GK and Current Affairs Updates

India’s ace cueist Pankaj Advani on 22 May 2016 won the Asian 6-Red snooker title. 
•    To win this tile for the first time, he defeated Malaysian Keen Hoh Moh 7-5 in the finals held in Abu Dhabi.
•    To reach the finals, he defeated Aditya Mehta, an Indian player, 6-1 in a semi final match.
•    With this win, Advani became the first in the world to hold both world and continental titles in 6-Red snooker at the same time.
•    Earlier, in August 2015, he retained the World 6-Reds Snooker title in Karachi, Pakistan.
•    He has been winning titles like:
•    IBSF World Snooker Championship
•    IBSF World 6-Red Snooker Championship - Gold
•    IBSF World 6-Red Snooker Championship - Gold (a world record of winning world titles in both billiards and snooker in all formats)
•    World Team Billiards Championship - Gold (highest number of world titles by any Indian sportsperson)
•    World Billiards Championship (a record 8 world titles for a 27-year-old)
•    Asian Billiards Championship (a record 5 times)

Veteran and former MLA and MP K Anirudhan passed away at his residence on 23rd May 2016 at the age of 92.
•    Anirudhan was suffering from age-related ailments for some time and died last night, the sources said.
•    Known for his significant contribution to build the Communist party movement in southern parts of the state, Anirudhan was elected to the state assembly in 1963, 1965, 1979 and 1980.
•    Anirudhan, also an active trade union leader, had represented the then Chirayinkeezhu constituency near here in Lok Sabha after defeating former chief minister R Sankar in the 1967 elections.
•    He is survived by wife Sudharma and sons, CPI-M Lok Sabha MP A Sampath and Kasthuri.
•    He was attracted to the independence movement during his school days. 
•    He was forced to join a school in nearby Kanyakumari district as he was expelled from both St Joseph School and SMV School for participating in the freedom struggle.

The world's largest ship which is 330ft longer than the infamous Titanic today set sail from Southampton on its maiden voyage to Rotterdam. 
•    Harmony of the Seas, which cost almost £800million to build and weigh 227,000 tonnes. 
•    The huge ship, which it is claimed burns 1,147 gallons of fuel an hour - equivalent to 376 million cars - will return later this week before heading off to Cherbourg for a three-night cruise, then to Barcelona later this month.
•    The Royal Caribbean ship has capacity for 6,000 people and has facilities including its waterslides, an Ampitheatre, and high-street restaurants.  
•    Harmony of the Seas, which cost almost £800million to build and weigh 227,000 tonnes. sailed past the Isle of Wight last night on its way to the Netherlands on the four-night cruise
•    The ship was carried out of the port by several tugs which had to turn the huge vessel and guide it out to the open sea.
•    There's no passengers on board but the ship which is nearly 330 foot longer than Titanic, has around 500 crew as its continues its sea trial until Sunday

British director Ken Loach's film I, Daniel Blake on 22 May 2016 won the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival. It was Loach's second award for best picture at the festival after 2006's The Wind That Shakes the Barley.
•    Loach is an English film and television director.
•    He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist ideals.
•    His 1969 film Kes was voted the 7th greatest British film of the 20th century in a poll by the British Film Institute.
•    The Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival.
•    It was introduced in 1955 by the organizing committee.
•    In 1955, the first Palme d'Or was awarded to Delbert Mann for Marty.
•    As of 2016, Jane Campion is the only female director to have won the Palme d'Or for The Piano.
•    It previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from around the world.
•    It was founded in 1946.
•    On 1 July 2014, co-founder and former head of French pay-TV operator Canal+ Pierre Lescure took over as President of the festival.

India, Iran and Afghanistan  on 23 May 2016 signed the agreement on Trilateral Transit and Transport Corridor.
•    The agreement was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Hassan Rouhani of Iran and the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Tehran.
•    The purpose of the agreement is to facilitate seamless transport of goods between India and Afghanistan via the Chabahar port that is strategically located in the South East of Iran.
•    This agreement is expected to bring down cargo tariffs and boost regional economic development.
•    Besides, India and Iran also signed an agreement for the development of the Chabahar port. This agreement is complementary to the agreement on Trilateral Transit and Transport Corridor.
•    Under the agreement, India will develop the Chabahar port in Iran at an estimated cost of 150 million US dollars.
•    Two countries share some common strategic interests.
•    India and Iran differ significantly on key foreign policy issues.
•    India supports the presence of NATO forces in Afghanistan unlike Iran.
•    Iran is the second largest supplier of crude oil to India, supplying more than 425,000 barrels of oil per day
•    India is one of the largest foreign investors in Iran's oil and gas industry.

On 22 May 2016 Anurag Thakur was unanimously elected as 34th BCCI President at the board’s special general meeting (SGM) in Mumbai. 
•    He will serve as President until September 2017.
•    Thakur is a BJP MP in Lok Sabha from Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district, is the second youngest BCCI chief. 
•    Fateh Singh Gaekwad in 1963 became the youngest BCCI President at the age of 33.
•    Thakur succeeds Shashank Manohar who stepped down from the position to take up the ICC chief's job. Manohar was elected the ICC's first independent chairman on 12 May 2016.
•    Before being appointed as President, Thakur resigned as BCCI Secretary. Thakur, 41, will also represent the BCCI on the ICC executive board and the Asian Cricket Council.
•    He is the son of Prem Kumar Dhumal, the former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.
•    He has been a member of 14th, 15th and 16th Lok Sabha.
•    He was elected as the Honorary Secretary of the BCCI in January 2015.
•    He played one match in first-class cricket representing Himachal Pradesh and leading the team as captain in a match against Jammu and Kashmir in the 2000/2001 season.

India and Oman on 22 May 2016 signed 4 Memorandums of Understanding in Muscat. They were signed during the visit of Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to Oman.
•    MOU on Defence Cooperation between the Ministry of Defence of Sultanate of Oman and Ministry of Defence of India
•    MOU between the Royal Oman Police (Coast Guard) and the Indian Coast Guard in the field of Marine Crime Prevention at Sea
•    MOU between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and India on Maritime Issues
•    Protocol between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman represented by Royal Air Force of Oman and the Government of India represented by the Indian Air Force on Flight Safety information Exchange
•    Defence cooperation with Oman is of importance for India due to Oman’s strategic location at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.•    Bilateral relation between Indian and Oman were formally established with signing of a 1953 Indo-Oman Treaty of friendship, Navigation and Commerce, a first between India and an Arab country.
•    A military protocol was signed in 1972, and the two air forces together conducted Exercise Eastern Bridge in 2009 in Oman and in 2011 in India.
•    Since 1993, navies of both the countries have been conducting joint exercises - Naseem Al Bahr.
•    The most recent exercise was conducted in the Arabian Sea off Goa coast in January 2016. It was the 10th edition Naseem Al Bahr.
•    The Indian Navy has berthing rights in Oman and has been utilizing Oman's ports as bases for conducting anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.

Anti-Terrorism Day observed Across India on 21 May 2016. The day is celebrated as Death Anniversary of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi. 
•    Every Year Union Home Ministry administers the Anti-Terror pledge to Government employees.
•    The staff of the Northeast Frontier Railway Construction Organisation observed Anti Terrorism Day by pledging to work for promoting peace.
•    The objective behind the observance of Anti-Terrorism Day is to wean away the people from terrorism and violence. 
•    The Day is observed to generate awareness in the country among all sections of people, about the danger of terrorism and violence and its effect on the people, society and the country as a whole.

•    The rug was created as a symbol of local culture and tradition, as the Kayan people from Borneo are well known for being skilled rattan mat weavers.•    It was organised by a local women’s organisation called Peng Doh Belaga.
•    The entire rug was expertly hand-woven by women from all over Malaysia, before the individual pieces were gathered and joined together.
•    Guinness World Records adjudicator Rishi Nath confirmed that the enormous mat had broken the previous record - a 797.51 m long rug manufactured in Sweden in 2010.
•    The women began constructing the rug in January this year, and over the past five months they have been filmed for a documentary called ‘Mat Weaver's Tale’. 
•    The film follows their record-breaking journey and celebrates the region’s heritage of mat weaving.

Turkey’s governing Justice and Development Party elected President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to become its new leader and prime minister, paving the way for a constitutional overhaul that would allow the president to extend his powers.
•    Binali Yildirim, the sole candidate for prime minister, received votes from all 1,405 delegates at a party congress. 
•    Later Mr. Erdogan gave Mr. Yildirim the official mandate to form a government.
•    The previous Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, abruptly stepped down on May 5 after a public rift with Mr. Erdogan.
•    Mr. Yildirim, 60, is expected to play a subservient role to the president, and to push forward a series of constitutional amendments that would allow Mr. Erdogan to establish an all-powerful presidential system.
•    Party leaders announced that the new government would work in harmony with the president to realize central goals for Turkey’s future.
•    Sentiments expressed at the party congress have been echoed by pro-government columnists, who have called for “obedience” to the “chief” since Mr. Davutoglu’s resignation.