The book "Contemporary West Asia : Perspectives on Change and Continuity" has been authored by whom?

57 year old, SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg passed away due to Motor Neuron Disease also known as ALS, a disease he had been diagnosed with in 2017. SpongeBob, an American animated series, which was aired for nearly two decades since its premiere in 1999 is Nickelodeon's biggest hit. Hollywood actor David Hasselhoff was starred in SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

India test-fired Helina, a helicopter-launched version of the Nag anti-tank guided missile, with a hit range of 7-8 km, from the Odisha Coast. Helina was launched from an Army chopper and the weapon system was tested for its full range at 12:55 PM near the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur in the Balasore District of Odisha.Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Helina is said to be one of the most advanced anti-tank weapons in the world. It is guided by an Infrared Imaging Seeker (IIR)operating in the lock-on-before-launch mode.

India-US Bilateral trade meeting was held in New Delhi. It was co-chaired by Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Government of India and Mr Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce, USA. An official release said both leaders appreciated the strong, robust and growing bilateral ties across the spectrum of trade and commerce. Both the sides expressed satisfaction over the year 2018, with bilateral trade in Goods and Services registering a growth of 12.6%. Both sides agreed to deepen economic cooperation and bilateral trade by ensuring greater cooperation amongst stakeholders.

Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba commissioned the new Naval Air Base 'INS Kohassa' in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 24 January 2019. The airbase will be used to handle operations of helicopters and small aircraft like the Dornier. INS Kohassa will be India's fourth air base and the third naval air facility in the Andamans that overlooks key sea lanes of communication and strategic points.

The government of India has formed a 13-member committee having representatives from GST Network (GSTN), central and state governments to examine the electronic tax invoice system of various countries like South Korea, Latin America and suggest a model for India. The introduction of electronic invoices (e-invoices) through the Goods and Services Tax (GST) portal which will help the indirect tax system and keep a check on tax evasion. For the e-invoices system, the committee will examine and suggest the target taxpayers and the threshold limit. The committee will look at a centralized system of e-invoices, which will give automatic access to authorities to invoices. It will also discuss whether a system of e-invoices would help in dispensing the requirement of e-way bill or modification of the e-way bill or even combine both the options of e-invoice and e-way bill. The e-invoice system will replace the requirement of the generation of e-way bill for movement of goods. At present, the e-way bill is required for moving goods exceeding Rs. 50,000.

KVS Manian and Gaurang Shah appointed as Kotak Mahindra Bank's whole-time directors for a three-year term effective from the date of approval from the Reserve Bank of India. He is currently working as the president - corporate, an investment bank and Gaurang Shah is the president- group chief risk officer of the bank.

The National Institute of Open Schooling under the Ministry of Human Resources Development on May 7, 2019 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maharashtra state government's National Health Mission of Public Health Department. The agreement aims to provide vocational programmes to the health service providers of the providers of the National Health Mission (NHM) through National Institute of Open Schooling. The key objective is to impart uniform structured and quality training to multipurpose health workers class lll, male health workers and community health workers followed by their assessment, evaluation and certification. The MoU will also enable certification of Secondary, Senior Secondary Vocational Education and Community Health Workers for ASHAs.