Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Saudi Arabia ahead of an Arab summit on May 19  , where he was set to address leaders who have remained largely neutral on Russia's invasion of his country, including many who maintain warm ties with Moscow.

Among those in attendance is Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has been welcomed back into the Arab fold 12 years after Syria was suspended at the start of its civil war.

Russian air strikes on civilian areas brought devastation to both countries, but in Syria, they helped Assad cling to power.

The odd pairing of the two leaders in the same forum is the result of a recent flurry of diplomacy by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is pursuing regional rapprochement with the same vigour he previously brought to the oil-rich kingdom's confrontation with its archrival Iran.

In recent months, Saudi Arabia has restored diplomatic ties with Iran, is ending the kingdom's years-long war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and led the push for Syria's return to the Arab League.

The Saudis have even offered to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, following a prisoner exchange deal they brokered last year.

The Ukrainian leader said he would address the summit in Jeddah and discuss the treatment of Muslim Tatars living under Russian occupation in the Crimean peninsula.

The visit comes amid a whirlwind of international travel by the Ukrainian leader, but until now he has mostly visited allied countries.

Saudi Arabia pledged $400 million in aid to Ukraine earlier this year and has voted in favour of U.N.

Captain Pratima Bhullar Maldonado, an Indian-origin police officer, has become the highest-ranking South Asian woman in the New York Police Department, after her recent promotion to the rank of Captain.

Maldonado runs the 102nd Police Precinct in South Richmond Hill, Queens.

She was promoted to the rank of Captain last month.

The mother of four was born in Punjab and lived there until she was 9 before moving to Queens in New York.

South Richmond Hill is home to one of the largest Sikh communities in the country.

The Indian Navy's P8I maritime patrol aircraft located a Chinese fishing vessel that capsized three days ago in the Indian Ocean .

The position of the boat was "relayed" to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy warships for further assistance, they said.

The Chinese vessel named 'Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028' with 39 crew members overturned on May 16 in the central part of the Indian Ocean following which navies of a number of countries including India and Australia extended help to locate the vessel.

The Indian Navy deployed its P8I maritime patrol aircraft to help in the search and rescue of the vessel.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) on May 19  reported over five-fold jump in its net profit to Rs 1,159 crore for the March 2023 quarter, helped by lower bad loans and a rise in interest income.

The state-owned bank had earned a standalone net profit of Rs 202 crore in the year-ago period.

During the quarter, the bank's total income increased to Rs 27,269 crore from Rs 21,095 crore a year ago, PNB said in a regulatory filing.

A 59-year-old Indian climber, aiming to set a new world record of becoming Asia's first woman on a pacemaker to scale Mt Everest, died on May 18 after falling sick at the base camp of the world's highest peak in Nepal.

Suzanne Leopoldina Jesus was admitted to a hospital in the Lukla town of Solukhumbu district after facing difficulties during the acclimatisation exercises at the Mt Everest base camp, and died on May 18  .

Suzanne, fitted with a pacemaker, was asked to abandon the attempt to summit Mt Everest after failing to maintain a normal speed during the acclimatisation exercise on the base camp and showing difficulty climbing, Khatiwada said.

Suzanne adamantly refused the advice, asserting that she had to climb the 8,848.86 metres-high peak as she had already paid the fee for acquiring permission to climb the mountain.

Suzanne, who had climbed up to 5,800 metres, a little above the Mt Everest base camp, was forcibly airlifted to Lukla town and was admitted to a hospital for treatment, said Dendi Sherpa, Chairman of Glacier Himalayan Trek, the expedition organiser.

Q1. Name the eldest of the four Hinduja brothers and chairman of Hinduja Group who  died in London on  May 17 ?

1. Srichand Parmanand Hinduja
2. Prakash Hinduja
3. Ashok P. Hinduja
4. Sanjay Hinduja
5. None of These

Q2. World Telecommunication Day has been celebrated annually on

1. May 15
2. May 16
3. May 17
4. May 18
5. None of These

Q3. Name the person who has replaced  Kiren Rijiju as law minister ?

1. Ajay Kumar Mishra
2. Arjun Ram Meghwal
3. Madhavrao Scindia
4. Sarbananda Sonowal
5. None of These

Q4. Who among the following has been appointed as the new chief minister of Karnataka ?

1. Siddaramaiah
2. DK Shivakumar
3. H. D. Deve Gowda
4. H. D. Kumaraswamy
5. None of These

Q15. Name the UT government which   has agreed to host the first National Pythian Games  ?

1. Delhi
2. Chandigarh
3. Puducherry
4. Lakshadweep
5. None of These

Answers

1--------------------1 Srichand Parmanand Hinduja

2---------------------3 May 17

3---------------------2  Arjun Ram Meghwal

4---------------------1   Siddaramaiah

5---------------------3 Puducherry

In a major Cabinet reshuffle, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on  May 18 replaced Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, who has been moved to the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Rijiju, who had frequent run-ins with the Supreme Court over judicial appointments, was named as law minister on July 7, 2021.

The Sports Minister and the Minister of State for Minority Affairs at that time, Rijiju got the coveted portfolio following the resignation of senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Rijiju had in November last year said the collegium system of making appointments in the apex court and high courts was "alien" to the Constitution.

In January, he wrote to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud for the inclusion of government nominees in the collegium system.

President Droupadi Murmu, as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has reallocated portfolios among ministers in the Union Council of Ministers, a brief statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

In the power-sharing, Siddaramaiah will become CM for the first two and half years and DK Shivakumar will hold the office for the next two and half years. As far as the ministries are concerned DK Shivakumar will get a lion's share of ministries, he will receive 20 ministries while Siddaramaiah and his team will receive only 13 out of a 34-member cabinet. 

It may be recalled that the All India Congress Committee on May 18, ending hours of deadlock selected Siddaramaiah as the 34th Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Meanwhile, preparations are also being carried out for the swearing-in of the CM and DCM that will happen on  May 20 afternoon at the Kanteerava Stadium and invitations are going out .