DAILY GK UPDATE 19 - 20th May

1.    India, China discuss border issue; eight pacts signed

i. India and China today held Delegation level talks in New Delhi in which the Indian side was led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh while the Chinese side was headed by Premier Li Keqiang.

ii. Eight pacts were signed including one on Brahmputra river data sharing , Trade and economic cooperation other key highlights of talks between Prime Minister and his Chinese Counterpart on this occasion.

iii. India and China also discussed border issue including recent incursion in Ladakh.Urging China to remove trade imbalances, India sought opening of Chinese markets for Indian IT and pharma companies.

iv. Speaking on recent Chinese incursion in Ladakh area, Dr Singh said we took stock of lessons learnt from the recent incident in the western sector.

v. After talks with the Chinese premier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said we had wide ranging and candid discussions on various issues of mutual interest. He said while seeking an earlier resolution on boundary issue, both sides agreed that peace and tranquility on border should be preserved.

vi. Chinese Premier said India and China are two engines of World economy.

2.    India-US Homeland Security dialogue begins today

i. The four-day India-US Homeland Security dialogue between Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and his American counterpart Janet Napolitano begins today in Washington.

ii. Threats from terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and al-Qaeda, illicit financing and transnational crimes are high on their agenda. 

iii. Both the sides are expected to take stock of the existing
mechanisms such as the Joint Working Group on Counter-terrorism and the Counter-terrorism Cooperation Initiative in advancing Indo-US cooperation. 

iv. The Home Minister will also have meetings with FBI Director Robert Mueller and US Attorney General Eric Holder.

3.    Afghan President Hamid arrives on a three day visit to India

i. Afghan President Hamid Karzai  arrives in on a three day visit to India today.

ii. President Karzai will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other senior leaders. 

iii. Various issues of bilateral and regional concern are on his agenda that will be discussed in the course of his meetings with the Indian leaders during the visit.

iv. The issues of security and infrastructure development in Afghanistan as well as the ongoing peace and reconciliation process will also be discussed during his meetings with Indian leaders.

v. On the eve of Mr Karzai's visit, Afghan government said, India is a long term strategic partner as the two countries signed a treaty to this effect in 2011 and are committed to cooperation in defense and civilian sectors.

4.    Nunshi and Tashi Malik Became First Twins to Scale Mount Everest

i. Nunshi and Tashi Malik, two 21-year old Indians from Dehrahdun became first twins to scale Mount Everest on 19 May 2013. 

ii. They were among 135 other people, who reached the top of the Mount Everest, which is the highest mountain of the world at 8848 meter above sea level. 

iii. It is interesting to note that these twins reached the top of Mount Everest with two sherpas, who were also twins. 

iv. Both these twin sisters were staying on mountains in that region in order to get acquainted with the atmosphere. Along with them, 11-member joint Indian and Nepal army expedition reached that summit too. 

5.    Samina Baig Became the First Pakistani Woman to Scale Mount Everest

i. Samina Baig on 19 May 2013 became the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest. She did this along with Nunshi and Tashi Malik, the first Indian twin sisters to scale the Everest.
ii. After reaching to the top of Everest, all three women hoisted Indian and Pakistani flags along side, depicting a message of collaborative action, friendship and peace.

iii. The Nepal Mountaineering Department officials confirmed the feat, while at the same time, also explaining that 35 foreigners along with 29 Nepalese Sherpa guides scaled the Everest after climbing from highest camp on South Col, which is the pass between Mt. Everest and another neighbouring mountain. 

6.    Raha Moharrak, the 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.

7.    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.

8.    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.

9.    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. 

10.  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.

11.  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.

iv. They displaced Bangalore (18) from the fourth spot and set up Wednesday's Eliminator match against Rajasthan Royals.

12.  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.