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By admin: Oct. 30, 2022

Spain successfully defend its FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup title defeating Colombia in the final

Tags: Sports

The Spanish women won the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup title   by defeating the Colombian team in the final held at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on 30 October 2022. Spain has now equalled the record of North Korea of winning the title twice.  

Spain won the 6th U-17 Women’s World Cup 2018 held in Uruguay.

7th FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022 

The 7th FIFA U-17  Women’s World Cup 2022 was hosted by India for the first time from 11 to 30 October 2022. It was originally scheduled for 2020 but was then postponed due to COVID-19.

A total of 16 teams including Indian participated in the championship which was held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar (Odisha), the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao (Goa) and the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra).  

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 

• It is a biennial football tournament started by FIFA in 2008.   
• It will be the second time that India hosts a FIFA tournament after the men's 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
• It is for the first time that India hosted a FIFA women's football tournament.
• Spain and North Korea have won the title twice.

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)

It is an international organisation that governs football, futsal and beach soccer in the world.  At present 211 associations are its members representing their countries.

It also organises the men's and women’s  football world cup.

 It was founded in 1904 in Paris , France .

Headquarters : Zurich, Switzerland 

President : Gianni Infantino

Sankar Muthusamy settles for a silver medal at the BWF World Junior Championships 2022

Tags: Sports Person in news

S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian had to settle for a silver medal at the 22nd World Junior Badminton Championships 2022 after losing in the men’s singles final in Santander, Spain on 30 October 2022. In the final he lost to Chinese Taipei’s Kuo Kuan-lin. 

The 22nd BWF World Junior Badminton Championships 2022 was held at Santander in Spain from 17-30 October 2022.Players under 19 years of age participates in the tournament.

Medals for India in the championships  

India has won an overall 10 medals at the Junior World Badminton Championship. 

It has won one gold, four silvers and five bronze medals at the event .

Saina Nehwal is the sole Indian player to have won a gold medal at the championship. She won the gold medal in the 2008 World Junior Championship held at Pune, India.

The last medal for India was won by Lakshya Sen in 2018 when he won the Bronze medal.

BWF (Badminton World Federation)

It is an international governing body of Badminton in the world.

It was set up as the International Badminton Federation in 1934 and later converted into the World Badminton Federation in 2006.

Currently it has 176 member countries.

Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 

Yogi Adityanath inaugurates Asia’s first pathogen reduction machine at KGMU in Lucknow

Tags: place in news Science and Technology State News

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated Asia’s first pathogen reduction machine at the King George's Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow. He was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, State minister Mayankeshwar Sharan and Professor Bipin Puri, Vice Chancellor of King George's Medical University. The Chief Minister also inaugurated the KGMU’s Department of Thoracic Surgery and Vascular Surgery.

What is a Pathogen? 

• The pathogens is an organism which can cause disease to its host body.   It could be viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, parasites.
• Pathogens cause illness to their hosts through a variety of ways. It directly damages the tissues or cells of the host  during replication,
• However, sometimes due to a strong or excessive immune response from the host body, the body itself kills infected and uninfected cells and damages host tissues. 

Need of cleaning transfused blood of pathogens 

• Blood transfusions are needed in procedures ranging from surgery to delivery and transplant. Blood transfusion is always done after all the necessary blood tests are done. But despite this, some impurities like pathogens remain in the blood, due to which reactions or side effects can be seen in recipient patients. 
• This machine helps in eliminating any type of pathogens in the donor's blood which will prove to be very beneficial for organ transplant or patients with weak immunity.
• The machine is capable of completely purifying the blood unit by removing all types of bacteria from the blood within 10-15 minutes through the ultraviolet immunometer.

UGC ask Universities and Colleges to observe 11 December as ‘Bharatiya Bhasha Diwas’

Tags: National

The Higher education sector regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all Universities and colleges in India to  observe a Bharatiya Bhasha Divas on 11 December  every year to create “language harmony” and develop a conducive environment for learning Indian languages.

This order of the UGC comes after a committee set up by the Union Education ministry to promote the Indian language proposed to observe December 11 as Bharatiya Bhasha Diwas or Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav on the birth anniversary of poet Subramania Bharati.

Subramania Bharati is considered to be a pioneer of modern Tamil poetry who penned songs to kindle patriotism during the Independence movement. 

The UGC said that there is a need to create ‘language harmony’, to develop a conducive environment for learning more and more Indian languages apart from mastering one’s own mother tongue. Commonalities in Indian languages have been one of the primary unifying factors of Indians,” 

University Grant Commission 

University Grant Commission was set up on the recommendation of the University Education Commission, which was set up in 1948 under the Chairmanship of Dr. S Radhakrishnan.

 The University Grants Commission (UGC) was formally inaugurated by the late  Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the then Minister of Education, Natural Resources and Scientific Research on 28 December 1953.

The UGC, however, was formally established only in November 1956 as a statutory body of the Government of India through an Act of Parliament.

It comes under the Department of Higher Education, Union Ministry of Education.

Functions 

It has mainly two functions 

• It is responsible for the coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education in India.
• It provides fund to  the Central Universities and other Universities and Institutions of higher learning

Headquarters and Regional Centers

The headquarters of the UGC is in New Delhi 

The six regional centers of UGC are at Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, Guwahati and Bangalore.

Chairman: Professor M. Jagadesh Kumar.

Russia suspends UN backed Black sea grain deal with Ukraine

Tags: Russia-Ukraine International Relations

Russia on 29 October 2022 announced that it was suspending participation in the United Nations and Turkiye brokered black sea grain deal. The Russian move has been condemned by the United States President Joe Biden saying it will increase starvation in the world.

More than 9 million tonnes of corn, wheat, sunflower products, barley, rapeseed and soya have been exported under the deal, signed on 22July 2022.

Why Russian pulled out of the deal 

According to the Russian Defence ministry, Ukraine attacked the Russian Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol on the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula with 16 drones early on 29 October 2022, and that British navy "specialists" had helped coordinate the "terrorist" attack. It also accused British navy personnel of blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month.

It said that Russia is no longer able to guarantee the safety of the civilian ship under the agreement. 

Black Sea grain deal  

• President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 in an offensive he said was aimed at “demilitarising” and "denazifying" Ukraine. The Russian Naval fleet later  blockaded the Black sea port of Ukraine which was a major grain shipment port for Ukraine.
• The blockade halted the shipment of grains from one of the biggest exporters of grains in the world where 5 million tonnes of grains used to be shipped per month. 
• This precipitated a sharp increase in food prices across the world, sparking fear of famine in parts of Africa.
• Ukraine, Russia, Turkiye and the United Nation signed an agreement on 22 July 2022 in Istanbul ,Turkiye to unblock Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports.
• When the agreement was signed, the U.N. World Food Programme said some 47 million people had moved into "acute hunger" as the war halted Ukrainian shipments. 
• The agreement which is set to expire on 19 November 2022 established a safe corridor for the Ukrainian grain ships and Russia guaranteed the safety of the civilian ship.

South Korea declares national mourning after Halloween stampede kills 151 people

Tags: International News

South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of national mourning on 30 October 2022 after a Halloween stampede killed 151 people in a packed nightlife area in the South Korean capital city of Seoul.

At least 151 people, mostly teenagers including foreigners from China, Iran, Uzbekistan and Norway have been killed in one of South Korea’s worst disasters and the world's worst stampedes in decades. The local authorities expect the death toll to rise.

It was the first Halloween event in Seoul in three years to be virtually free of COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing. The stampede happened in an alley near a nightclub in the  Itaewon district of Seoul which was packed with people .

Halloween festival 

Halloween is based on the Celtic festival Samhain, a celebration in ancient Britain and Ireland that marked the end of summer and the beginning of the New Year on 1^st November. Halloween is observed every year on 31 October.

 It is believed that during Samhain the souls of those who had died that year travelled to the other world and that other souls would return to visit their homes.

People wear costumes to hide themselves from these wandering souls. Another tradition is the carving of demonic faces on pumpkins.  

Republic of Korea (South Korea)

It lies in the Korean peninsula in East Asia.

The Korean peninsula was divided into communist Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Republic of Korea (South Korea) after the Korean War in 1953.

Capital: Seoul 

Currency: South Korean Won 

Government of India extends ban on sugar export to 2022-23 season

Tags: Economy/Finance

The Government of India has extended the ban on exports of sugar including raw, refined and white for one more year starting 31 October 2022 till   31st of October 2023. The sugar season in India is from October to September. As per the notification, the restriction is not applicable to Sugar being exported to the European Union and the USA, This has been done by the government to increase the availability of sugar in India and control its prices.

In the 2021-22 sugar season government has allowed the export of 10 million tonnes of sugar 

Sugar in restrictive list 

In a notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade(DGFT),Sugar has been kept in the restricted category and not in Open General License(OGL). It means that sugar can be exported from India with the permission of the government of India . If a commodity is put in the OGL list then it can be freely imported or exported without the need of government permission .

Sugar production  and buffer stock 

The government of India maintains a buffer stock of around 6 million tonnes .The  buffer stock is used by the government to increase the supply of the sugar in the market when its prices shoot up .

According to Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), the total production of sugar in the 2022-23 season is expected to be 41 million tonnes of which 4.5 million tonnes is expected to be diverted for making ethanol. These ethanol are blended with petrol to create biofuels . The consumption of sugars in India is expected to be around 27.5 million tonnes. India is expected to have a surplus of around 9 million tonnes.

Sugar exporters expect the government of India to allow export of the surplus sugar from India as prices of sugar are very high in the international market.

Sugar Export from India 

• India is the largest producer  and consumer of sugar in the world  and second largest exporter of sugar in the world after Brazil.
• In the current 2021-22 season the government has allowed the export of 10 million tonnes of sugar .
• Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka account for nearly 80 percent of the total sugar production in the country. 

India wins Sultan of Johor Cup for the third time beating Australia in a penalty shoot out

Tags: place in news Sports

The Indian junior men’s hockey team held their nerves to win the penalty shootout against the Australian team to win its 3rd Sultan of Johor Hockey cup title, at the final match played at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on 29 October 2022. The 10th edition of the Sultan of Johar cup was held from 22-29 October 2022 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

In the final match India and Australia were tied 1-1 after regulation time. In the penalty shootout India won by 5-4 goals.  Sudeep Chirmako (14’) scored the goal for India in regulation time. 

India has now equalled the record of Great Britain having won it three times. India has won the titles in  2013 and 2014. The Indian hockey team reached the final of the last edition in 2019 as well but lost 2-1 to Great Britain.

Indian player Sharda Nand Tiwari was the top goal scorer of the tournament with 7 goals and the player of the final was Sudeep Chirmako.

India, Australia, Great Britain, Japan, Malaysia and South African team participated in the 10th Sultan of Johar cup 

Sultan of Johar Cup 

The Sultan of Johar cup is a u-21 men’s International Hockey championship held annually in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

The cup was started in 2011 and the 2022 edition was the 10th edition of the tournament.

It was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to covid.

India and Great Britain have won it 3 times each.

PM Modi inaugurates country’s ‘largest Maze Garden’ and Miyawaki Forest in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat

Tags:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on an official visit to Gujarat , inaugurated the country's largest  Maze Garden and a Miyawaki Forest in Ekta Nagar on 30 October 2022..

The Maze Garden and Miyawaki forest has been developed around the Statue of Unity. The Statue of Unity dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is the world's tallest statue (182 meters).

The country’s largest Maze Garden has been built in the shape of Yantra and spread over three acres with a pathway of 2,100 meters. The location of the maze garden was originally a dumping site for debris which has now turned into a verdant landscape.

Miyawaki forest 

The Miyawaki Forest is named after the technique developed by a Japanese botanist and ecologist Dr Akira Miyawaki to plant saplings of various species that are planted close to each other which develops into a dense urban forest. The growth of plants is ten times faster using this method and as a result, the forest developed is thirty times denser. Through the Miyawaki method, a forest can be developed in just two to three years while it takes at least 20 to 30 years through the traditional method.

Rashtrapati Bhavan and other historical monuments in Delhi illuminated in Red to raise awareness of Dyslexia

Tags: Science and Technology

Rashtrapati Bhavan, India Gate and other important central government monuments and buildings like North block and South block were illuminated with red light on 30 October to raise awareness of the people about dyslexia.

Every year October month is observed as the International Dyslexia awareness month in the world. Since 2019, Go Red for Dyslexia has helped spread awareness for dyslexia across the globe by encouraging people to turn anything and everything red.

Go Red for Dyslexia is a global campaign supported by Succeed with Dyslexia organisation.

 What is Dyslexia ?

Dyslexia is a brain-based type of learning disability that specifically impairs a person's ability to read. People with dyslexia have trouble matching the letters they see on the page with the sounds those letters and combinations of letters make.

While people with dyslexia are slow readers, they are often, paradoxically, very fast and creative thinkers with strong reasoning abilities.

Dyslexia can be inherited in some families, and recent studies have identified a number of genes that may predispose an individual to developing dyslexia.