• International

2020 United Nations Ocean Conference to be held in Lisbon

• The second edition of the United Nations Ocean Conference will be held in Lisbon, Portugal in early June 2020.
• United Nations Ocean Conference will support the sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources,
• The first edition was held in the United States in 2017.
• The theme of the 2020 conference will be- Scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions.

• International

Saudi Arabia Approves Permanent Residency for First Time

• The Saudi government has approved for the first time a scheme that gives permanent residency to certain expatriates, allowing them to own real estate in the kingdom and reside with their families without a Saudi sponsor.
• The “Privileged Iqama” system will offer a permanent residence scheme and one that can be renewed annually to highly skilled expatriates and owners of capital funds.

• Awards

UNDRR Confers Dr P.K. Mishra With Sasakawa Award 2019

• United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) conferred Sasakawa Award 2019 for Disaster Risk Reduction to Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra, Additional Principal Secretary to Prime Minister of India.
• The award was announced at the Award Ceremony during the ongoing 6th Session of Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) 2019 at Geneva.

• Appointments

Madan B Lokur appointed judge of Supreme Court of Fiji

• Justice Madan B Lokur (Retired Indian Judge) has been appointed to the Supreme Court of Fiji as a judge of its non-resident panel.
• He will join the office from August 15, 2019 and has been appointed for a term of 3 years.
• He was appointed as judge of Supreme Court of India on 4 June 2012. He retired as Supreme Court judge on 31 December 2018, after a term of more than 6 years.

• Science and Tech

New vine snake species found in Odisha

• Zoologists have discovered a new vine snake species from the eastern State of Odisha.
• A new taxon of vine snake is being found after a gap of over a century.
• The last time a vine snake species was described was in 1906.
• Vine snake is a slender rear-fanged snake with narrow heads and pointed snouts.
• Seven vine snake species are found in India.

• Defence

Jeffrey confirmed as US’ next Deputy AG

• Jeffrey Rosen was confirmed as the United States’ latest Deputy Attorney General by the US Senate.
• He has previously served at the Department of Transportation as the deputy secretary.
• He will replace Rod Rosenstein who oversaw Robert Mueller’s investigations into Russian collusion in the 2016 Presidential elections.
• US President Donald Trump nominated Rosen for the job in February 2019.

• Defence

Indian Navy Successfully Test-Fires MRSAM Missile

• The Indian Navy has successfully test-fired a Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM), achieving a significant milestone to enhance its anti-air warfare capability.
• The test-firing of the missile was undertaken on the western seaboard by Indian naval ships Kochi and Chennai.

• Defence

Indian Coast Guard Ship Vigraha Decommissioned

• The Indian Coast Guard ship (ICGS) Vigraha was decommissioned at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• It is a frontline offshore patrol vessel (OPV).
• It was commissioned into service on April 12, 1990.
• It has played an instrumental role in protecting the east coast of India for 29 years of service from 1990 to 2019.

• Obituaries

Former swimming champion M B Balakrishnan passes away

• Former Swimming Champion MB Balakrishnan (29-years) passed away in road accident in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• She won the 100m and 200m backstroke events at the South Asian Games.

• Obituaries

Veteran Telugu Actor Rallapalli Venkata Narasimha Rao Passes Away

• Veteran Telugu actor Rallapalli Venkata Narasimha Rao passed away in Hyderabad following a cardiac arrest.
• He was 74. He had also worked as a staff artiste in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• Ralapalli acted in more than 800 films and was popular as a comedian and character artiste.
• He was a five-time winner of the prestigious Nandi award in undivided Andhra Pradesh.