1) IS takes full control of Syria`s Palmya city

• Islamic State says it has full control of Syria`s Palmyra city; United Nations deeply concerned about citizens` plight; World powers acknowledge the millitants` gains as a "setback
• Islamic State fighters tightened their grip on the historic Syrian city of Palmyra on 21st May and overran Iraqi government defences east of Ramadi, the provincial capital that they seized five days earlier.
• The twin successes not only pile pressure on Damascus and Baghdad but throw doubt on a U.S. strategy of relying almost exclusively on air strikes to support the fight against Islamic State.
• U.S. and coalition forces had conducted 18 air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq since 20th May, the U.S. military said. 
• The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the al Qaeda offshoot now controlled more than half of all Syrian territory after more than four years of conflict that grew out of an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
• The monitoring group added that Islamic State had seized the last border crossing between Syria and Iraq controlled by the Damascus government. The crossing is in Syria`s Homs province, where Palmyra is located.

• The European Union and Ukraine have signed a 2 billion dollars loan deal in an effort to help revive the cash-strapped country`s economy. EU and Ukrainian officials signed the agreement today in Riga at a summit of leaders of EU nations and six post-Soviet countries.
• The deal requires Ukraine to adopt a series of reforms including anti-corruption measures to remedy structural problems in its economy. At the Riga summit, the EU also promised grants of 223 million dollars to support small and medium-sized businesses in the former Soviet republics of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

• The UN has adopted a resolution calling for stronger cooperation in stemming the illicit transfer and misuse of small arms and light weapons, underlining the suffering they have caused to civilians
• The UN Security Council adopted the resolution on 22nd May by a vote of nine in favour to none against, with six abstentions. The text recognises the importance of preventing the illicit transfers and sales of weapons and ammunition, including small arms and light weapons, to armed groups and criminal networks that target civilians and civilian objects.
• In its resolution, the Security Council called on States to consider ratifying the Treaty or accede without delay. It identifies a wide range of areas in which international cooperation could be bolstered, recognising the importance of well-targeted and monitored sanctions regimes, appropriate UN peacekeeping mandates, effective reintegration and demobilisation programmes and security sector reform in that regard.
• In the resolution, the members of the Council advocate the establishment or strengthening, as appropriate, of subregional and regional mechanisms for cooperation, coordination and information sharing, particularly cross-border customs cooperation and information exchange networks "in order to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit transfer, the destabilising accumulation and misuse of small arms and small arms."
• The Security Council also considers it necessary that Member States put in place, if it does not exist, laws, rules and administrative procedures to allow them to effectively control the production of small arms and small arms within their jurisdiction and the export, import, transit or retransfer of such weapons.
• It also asked Member States, relevant United Nations entities and intergovernmental organisations, regional and subregional organisations in a position to do so to cooperate and exchange information on persons suspected of trafficking.

• UNICEF, the United Nations International Children`s Educational Fund and ARM have announced a multi-year partnership to accelerate the development of new technologies to overcome the barriers that prevent millions of families from accessing basic health, education and support services. ARM is a family of instruction set architectures for computer processors developed by British company ARM Holdings, based on a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) architecture.
• The partnership`s first action is to collaborate with global product strategy and design firm frog on a `Wearables for Good` challenge to generate ideas for new and innovative devices that tackle maternal and child health needs in emerging economies.
• The partnership will focus on enabling UNICEF to provide faster and more comprehensive help to children coping with the effects of mass urbanization and increased social and economic divides. Together, UNICEF and ARM will use their influence to encourage the tech sector to innovate for impact.
• The multi-year partnership will include launch of Wearables for Good design challenge that will seek to optimise wearable and sensor technology for children`s welfare. Running over six months, the challenge invites developers, designers, community partners and problem-solvers to design a wearable device that offers a cost-effective, efficient, and sustainable solution to pressing maternal, newborn or child health problems.
• ARM will work alongside UNICEF`s network of Innovation Labs and country offices to identify and scale up pilot projects that demonstrate the potential to be used at a national level. Over the next year, UNICEF and ARM will uncover the most impactful solutions being used or in trials across the UNICEF network and invest to deliver them wherever they are needed.

• Ireland has become the first country to legalise same-sex marriage through a popular vote - 22 years after it legalised homosexuality.
• On May 19, 1897, Wilde - one of Ireland`s most famous sons and one of Victorian era`s greatest writers was released from prison having served two years of hard labour for being a homosexual.
• The Irish constitution will now read `Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex,` according to Frances Fitzgerald, minster for justice and equality.
• The government said "Being of the same sex will no longer be an impediment to marriage. Existing civil partners may marry each other. Religious solemnisers will not be obliged to solemnise the marriage of a couple of the same sex. At a marriage ceremony, the parties to a marriage will declare that they accept each other as "husband and wife" or as "spouses of each other". There will be amendments to a number of Acts to replace the words "husband" and "wife" with the word "spouse". A change of gender would have no effect on a marriage".

• Current Affirs Indian heritage Center has been launched by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 8th May. The center is located at the heart of Little India in the city state and which blends traditional Indian and modern architectural elements
• The museum, which is the first one dedicated to Indian history, starts with the early interactions between South Asia and Southeast Asia, then goes on to feature the origins and movement of Indians from the 19th century to the 21st century.
• The Little India center received a total of 368 artifacts through a collection drive in 2011. More than 200 of these pieces are now on display.
• The center cost the National Heritage Board 16 million Singaporean dollars (around $12 million) to build and 5 million Singaporean dollars more to fit it out. Ethnic Indians comprise around 9.1 percent of Singapore`s population of 3.9 million.

• Pakistani Taliban on 10th May released a video showing its militants with a surface-to-air missile which it claimed was used to bring down an Army helicopter in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) that killed seven people including two Ambassadors.
• A video released by a jihadist media forum shows at least four masked militants with the surface-to-air missile (SAM-7B) allegedly used in hitting the Mi-17 that crashed in Naltar valley of Gilgit-Baltisitan in PoK.
• The message claimed that the missile was fired from a distance of three km to down the helicopter on 8th May. Norwegian envoy Leif H. Larsen and Domingo D. Lucenario Jr. of the Philippines were killed along with the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian Ambassadors, besides two Army pilots and a Pakistani crew member after the helicopter crashed.

8) Swedish Supreme Court rejects Assange appeal

• Sweden`s Supreme Court on 11th May has rejected an appeal by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange against his arrest warrant for alleged rape and sexual assault. Sweden issued the arrest warrant in 2010 following allegations from two Swedish women with the allegations. The Supreme Court noted in a statement that investigators have begun efforts to question Julian Assange in London and finds no reason to lift the arrest warrant.
• Assange has been ensconced in Ecuador`s embassy in London since 2012 to avoid extradition to the Scandinavian country. Assange, who faces arrest if he tries to leave the Ecuadorian embassy, has always vehemently denied the allegations and insisted the sexual encounters were consensual. Meanwhile Assange`s lawyer said that he has agreed to be questioned by Swedish prosecutors in London.

• A new powerful earthquake and several strong after shocks shook Nepal on 12th May killing at least 42 people and triggering panic in the Himalayan nation already devastated by a massive temblor less than three weeks back that had claimed over 8,000 lives. The earthquake sent strong tremors through several eastern and northern parts of India leaving 19 dead while 39 others injured.
• The earthquake struck at 12:35 PM, some 83 km east of Kathmandu near Mount Everest at a shallow depth of 15 km, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The quake hit Dolakha and Sindhupalchowk districts - the worst-affected areas in the last month`s temblor. There were five more aftershocks measuring over 5 on the Richter Scale after the second tremor. The tremors were also felt in China, where one woman was killed in Tibet.

1. Current Affirs French President Francois Hollande has met Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on a historic trip to Havana. Hollande is the first French president to visit Cuba since 1898, and the first Western head of state on the island since its thaw with Washington. He visited Cuba for the improvement of bilateral relations.

• Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza`s attempt to return home to tackle a coup has failed and he has returned to Tanzania where he was attending a summit. The plane turned back after 10 minutes as it would have been unable to land safely in Burundi. Earlier, Gen. Niyombare had ordered the closure of the airport to prevent Mr. Nkurunziza`s plane from landing.

• According to a few reports in Burundi, the factions of the military still loyal to the President were in negotiations with those backing the coup to determine the next step. The loyalists still reportedly hold the presidential palace and main radio offices. The capital, Bujumbura, was said to be quiet last night. The UN and US have urged all sides to show restraint.
• Coup leader arrested: Three leaders of a failed coup against Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza have been arrested. However, coup leader General Godefroid Niyombare is "still on the run". The president has returned to the capital after being stuck in Tanzania. More than 105,000 people have fled the country since the unrest began last month, the UN says.
• The President of Burundi declared on 15th May that peace had returned, two days after a failed military coup left the African nation in a state of chaotic violence.
• The attempted coup -- announced on 13th May over the radio by an army general while the President was out of the country -- was launched in the wake of deadly protests over Nkurunziza`s controversial intention to extend his rule beyond term limits. The unrest sparked fears that Burundi could plunge into ethnic violence, with the country`s history of civil war making it vulnerable to deep divisions.
• Shortly after the President returned from his Tanzania summit on 15th May, authorities said that they had arrested Army Gen. Godefroid Niyombare, as well as the others involved in the failed plot. They will be charged with mutiny in a military court, said Willy Nyamitwe.

• The Vatican announced on 13th May that it had brokered a treaty with the "state of Palestine. The treaty is expected to be signed "in the near future
• The treaty is thought to mark the first time the Holy See has formally recognized Palestinian statehood in a legal document.
• Vatican policy, however, has long held that a two-state solution is the best road to peace in the Holy Land. The Vatican has referred to Palestine as a state since November 2012, when the United Nations voted to recognize it as a nonmember observer state.

12) Terror attack in Karachi; Pak Taliban claims responsibility

• At least 47 people have been killed and several others injured after eight gunmen entered a bus and opened indiscriminate fire on passengers in Pakistan`s southern port city Karachi. According to police, more than 60 people were onboard the bus.The injured have been shifted to various hospitals by rescue workers. The heavily-armed militants donning police uniforms left behind a pamphlet of ISIS claiming responsibility for the attack.

1. In USA, the House voted to pass the USA Freedom Act, which would effectively shut down portions of the NSA’s controversial domestic spying program in their current form.
2. The bill, passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 338 to 88, would put an end to the government’s bulk collection of phone records from U.S. telecoms—a program first uncovered by USA in 2006 and re-exposed in 2013 by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
3. The bill instead calls for records to be retained by telecoms and forces the NSA to obtain court orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to gain access to them. It also requires the agency to use specific search terms to narrow its access to only relevant records.

• In Afghanistan, 11 people including 4 Indians and an American were among those killed when Taliban gunmen stormed a guesthouse in Kabul. The attack was targeted at the Indian Ambassador. 
• Soon after the gunmen stormed the guest house, Afghan National Security Forces including Special Forces arrived and began striking back the attackers and also rescuing those under siege inside the guest house. All three attackers were killed in the siege that lasted for about seven hours. The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack on a popular guesthouse in Kabul that officials said killed at least 11 people, including foreigners attending a dinner and arriving for a concert.

• Current Affirs A UNSC committee has assured India that it will take up the issue of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi. The assurance came after India expressed concern that the LeT commander`s release from a Pakistani jail violates the provisions of the global body.
• India`s Ambassador to the UN Asoke Mukerji had written a letter to the Chair of the UNSC Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee Ambassador Jim McLay expressing concern over Lakhvi`s release and saying that it violates the provisions of the committee concerning al-Qaeda and associated individuals and entities.
• India also pointed out that as a listed terrorist, Lakhvi can neither receive or give money since all his assets and financial resources have to be frozen. Any bail money posted for Lakhvi is also a violation of the provisions of the sanctions committee since he is listed terrorist. A Pakistani court had on the 9th of April set Lakhvi free.

1. The U.N.’s peace envoy for Syria on 5th May launched wide-ranging consultations in Geneva with regional and domestic players, including Iran, in a bid to revive stalled talks to end the conflict.
2. Staffan de Mistura said talks with the Syrian government and some 40 groups, including “political, military actors, women, civil society, victims, the diaspora,” would also rope in some 20 regional and international players.
3. Iran, a key player in the conflict, was excluded from the stalled Geneva I and Geneva II peace deals. The current dialogue will also include the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. The consultations will be held on a one-to-one basis between the U.N. and the separate players. Terror groups such as the Islamic State group and Al-Nusra have not been invited but groups in contact with them are on the cards.

• Iran and world powers are struggling to overcome deep divisions on two core sticking points in talks on a possible nuclear deal, reimposing UN sanctions if the Iranians violate the agreement and how Tehran can buy atomic technology, according to envoy 
• Negotiators are wrapping up nearly a week of talks in New York on 5th May, the latest round in 18 months of discussions aimed at clinching a long -term deal by Jun 30 to curb Iran`s nuclear programme in exchange for an end to sanctions.
• The current talks have been taking place on the sidelines of a conference on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The negotiations between Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union will resume in Vienna next week. The Iran Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iranian state television that atmosphere of the talks was good and it is possible to reach the final deal by Jun 30.

• The United States has authorized commercial ferry services to Cuba for the first time in over a half-century on 5th May, another major step in improving relations between the two countries
• The US Treasury`s Office of Foreign Assets Control lifted the ban and at least one Florida company confirmed it had been licensed to launch boat services to Cuba. Ferry services between Cuba and the United States was cut off in the early 1960s, following the Cuban revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power.

• A report released by the World Economic Forum shows that Spain topped this year`s world rankings and Japan was listed as the most competitive tourism destination in Asia. Other popular traveling destinations including France, Germany, Britain and Switzerland have all managed to hold onto their top positions in the global rankings. East Asia has become the most dynamic travel region in the world in recent years due to the rapid growth in the number of both international and local tourists.

• Saudi Arabia on 7th May proposed a five-day humanitarian ceasefire in Yemen to allow aid deliveries, and the United States called on Iran-backed Huthi rebels to accept the offer. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, whose country is leading a coalition conducting air strikes on the Yemen rebels, announced the proposal after talks with visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

• UK Prime Minister David Cameron and his Conservatives won a resounding victory in the British general election, with complete results on 8th May showing that the party had secured an overall majority in Parliament. The vote was a stunning disappointment for the opposition Labour Party and its leader, Ed Miliband, who had shifted the party away from the more centrist strategy it pursued in the late 1990s and early 2000s under Tony Blair. 
• The Conservatives won 331 of 650 seats in the House of Commons, a gain of 24 seats from the last election, in 2010. Their chief rival, Labour, was nearly wiped out in Scotland by the surging Scottish National Party and did more poorly than pre-election opinion polls had suggested it would in the rest of Britain. The results were also a disaster for Nick Clegg and his centrist Liberal Democrats, who have been the junior partner in a coalition with the Conservatives. Labour Party could win merely 232 seats.

• Seven persons including the ambassadors of the Philippines and Norway were killed in a Pakistani military helicopter crash on 8th May. Four foreigners, including ambassadors of Philippine and Norway and wives of Malaysian and Indonesian ambassador and three Pakistani nationals counting two pilots and one crew member were killed in the crash.
• In Mi-17 helicopter, the six Pakistanis and 11 foreigners were on board caught fire following a crash during an emergency landing, into a school in Gilgit-Baltistan of the Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

• Two fresh tremors were felt in Nepal on 8th May, triggering panic among the people still reeling from the impact of the devastating earthquake that has claimed nearly 8,000 lives. The epicenter of the tremors being Sindhupal chowk and Dolakha districts, east of Kathmandu.
• About 150 aftershocks measuring 4 or more on the Richter scale have been reported after the April 25 quake. Toll due to the earthquake has reached 7,885 so far, while the number of injured has shot up to 17,803.
• According to UNICEF, nearly a million children will not be able to return to school in the wake of earthquake in Nepal unless urgent action is taken. The international charity says nine out of 10 schools have been destroyed in the worst-affected districts. Almost 24,000 classrooms were damaged or destroyed in the disaster that hit the country 12 days ago. Unicef is attempting to set up temporary learning spaces for children. Currently, all schools are closed in Nepal, although many of those still standing are being used as emergency shelters.

• United States and Saudi officials have agreed to pursue a humanitarian pause in Yemen, where fighting by Shi`ite Houthi rebels has forced thousands of people to flee the country. US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Saudi counterpart, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, said efforts were underway to forge a five day ceasefire in Yemen to send in humanitarian aid. 
• They said the ceasefire would be renewable, depending on the conditions on the ground. The Saudi Foreign Minister also said more details would be announced within the coming days about the proposed pause, which would affect all of Yemen.

• Egypt’s Supreme Antiquities Council has approved the rebuilding of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Lighthouse, which was built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom in 280 BC, once stood at approximately 450 feet tall.
• Now, centuries after it was badly damaged by a number of earthquakes, Egypt is seeking to rebuild the lighthouse near its original location. The Lighthouse, also known as the Pharos Lighthouse, was commissioned shortly after Alexander the Great died in the 3rd Century. 

1) 100 US cities to host Yogathon on First International Yoga Day

• More than 100 US cities will organize a Yogathon on the first International Yoga Day to be celebrated on June 21. All major spiritual and Yoga organizations like Art of Living have joined the campaign, OVBI,Overseas Volunteer for a Better India - the lead organizers said that more than 50 organizations have joined the countrywide campaign to spread the awareness about Yoga. The United Nations, in less than three months, declared June 21 as World Yoga Day on December 11 last year, following a proposal by Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi. 
• During his visit to the United Nations in September last year, MrModi had urged the world community to celebrate Indian Yoga at the international level and that June 21 be declared as the World Yoga Day.

• The U.N. on 29th May called for a comprehensive response to the large scale humanitarian crisis of migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar, of which nearly 2,000 are still believed to be stranded in the perilous sea across the Bay of Bengal.
• On 29th May, 17 countries, including India, the U.S., Australia, Japan and the regional countries of Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Bangladesh met in Bangkok to thrash out a solution to the crisis even as 2,000 people are still believed to be stranded on the sea. Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed to address the root causes of a migrant exodus from their shores, but critics pilloried a deal that failed to mention the Rohingya minority at the heart of the crisis.
• UNSC adopted resolution on protection of journalists in conflict zones
• The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 27 May 2015 unanimously adopted a resolution 2222 (2015) on the protection of journalists in conflict zones. The resolution was adopted following number of deaths and kidnappings of media professionals which has continued to climb.
• The resolution was adopted during a meet that was heard by nearly 70 speakers under the agenda item Protection of civilians in armed conflict. The meet was chaired by Lithuania’s Foreign Minister.
• The Security Council resolution also condemned such attacks on journalists and warned parties to conflicts, including governments and armed groups, that they should take all reasonable steps to protect journalists. The resolution urged Member States to take active steps to ensure accountability.
• Besides, Christophe Deloire, Director-General of Reporters Without Borders called on to appoint a special representative on the protection of journalists to ensure that Member States abided by their commitments under the text and under previous resolution.

• Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on 17th May inaugurated the India Pavilion at the 68th Cannes International Film Festival. He stressed the importance of movies in government campaigns like `Make In India` and `Skill India
• The new government at the Centre is certainly more decisive and focused and is constantly working towards taking India to higher levels of growth, which is inclusive.
• The government is channelising that objective through campaigns like `Make in India’ and ‘Skill India’, and realises that the film industry is an important part of these campaigns given its tremendous potential towards job creation
• India has already signed co-production agreements with a slew of countries, and in the last one year five co-productions have been undertaken with France alone. We need to take these partnerships to the next level now
• The session also saw unveiling of the 46th IFFI, 2015 regulations and ‘India Film Guide’ by Rathore. The India Film Guide is a comprehensive booklet with information on policy initiatives by the government pertaining to film sector, the listing of Indian companies at Cannes Film Market, Indian films at Cannes and contacts of important people in the business of filmmaking.
• Mohan Kumar, ambassador of India to France, said the ambition should be to get Indian films in the most important category of films at Cannes. He added over the next two to three years, he will strive to work on that. The Cannes film gala began on May 13 and it will conclude on May 24.
• Gurvinder Singh`s Punjabi film “Chauthi Koot” and Neeraj Ghaywan`s debut feature "Masaan" are among the Indian films that have been chosen to be screened in the official UnCertain Regard section of the jamboree, the red carpet of which is being graced by Indian ambassadors of L`Oreal Paris -- Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.

5) Global energy subsidies to hit USD 5.3 trillion this year: IMF

• Current Affirs The International Monetary Fund, IMF has voiced alarm about energy subsidies across the world, saying they were expected to reach 5.3 trillion dollars in 2015, more than government health spending. In a report on 18th May, the IMF said, these estimates are shocking. According to report………
•  The figures were among the largest negative factors for economic growth it had ever estimated, piling up adverse effects on efficiency, growth and inequality.
• This year`s energy subsidies represent 6.5 per cent of the global economy, likely exceeding government health spending across the world.
• Long an opponent of energy subsidies, the IMF defines them as the difference between the amount of money consumers pay for energy and its true costs, plus a country`s normal value-added or sales tax rate.
• In addition to what is required to produce and distribute energy, the true costs include environmental effects like carbon emissions that lead to global warming and the health effects of air pollution.
• China is by far the largest spender on energy subsidies, at 2.3 trillion dollars a year, followed by the United States at 699 billion dollars and Russia at 335 billion dollars.
• The overall energy subsidies had more than doubled since 2011.
• The IMF explained that more than half of the increase was due to more precise evidence of the damaging effects of energy consumption on air quality and health, such as premature deaths.
• The IMF has long argued that getting energy prices right can help national governments achieve their goals not only for the environment but also for inclusive growth and sound public finances.  

• Dubai is planning to construct, world’s first first underwater tennis centre where spectators can watch games from below or above the sea life through a massive glass dome. Krzysztof Kotala, a Polish architect who owns a studio in Warsaw, is currently seeking investment from local players to make the ambitious project a reality.
• The proposed location for the project (arguably one of the world`s lowest tennis courts) is just next door to the highest tennis court atop the Burjal Arab skyscraper in Dubai.
• The initial designs of the project have been completed, but there is a need to find the potential investors to launch the proposal.

• Retired tennis champion Bob Hewitt has been jailed for six years in South Africa for raping underage girls. The 75-year-old was sentenced to eight years in jail for two counts of rape, with two years suspended, and two years for sexual assault. Judge Bert Bam ordered the three terms to be served at the same time, meaning Hewitt should spend up to six years in prison
• The sportsman was also ordered to pay around £5,000 towards state-run campaigns against sexual violence. Three women had told the court Hewitt assaulted them while they were minors and he was their tennis coach in South Africa during the 1980s and 1990s. Hewitt, who was born in Australia and became a South African citizen after marrying his wife, denied all charges but was found guilty in March following a trial in Johannesburg.

• North Korea said on 20th May that it had perfected the technology to make nuclear warheads, not long after announcing it had launched a ballistic missile from a submarine, dramatically upping military brinkmanship with its U.S.-led foes. It also cancelled a visit by U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon after he accused it of fuelling regional tensions, in a week that also saw U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry condemn the North’s “provocative, destabilising and repressive actions”

• An exhibition of 101 vintage miniature paintings that string together a grand narrative of the ancient Indian epic `Ramayana` opened at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA)
• Titled "The story of Rama: Indian Miniatures from the National Museum, New Delhi", the three-month show features paintings done between the 17th and 19th centuries. And it is the first major initiative under a recently-inked agreement on culture between India and Australia.
• According to NGA director Gerard Vaughan, the exhibition of vibrant and exquisite Indian miniature paintings is important for the gallery. It forms part of our commitment to share the art and rich cultural heritage of India with all Australians
• In November 2014 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of arts and culture between Australia and India was inked during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the continent-country.
• The agreement demonstrates India`s readiness to partner with countries and celebrate the arts. National Museum`s curator Vijay Kumar Mathur, who has selected the 101 paintings in a chronological progression capturing the story of the Ramayana, revealed that the collection had been pooled in from India`s northern, central and eastern territories.

• Islamic State fighters tightened their grip on the historic Syrian city of Palmyra on 21st May and overran Iraqi government defenses east of Ramadi, the provincial capital that they seized five days earlier. The twin successes not only pile pressure on Damascus and Baghdad but throw doubt on a U.S. strategy of relying almost exclusively on air strikes to support the fight against Islamic State.
• The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the al Qaeda offshoot now controlled more than half of all Syrian territory after more than four years of conflict that grew out of an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. 
• The monitoring group added that Islamic State had seized the last border crossing between Syria and Iraq controlled by the Damascus government. The crossing is in Syria`s Homs province, where Palmyra is located. Fighters loyal to the Sunni Muslim group have also consolidated their grip on the Libyan city of Sirte, home town of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
• Islamic State said that it was in full charge of Palmyra, including its military bases, marking the first time it had taken a city directly from the Syrian military and allied forces. The U.N. human rights office in Geneva said a third of Palmyra`s 200,000 residents may have fled the fighting in the past few days.

• Thailand’s government agreed on 19th May to hold a public referendum on the newly drafted constitution, the prime minister and junta leader said, indicating that the decision could delay a general election. The move to amend the interim charter to allow the referendum comes after calls by several sides, including the charter’s drafters, for the public to be able to vote on whether they approve of the constitution.
• The military abolished an earlier constitution after it took over power from an elected government in a May 2014 coup, and the government operates under a temporary charter. The junta later picked the drafters and a 250-member National Reform Council to help write a new constitution.
• The Cabinet and the National Council for Peace and Order, the junta’s official name, agreed to hold the referendum
• According to Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha the process would take about three months and would affect the political road map that was laid out by the junta after the coup. This means a referendum will likely delay a general election that the government has said could take place early next year.

• The US National Security Agency developed plans to hack into data links to app stores operated by Google and Samsung to plant spyware on smartphones, a media report said on 22nd May.
• The online news site The Intercept said US intelligence developed the plan with allies in Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, a group known as the "Five Eyes" alliance. The report, based on a document leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, said the plan aimed to step up surveillance efforts on smartphones. 
• The plan appeared to have been discussed at meetings involving the intelligence services in 2011 and 2012, according to the classified document.
• The project called "Irritant Horn" would allow the agencies to hijack data connections to app stores and surreptitiously implant malicious software on smartphones that would allow for data to be harvested.
• The intelligence agencies could also use the spyware to send misinformation to targets to confuse potential adversaries, according to the report. 
• The Intercept said the plan was motivated in part by concerns about the possibility of "another Arab Spring," or the spread of popular movements.
• The agencies were particularly interested in the Africa region, especially Senegal, Sudan and the Congo but also targeted app store servers in France, Cuba, Morocco, Switzerland, Bahamas, the Netherlands and Russia.
• At the time, the Google app store was called Android Market. It is now known as Google Play. In developing the plan the agencies found weaknesses in UC Browser, an app owned by Alibaba Group which is popular in China and India to browse the Internet and is used by some 500 million people worldwide. 
• The document was also published in Canada by CBC News, which said the aim of the plan was to collect data on suspected terrorists and other intelligence targets, including their online search queries, SIM card numbers, device IDs and the location of the smartphone.
• In one case, according to the CBC, analysts found a foreign military using the UC Browser app to communicate covertly about its operations in Western countries.

13) IS takes full control of Syria`s Palmya city

• Islamic State says it has full control of Syria`s Palmyra city; United Nations deeply concerned about citizens` plight; World powers acknowledge the millitants` gains as a "setback
• Islamic State fighters tightened their grip on the historic Syrian city of Palmyra on 21st May and overran Iraqi government defences east of Ramadi, the provincial capital that they seized five days earlier.
• The twin successes not only pile pressure on Damascus and Baghdad but throw doubt on a U.S. strategy of relying almost exclusively on air strikes to support the fight against Islamic State.
• U.S. and coalition forces had conducted 18 air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq since 20th May, the U.S. military said.
• The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the al Qaeda offshoot now controlled more than half of all Syrian territory after more than four years of conflict that grew out of an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
• The monitoring group added that Islamic State had seized the last border crossing between Syria and Iraq controlled by the Damascus government. The crossing is in Syria`s Homs province, where Palmyra is located.

• The European Union and Ukraine have signed a 2 billion dollars loan deal in an effort to help revive the cash-strapped country`s economy. EU and Ukrainian officials signed the agreement today in Riga at a summit of leaders of EU nations and six post-Soviet countries.
• The deal requires Ukraine to adopt a series of reforms including anti-corruption measures to remedy structural problems in its economy. At the Riga summit, the EU also promised grants of 223 million dollars to support small and medium-sized businesses in the former Soviet republics of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

• The UN has adopted a resolution calling for stronger cooperation in stemming the illicit transfer and misuse of small arms and light weapons, underlining the suffering they have caused to civilians 
• The UN Security Council adopted the resolution on 22nd May by a vote of nine in favour to none against, with six abstentions. The text recognises the importance of preventing the illicit transfers and sales of weapons and ammunition, including small arms and light weapons, to armed groups and criminal networks that target civilians and civilian objects.
• In its resolution, the Security Council called on States to consider ratifying the Treaty or accede without delay. It identifies a wide range of areas in which international cooperation could be bolstered, recognising the importance of well-targeted and monitored sanctions regimes, appropriate UN peacekeeping mandates, effective reintegration and demobilisation programmes and security sector reform in that regard.
• In the resolution, the members of the Council advocate the establishment or strengthening, as appropriate, of subregional and regional mechanisms for cooperation, coordination and information sharing, particularly cross-border customs cooperation and information exchange networks "in order to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit transfer, the destabilising accumulation and misuse of small arms and small arms." 
• The Security Council also considers it necessary that Member States put in place, if it does not exist, laws, rules and administrative procedures to allow them to effectively control the production of small arms and small arms within their jurisdiction and the export, import, transit or retransfer of such weapons.
• It also asked Member States, relevant United Nations entities and intergovernmental organisations, regional and subregional organisations in a position to do so to cooperate and exchange information on persons suspected of trafficking.

• UNICEF, the United Nations International Children`s Educational Fund and ARM have announced a multi-year partnership to accelerate the development of new technologies to overcome the barriers that prevent millions of families from accessing basic health, education and support services. ARM is a family of instruction set architectures for computer processors developed by British company ARM Holdings, based on a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) architecture.
• The partnership`s first action is to collaborate with global product strategy and design firm frog on a `Wearables for Good` challenge to generate ideas for new and innovative devices that tackle maternal and child health needs in emerging economies.
• The partnership will focus on enabling UNICEF to provide faster and more comprehensive help to children coping with the effects of mass urbanization and increased social and economic divides. Together, UNICEF and ARM will use their influence to encourage the tech sector to innovate for impact.
• The multi-year partnership will include launch of Wearables for Good design challenge that will seek to optimise wearable and sensor technology for children`s welfare. Running over six months, the challenge invites developers, designers, community partners and problem-solvers to design a wearable device that offers a cost-effective, efficient, and sustainable solution to pressing maternal, newborn or child health problems.
• ARM will work alongside UNICEF`s network of Innovation Labs and country offices to identify and scale up pilot projects that demonstrate the potential to be used at a national level. Over the next year, UNICEF and ARM will uncover the most impactful solutions being used or in trials across the UNICEF network and invest to deliver them wherever they are needed.

• Ireland has become the first country to legalise same-sex marriage through a popular vote - 22 years after it legalised homosexuality.
• On May 19, 1897, Wilde - one of Ireland`s most famous sons and one of Victorian era`s greatest writers was released from prison having served two years of hard labour for being a homosexual.
• The Irish constitution will now read `Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex,` according to Frances Fitzgerald, minster for justice and equality.
• The government said "Being of the same sex will no longer be an impediment to marriage. Existing civil partners may marry each other. Religious solemnisers will not be obliged to solemnise the marriage of a couple of the same sex. At a marriage ceremony, the parties to a marriage will declare that they accept each other as "husband and wife" or as "spouses of each other". There will be amendments to a number of Acts to replace the words "husband" and "wife" with the word "spouse". A change of gender would have no effect on a marriage".

• Current Affirs Indian heritage Center has been launched by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 8th May. The center is located at the heart of Little India in the city state and which blends traditional Indian and modern architectural elements
• The museum, which is the first one dedicated to Indian history, starts with the early interactions between South Asia and Southeast Asia, then goes on to feature the origins and movement of Indians from the 19th century to the 21st century.
• The Little India center received a total of 368 artifacts through a collection drive in 2011. More than 200 of these pieces are now on display. 
• The center cost the National Heritage Board 16 million Singaporean dollars (around $12 million) to build and 5 million Singaporean dollars more to fit it out. Ethnic Indians comprise around 9.1 percent of Singapore`s population of 3.9 million.

• Pakistani Taliban on 10th May released a video showing its militants with a surface-to-air missile which it claimed was used to bring down an Army helicopter in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) that killed seven people including two Ambassadors.
• A video released by a jihadist media forum shows at least four masked militants with the surface-to-air missile (SAM-7B) allegedly used in hitting the Mi-17 that crashed in Naltar valley of Gilgit-Baltisitan in PoK.
• The message claimed that the missile was fired from a distance of three km to down the helicopter on 8th May. Norwegian envoy Leif H. Larsen and Domingo D. Lucenario Jr. of the Philippines were killed along with the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian Ambassadors, besides two Army pilots and a Pakistani crew member after the helicopter crashed.

• Sweden`s Supreme Court on 11th May has rejected an appeal by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange against his arrest warrant for alleged rape and sexual assault. Sweden issued the arrest warrant in 2010 following allegations from two Swedish women with the allegations. The Supreme Court noted in a statement that investigators have begun efforts to question Julian Assange in London and finds no reason to lift the arrest warrant.
• Assange has been ensconced in Ecuador`s embassy in London since 2012 to avoid extradition to the Scandinavian country. Assange, who faces arrest if he tries to leave the Ecuadorian embassy, has always vehemently denied the allegations and insisted the sexual encounters were consensual. Meanwhile Assange`s lawyer said that he has agreed to be questioned by Swedish prosecutors in London.
• 42 killed, over 1000 injured as 7.3 magnitude quake hits Nepal
• A new powerful earthquake and several strong after shocks shook Nepal on 12th May killing at least 42 people and triggering panic in the Himalayan nation already devastated by a massive temblor less than three weeks back that had claimed over 8,000 lives. The earthquake sent strong tremors through several eastern and northern parts of India leaving 19 dead while 39 others injured.
• The earthquake struck at 12:35 PM, some 83 km east of Kathmandu near Mount Everest at a shallow depth of 15 km, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The quake hit Dolakha and Sindhupalchowk districts - the worst-affected areas in the last month`s temblor. There were five more aftershocks measuring over 5 on the Richter Scale after the second tremor. The tremors were also felt in China, where one woman was killed in Tibet.

1. Current Affirs French President Francois Hollande has met Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on a historic trip to Havana. Hollande is the first French president to visit Cuba since 1898, and the first Western head of state on the island since its thaw with Washington. He visited Cuba for the improvement of bilateral relations.

1. Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza`s attempt to return home to tackle a coup has failed and he has returned to Tanzania where he was attending a summit. The plane turned back after 10 minutes as it would have been unable to land safely in Burundi. Earlier, Gen. Niyombare had ordered the closure of the airport to prevent Mr. Nkurunziza`s plane from landing.

• According to a few reports in Burundi, the factions of the military still loyal to the President were in negotiations with those backing the coup to determine the next step. The loyalists still reportedly hold the presidential palace and main radio offices. The capital, Bujumbura, was said to be quiet last night. The UN and US have urged all sides to show restraint.
• Coup leader arrested: Three leaders of a failed coup against Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza have been arrested. However, coup leader General Godefroid Niyombare is "still on the run". The president has returned to the capital after being stuck in Tanzania. More than 105,000 people have fled the country since the unrest began last month, the UN says. 
• The President of Burundi declared on 15th May that peace had returned, two days after a failed military coup left the African nation in a state of chaotic violence.
• The attempted coup -- announced on 13th May over the radio by an army general while the President was out of the country -- was launched in the wake of deadly protests over Nkurunziza`s controversial intention to extend his rule beyond term limits. The unrest sparked fears that Burundi could plunge into ethnic violence, with the country`s history of civil war making it vulnerable to deep divisions. 
• Shortly after the President returned from his Tanzania summit on 15th May, authorities said that they had arrested Army Gen. Godefroid Niyombare, as well as the others involved in the failed plot. They will be charged with mutiny in a military court, said Willy Nyamitwe.

• The Vatican announced on 13th May that it had brokered a treaty with the "state of Palestine. The treaty is expected to be signed "in the near future
• The treaty is thought to mark the first time the Holy See has formally recognized Palestinian statehood in a legal document. 
• Vatican policy, however, has long held that a two-state solution is the best road to peace in the Holy Land. The Vatican has referred to Palestine as a state since November 2012, when the United Nations voted to recognize it as a nonmember observer state.

• At least 47 people have been killed and several others injured after eight gunmen entered a bus and opened indiscriminate fire on passengers in Pakistan`s southern port city Karachi. According to police, more than 60 people were onboard the bus.The injured have been shifted to various hospitals by rescue workers. The heavily-armed militants donning police uniforms left behind a pamphlet of ISIS claiming responsibility for the attack.

1. In USA, the House voted to pass the USA Freedom Act, which would effectively shut down portions of the NSA’s controversial domestic spying program in their current form.
2. The bill, passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 338 to 88, would put an end to the government’s bulk collection of phone records from U.S. telecoms—a program first uncovered by USA in 2006 and re-exposed in 2013 by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. 
3. The bill instead calls for records to be retained by telecoms and forces the NSA to obtain court orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to gain access to them. It also requires the agency to use specific search terms to narrow its access to only relevant records. 

1) ,000-yr-old water supply system unearthed

• An ancient aqueduct built more than 2,000 years ago to transport water into the city of Jerusalem has been unearthed. According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, a section of Jerusalem`s Lower Aqueduct, which conveyed water to the city more than 2,000 years ago, was exposed in the Umm Tuba quarter (near Har Homa) during the construction of a sewer line.
• The authority conducted an archaeological excavation there following the discovery of the aqueduct. The aqueduct begins at the `En `Eitam spring, near Solomon`s Pools, south of Bethlehem, and is approximately 21 kilometers long. Despite its length, it flows along a very gentle downward slope whereby the water level falls just one meter per kilometer of distance. 
• At first, the water was conveyed inside an open channel and about 500 years ago, during the Ottoman period, a terra cotta pipe was installed inside the channel in order to better protect the water.
• The aqueduct`s route was built in open areas in the past, but with the expansion of Jerusalem in the modern era, it now runs through a number of neighborhoods: Umm Tuba, Sur Bahar, East Talpiot and Abu Tor. Since this is one of Jerusalem`s principal sources of water, the city`s rulers took care to preserve it for some two thousand years, until it was replaced about a century ago by a modern electrically operated system. 
• Due to its historical and archaeological importance, the Israel Antiquities Authority is taking steps to prevent any damage to the aqueduct, and is working to expose sections of its remains, study them and make them accessible to the general public.

• According to a new report released on 27th May, the number of people in the world still going to bed hungry 15 years after the U.N. placed eradicating hunger and extreme poverty at the top of its Millennium Development Goals has dropped to 795 million. The report by three U.N. agencies claims that number is a reduction of 167 million people over the last 10 years.
• Only 72 of the world`s 129 developing countries, 56 percent, met the MDG of reducing the proportion of hungry people by half in the last 15 years, said the report, "State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015".
• South Asia faces the highest burden of hunger, where as many as 281 million people lack sufficient food Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence of hunger, with more than 23 percent of the population not getting enough to eat
• Poor governance, violent conflicts and protracted crises are holding back many African nations. In 1990, 12 countries across the continent were facing food crises. Twenty years later the number has risen to 24, including 19 that have been in crisis for more than eight of the previous 10 years. The regions that made the most progress include……
• South America, where less than 5 percent of the population faces hunger now, a reduction of more than 50 percent since 1990.
• Central Asia, South East Asia and parts of North Africa also showed significant progress, said the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other Rome-based U.N. agencies.
• Support for the poor through social investments, such as cash transfer programmes, employment projects, food distribution schemes, health care and education helped successful countries reduce the number of hungry residents, U.N. agencies said.
• Strong harvests in much of the world, coupled with reduced oil prices, mean that global food costs are nearing a five-year low.
• These trends, along with economic growth and other factors, helped reduce the number of hungry people worldwide by 10 million in the past year, according to the FAO.
• In the developed countries, some 15 million people also suffer from hunger, the report said.

3) India tops world hunger list with 194 million people

• India is home to 194.6 million undernourished people, the highest in the world, according to the annual report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations released on 28th May. This translates into over 15 per cent of India’s population, exceeding China in both absolute numbers and proportion of malnourished people in the country`s population.
• The organization has released the report The State of Food Insecurity in the World. 
• The report suggests that….
• This is a result of growth not being inclusive. Rural people make up a high percentage of the hungry and malnourished in developing countries, and efforts to promote growth in agriculture and the rural sector can be an important component of a strategy for promoting inclusive growth.
• There has however been a significant reduction in the proportion of undernourished people in India — by 36 per cent — from 1990-92.
• In India, the extended food distribution programme has contributed to a positive outcome

• Nuclear envoys from South Korea,Japan and the United States met in Seoul on 27th May, seeking a way forward to revive long-stalled, six-party talks with North Korea on its nuclear weapons programme. The effort comes as North Korea ramps up its nuclear rhetoric, boasting last week of its ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead to fit on high-precision, long-range rockets. According to Hwang Joon-kook, South Korea`s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, dialogue was particularly timely given what was described as an uncertain and tense situation in North Korea. After the dialogue in Seoul, the South Korean and US envoys were set to fly to Beijing to meet with their Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei.

5) Migrant crisis: EU asks member states to accept 40,000 asylum seekers

• The European Commission has called on EU member states to take in 40,000 asylum seekers from Syria and Eritrea who land in Italy and Greece over the next two years. Germany, France and Spain would receive the most migrants under the Commission`s latest plan. The idea of using quotas to resettle those who have made it to Europe has caused controversy in some EU states. The UK government says that it will not take part in such a system.

• concerns, and a final decision will be taken by EU governments after a vote by MEPs. Denmark has the right to opt out of the plan while Ireland and the UK can decide whether they wish to opt in.
• This is in addition to moves announced earlier this month by the EU for a voluntary scheme to settle 20,000 refugees fleeing conflict who are currently living outside the EU.
• Pakistan ‘haven’ for several Islamist terror groups: US Report
• Syrian activists say the Islamic State group has released two Christian women who had been held along with dozens others since February in northeastern Syria. IS had kidnapped more than 220 Assyrian Christians in February, after overrunning several farming communities on the southern bank of the Khabur River in Hassakeh province. 
• Osama Edwards, director of the Assyrian Network for Human Rights, says the women, who are 70 and 75 years old, were released on Tuesday and have now reached the northwestern city of Hassakeh.
• The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday the two were likely released because of their poor health. Some of the captives were released previously. Edwards says the Islamic State is still holding 210 Assyrian Christians and is demanding $100,000 for each hostage.

1) Iran agrees to grant UN inspectors "managed access" to military sites

• Iran has agreed to grant United Nations inspectors "managed access" to military sites as part of a future deal over its contested nuclear program
• Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi`s comments,carried by state television, came after he and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attended a closed session of parliament. Lawmaker Ahmad Shoohani, a member of parliament`s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee who attended the closed-door session, said restricted inspections of military sites will be carried out under strict control and specific circumstances.
• Iran and six world powers the US, Russia, China, Britain,France and Germany hope to work out terms of a final nuclear deal before a June 30 deadline. Inspection of military sites suspected to be taking part in the nuclear program is a top priority of the US.

• Iran on 28th May warned global powers against making excessive demands in talks aimed at sealing a ground-breaking nuclear deal, after France demanded access to its military installations. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva after weeks of behind-the-scenes complex technical discussions in Vienna seeking to narrow the gaps on what would be an unprecedented deal on curtailing Iran`s nuclear programme. The negotiators are working towards a proposed June 30 deadline for agreement.

3) UN conference on prevention of proliferation of nuclear weapons ends in failure

• A United Nations conference aimed at preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons has ended in failure after a row over a nuclear-free Middle East proposal. The Egypt-backed plan had envisaged a regional forum, which analysts say might have forced Israel to reveal whether or not it has nuclear weapons. The proposal was blocked by the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. The next review is set for 2020. Israel neither confirms nor denies it has a stockpile of nuclear weapons.

• Current Affirs China has set up a gold sector fund involving countries along the ancient Silk Road which is expected to raise $16.1 billion. The fund, led by Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), is expected to raise an estimated 100 billion yuan ($16.1 billion) in three phases, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. It is said to be the “largest fund” set up by China.

 5) Earth quake in Tokyo

• An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 shook Tokyo and surrounding areas on 25th May, but no tsunami warning was issued. The quake was centered in Ibaraki prefecture just northeast of the Japanese capital. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, and no reports of abnormalities at any nuclear facilities. The US Geological Survey measured the quake at 5.3 magnitude.
• The tremor shook buildings in Tokyo and briefly halted some train lines, including the Tokyo Metro subway lines. Narita airport closed both runways for checks shortly after the quake, but the capital`s Haneda airport was operating as normal. On March 11, 2011, Japan - one of the world`s most seismically active nations - was hit with a massive earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 20,000 people dead and set off meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.

• Iraqi government forces have formally launched an operation to drive Islamic State (IS) out of Anbar province. The announcement was made for the Popular Mobilisation. The operation would see troops and militiamen move southwards from Salahuddin province and seek to cut off IS militants in Ramadi. The provincial capital fell to IS this month after Iraq`s army withdrew. Since then government forces have been massing for a counter-attack, and they say they have regained some ground east of Ramadi in the past few days.