1. Scientists revive nearly 48,500-year-old 'Zombie Virus' from bottom of frozen lake in Russia
Tags: Science and Technology International News
French scientists have warned of the onset of another outbreak after they revived a 48,500-year-old zombie virus buried under a frozen lake in Russia.
Important facts
It has broken the previous record of a 30,000-year-old virus discovered by the same team in Siberia in 2013.
This report is published in the New York Post.
The new research was prepared by Jean-Marie Alempic, a microbiologist at the French National Center for Scientific Research.
It has been said in the report that due to the survival of this zombie virus, a more devastating situation can arise in plants, animals and humans.
Scientists have expressed the possibility of another epidemic like corona due to the survival of this virus.
Threat of melting glacier
According to the report, due to global warming, permanently frozen ice is melting, which covers a quarter of the northern hemisphere.
This has a destabilising effect on organic matter that has been frozen for millions of years, including deadly microbes.
Research has shown that part of this organic matter includes revived cellular microbes (prokaryotes, unicellular eukaryotes) as well as viruses that have been dormant since prehistoric times.
What is a Zombie Virus?
Zombie virus is the term given to a virus that is frozen in ice and therefore dormant.
Research mentions 13 viruses, each of which has its own genome.
It is called Pandoravirus Yedoma which is 48,500 years old and has the ability to infect other organisms.
It was discovered at the bottom of a lake in Yukechi Alas in Yakutia, Russia.
All of the zombie viruses have the potential to be infectious and hence pose a health danger.
Scientists believe that epidemics like Covid 19 will become more common in the future.
2. Russia refuses to give Pakistan 30-40 percent discount on crude oil
Tags: International News
On 1 December, Russia denied Pakistan a 30–40 percent discount on Russian crude oil after the Pakistani delegation demanded a reduction in the price during talks in Moscow.
Important facts
Earlier this week, a Pakistani delegation demanded oil concessions during talks in Moscow.
Pakistani officials said that they should also be given oil with a discount of 30-40 per cent on the price like India.
Pakistan's official delegation was on a three-day visit to Moscow starting on the 29th of November.
Russia also promised to consider Pakistan's demand and to share its mind later on through diplomatic channels.
Russian crude oil can be processed in Pakistan's refineries, and in the past one private refinery had used Russian crude oil to deliver finished products.
Russia can offer crude at the rates it is providing to its large client countries, which are reliable and sound economies, at a suitable time.
3. India assumes the Presidency of the UNSC for December month 2022
Tags: International News
According to the External Affairs Ministry, India has assumed the Presidency of the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) for the month of December 2022. India will be the President of the UNSC for one month as the 2 year term of India as a non-permanent member of the UNSC ends on 31 December 2022.
India became the non -permanent member of the UNSC on 1 January 2021. During its 2 year terms India has become the President of the UNSC for the second time . Earlier it became President in August 2021.
According to the External Affairs Ministry during India’s Presidency two key events are scheduled in the UNSC.
There will be a debate on ‘“Maintenance of International Peace and Security: New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism’ and others will be on “Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts: Global Approach to Counter Terrorism - Challenges and Way Forward”.
Both the sessions will be chaired by the External Affairs minister S. Jaishankar.
India has been elected 8 times as a non-permanent member of the UNSC. India has been elected in 1950, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1984, 1991, 2011 and 2021.
The UNSC consists of 15 members. China, US, Russia, France and the United Kingdom are permanent members. Rest 10 non-permanent members are elected for a period of 2 years.
At present the UN has 193 member countries.
4. India to assume chairmanship of Wassenaar arrangement on 1 Jan 2023
Tags: International News
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has announced that India will assume Chairmanship of Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) on 01 January 2023 for a period of one year.
At the 26th annual Plenary of the WA held in Vienna, Austria on 30 November-01 December 2022, Ambassador Eoin O'Leary of Ireland handed over the Chairmanship to Ambassador Jagdeep Majumdar, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to UN and International Organizations in Vienna.
India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) on 08 December 2017 as its 42nd Participating State.
Wassenaar Arrangement
The Wassenaar Arrangement was established in July 1996 at Wassenaar, Netherlands. It is a voluntary export control regime of 42 member countries. The member countries exchange information on transfers of conventional weapons and dual-use goods and technologies.
The main aim of the Wassenaar agreement is to discourage its member countries from exporting conventional weapons and dual-use goods and technologies to countries which are a threat to global peace.
The WA Plenary is the decision-making and governing body of the Arrangement. It is composed of representatives of all Participating States who normally meet once a year at Vienna, Austria.
External Affairs' Minister : S.Jaishankar
5. Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin dies aged 96
Tags: Person in news International News
Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin died on 30 November, 2022 at the age of 96 in Shanghai, of leukaemia and multiple organ failure.
Important facts
He was the first Chinese President to visit India in 1996 when India and China moved towards normalising the bilateral ties.
Jiang was China's president from 1993-2003.
Under his leadership, Hong Kong was peacefully handed over to China in 1997 and China joined the World Trade Organization, which laid the groundwork for China to become the world's second largest economy with high-speed development.
Jiang Zemin took command of China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre.
He consolidated the powers of the Communist Party of China, weeded out internal dissent, and in 1999 cracked down on the religious sect Falun Gong, which was seen as a threat to the party.
He is also credited with the country's further integration with the global order and higher status as a world power.
India - China relation in his tenure
His visit to India in 1996 was seen as a major step towards the normalisation of India-China bilateral relations.
During his visit, the two countries signed a comprehensive agreement to restore peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and reached a consensus on building a constructive and cooperative partnership.
Both sides signed several agreements for confidence building in the military sector along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Both sides also discussed reducing border troops.
This was followed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to China in 2003, when both sides decided to appoint their respective Special Representatives (SRs) to explore a solution to the boundary issue under the framework of the Boundary Agreement.
Jiang was then the chairman of the Central Military Commission and Hu Jintao took over as the Chinese President in 2002, a year earlier.
6. 4 US soldiers promoted high up on Nanda Devi during India-US military exercise
Tags: Defence International News
For the first time, four US Army officers from the 11th Airborne Division have been promoted to India's second highest Himalayan peak Nanda Devi during the 18th edition of Indo-US joint military exercise 'Yudh Abhyas' in Uttarakhand.
Important facts
Capt. Cerruti, Lt. Russell, Lt. Brown and Lt. Hack became the first four USArmy Officers to be promoted in the Himalayas during Yudh Abhyas Exercise.
US soldiers from the 2nd Brigade of the 11th Airborne Division and Indian Army soldiers from the Assam Regiment are participating in a two-week joint military exercise.
Yudh Abhyas is conducted annually between India and the US with the aim of exchanging best practices, tactics, techniques and procedures between the armies of the two nations.
The aim of the exercise is to enhance interoperability and share expertise in peacekeeping and disaster relief operations between the two armies.
The joint exercise will also focus on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations.
Nanda Devi Peak
Nanda Devi is the second-highest mountain in India, after Kangchenjunga, and located entirely within India (Kangchenjunga is on the border of India and Nepal). It is in the state of Uttarakhand (Chamoli district).
It is the 23rd-highest peak in the world.
The Nanda Devi Peak is a part of the Garhwal Himalayas.
7. India provides $100 million financial assistance to Maldives
Tags: Economy/Finance International News
The Union External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar virtually handed over the assistance amount of $100 million to Maldives in a ceremony held on 29 November 2022.
The Indian government assistance is in the form of budgetary support to help Maldives deal with its economic problems. Maldivian economy which is heavily dependent on tourism is facing severe economic crisis as covid related restriction has badly affected its economy.
The assistance being extended to Maldives is without any terms and conditions and Maldives is free to use it in its economic recovery.
India and Maldives have a close political relationship. During the visit of the Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in August this year the Prime Minister had announced an additional $100 million loan to Maldives for construction of 2000 new social housing units there.
India has also provided $ 500 million loan to Maldives for the Greater Male Connectivity Project.
Republic of Maldives
Maldives is an archipelago consisting of around 1200 coral islands and atolls. It is part of South Asia and is situated in Indian Ocean
The 8 degree channel separates Maldives from India.
Capital: Male
Currency: Rufiyaa
President: Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
8. WHO has changed the name of Monkeypox disease to mpox
Tags: Science and Technology International News
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 28 November 2022 has announced that it will term “mpox” as a synonym for monkeypox. Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while “monkeypox” is phased out.
WHO said that the disease's original name was considered “racist and stigmatizing’ in certain countries of the world. After complaints from some member countries WHO decided to rename the disease.
Assigning names to new and, very exceptionally, to existing diseases is the responsibility of WHO under the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared monkeypox disease as a "public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)", on 23 July 2022.It is the highest level of health alert which is issued by WHO.
Monkeypox disease
- Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa.
- It was first identified in monkeys in 1958 hence it is called Monkeypox. It was first identified in humans in 1970.
- Because it was transmitted from animal to human it is called zoonotic disease.
- The first case of Monkeypox in the country was also reported from Kollam district of Kerala on July 14.
World Health Organisation (WHO)
- The World Health Organisation is a specialised agency of the United Nations which was founded on 7 April, 1948.
- Headquarters of WHO : Geneva, Switzerland
- Director General of WHO: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia.
- Member Countries : 194
9. Russia postpones nuclear arms talks with US
Tags: International News
Russia has suspended nuclear arms talks with the United States under the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) treaty on 28 November and neither side has given a reason for the postponement.
About New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START)
It is an arms control pact that limits both nations’ stockpiles of nuclear weapons, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles.
It was finalised in 2011 during the Obama administration and serves as the last key pact to limit nuclear arms between Washington and Moscow.
Last year, the US and Russia agreed to extend the pact till 2026.
Under the treaty, Washington and Moscow are permitted to conduct inspections of each other’s weapons sites, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, inspections have been halted since 2020.
10. World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2022
Tags: Summits Important Days International News
The World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2022 concluded on November 25, with the Muscat Ministerial Manifesto on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).
Important facts
The two-day summit, which began on November 24 in Oman's capital Muscat, follows two high-level summits held in the Netherlands in 2014 and 2019.
The theme of the meeting was - The AMR Pandemic: From Policy to One Health Action.
The Manifesto has been endorsed by 34 of the 45 countries that participated at the conference.
Muscat Ministerial Manifesto on AMR - three global targets
Reduce the total amount of antimicrobials used in the agri-food system at least by 30-50% by 2030 from the current level.
Zero use of Critically important antimicrobials (CIA).
Ensuring that 'access' group antibiotics (a class of antibiotics that are cheaper, safer and have a lower AMR risk) represent at least 60 per cent of total antibiotic consumption in humans by 2030.
About World Antimicrobial Awareness Week
It is a global campaign observed annually to improve awareness and understanding related to AMR.
It encourages best practices among the public, health stakeholders and policy makers to reduce the emergence and spread of AMR.
What is Antimicrobial Resistance?
It is the resistance acquired by any microorganism (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, etc.) against antimicrobial drugs (such as antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, antimalarials, and anthelmintics) that are used to treat infections.
As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, the infection persists and can spread to others.
