Current affairs notes on June 16- June 21

1.'Zuzana Caputova' was sworn in as the first female president of Slovakia.

2.Belgium continued to top in the list of FIFA World Rankings. The top countries in the list are Belgium(1), France (2), Brazil (3).

3.'World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought day' is observed every year on June 17. The theme for this year is Let's grow the future together. India will be hosting the 14th session of the Conference of Parties (COP-14) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) for the first time.

4.The State Government of Bihar launched 'Mukhyamantri Vriddha Pension Yojna'for poor people above 60 years of age which is effective from April 1, 2019. This was launched by the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. 

5.Squash player Joshna Chinappa made a record for the most number of national titles after beating her Tamil Nadu state-mate Sunayna Kuruvilla.

6.India is to celebrate the 20th anniversary of victory in 'Operation VIJAY', which popularly known as the Kargil War.The theme of the day is 'Remember, Rejoice and Renew'. 

7.Om Birla has been named as the new Lok Sabha Speaker by the NDA.

8.'Operation Sunrise 2' is a coordinated military operation which was carried out between India and Myanmar to target militant groups. The Kaladan project also connects Sittwe Port in Myanmar to the India-Myanmar border.It was jointly initiated by India and Myanmar.

9.RBI sets up a committee to review the current framework for the MSME sector under the leadership of former chairman of SEBI, UK Sinha.

10.Facebook launches cryptocurrency called 'Libra' which allows users to make financial transactions across the globe. 

11.Mohamed Morsi, the first democratically-elected President of Egypt passed away.

12.NASA plans to shut down Spitzer Space Telescope by January 30, 2020 after 16 years of exploring the cosmos in infrared light.

13.The bihar state cabinet sanctioned Rs 11.68 crore for preparation of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for construction of a multi-purpose 130-MW 'Dagmara hydel power project' in Supaul district of Bihar.

14.Nihal Sarin, Indian Chess Grandmaster, who won the 2019 Asian Continental Chess Championship in Xingtai, China in the blitz event.

15.World Refugee Day is observed on June 20 each year.The theme for 2019 World Refugee day is #StepWithRefugees - Take A Step on World Refugee Day. 

16.For the first time in Bangladesh, iron ore mine has been discovered at Isabpur village in Dinajpur.

17.Chinese President Xi Jinping has been conferred the Kyrgyzstan’s highest national award titled “Manas Order of the First Degree”.

18.Bengaluru-based NGO Akshaya Patra has been awarded the 2019 BBC World Service Global Champion Award.NGO Akshay Patra is a non-profit organisation running one of the world’s largest school meals project in India.

19.According to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2019, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India increased by 6% to $42 billion in 2018.As per report, India has been ranked 10th amongst the top recipients of FDI in 2018.

20.The world's highest operating weather stations has installed on Mount Everest.

21.Peter Gilchrist from Singapore has won the 2019 Pacific International Billiards Championship.He defeated India’s Sourav Kothari.

22.Muthayya Vanitha will be the first woman Project Director in an ISRO mission of Chandrayaan-2.

23.WHO launches tool for safer use of antibiotics, curb resistance- AWaRe.

24.India has for the first time extended $15 Million financial support to Niger as a support for organising African Union (AU) summit scheduled to be held in Niger. A U headquarters: Adis ababa.

25.Namma Kolhapuri chappal gets GI boost. A GI is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory.

26.The ambitious “back to village” programme has begun in Jammu and Kashmir. The program is primarily aimed at directing development efforts in rural areas through community participation.

27. June 21 is the longest day of the year 2019 as it marks the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. On this day the Sun seems to stand still at the Tropic of Capricorn and then reverses its direction as it reaches its southernmost position as seen from the Earth.

28.The world’s largest irrigation and drinking water system—Kaleshwaram Multipurpose Lift Irrigation Project—was recently inaugurated by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao.

29.The International Yoga Day is celebrated every year on June 21. It was first introduced by the United Nations on June 21, 2015. 2019 Theme: Yoga for Climate Action.

Thank you.