The Squash World Cup will be held  in Chennai  from June 13 to 17 at the Express Avenue Mall and the Indian Squash & Triathlon Academy (ISTA), it was announced  on May 22 .

The sport's governing body in the country stated that Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa will be spearheading the Indian challenge. Besides hosts India, nine other countries will participate in the tournament namely Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia, Egypt, South Africa, Australia, and Colombia.

The last edition of the World Cup was also held in Chennai, in 2011.

This will be the fourth edition and it is notable for the gender parity and the points system. There will be two men and two women per team as opposed to two men and one woman in the previous editions.

Each match will be played in the best-of-five games format. There will be a round-robin pool stage followed by the knockout stage. Ghosal, Abhay Singh, Joshna and Tanvi Khanna will represent India.

Q1. Name the  first state in the country to start free air service for elderly pilgrims belonging to the economically weaker section ?

1. Uttarakhand
2. Delhi
3. Madhya Pradesh
4. Uttar Pradesh
5. None of These

Q2. Name the  state Congress President who has been  sworn in as Deputy  the Chief Minister Karnataka ?

1. Mallikarjun Kharge
2. G. Parameshwara
3. Dinesh Gundu Rao
4. D K Shivakumar
5. None of These

Q3. Name the country which has  signed  a defence pact with the United States, giving US forces access to its airfields and ports as Washington vies with China's growing footprint in the Pacific region recently ?

1. Fiji
2. Papua New Guinea
3. Tuvalu
4. Monaco
5. None of These

Q4. Name the countries which have conferred their highest civilian awards to the visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently ?

1. Papua New Guinea  and Fiji
2. Australia  and Fiji
3. Australia  and  US
4. Tuvalu and Papua New Guinea
5. None of These                          

Q5. Name  the British novelist who brought a rock ‘n’ roll sensibility to his stories and lifestyle and who  has died recently ?

1. Martin Amis
2. William Golding
3. Joseph Conrad
4. Aldous Huxley
5. None of These

QUESTIONS

1-----------------------3    Madhya Pradesh

2------------------------4   D K Shivakumar

3-----------------------2    Papua New Guinea

4-----------------------1   Papua New Guinea  and Fiji

5-----------------------1   Martin Amis

Ray Stevenson, who played the villainous British governor in “RRR,” an Asgardian warrior in the “Thor” films, and a member of the 13th Legion in HBO’s “Rome,” has died. He was 58.

Stevenson was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, in 1964. After attending the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and years of working in British television, he made his film debut in Paul Greengrass’s 1998 film “The Theory of Flight.” In 2004, he appeared in Antoine Fuqua’s “King Arthur” as a knight of the round table and several years later played the lead in the pre-Disney Marvel adaptation “Punisher: War Zone."

Though “Punisher” was not the best-reviewed film, he'd get another taste of Marvel in the first three "Thor” films, in which he played Volstagg. Other prominent film roles included the “Divergent” trilogy, “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” and “The Transporter: Refueled.”

Former Mumbai NCB chief Sameer Wankhede, accused in a cruise 'drug bust' bribery case, on May 22  submitted a letter to the office of the Mumbai police commissioner seeking protection after claiming he and his wife were receiving death threats for the last few days.

The Central Bureau of Investigation booked Wankhede and four others on May 11 for allegedly seeking a bribe of Rs 25 crore from actor Shah Rukh Khan for not implicating the actor's son Aryan in the Cordelia cruise 'drug bust' case.

Wankhede, who has been booked for alleged criminal conspiracy and threat of extortion as well as provisions pertaining to bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act, was questioned by the CBI in connection with the case on  May 20 and 21.

Madhya Pradesh on May 21  became the first state in the country to start free air service for elderly pilgrims belonging to the economically weaker section.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan saw the first batch of pilgrims off at the Bhopal Airport. The batch includes 24 male and 8 female pilgrims, all from Bhopal. The first flight is headed for Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh.

Currently, one member of each family is eligible to take this pilgrimage. Soon, measures will be taken to help more than one member of a family to take the journey, so that elders will get a chance to gain spiritual peace along with their spouses.

The scheme was launched in Madhya Pradesh in 2012. So far 7.82 lakh elderlies have gone on a pilgrimage in as many as 782 special trains.

The new film on the life and times of Urdu poet Majaz Lakhnawi is among the Indian entries at the Cannes Marche du Film 2023.

"Majaz: A Life in Poetry", written and directed by Huma Khalil.

Khalil, the founder of Rekhta Foundation, which is engaged in the promotion of Urdu through its hugely popular website and a well-regarded annual festival of letters, has plans to use the audiovisual medium to tell stories about poets and writers who contributed to the growth of the language.

Dinesh Gope, the chief of the banned People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) outfit, was arrested from Nepal in a joint operation by the NIA and the Jharkhand Police.

Jharkhand Police had announced a bounty of Rs 25 lakhs on his head.

Congress leader Siddaramaiah was sworn in as Karnataka Chief Minister in a grand ceremony and the new dispensation held its first Cabinet meet that gave an in-principle approval to implement its poll promises, estimated to cost the exchequer about Rs 50,000 crore annually.

State Congress President D K Shivakumar was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister, along with eight legislators as Ministers at the event held exactly a week after the party swept the Assembly polls in Karnataka.

A galaxy of opposition leaders, including Chief Ministers of some non-BJP ruled States, took part in the mega event signifying solidarity with the Congress party to take on the BJP next year in the Lok Sabha elections.

The new government at its maiden Cabinet meeting, soon after the swearing-in ceremony, accorded "in-principle" approval to the Congress' five 'guarantees' promised before the elections.

Siddaramaiah, addressing a press conference later, cited estimates and said implementing poll assurances would cost the exchequer about Rs 50,000 crore a year.

He asserted that the pre-poll assurances would be implemented notwithstanding the financial implications, if any.

Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Chief Minister and his Cabinet at Sree Kanteerava Stadium , where Siddaramaiah had taken oath in 2013 when he became CM for the first time.

The legislators who were sworn in as ministers are: G Parameshwara, K H Muniyappa, K J George, M B Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, Priyank Kharge (AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge's son), Ramalinga Reddy, and B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan.

Among eight MLAs inducted into the Cabinet, three are SCs, and one each from Christian, Lingayat, ST, Reddy and Muslim communities.

Siddaramaiah is a Kuruba and Shivakumar belongs to the Vokkaliga community.