29 May: International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers
Significance of Day
Honour the memory of the UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives in the cause of peace. Pay tribute to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve in UN peacekeeping operations for their high level of professionalism, dedication and courage.
2016 theme: “Honouring Our Heroes”.
On this day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presided over a wreath-laying ceremony in honour of the nearly 3,500 peacekeepers who have lost their lives while serving under the UN flag. The UN Postal Administration (UNPA) also issued a set of six new stamps for the occasion.
Vice Admiral AR Karve takes charge of Southern Naval Command
· Vice-Admiral AR Karve on Sunday took charge as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command (SNC) from Vice Admiral GirishLuthra.· An impressive ceremonial parade was held at the Naval base on the occasion which was followed by the traditional 'Pulling Out' ceremony in which the outgoing Commander-in-Chief, Luthra was ceremonially pulled out in a jeep by Flag Officers and Commanding Officers of ships and naval establishments of Kochi, amidst emotional 'Jai'- 'Jai' by the men of SNC.
· Earlier in the day, Vice Admiral Karve laid wreath at the War Memorial, prior to assuming command, as a tribute to the thousands of martyrs who had fought for the country, Navy said in a statement.
Indian-American scientist wins Springer Theses Award
· An Indian-American scientist Arnab De has received the prestigious Springer Theses Award in recognition for his outstanding research in which he developed transgenic mice to study a critical tumour-suppressor called A20.· ArnabDe’s thesis was nominated by New York’s Columbia University. Before this, Mr. De, who has also developed peptide-based prodrugs as therapeutics for diabetes, had received the Young Investigator Award at the American Peptide Symposium.
·The thesis prize is awarded by Springer, a leading global publisher of renowned scientific journals and books, to recognise outstanding PhD research.
ISRO to launch record 22 satellites in a mission
·The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be launching a record number of 22 satellites in a single mission in June.
·Of the 22 satellites, three are Indian and the rest are all commercial ones, said ISRO Chairman Kiran Kumar on Saturday.
· Earlier in 2008, the space agency had sent 10 satellites into orbit in a single mission.
