• The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is at the Xinjiang region, where Beijing is alleged to have repressed Muslim minorities.
• Various countries have called on China to “ensure full respect for the rule of law” for the Muslim Uighur community in Xinjiang.
• Credible reports indicate that over a million people have been arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang and that there is widespread surveillance disproportionately targeting Uighurs and members of other minorities and restrictions on fundamental freedoms and Uighur culture.
• China’s response: Despite mounting evidence, China denies mistreating the Uyghurs, and goes on to insist it is simply running “vocational training” centres designed to counter extremism.

Who are Uighurs?

• The Uighurs are a predominantly Muslim minority ethnic group, whose origins can be traced to Central and East Asia.
• China recognises the community only as a regional minority and rejects that they are an indigenous group.
• Currently, the largest population of the Uighur ethnic community lives in the Xinjiang region of China.
• Uighur Muslims for decades, under the false accusation by the Chinese government of terrorism and separatism, have suffered from abuses including persecution, forced detention, intense scrutiny, surveillance and even slavery.

• ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers have received the Global Health Leaders Award-2022 in the backdrop of the on-going 75th World Health Assembly.
• The other recipients include eight volunteer polio workers who were shot and killed by armed gunmen in Takhar and Kunduz provinces in Afghanistan in February this year.
• ASHA workers are volunteers from within the community who are trained to provide information and aid people in accessing benefits of various healthcare schemes of the government.

ASHA workers in the country:

• There are around 10.4 lakh ASHA workers across the country.
• The largest workforces of ASHA workers are in states with high populations – Uttar Pradesh (1.63 lakh), Bihar (89,437), and Madhya Pradesh (77,531).
• Goa is the only state with no such workers.

• The Government of Kerala is set to launch India’s first State-owned over-the-top (OTT) platform named “CSpace” on 1st November 2022. This will be managed by Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC).
• This will allow the user to watch a particular film by paying for it alone. This will ensure a long- lasting income for the producers like a pensionon their intellectual property.

• The 12th edition of 2022 International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championship (WWBC) was held at Başakşehir Youth and Sports Facility, Istanbul, Turkey from May 8 to May 20, 2022.
• The event saw the participation of 310 Boxers from 73 nations.

Key points:

1. India for the first time in the past four years, had won a total medal tally of 3, which includes one Gold and two
2. The India Boxer Nikhat Zareen (from Nizamabad, Telangana) won the gold in flyweight (52kg) division with 5-0 points against Thailand’s Jitpong Jutamas. With this win she became the fifth Indian women boxer to win the World Championship.
3. Other Four Indian boxers who have won the world title for India are – Six-time champion Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2018), Sarita Devi (2006), Jenny RL (2006) and Lekha KC (2006)
4. The other two Indian women boxers Manisha Moun (from Haryana) and Parveen Hooda (from Haryana) had won the bronze medals in 57kg and 63kg categories respectively.

• In the spirit of One Nation, One Portal, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Science and Technology (MoS&T), has established a Single National Portal-Biological Research Regulatory Approval Portal (BioRRAP)-for Biotechnology researchers and start-ups.
• The “BioRRAP” portal will assist all those seeking regulatory approval for biological research and development activities in India, providing a significant boost to “Ease of Science and Ease of Business.”

• On May 23, 2022, Anthony Norman Albanese sworn in as 31st Prime Minister (PM) of Australia by Governor-General David Hurley at a ceremony in Canberra, Australia, ahead of the Quad Summit 2022 in Tokyo, Japan.
• PM Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor Party of Australia defeated previous PM Scott Morrison’s conservative coalition in Australia’s federal election in 2022. The conservative coalition had been in power under three prime ministers for 9 years.

• Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted Jet Airways the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) permit which would allow the airline to resume commercial flight operations after being grounded since 2019 due to mounting debts. The AOC enables Jet Airways to resume its scheduled commercial operations in India.

Background

• The Naresh Goyal-founded Jet Airways, which operated its first commercial flight on May 5, 1993. But collapsed under the mounting debt on April 18, 2019.
• The company then entered bankruptcy proceedings, and was acquired by a consortium of UAE-based businessman Murari Jalan and UK-based Kalrock Capital.

• On May 22-23, 2022, the 4th edition of the Indian Navy-Bangladesh Navy (IN-BN) Coordinated Patrol
• (CORPAT) was conducted in the Northern Bay of Bengal to ensure maritime security in the region.
• Both sides undertook joint patrolling along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).

• On the 22nd of May, the International Day for Biological Diversity is observed annually across the globe. This day is observed to generate awareness about the biodiversity issues that are overwhelming the world.
• The theme for this year is “Building a shared future for all life.” The theme focuses on developing and supporting the notion that biodiversity is the structure on which humans can build a better life.

• The United Nations (UN)’s World Bee Day is annually observed across the globe on 20th May to raise awareness of the essential role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy.
• The theme of World Bee Day 2022 is ‘Bee Engaged: Celebrating the diversity of bees and beekeeping systems’.