MAY 8 CURRENT AFFAIRS
May 8 – World Red Cross Day
Theme :- “Memorable smiles from around the world”.
- World Red Cross day means 8th of May is celebrated every year as the birthday anniversary of founder of the Red Cross.
- Henry Dunant was the founder of the Red Cross as well as the founder of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), born in the Geneva in the year 1828.
- He was the most famous person and became the recipient of 1st Nobel Peace Prize.
May 8 – World Thalassemia Day
- Thalaseemia is a chronic blood disorder.
- It is a genetic disorder due to which a patient cannot make enough hemoglobin found in Red Blood Cells (RBC’s).
- This leads to anemia and patients also require blood transfusions every two to three weeks to survive.
STATE
ANDHRA PRADESH
NCBN App
- To implement effective governance in the state, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on 08.05.2018 launched the official ‘NCBN’ (Nara Chandrababu Naidu) App in the ongoing Collector’s conference being held at Amaravati.
ODISHA
Slum dwellers get land rights in Odisha
- Odisha Liveable Habitat Mission distribution of pattas (land ownership certificates) to urban slum dwellers at a function in Ganjam district.
TELANGANA
No to new borewells in 230 villages
- Drilling of new borewells has been prohibited in 230 villages in erstwhile Warangal district indicating the alarming rate of depletion of ground water levels.
Rythu Bandhu launch in Warangal
- Everything is set for the launch of Rythu Bandhu scheme in the five districts of erstwhile undivided
- The launching envisages distribution of new passbooks and issuance of cheques (Rs. 4,000 per acre) towards input assistance to all the farmers.
MAHARASHTRA
Maharashtra sends modernisation plan for smaller airports to AAI
- Maharashtra government has forwarded the final proposal for modernisation of the state’s smaller airports to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) under Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) – Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)
NATIONAL
Exhibition to commemorate the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore
- Exhibition titled ‘Gurudev: The Journey of the Maestro’, to commemorate the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore was inaugurated at The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, Government of India 7th May 2018.
15th Asia Media Summit to be hosted by India from May 10-12, 2018 in New Delhi
- The AMS 2018, an annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) Kuala Lumpur, is a prestigious summit in the Asia Pacific Region and India is hosting the event for the first time.
- Theme `Telling Our Stories – Asia and More’
Nathu La pass reopened for the annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
- The four-month travel period to the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra starts from June 8.
- Nathu La – Sikkim
- Lipulekh Pass – Uttarakhand
WORLD
- Newly elected Prime Minister of Armenia – Nikol Pashinian
Logitech to unveil AI based home devices
- The Indian subsidiary of Logitech International S.A, a provider of personal computers and mobile accessories, is all set to introduce voice recognition and Artificial Intelligence based devices in India.
- In Chennai, Logitech recently opened one of its biggest research and development centre to develop products and devices from concept to shelf.
ECONOMY
Infibeam to buy arm of Snapdeal
- Ahmedabad-based Infibeam said it will acquire Snapdeal’s subsidiary Unicommerce, which offers e-commerce enablement software, in a deal worth up to Rs.120 crore.
Tea exports up by 12.7 % in 2017-18
- Egypt, Pakistan and China were among the countries which bought more Indian teas last fiscal.
Head of cloud business, India
- Google said it had appointed Nitin Bawankule as the country head for its cloud business in India.
SCIENCE
Rajasthan institute comes up with new sheep insemination technique
- Scientists at the Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute (CSWRI), Avikanagar, have come up with a new laparoscope-assisted insemination technique for sheep.
New norms for labelling packaged GM food ready
- This is the first time that the Central government has laid down guidelines for labelling genetically modified food.
- Current laws prohibit any GM food—unless cleared by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, a Environment Ministry body– from being sold in the country.
SPORTS
World snooker
- Mark Williams of Wales beat Scotland’s John Higgins 18-16 in a dramatic final on 07.05.2018 to win his third World snooker title at the age of 43 and become the tournament’s oldest winner for 40 years.