CURRENT AFFAIRS
19 JULY 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Rajasthan turmoil: Vasundhara Raje speaks up.
Former Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Mrs. Vasundhara Raje has spoken up for the first time on the political turmoil in Rajasthan. She said that it was unfortunate that the state was paying for the discord in the ruling party. She went on to list the problems the state was grappling with. Meanwhile, some hours after the BJP demanded a CBI enquiry into alleged phone-tapping of Rajasthan legislators, the Congress said that the Bhartiya Janta Party had admitted in front of the entire nation, its role in the conspiracy to topple the Ashok Gehlot government.
B) Covid-19 advisory for gated communities.
The Health Ministry has issued a Covid-19 advisory for gated residential complexes by asking them to make provisions for sanitizer dispensers at all the entry points and in work areas as well. The thermal screening of the people visiting is to be carried out at the entry points and only asymptomatic individuals shall be allowed to enter the premises. Vendors, household help, car cleaners, and delivery personnel will also undergo such screening daily. Social distancing and Physical distancing of at least six feet are to be followed as far as possible at all locations and at all times in all common areas, including parks, corridors, lift lobbies, gyms, and clubs. The advisory also recommends that all persons above 65 years of age, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 should stay at home and they do not keep any contact with the visitors or the staff as far as possible or the contract should be kept minimum.
C) Mathematician C.S. Seshadri passes away.
One of the leading mathematicians of independent India C.S. Seshadri had passed away in Chennai late on July 17. He was 88 years old. He was a leader in the field of algebraic geometry. He made breakthroughs that lie at the base of many branches of this discipline. He began his career at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research as one of the first batches of graduate students. Then he moved to Chennai in 1984 to the Institute of Mathematical Sciences. In 1989, C. S. Seshadri also got an opportunity to start the School of Mathematics as a part of the SPIC Science Foundation which has now evolved into the Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI).
D) CERT-In writes to Twitter on hi-profile hacking.
The cyber-security nodal agency of India, CERT-In has issued a notice to Twitter. The agency in its notice was asking the twitter for full details of the recent global hack targeting high-profile users. It asked for the complete information on all the Indian users affected. CERT-In has also asked Twitter for information on the number of users from India who have visited those malicious tweets and links and also whether the affected users have been informed by the platform about unauthorized access to their Twitter accounts or not.
E) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.
The number of coronavirus cases in the country stood at 10,73,109 with the death toll at 26,787. Tamil Nadu has sharply ramped up testing. However, the test positivity ratio still remains roughly around 10, with a marginal decline. Chennai still accounted for one in four tests performed in the State. With the state not releasing district-wise data on testing, the geographical spread of the testing remains unclear.
F) Thackeray moves SC against final year exams.
The cabinet minister of Maharashtra Mr. Aditya Thackeray has moved to the Apex Court on 18 July against the decision of center to hold final year exams for colleges and universities in September. The exams had earlier been postponed due to the global pandemic of novel coronavirus and lockdown. The petition has been filed by Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiva Sena. Thackrey tweeted that the petition is for each and every student across the country who was being forced to appear for an examination in an absolutely bizarre judgment of the situation by the UGC.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Govt. mulls Australia’s entry into Malabar drill.
On 17 July, a key meeting of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has discussed the issue that whether Australia should be invited for the trilateral Malabar naval exercise with Japan and the United States or not. The final decision has not been taken after the discussion yet. The final decision is likely to become before the exercise, which could take place towards the end of the year 2020.
B) The naval exercise has been delayed this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
On July 18, the President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani has said that nearly 35 million Iranians may be infected from covid19 because the country still did not have herd immunity although 1/8th of the population may have already been infected. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has killed more than 5,88,000 people and infected nearly 14 million around the world since first being detected in China late last year. Iran has been battling a revival of COVID-19. The figures show a rise in both the new infections and deaths since May. The overall toll is 13,979 dead out of 2,71,606 cases since Iran reported its first cases in mid-February. The rising numbers have prompted the authorities to re-impose restrictions in the provinces where the spread is maximum after being lifted country-wide in April, with Tehran extending them for an extra week on Friday.
