India has joined a major global initiative to combat terrorism and extremism online and secure the internet. 

The initiative -- 'Christchurch call to action' --  has been named after the New Zealand city where 51 people were killed in an attack on mosques. 

It was launched in Paris yesterday by India, France, New Zealand, Canada and several other countries. 

The declaration on Christchurch call to action said a free, open and secure internet is a powerful tool by which to promote connectivity, enhance social inclusiveness and foster economic growth. 

It said the internet is, however, not immune from abuse by terrorist and violent extremist actors, and there is a need for collective efforts globally to secure the internet from terror groups. This was tragically highlighted by the terrorist attacks in Christchurch which were designed to go viral, it said. 

The two-day World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting of developing countries concluded in New Delhi on May 14 with the 22 participating countries reaching a common ground on immediately resolving the dispute settlement crisis.

Roberto Azevedo, Director General, WTO, said that the dispute settlement issue is a deep crisis and all countries have to look for a resolution.

"Business as usual approach is not an option anymore and all members should work for a solution," he said.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed former deputy governor Rama Subramaniam Gandhi as an additional director on the board of Yes Bank for two years, from 14 May 2019 to 13 May 2021, the bank said on Tuesday in a notice to the stock exchanges.

The appointment has been made under sub-section (1) of Section 36 AB of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the private sector lender said. The RBI can, according to this section, appoint additional directors “if the Reserve Bank is of [opinion that in the interest of banking policy or in the public interest or] in the interests of the banking company or its depositors it is necessary so to do, it may, from time to time by order in writing, appoint, with effect from such date as may be specified in the order, one or more persons to hold office as additional directors of the banking company."

Gandhi’s appointment comes against the backdrop of Yes Bank reporting a loss of ₹1,507 crore for the March quarter, driven by a 9-fold increase in provisions. Rating agencies Icra and India Ratings have both downgraded the long-term ratings of the bank.

Hockey India today named the 18-member Indian junior men's team for the eight-Nation Under-21 Tournament in Spain, commencing on 10th of next month. 

The teams which will vie for top honours include the Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, hosts Spain and India.The Indian junior men's team will be captained by Mandeep Mor, while Suman Beck will be his deputy.

Shagun Chowdhary shot 65 out of 75 to emerge the best-placed Indian at 34th position after day one of the Women's Trapshooting qualifiers at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup Shotgun in Changwon, Korea. 
  
Shagun shot rounds of 21, 21 and 23 to lie at 34th spot with France's Carole Cormenier and China's Wang Xiaojing leading the 59-strong field with scores of 72 each at the year's third Shotgun World Cup stage.

Rajeshwari Kumari, the second Indian in the field on the day, shot 58 to be at 56th position with two more rounds of qualifying remaining. 

In Odisha, the 11-member central team which is conducting on-the-spot assessment of the damage caused by cyclone Fani will conclude its visit today. 

The team led by additional secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Vivek Bharadwaj interacted with the cyclone-affected people in Puri, Cuttack, and Khurda districts. 

"Interacting with media persons, Mr Bharadwaj said the people had informed the team about losing the means of livelihood. He said the team would see how the central government can help the affected people. 

After winding up its three-day visit today, the team will hold another round of meeting with chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi and other senior state government officials at Bhubaneswar before leaving for Delhi. 

India's G.S. Lakshmi has become the first woman to be appointed to ICC's international panel of match referees and will be eligible to officiate in international games with immediate effect. 
  
Claire Polosak had become the first ever woman umpire to stand in a men's ODI, earlier this month.

Lakshmi, 51, who first officiated as a match referee in domestic women's cricket in 2008-09, has overseen three women's ODI matches and three women's T20 International matches.

Mexico City has declared an environmental yesterday, ordering vehicles off the road and postponing the semi-finals of the first-division football league as a blanket of smog enveloped the sprawling capital.   

A series of wildfires on the city's outskirts have combined with stagnant weather conditions to cloak the metropolitan area of more than 20 million people in a grey cloud. Pollution levels passed the critical 150 points on the authorities' air quality index. 

The Mexican football league said that under the recommendation of city officials, it had decided to postpone the first leg of the first-division semi-final between Leon and Mexico City club America from today night to tomorrow because of the pollution.

The National Green Tribunal today directed 18 states and two Union Territories to submit an action plan to ensure utilization of treated waste to reduce pressure on the groundwater resources throughout the country. 

Hearing a plea, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the states and UTs to submit the action plan within three months to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The green panel said the states which have still not furnished their action plans are defaulters for violating the directions of the tribunal for which no valid reason can be seen. 

Top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia beat Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-3, 6-4  yesterday to win his third Madrid Open title. 

The world number one was able to improve on his epic 7-6, 7-6 semifinal win over Dominic Thiem of Austria for a more straightforward victory over Tsitsipas, who is still searching for his first Masters 1000 title. 

Djokovic lifted the title in Madrid after progressing through the week without losing a set and has now won 33 Masters 1000 titles - the same number as Rafael Nadal and five more than Roger Federer.

Djokovic got the decisive break in the ninth game of the set to move 5-4 up and then held his serve to add the 2019 Madrid Open title to those he won in 2011 and 2016.