President presents National Florence Nightingale awards

 President Pranab Mukherjee has presented the National Florence Nightingale Awards to thirty-five nursing personnel from across the country at Rashtrapati Bhavan on the occasion of International Nurses Day (May 12). 

• The National Florence Nightingale Awards are given by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government ofIndia as a mark of recognition for the meritorious services rendered by the nurses and nursing professionals in the country. 
• The International Nurses Day is celebrated all over the world on May 12 every year to commemorate Florence Nightingale’s birthday.

Florence Nightingale :

• Florence Nightingale, (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was a celebrated English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing.
• She came to prominence while serving as a manager of nurses trained by her during the Crimean War, where she organised the tending to wounded soldiers.
•  She gave nursing a highly favourable reputation and became an icon of Victorian culture, especially in the persona of "The Lady with the Lamp" making rounds of wounded soldiers at night.

26th World Economic Forum on Africa inaugurated at Rawanda

 Rwanda is hosting the 26th World Economic Forum on Africa (WEF) in its capital Kigali from 11 to 13 May under the theme: Connecting Africa’s Resources through Digital Transformation. 

• The event will focus, among other things, on how to diversify economies, tackle inequality and strengthen collaborations among countries.
•  This is the first time that the WEF is being held in Rwanda, whose economy has improved dramatically since the country was rocked by a genocide against theTutsis and moderate Hutus in 1994.

World Economic Forum :

• The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Swiss nonprofit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva.
•  Recognized by the Swiss authorities  as the international institution for public-private cooperation, its mission is cited as "committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas"

UP Government approves ‘bicycle highway’ between Taj and lion safari

Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has given its approval to develop over 197 km long ‘bicycle highway’ from Agra up to the lion safari in Etawah to encourage eco-tourism in vicinity of Taj Mahal.

•  Decision in this regard was taken by State Cabinet meeting presided by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. 
• The bicycle highway will not run along the Agra-Etawah main road but will cover various historical and tourism centres.
•  It will start from eastern gate of the Taj Mahal and will cover other historical areas such as Bateshwarnath Temple, Raja Bhoj ki Haveli, Mela Kothi Jarar, and Naugava ka Quila and other rural areas to reach lion safari in Etawah.

Taj Mahal :

• The Taj Mahal  is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra.
•  It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658), to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
•  The tomb is the centrepiece of a 42-acre complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.

Shashank Manohar elected unopposed as ICC’s first independent Chairman

 Veteran cricket administrator Shashank Manohar was elected unopposed as ICC’s (International Cricket Council) first independent Chairman.

•  He was the sole nominee for the position and the ICC Board has now unanimously supported his appointment. 
• He will have tenure of two years.
•  ICC the international governing body of cricket is head-quarterd at Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

MP Tourism wins Lonely Planet’s Best Indian Destination for Wildlife Award

The Madhya Pradesh Tourism (MPT) won the Lonely Planet Group’s Best Indian Destination for Wildlife Award. 

• The award was handed over to MPT at a function in Mumbai by actress Amy Jackson. 
• Madhya Pradesh located in Central India has 25 wild life sanctuaries including 9 National Parks. 
• Among them Bandhavgarh, Kanha and Pench are ideal habitat for tigers. 

Rodrigo Duterte wins 2016 Philippines Presidential Election

Anti-crime candidate and mayor of Davao City, Rodrigo Duterte has won the 2016 presidential election of the Philippines by a landslide victory.

•  He will become the 16th President-elect of Philippines.
•  In the Presidential election held on 9 May 2016, Rodrigo Duterte secured 39% (15.36 million) of the votes.

Philippines :

1. Capital - Manila
2. Currency- Philippine peso

Sanjay Mitra committee to prepare policy framework for taxi operators

 The Union Government has constituted a three member committee to prepare a policy framework for taxi and other transport operators. 

• The committee will be headed by Sanjay Mitra, Secretary of Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. The committee was constituted after taxi and other transport operators had appraised the situation emerging from Supreme Court’s order and directions of Environment Pollution Control Authority of banning diesel taxis in the National Capital Region (NCR).
•  It will look into these issues and come up with appropriate recommendations to address the same in a time bound manner.