1. India ranked 6th among world space powers: report

i. India has ranked 6th place in the top rankings of space-faring nations, a report by a Chinese research institution has said.

ii. According to the report by a Chinese research institution, India’s accomplishment in becoming the only Asian country to send a spacecraft to Mars has earned it a place in the top rankings of space-faring nations.

iii. The list is top by United States. Europe and Russia are ranked as the next two great powers.

iv. China’s space capabilities are ranked the fourth in the world.

v. The report also mentions emerging countries in space represented by Canada and the South Korea, which closely follow China, Japan and India.

vi. The US, Europe, Russia, China, Japan and India are the leading powers in space, the Beijing Institute of Space Science and Technology Information, affiliated to the China Academy of Space Technology, said in a report.

2. Jayalalithaa to take oath as CM tomorrow

i. AIADMK Chief Jayalalithaa will take oath as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister on Saturday morning.

ii. Earlier on Friday she was formally elected the leader of AIADMK Legislature party. She will replace O Panneerselvam.

Note: AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa, who resigned from Chief Minister post, after being convicted in the 18 year old disproportionate assets case of over 66 crore rupees. She was awarded a four year prison term by Bangalore Special Court after it found her guilty of amassing unaccounted wealth.

3. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu O Panneerselvam resigned

i. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu O Panneerselvam resigned on 21 May 2015. He tendered his resignation to the Governor Konijeti Rosaiah.

ii. He resigned after Jayalalithaa was elected as the legislature party leader at a meeting in Chennai. With this, his eight months long tenure as Chief Minister of the state came to an end.

4. Veteran musician Bob Belden passed away

i. Veteran jazz musician Bob Belden passed away after suffering a heart attack. He was 58.

ii. He was a jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger and producer.

5. India at 24th position in Environmental Democracy Index 2015

i. India was ranked at 24th position out of 70 countries in the first Environmental Democracy Index 2015.

ii. The index is topped by Lithuania at the first position, Latvia at the second and Russia at the third position.

iii. Environmental Democracy Index was released by Washington-based World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Access Initiative on 20 May 2015.

iv. The index evaluates the environmental democracy in 70 countries based on recognised international standards.

6. Obama named entered into Guinness Book of World Record

i. Barack Obama, President of United States, named entered into Guinness Book of World Record for reaching a million followers in a span of mere 5 hours after going live.

ii. He made his debut on Social Media Platform Twitter with @POTUS account.

iii. He beat the previous record, which was set in April 2014 by Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr., after the actor reached a million followers in 23 hours and 22 minutes.

7. India jumps to 6th position in terms of scientific publications

i. According to Department of Science and Technology, India jumps to sixth from tenth position, in terms of in terms of publishing scientific research papers in different journals.

8. Kohli named sixth most marketable athlete in world: SportsPro magazine

i. Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has been rated as the world’s sixth most marketable athlete.

ii. His name is on the list of 50 athletes, who have been identified as commercially the most viable sportspersons, by SportsPro magazine.

iii. Canadian tennis player Eugenie Bouchard tops the list, followed by Brazilian football star Neymar and Masters golf champion Jordan Spieth.

iv. Bouchard, 21, is winner of the Women’s Tennis Asscociation’s (WTA) Most Improved Player award for the 2014 season. She reached two Grand Slam semi-finals and the Wimbledon final last year.

v. Neymar is a two-time topper of the list, having taken the position in 2012 and 2013. Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori was the highest new entry on the list at the eighth place.

vi. Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton topped the list a year ago, but dropped to the fifth spot in this year’s rankings.

Note: Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt headed the list in 2011 but has dropped to the 10th spot this year.

Top 10 most marketable athletes

1. Eugenie Bouchard (Tennis)

2. Neymar (Football)

3. Jordan Spieth (Golf)

4. Missy Franklin (Swimming)

5. Lewis Hamilton (F1) 6. Virat Kohli (Cricket)

7. Stephen Curry (Basketball)

8. Kei Nishikori (Tennis)

9. Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Athletics)

10. Usain Bolt (Athletics)

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