Europe's top court on May 23  ruled that Romania is violating the rights of same-sex couples by refusing to legally recognise their unions, dealing a further blow to the socially conservative country.

In Romania, an EU member since 2007, homosexuality was decriminalised only in 2001, but the country still bars marriage and civil partnerships for same-sex couples.

In recent years, the Eastern European country has made several attempts to restrict LGBTQ rights, including trying to axe gender identity studies at universities and schools.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled -- by five votes to two -- that Romania is in violation of Article Eight of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides for the right to respect for private and family life.

The judgement by the Strasbourg-based court follows legal complaints brought by 21 same-sex couples before the ECHR in 2019 and 2020, who argued they had been denied certain rights provided for married couples under Romanian law.

Rayannah Barnavi, the first Arab woman astronaut, has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS).

She is one of the two Arab astronauts in “Axiom Space's second private mission, which took off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the US on  May 21 ,” BBC reported.

Rayannah, a biomedical scientist based out of Saudi Arabia, will carry out stem cell and breast cancer research in space, during her time in the orbiting laboratory. According to The National News, Barnavi will be “studying the inflammatory response of human immune cells in microgravity.”

Her research will be based on some of her work as a research lab technician at the Stem Cell and Tissue Re-engineering Programme of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh. Barnavi spent nine years at this centre, says BBC.

Al Qarni, a fighter pilot from Saudi, is the other Arab astronaut in the Axiom Space’s mission. He said that this moment was “historic not just for me but for every Saudi, I couldn’t have done it without the support, the love [and] the trust from all of you,” Al Arabiya has reported.

The fourth crew member is American businessman John Shoffner.

Thailand's progressive Move Forward Party, the top vote-getter in last week's national election, signed an agreement with seven other parties on  May 22 on a joint platform they hope will lead to the formation of a coalition government in July.

The 23-point agreement sidesteps several volatile issues while seeking to preserve most of the agenda that brought the progressive Move Forward Party its stunning May 14 victory, in which it captured 152 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives by promoting change after nine years of conservative army-backed rule.

The most contentious issue, the amendment of a harsh law against criticising the monarchy, was not included in the pact. That proposal had been part of Move Forward's campaign platform, and many younger Thais would like to see it considered along with other democratic reforms.

However, the monarchy is considered a pillar of Thai national identity and conservatives oppose any changes to the law, which provides for penalties of up to 15 years in prison.

Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat said the negotiations were "fruitful, comprehensive, and a good start."

The electorate's mood for change was underlined by the second-place finish by the opposition Pheu Thai party, a longtime antagonist of the army whose last government was ousted by a military coup in 2014.

The eight parties signed the agreement at a news conference, exactly nine years after current Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha seized power as army chief in the coup.

Budget carrier SpiceJet on May23  announced hiking the salary for its captains to Rs 7.5 lakh per month for 75 hours of flying as well as introduced a tenure-linked loyalty reward for them.

Salaries of trainers and first officers have also been increased commensurately.

The airline had revised salaries for its pilots in November 2022 wherein the salary of captains was raised to Rs 7 lakh-a-month for 80 hours of flying.

A tenure-linked monthly loyalty reward for its captains of up to Rs 1,00,000 per month has also been announced.

This amount will be over and above their monthly remuneration.

Details about the number of pilots at the airline could not be immediately ascertained.

In recent times, there have been delays in the payment of salaries at the airline, which is facing financial headwinds.

Earlier in the day, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh told employees that as part of the airline's overall growth strategy, a restructuring exercise is underway to further reduce its liabilities as that will allow it to pursue its growth targets with focused efficiency.

The government will release the draft of the Digital India Act (DIA) in the first week of June for consultation, said Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

The Digital India Act, which will replace the Information Technology Act, 2000, proposes to regulate and safeguard users in the rapidly increasing internet economy in India.

He further said weaponisation of misinformation and disinformation is also a major concern that needs to be addressed, especially with the added catalyst of AI-driven ‘deepfakes’.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi Dahiya has been named in the squad announced for the 3rd Ranking Series “Kaba Uulu Kozhomkul & Raatbek Sanatbaev” event scheduled in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from June 1 to 4. Ravi last represented the country in the 2022 Commonwealth Games wherein he clinched the 57kg gold. However, he will compete in the 61kg category in the upcoming Ranking Series. Anshu Malik, who is nursing an injury, will miss the event.

The Indian contingent that will comprise 46 members (11 Freestyle, 10 Greco Roman & 9 Women Wrestlers and 16 coaches & support staff) will take part in the event that is set to take place from 1st to 4th June 2023 and help wrestlers get crucial ranking points that is important for seeding at major competitions like the World Wrestling Championship that will be held in September this year. The 2023 World Championships will also be an Olympic Qualifiers, and the seeding earned through ranking points will play an important role," said a statement by the ad-hoc committee led by Bhupinder Singh Bajwa.

"The Union Government has approved the funding of over Rs. 82 lakh for the same which will cover their air travel, local transportation, food cost, boarding, and lodging cost among other expenses," added the statement.

India team

Freestyle: Aman 61kg, Ravi 61kg, Pankaj 61kg, Anuj Kumar 65kg, Mulayam Yadav 70kg, Yash 74kg, Deepak 79kg, Deepak Punia 86kg, Jointy Kumar 86kg, Deepak 97kg, Anirudh Kumar 125kg.

Greco-Roman: Manjeet 55kg, Sumit 60kg, Neeraj 67kg, Ashu 67kg, Vikas 72kg, Sajan 77kg, Rohit Dahiya 82kg, Sunil Kumar 87kg, Narinder Cheema 97kg, Sahil 130kg.

Women's wrestling: Neelam 50kg, Pooja 53kg, Sito 55kg, Sarita 59kg, Sonam 62kg, Manisha 65kg, Nisha 68kg, Reetika 72kg, Priya 76kg.

Q1. Moving forward on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘neighbourhood first’ policy and fulfilling a commitment, the Ministry of Railways will provide 20 broad gauge (BG) diesel locomotives to

1. Afghanistan
2. Sri Lanka
3. Bangladesh
4. Myanmar
5. None of These

Q2. Name the veteran mountaineer who has scaled Mt Everest for a record 28th time, breaking his own record with the highest number of ascends on the world's highest peak, less than a week after setting it ?

1. Reinhold Messner
2. Junko Tabei
3. Nims Purja
4. Kami Rita Sherpa
5. None of These

Q3. Name the  former minister and his close aide of former prime minister of Pakistan  who  has quit the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party  ?

1. Shireen Mazari
2. Shah Mahmood Qureshi
3. Fayyazul Hassan Chohan
4. Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad
5. None of These

Q4. Name the Europe's top court  which has   ruled that Romania is violating the rights of same-sex couples by refusing to legally recognise their unions, dealing a further blow to the socially conservative country.

1. European Court of Human Rights
2. European court of Justice
3. Euopean Union
4. European Human Right Commission
5. None of These

Q5. Name the  first Arab woman astronaut who  has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) ?

1. Lotfia Elnadi
2. Rayannah Barnavi
3. Raha Moharrak
4. Tawakkol
5. None of These

Answers

1------------------------------- 3  Bangladesh

2----------------------------------4   Kami Rita Sherpa

3----------------------------------1  Shireen Mazari

4-----------------------------------1  European Court of Human Rights

5-------------------------------------2   Rayannah Barnavi

Indian Youth Congress president Srinivas BV appeared before the police in Guwahati on May 22 for questioning after an FIR was lodged against him by now-expelled Assam Youth Congress leader Angkita Dutta alleging he had mentally harassed and humiliated her for six months.

Accompanied by his lawyer and Assam Congress leaders, including MLAs Rakibul Hussain and Rekibuddin Ahmed, Srinivas reached the Panbazar Women Police Station at 11 am where his statement was recorded. Later, he appeared before the officials of Criminal Investigation Department.