28 May

International News Affairs

• Today (28th May) is Menstrual hygiene day.
  • This is an annual awareness day which aims to break taboos and raise awareness about the importance of good menstrual hygiene management (MHM) for women and adolescent girls worldwide.
  • Theme of Menstrual hygiene day 2017 :  “Education about Menstruation Changes Everything.”

National Current Affairs

• The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed India’s first three cases of Zika virusinfections, all from the same area in Ahmedabad.
  • The first detection was made in February 2016, the second was reported in November 2016, and third in January 2017.
  • About Zika Virus :
    • The Zika virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, that breeds in fresh water and bites during the day.
    • The virus causes birth defects and neurological problems like microcephaly (which leads to unusually small heads in babies) and Guillain-Barre syndrome (disorder that causes paralysis).
    • Its symptoms are mild fever, skin rash, muscle and joint pain, headache and body ache.

Science & Technology

• Preparing for North Korea’s growing threat, the US Defence Ministry will try to shoot down anInter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) for the first time in a test next week.
  • The goal is to simulate a North Korean ICBM aimed at the US homeland, officials said. Notably, the US interceptor has succeeded only once in the last four non-ICBM attempts.

Banking, Business & Economic Affairs

• Indian tax laws are perceived to be second most complex in the Asia Pacific region, a Deloitte survey has recently announced.
  • India ranks only after China in having most complex jurisdiction for taxation and most complicated requirements of tax.
  • Top 6 in the Tax Complexity Index :
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • Australia
    • Indonesia
    • South Kore
  • Delhi‘s taxi drivers have launched their own taxi app called ‘Sewa Cab‘ to take on Uber and Ola.
    • The service, which offers fares starting from ₹5 per km, was announced during the drivers’ strikes protesting a decrease in incentives given by existing ride-hailing services.

Awards & Honours

• 12-year-old Padmalaya Nanda from Odisha is set to represent India at the Little Miss Universebeauty pageant, to be held in Georgia, US from 31st May to 6th June 2017.
  • She is one of the 16 contestants who were selected from across the world.
  • Note : She  has also been nominated to represent India at the Little Miss World contest in Greece.

Deaths

• Allman Brothers Band Co-founder Gregg Allman (69) passed away today.
  • Allman’s band played a key role in pioneering Southern rock music in the 1970s.
  • Note : The band received the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2012.

Sports Current Affairs

• India’s CA Bhavani Devi has won the Gold medal in the Sabre event of the Turnoi Satellite Fencing Championship held at Reykjavik in Iceland.