Kerala to launch free internet project K-FON in December

1.World No Tobacco Day: May 31

World No Tobacco Day is observed around the world every year on 31 May.The day spreads awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco and to discourage people from using tobacco products.Tobacco use is considered to be one of the leading preventable causes of mortality in the world.According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), nearly eight million people in the world die each year of tobacco use.

2.Google launches app ‘Sodar’ to help people maintain social distancing

Google has launched ‘Sodar’ app that will help people maintain distance in real life using augmented reality.The app has been developed under Experiments with Google and is not available on the Google Play Store but can be side-loaded separately.The app called ‘Sodar’, will create a visual boundary using the user’s smartphone camera and constantly show who’s breaching that distance.The company claims Sodar uses “WebXR to help visualise social distancing guidelines in your environment.Using Sodar on supported mobile devices, create an augmented reality two meter radius ring around you.Once another person breaches the circle, the screen will visually alert the user.

3.Next phase of Operation Samudra Setu to commence on June 1

The Indian Navy will start the next phase of Operation Samudra Setu from June 1 to repatriate Indians who are stranded overseas amid the coronavirus pandemic.In this phase, Indian Navy Ship Jalashwa will repatriate 700 personnel from Colombo, Republic of Sri Lanka to Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu and subsequently repatriate another 700 personnel from Malè, Republic of Maldives to Tuticorin.The Indian Navy has already repatriated 1,488 Indian nationals from Malè to Kochi during the previous phases of the operation.After disembarkation at Tuticorin, the evacuated personnel will be entrusted to the care of the state authorities.

4.Kerala to launch free internet project K-FON in December

The Kerala government has announced that its ambitious Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON) project, envisaged to provide free internet will be launched in December 2020.Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed the decision after a meeting with the heads of companies of the consortium executing the Rs 1,500 crore K-FON project.Kerala is the first state to declare the internet as a fundamental right of the citizen.As part of this, the K-FON project was launched to provide quality internet free of cost to the poor and at affordable rates to others.The project is being implemented by Kerala State IT Infrastructure Limited and Kerala State Electricity Board.

5.Aiman Ezzat becomes new CEO of Capgemini Group

Aiman Ezzat has become the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of French technology major Capgemini Group.He has replaced the presently serving Paul Hermelin who will continue to serve as the Chairman of the Board.The appointment of Aiman Ezzat was made at the close of the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.Aiman Ezzat was earlier serving as the Chief Operating Officer of the Capgemini Group and has also served as the Chief Financial Officer of the company in the past.

6.JP Morgan’s new chairman, Leo Puri

Leo Puri has been announced to become the new Chairman of JP Morgan South Asia and SouthEast Asia.He will replace Kalpana Morparia who will be serving as the chairman until the 1st Quarter of 2021.Leo Puri has earlier served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UTI Mutual Fund.

7.IndiGo appoints Venkataramani Sumantran as independent director

Venkataramani Sumantran, the chairman and managing director of Chennai-based Celeris Technologies, has been appointed the independent director of IndiGo.Sumantran will hold the post for the next five years.He serves as an adjunct professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is on several statutory and advisory boards in India, Europe and the US.Before the coronavirus hit the country, IndiGo had around 48 per cent share of the domestic air passenger market.

8.R Sreelekha to become Kerala’s first woman DGP

Kerala Police will get its first woman Director General when R.Sreelekha assumes office as the new head of the Kerala Fire and Rescue Services on June 1.Presently an Additional Director General of Police, she currently heads the Jail Department.The Kerala government elevated her as DGP, as two DGP will be retiring from service soon.An 1988 batch IPS officer, she became the first woman Superintendent of Police in 1991 and since then, has had a glittering career.

9.South African AIDS researcher Quarraisha Abdool Karim wins France’s Christophe Merieux Prize

A South African HIV researcher Quarraisha Abdool Karim, who found that a topical gel could stop many women catching the virus has been awarded one of France’s top science prizes.He won the half a million-euro ($551,000) Christophe Merieux Prize for her work for the Durban-based Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), which she heads.The Christophe Merieux Prize is one of France’s top science prizes.

10.Virat Kohli only cricketer in Forbes’ top 100 highest-paid athletes of 2020

India captain Virat Kohli remained the only cricketer to be included in the list of top 100 highest-paid athletes of 2020 put forward by Forbes magazine.According to Forbes, Kohli had an estimated total earnings of $26 million ($24m from endorsements and $2m from salary/winnings).He made a jump of over 30 places from 2019, as he was positioned at the 66th spot in this year’s list.This is the second year in a row that Kohli has become the only Indian to feature in the Forbes’ list of top 100 highest-paid athletes.In 2019, he was positioned at the 100th place with an estimated earnings of $25 million.Meanwhile, Swiss tennis great Roger Federer has become the first from his sport to top Forbes’ list of highest paid athletes.With an estimated $106.3 million earned over the past 12 months, Federer edged out Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo from the top spot.

11.36th National Games postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19 pandemic

The much-delayed 36th National Games, scheduled for October-November in Goa, was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) recently asked the Goa government to host the National Games as scheduled from October 20 to November 4 this year.The previous edition of the Games was held back in 2015 in Kerala.The upcoming Games, facing uncertainty for long, was originally scheduled for November 2018 but was postponed to April 2019.However, due to the general election, the government of Goa ordered another cancellation.

12.Sri Lanka suspends fast bowler Shehan Madushanka after heroin arrest

Sri Lanka fast bowler Shehan Madushanka has been suspended from all forms of cricket with immediate effect after he was arrested for alleged possession of illegal drugs.Madushanka was in possession of two grams of heroin when he was caught.The 25-year-old took a hat-trick in his first one-day international against Bangladesh in January, 2018, in Dhaka and played two more Twenty20 internationals on that tour before being sidelined with injuries.