Current Affairs10th April 2019

Current Affairs 10th April 2019 - Important Points

• US to Label Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a Foreign Terrorist Group from - 15th April 2019 onwards
• World Homoeopathy Day 2019 celebrated on - 10th April 2019
• UK court rejects Vijay Mallya's petition on - 8th April 2019
•  Israel’s PM Netanyahu seeks record fifth term  on - 9th April 2019
•  World's first gene edited Lizard by - Scientists
•  Graham Reid appointed new men’s hockey coach on - 8th April 2019
  Current Affairs 10th April 2019 - Details

US to Label Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a Foreign Terrorist Group from - 15th April 2019 onwards

President Trump Administration of United States has declared its intent to label the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and  its Quds Force, as a foreign terrorist organisation in accordance with Section 219 of the Immigration and  Nationality Act. The label is expected to take effect from April 15th. The label as foreign terrorist organisation will execute sweeping economic and  travel sanctions on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and  on organisations, firms, and  individuals that have links to it.

IRGC and  Quds Force

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is an ideologically-driven division of the armed forces of Iran formed in 1979 after Ayatollah Khomeini’s Islamic Revolution to defend the newly established Islamic system from hostile foreign powers and  internal dissensions. Quds Force/Quds Corps is a leading wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Foreign Terrorist Organisation

Under Section 219 of the US Immigration and  Nationality Act, the Secretary of State is authorised to label a group as a foreign terrorist organization. If the Secretary observes-

• The group is a foreign organization.
• The group engages in terrorist activity/terrorism.
• Portends the security of US Nationals/National Security of the USA.

World Homoeopathy Day 2019 celebrated on - 10th April 2019

The World Homoeopathy Day 2019 will be celebrated collectively on April 10th, 2019 to honour the birth anniversary of the founder of Homoeopathy, Dr.Christian Fredrich Samuel Hahnemann.  On the event of the World Homoeopathy Day 2019, the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy, an independent research organisation under the Union Ministry of AYUSH will held a 2-day convention during April 9th-10th, 2019 at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.

World Homoeopathy Day

• Every year, 10th April is celebrated as “World Homeopathy Day” all worldwide as a tribute to Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann.
• Hahnemann and  his scientific aptitude assisted him to discover a healing system of Homeopathy grounded on infallible laws of nature.
• Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician, as well as a great scholar, linguist and  an applauded scientist, is known as the Father of Homeopathy, Father of Human Pharmacology, Father of Nano Medicine and  the Father of Infinite Dilution concept in Chemistry.
• The week succeeding the birth date of Hahnemann, that is, 10th April-16th April is observed as the World Homeopathic Awareness Week.

Events and  discussions

On the event, the AYUSH Awards will be awarded for Life Time Achievement, Best Teacher, Young Scientist and  Best Research paper with an objective to recognise exemplary work in the field of Homoeopathy.

•  A sum of 24 students will be awarded scholarships under the Short Term Studentship in Homoeopathy and  4 students will be awarded for “Quality MD Dissertation in Homoeopathy”. 
• 2 agreements will be inked with 2 more PG Homoeopathic Colleges to connect education with research and  provide impetus to research infrastructure.
• A variety of topics will be debated in the convention including Linking education and  clinical practice with research, Homoeopathic Education: Research component, Usage of current research by clinicians, Drug Development and  Validation, Research initiatives by students, and many more.

 UK court rejects Vijay Mallya's petition on - 8th April 2019

The United Kingdom High Court on April 8th, 2019 refused fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya's petition against extradition. Mallya is already facing allegations of fraud, money laundering and  violation of FEMA had earlier appealed at the United Kingdom High Court against United Kingdom Home Secretary Sajid Javid's extradition verdict.

He now has the option of appealing to the Supreme Court. This procedure might involve minimum another 6 weeks.

Importance

The refusal of Mallya's appeal is a major boost for Indian firms who have been trying to bring the beleaguered liquor baron back to India, on allegations of not amortization loans worth Rupees 9000 crore.

Westminster Magistrate's Court Order

• On December 9th, the Westminster Magistrate's Court had directed Vijay Mallya's extradition to stand trial on allegations brought by the CBI and  Enforcement Directorate.
• At the end of the year-long deportation trial, Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot finalised there was a prima facie case against Mallya, who shifted to Britain in March 2016 and  his human rights would not be trespassed if he was extradited.
• Judge Emma Arbuthnot ruled that Mallya can be deported to India to stand trial on the allegations brought by the Central Bureau of Investigation and  Enforcement Directorate, as there is nothing to designate that the Mallya case was pursued because of his political sentiments.
• The court had also discharged any bars to extradition on the grounds of the prison conditions under which the businessman would be apprehended, as the judge acknowledged the Indian government's declarations that he would get all essential medical care at Barrack 12 in Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail.

 Israel’s PM Netanyahu seeks record fifth term  on - 9th April 2019

The residents of Israel on April 9th, 2019 started voting to elect a new parliament in the nation's most closely-fought general election in years. Compulsory PM Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud Party, is looking forward a record 5th term in office. Overall, 14 main parties are competing for 120 seats in the Knesset or the Israeli parliament. Netanyahu’s main opponent is Benny Gantz, who is a former chief of staff of the Israeli military. 

Key Highlights

• The Israeli voters would be casting their votes for a party and  not specific contender.
• The seats are divided equivalently based on the % of the vote each party receives.
• Any party that successes 3.25% or above of the vote will get minimum 1 seat. If parties don’t pass that edge, which many smaller parties do not, their votes will not be counted, which in turn will increase the share of seats given to the other parties.
• The extra votes a party gets, the additional seats it will obtain in the Knesset as the government is grounded on a nationwide proportional representation system.
• No party has ever secured a majority in Israel's 120-seat parliament. Hence, as soon as the results began coming in, negotiations will start on the formation of a governing coalition.

 World's first gene edited Lizard by - Scientists

Scientists have been varying the genes of mice, pigs, goats, chickens and  butterflies for quite some time. But even as CRISPR, a transformative gene-editing tool, made apparently impossible genetic alterations possible, even in reptiles. As per to the draft of a study made public this week, it has altered with the birth of a nearly transparent Anolis lizard, the 1st gene-edited reptile.

Major Highlights

• As per to the Science magazine, scientists typically edit with CRISPR by injecting it into a single-celled fertilized egg, forming a DNA change in all subsequent cells.
• Female anoles are a special challenge; they store sperm in their oviducts for longer periods, making it difficult to time the start of CRISPR to fertilization.
• They also form eggshells at fertilization, and  it’s tremendously difficult to insert a needle at that stage without destroying the embryo.
• Scientists from the University of Georgia in Athens instead injected the CRISPR complex into immature eggs in the ovaries, pointed a gene that produces tyrosinase, which is an enzyme that affects pigmentation.
• CRISPR-Cas9 components are micro-injected into vertebrate embryos at the single-cell stage to produce individuals potentially harbouring alterations at the locus of interest. However, there are noteworthy challenges linked with microinjection of Anolis zygotes.
• Unlike the hard shells of birds, the egg shells that enfold Anolis embryos are flexible and  no air space is present within the egg, presenting difficulties for embryo manipulation within the egg shell.

 Graham Reid appointed new men’s hockey coach on - 8th April 2019

Hockey India on April 8th, 2019 named Australia’s Graham Reid as the new chief coach of the Indian men's hockey team. The 54 years old Graham will link the team in Bengaluru shortly for the on-going National Camp at Sports Authority of India.

India had been deprived of a head coach ever since Harendra Singh was dismissed after the men's team departed the Hockey World Cup at home in the quarter-final after a 2-1 loss to the Netherlands.

Important Highlights

• The senior national hockey team under provisional coach, Hockey India High Performance Director David John and  analytical coach Chris Ciriello, had freshly ended runner-up at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
• Reid will be in command of the team during their forthcoming international assignment, which is the tour to Australia in May 2019.
• The position of the team’s head coach had been vacant for nearly 3 months. Reid’s name was finalised in a meeting between Hockey India and  SAI delegates.
• He was picked over a number of contenders, including Jay Stacy another Australian and  a 3-time Olympic medallist.
• Reid’s contract is predictable to be till 2022 World Cup but like it has been done in the last, the NSF will review his performance after every tournament.
• Indian team’s qualification for upcoming year’s Tokyo Olympics would perhaps be the Australian’s biggest test.