National Florence Nightingale Awards Australian sporting legend Don Bradman

National Florence Nightingale Awards

President conferes National Florence Nightingale Awards on 35 nursing personnel for their meritorious services.

The Election Commission gave the go-ahead to the Defence Ministry to initiate the process of appointing the next Army chief, an issue that is caught in a controversy because of BJP's opposition.

The world's first airplane completely powered by electricity has successfully taken to the skies for its maiden flight.

India is one of the largest employers in the renewable energy industry, which has become a leading employer sector globally with approximately 6.5 million people directly or indirectly earning their livelihood from it, according to a study.

Lithuanian incumbent President Dalia Grybauskaite won the first round of the presidential election and will face her top challenger in the runoff scheduled for May 25, the Central Electoral Commission said.

Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole announced he was retiring from international football after being told he'd been left out of England manager Roy Hodgson's squad for the World Cup.

Drug firm Cipla Ltd said it will acquire 14.6 per cent stake in US-based Chase Pharmaceuticals Corporation Inc for $1.5 million.

Odia film actor Sarat Pujari died.

The cricket bat used by Australian sporting legend Don Bradman to launch his Test career has been put up for auction and is expected to fetch up to Australian dollars 145,000.

Daily Gk Update May 2013 Current Affairs May 2013

First Arab Woman to reach Everest Summit

i. RaHA Moharrak, a Saudi woman made history by reaching the Everest summit-the world's highest mountain.

ii. Raha became the first Saudi woman and also the youngest Arab to make it to the top of Everest. She is 25 years old.

iii. Moharrak is a university graduate currently based in Dubai and she hails from Jeddah. She had to overcome a lot of barriers to achieve her goal

NOTE: Saudi Arabia, which implements a strict form of Islam and imposes a segregation of the sexes, this month gave the green light for girls at private schools to play sports, under certain conditions.

Kerala and Himachal Pradesh announced Cooperation in Rural Development

i. Kerala and Himachal Pradesh on 18 May 2013 announced that they would share information about feasible models and best practices to strengthen implementation of their rural development projects.

ii. Kerala's Panchayats and Social Welfare Ministry shared details about local self governance in the state, community farming and the Kudumbashree programme with Himachal Pradesh.

iii. A larger ministerial team from Himachal is likely to visit Kerala to assess the progress made in the state in the sector of social security.

iv. A delegation from Kerala will pay a visit to Himachal Pradesh to study development projects for tribal communities there and to replicate that in their state.

Australian Actress Penne Hackforth-Jones died

i. Penne Hackforth-Jones, one of Australia's most recognisable actors died at the age of 64 after battling lung cancer.

ii. Born in 1949 in the US state of Connecticut, she was brought up in Australia.

iii. Her first credited role was in the 1969 TV series Riptide.

iv. Hackforth-Jones appeared in many well-known Australian television series, including A Country Practice, All Saints and Mother and Son.

Indian Women's Compound Team won Bronze in Archery

i. Indian women’s compound team which comprised Gagandeep Kaur, Trisha Deb, and P Lily Chanu, won Bronze medal on 18 May 2013 at Shanghai. This is India’s first ever world medal in archery.

ii. The Indian trio, defeated Italy which included Katia D'Agostino, Laura Longo and Marcella Tonioli in the bronze medal play-off in the World Cup archery Stage I by 228-223. 

India loses to Indonesia in Sudirman Cup

i. India failed to make the quarterfinals of the Sudirman Cup mixed team badminton championship after suffering a 1-4 thrashing at the hands of Indonesia in its second group match in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

ii. Parupalli Kashyap was the lone Indian who could offer some consolation by registering a 21-18, 21-14 victory over Rumbaka Dionysius Hayom in the men’s singles category, even as P.V. Sindhu along with other Indians were outclassed by the Indonesians at the Putra Stadium.

iii. India had already lost two ties before World No. 11 Kashyap managed to prevail over a lower ranked opponent in a 44-minute battle.

Sunrisers Hyderabad seals its spot in the play-offs

i. Sunrisers Hyderabad qualified for the IPL play-offs after defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets in their last league match of T20 league which was held in Hyderabad on Sunday.

ii. . Hyderabad's chase began in the right earnest with Parthiv Patel (47) and Shikhar Dhawan (42) batting fearlessly. They attacked intelligently and set up the win with their 89-run opening stand.

 iii. Chasing 131 in their must-win match, Hyderabad overhauled the target with seven balls to spare, taking their points tally to 20 which placed them fourth in the table.

 Rafael Nadal win Italian Open 2013

i. Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federar in the final match played on 19 May 2013 to lift his seventh Italian Open title.

ii. He defeated Federar in straight sets 6-1, 6-3. The match was played on clay court.

iii. This was Nadal’s 20th victory against Federar. He has lost only 10 matches to Federar so far.

iv. It was Nadal’s fifth title since returning earlier this year from a seven-month layoff due to a left knee injury.

v. Nadal collected 400 points from this victory which carried him into fourth position on the rankings ladder.