the International Solar Alliance Instrument of Ratification during the meeting between Spain’s Ambassador to India, Jose Maria Ridao Domkinguez, and Head of Depository, Joint Secretary (ED and MER), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Abhishek Singh in New Delhi.

♦ The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is a collaborative platform for increased deployment of solar energy technologies as a means for bringing energy access, ensuring energy security, and driving energy transition in its member countries.

♦ The ISA was conceived as a joint effort by India and France to mobilize efforts against climate change through the deployment of solar energy solutions. It was conceptualized on the sidelines of the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Paris in 2015.

Vietnams parliament elected To Lam (66)

♦ Vietnam’s parliament elected To Lam (66) as the country's new president on 22 May 2024. He has been Public Security Minister since 2016. Lam succeeds Vo Van Thuong.

♦ Led by the Communist Party general secretary, Vietnam has a four-person leadership structure that also includes the president, prime minister and head of the National Assembly.

♦ The Communist Party general secretary is the most powerful political position in the country. The current party chief is Nguyen Phu Trong. 

Lai Ching-te

♦ Lai Ching-te was sworn in as Taiwan’s new President on 20 May 2024. He succeeds Tsai Ing-wen. Lai is the leader of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). 

♦ Hsiao Bi-khim was also sworn in as Vice President of the country. She was Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the US from 2020 to 2023 and formerly served as a DPP lawmaker for several terms.

Indo-Bangla Baul music festival

♦ A nine-day long Indo-Bangla Baul music festival began in Dhaka on 17 May 2024 to celebrate the 250th birth anniversary of the mystic saint and humanist bard Fakir Lalan Shah. The event is being organised by the cultural and research organisation Lalon Biswasangha working to popularise the work and promote research on Lalan Fakir. The High Commission of India and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Bangladesh are supporting the event.
♦ Fakir Lalon Shah is considered the most prominent figure of the Baul tradition of Bangladesh and India. Born in 1774 at Horishpur in the Jhenaidah district of modern Bangladesh. He inspired and influenced people like Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam and the American poet Allen Ginsberg among others.

Lawrence Wong

♦ Lawrence Wong was sworn in as Singapore's fourth Prime Minister on 15 May 2024.

♦ President Tharman Shanmugaratnam administered the oath to Wong.

♦ Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong was promoted to Deputy Prime Minister. 

♦ Wong is the first Singaporean premier born after its independence in 1965.

Mikhail Mishustin

♦ Russian President Vladimir Putin has reappointed Mikhail Mishustin as Prime Minister of the country on 10 May 2024.  Mishustin was first appointed as Russia's PM in 2020. He headed the Federal Taxation Service of Russia. 

♦ Putin also served as the PM between 2008 and 2012, following two successive presidential terms. 
 

Worlds deepest blue hole

♦ Scientists have discovered the world's deepest blue hole in the Latin American country of Mexico. They named it Taam Ja’ Blue Hole (TJBH). This is located in Chetumal Bay off the Yucatan Peninsula. They have reached 1,380 feet or 420 meters below sea level, but it is not the end of the hole. Its depth can be compared to the height of Trump Tower in Chicago.
♦ Blue holes are vertical marine caves formed over millennia by glacial runoff during the Ice Age. These sprawling sinkholes, often hundreds of feet deep and equally wide, remain enigmatic due to their inhospitable conditions. Filled with hydrogen sulphide, these portals present significant challenges for exploration.

Vladimir Putin (71)

♦ Vladimir Putin (71) was sworn in as Russia's president for a next six-year term on 7 May 2024. Putin, in power as president or prime minister since 1999. Officially, Vladimir Putin won more than 87% of the vote in the 2024, March presidential election.

♦ Putin will become Russia’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin and may surpass his 31 years if he remains in power after 2030.

Jose Raul Mulino (64)

♦ Jose Raul Mulino (64) has won the Panama presidential elections. He secured about 34% of the ballots tallied with over 90% of the total vote counted.

♦ Ricardo Lombana stood at second place with about 25% of the vote. Jose Raul served as Interior and Security Minister during Martinelli’s administration from 2009 to 2014. Mulino will take office on July 1 for a five-year term.

Zimbabwe launched a new currency

♦ Zimbabwe launched a new currency named the ZiG (short for Zimbabwe Gold) in an attempt to address the country’s long-running currency crisis. The ZiG was introduced electronically in early April, but people are now able to use banknotes and coins.

♦ The ZiG is the sixth currency Zimbabwe has used since the spectacular 2009 collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar amid hyperinflation of 5 billion percent, one of the world's worst currency crashes to date.