Isaac Herzog Elected as President of Israel
Veteran Israeli politician, Isaac Herzog, has been elected as the President of the country on June 01, 2021, during the 120 members parliamentary election for 2021. The 60-year-old Herzog will be the 11th President of Israel, assuming office with effect from July 09, 2021. He will succeed Reuven Rivlin, who is set to complete his tenure in July 2021 after seven years in office.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Prime Minister of Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu.
- Israel Capital: Jerusalem.
- Israel Currency: Israeli Shekel.
XraySetu Launched to Detect Covid in Rural Population via WhatsApp
A new AI-driven platform called ‘XraySetu’ has been developed to help in the early detection of COVID 19, with the help of Chest X-ray. The solution will be beneficial for early detection especially in rural areas, where RT-PCR tests and CT-Scans are not easily available. XraySetu will operate through WhatsApp. It will identify COVID positive patients even from low-resolution Chest X-Ray images sent over Whatsapp-based Chatbot.
The solution has been developed by ARTPARK (AI & Robotics Technology Park), a not-for-profit foundation established by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, with support from the Department of Science & Technology (DST), GOI, in collaboration with Bangalore based HealthTech startup Niramai and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
Working of XraySetu:
- The doctor will need to visit www.xraysetu.com and click on the ‘Try the Free XraySetu Beta’ button.
- They will then be redirected to another page, from where they can choose to engage with the WhatsApp-based chatbot either through the web or smartphone application.
- Alternatively, the doctor can even send a WhatsApp message to the phone number +91 8046163838 to start the XraySetu service.
- After this, they just need to click the picture of the patient’s X-ray and upload it on the chatbot, from where they will obtain the 2-page automated diagnostics with annotated images in a few minutes.
Dr Patrick Amoth of Kenya Appointed as Chair of WHO Executive Board
Dr Patrick Amoth, the acting Director-General for Health, Ministry of Health of Kenya has been appointed as the Chairman of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Executive Board, for a period of one year. The announcement was made during the 149th session of the WHO Executive Board, on June 02, 2021, by the outgoing Chair Dr Harsh Vardhan.
Mr Amoth replaces Union Health Minister, Government of India, Dr Harsh Vardhan, who completed his tenure as Chairman of WHO Executive Board on June 02, 2021. Dr Vardhan will continue to be a member of the Executive Board of WHO till 2023. The chairman’s post is held on a rotation basis for one year among regional groups.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Kenya Capital: Nairobi;
- Kenya Currency: Kenyan shilling;
- Kenya President:Uhuru Kenyatta.
Dr Vinay K Nandicoori appointed as Director of CCMB
Former IITian, Dr Vinay K Nandicoori, has been appointed as the Director at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, Telangana. He is a well-known molecular biologist, and a scientist at the DBT-National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi.
Dr Nandicoori’s research interest extensively spans molecular signalling networks in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the micro-organism that causes TB. His research has found national and international relevance and recognition.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology Founded: 1977.
ICC Expands Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup to 14 teams
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that the Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2027 and 2031, will once again be a 14-team, 54-match tournament. Earlier in the 2019 World Cup, only 10 teams contested, compared to 14 teams in the 2015 World Cup.
These 14 teams will split into two groups of seven, top three from each group will be progressing to a Super Six stage, followed by semifinals and final. ICC has also decided to expand the men’s T20 World Cup to 20 teams. The tournament will take place every two years from 2024-2030.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Chairman of ICC: Greg Barclay.
- CEO of ICC: Manu Sawhney.
- Headquarters of ICC: Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
WhatsApp appoints Paresh B Lal as Grievance Officer for India
The Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp has named Paresh B Lal as the Grievance Officer for India. WhatsApp has updated the details on its website for how to contact Mr Lal because, under the IT law, social media companies are required to display the names and other details of their grievance officers on their websites.
The appointment is in line with the government’s new IT order that requires all the tech companies, like Google, Facebook, WhatsApp to appoint a grievance officer, nodal officer and a chief compliance officer from India. The grievance officer shall address the complaint within 24 hours and dispose of the complaint within 15 days.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- WhatsApp Founded: 2009;
- WhatsApp CEO: Will Cathcart (Mar 2019–);
- WhatsApp Headquarters: Menlo Park, California, United States;
- WhatsApp Acquisition date: 19 February 2014;
- WhatsApp Founders: Jan Koum, Brian Acton;
- WhatsApp Parent organization: Facebook.
Lt. General Pradeep Chandran Nair takes charge as DG of Assam Rifles
Lieutenant General Pradeep Chandran Nair, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), Yudh Seva Medal (YSM) took over as the 21st Director General of the Assam Rifles (popularly known as Sentinels of the North-East). He has rich experience of Assam Rifles and the North East, having earlier served as an Inspector General and a Company Commander in Assam Rifles, besides having commanded Assam Rifles battalions as a Brigade Commander.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- The Assam Rifles came into being in 1835;
- Assam Rifles HQ: Shillong, Meghalaya.
ICICI Lombard companions with Microsoft to automate audits of service calls
The country’s largest private sector general insurer, ICICI Lombard has tied up with Microsoft to strengthen and automate the quality control processes. The insurer will make use of Microsoft’s Azure Speech Services and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to screen its daily service calls made by customer service reps.
The deployment of Azure’s synthetic instruments has, amongst different issues, allowed ICICI Lombard to enhance the accuracy of its high-quality audits. In response to Girish Nayak, ICICI Lombard’s chief expertise officer, the usage of cognitive intelligence expertise will automate high-quality checks which can in flip make their service extra environment friendly.
The sooner course required the corporate to manually display screen a pattern of 20% of the over 1000 calls a day that the corporate made for potential enhancements. The improved effectivity will allow ICICI Lombard to enhance its customer support, mentioned Nayak. The brand new system permits Lombard to display screen 100% of its calls now.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- ICICI Lombard CEO: Bhargav Dasgupta.
- ICICI Lombard Headquarters: Mumbai.
- ICICI Lombard Founded: 2001.
BRICS Foreign Minister meeting concluded virtually
External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar has chaired the meeting of BRICS foreign ministers through video conferencing. Foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa participated in this meeting. In this meeting, Ministers agreed to cooperate on the pillars of political and security, economic and finance, and People to people and cultural exchanges.
About the Meeting:
- They also discuss the social and economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and also agreed on the need for reform in the United Nations and other multilateral organizations.
- They also discussed many issues including sustainable development, Terrorism, intra-BRICS cooperation, etc.
- All member countries adopted and released the ‘BRICS Joint Ministerial Statement on Strengthening and Reforming of the Multilateral System’.
- The Ministers reiterated their commitment to establishing BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Center.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- BRICS is a group formed by five major emerging countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
- South Africa joined the group in 2010.
- India will host the 13th BRICS summit in 2021.
SCO Agreement On Mass Media Cooperation Gets India’s Retrospective Nod
The Cabinet accorded an ex post facto approval for signing and ratifying an agreement on cooperation in the field of mass media between all member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The agreement aims to promote equal and mutually beneficial cooperation among associations in the field of mass media. The agreement, which was signed in June 2019, would provide an opportunity for the member states to share best practices and new innovations in the field of mass media.
The main areas of cooperation in the agreement are the creation of favourable conditions for the wide and mutual distribution of information through mass media in order to further deepen the knowledge about the lives of the peoples of their states. The agreement shall promote equal and mutually beneficial cooperation among professional associations of journalists of the states in order to study the available professional experience, as well as to hold meetings, seminars and conferences.
About the SCO:
- The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation, the creation of which was announced on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai.
- SCO comprises eight countries: India, Kazakhstan, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
UN Sustainable Transport Conference will take place in China
The second United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference will be held from 14-16 October 2021 in Beijing, China. It will provide an opportunity to focus attention on the opportunities, challenges and solutions towards achieving sustainable transport worldwide.
The conference will follow up on the first Global Sustainable Transport Conference, held in 2016 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and is expected to indicate a way forward for sustainable transport to help achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Amul’s RS Sodhi elected to board of International Dairy Federation
The International Dairy Federation (IDF) has unanimously elected R S Sodhi, managing director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd or GCMMF that sells Amul branded products in India, to its board during the general assembly held on 1 June. He is alumni of the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA). He joined GCMMF (Amul) in the year 1982 after completing his post-graduation from IRMA.
About the International Dairy Federation:
IDF is an international non-governmental, non-profit association and represents the global dairy sector. The federation ensures that right policies, standards, practices and regulations monitor the production of dairy products globally.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Caroline Emond;
China reports first human case of H10N3 bird flu
A 41-year-old man in China’s eastern province of Jiangsu has been confirmed as the first human case of infection with the H10N3 strain of bird flu, China’s National Health Commission (NHC). The man, a resident of the city of Zhenjiang, was hospitalised on April 28 after developing a fever and other symptoms. He was diagnosed as having the H10N3 avian influenza virus.
About the H10N3:
- H10N3 is a low pathogenic, or relatively less severe, the strain of the virus in poultry and the risk of it spreading on a large scale was very low.
- Many different strains of avian influenza are present in China and some sporadically infect people, usually those working with poultry.
- There have been no significant numbers of human infections with bird flu since the H7N9 strain killed around 300 people during 2016-2017.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- China Capital: Beijing.
- China Currency: Renminbi.
- China President: Xi Jinping.
Microsoft launches the first ever Asia-Pacific cybersecurity council
The first Asia Pacific Public Sector Cyber Security Executive Council has been launched by Microsoft. It consists of policymakers and influencers from Brunei, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The council aims to accelerate public-private partnerships in cybersecurity and share threat intelligence.
The council will meet virtually on a quarterly basis. As part of the council, government agencies and state leaders will join a forum. The forum includes Microsoft and its cybersecurity industry advisors. Encounter rates for malware and ransomware attacks are higher than average in the case of APAC. APAC means Asia-Pacic (A-sia PAC-ic).
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Microsoft CEO: Satya Nadella;
- Microsoft Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States.
