Daily Current affairs - August 23rd, 2017 for all competitive exams
International Day for the
Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, August 23 of each
year, the day designated by UNESCO to memorialize
the transatlantic slave trade.
- UNESCO Member States organize events every year on
that date, inviting participation from young people, educators, artists
and intellectuals. As part of the goals of the intercultural UNESCO
project, "The Slave Route", it is an opportunity for collective
recognition and focus on the "historic causes, the methods and the
consequences" of slavery.
Supreme Court scraps instant triple talaq
The
controversial Islamic divorce practice of instant triple talaq (Talaq-e-Biddat) has been struck down as arbitrary and
against the tenets of Islam. The practice was against Article
14 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to equality, the
Supreme Court has ruled.
- Shayara Bano, a 35-year-old resident of of
Uttarakhand, filed a petition in the Supreme Court in 2015 and sought a
ban on the practice after her husband ended their 15-year marriage by
sending a letter with the word talaq written thrice.
- There are three forms of talaq (divorce) in Islam:
Ahsan, Hasan and Talaq-e-Biddat (triple or instant talaq). Ahsan and Hasan
are revocable but Biddat is irrevocable. Biddat is considered sinful but
is permissible in Islamic law. It has been banned in more than 20 Muslim
countries, including Pakistan and Bangladesh.
- The Supreme Court in June 2016 decided to examine if
Islamic laws governing marriage and inheritance violated the fundamental
rights of women and take a call on how far it can intervene to modify the
existing laws.
- The court favoured keeping on hold the practise of
triple talaq for six months, urged the political parties to set aside
their differences and aid the Centre in coming out with a legislation.
- The government has said it will write a new
matrimony law for Muslims to fill a legal vacuum should the Supreme Court
strike down triple talaq.
- Also, this judgment is likely to be a valuable
touchstone for the Law Commission while handling contentious issues
under the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
NITI Aayog to launch “Mentor India” Campaign
NITI Aayog is all set to launch the Mentor India Campaign, a strategic nation building
initiative to engage leaders who can guide and mentor students at more than 900
Atal Tinkering Labs, established across the country as a part of
the Atal Innovation Mission.
- Mentor India is aimed at maximizing the impact
of Atal Tinkering Labs, possibly the biggest
disruption in formal education globally.
- The idea is to engage leaders who will nurture and
guide students in the Atal Tinkering Labs. These labs are non-prescriptive
by nature, and mentors are expected to be enablers rather than
instructors.
7th Meeting of FSDC held in New Delhi
The seventeenth Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council
(FSDC) was recently held in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of the Union
Minister of Finance, Shri Arun Jaitley.
- The Council discussed the issues and challenges
facing the Indian economy and Members agreed on the need to keep constant
vigil and be in a state of preparedness of managing any external and
internal vulnerabilities.
- FSDC took note of the developments and progress made
in setting up of Computer Emergency Response Team in the Financial Sector
(CERT-Fin) and Financial Data Management Centre and discussed measures for
time bound implementation of the institution building initiative.
India welcomes Trump’s new Afghanistan policy
India has welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s new policy on Afghanistan
and said his move would help target “safe havens” of terrorism in South Asia.
- American President had urged India to play a larger
role in providing economic and development assistance to the war-torn
Afghanistan.
Submit plan on Bellandur lake:
NGT
Expressing displeasure over
the way in which the Karnataka government has handled the rejuvenation of
Bellandur lake, the National Green Tribunal has given the authorities 10 days
to provide a concrete action plan to save the lake.
- The case was heard by the tribunal’s Chairman Bench
on August 22. In the government’s submission, Additional Advocate General
of Karnataka Aditya Sondhi said municipal solid waste, construction and
demolition waste had been removed from the water body.
New flexible fuel cells turn sweat into power
Scientists have developed stretchable fuel cells that extract energy from
sweat, and could power a range of wearable devices such as LEDs and Bluetooth
radios. The new cells were developed using lithography and screen-printing to
make 3D carbon nanotube-based cathode and anode arrays.
- The biofuel cells are equipped with an enzyme
that oxidises the lactic acid present in human sweat to generate current.
- To be compatible with wearable devices, the biofuel
cell needs to be flexible and stretchable. So engineers decided to use
what they call a “bridge and island”.
Scientists create music using
eclipse data
Scientists have created an
original music composition using data from the movements of the sun, the moon
and the gradual darkness during the total solar eclipse in the U.S.
- This is the first time researchers have made music
with eclipse information.
- The team from Georgia Institute of Technology in the
U.S. watched many videos of total eclipses to develop the correct tone and
pacing for the piece. They also used live data from the total solar
eclipse that swept across the U.S. on August 21, to add more musical
elements to the existing piece.
New species of the genus Nasikabatrachus
A new species of the endemic frog genus Nasikabatrachus has been discovered from
the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats.
- The newly discovered frog is named Nasikabatrachus
bhupathi.
- It has a snout-shaped nose, just like a pig’s and is
a soil dwelling species of purple frog.
- It inhabits the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats,
near the Srivilliputhur Grizzled Giant Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary in
Tamil Nadu.
‘Asteroid strike left the
earth dark for 2 years’
The massive asteroid strike
that wiped out dinosaurs some 66 million years ago would have plunged the earth
into darkness for nearly two years, a study has found.
- The asteroid triggered global wildfires that lofted
into the air tremendous amounts of soot. This would have shut down
photosynthesis, drastically cooled the planet, and contributed to the mass
extinction that marked the end of the age of dinosaurs. The study, led by
researchers at the U.S. National Centre for Atmospheric Research, used a
computer model to paint a rich picture of how the earth’s conditions might
have looked at the end of the Cretaceous Period.
Google launches Android ‘Oreo’
Keeping up its tradition of
naming its Android upgrades with delectable desserts, Google on Monday launched
its version 8.0 of operating system as Android Oreo.
- The Oreo boasts a doubling of boot speed, an
autofill option, and a longer battery life. The new update comes with a
Picture-in-Picture feature that allows the user to see two apps
simultaneously.
- Android Oreo is more secure with Google Play Protect
built in, security status front and centre in settings, and has tighter
app install controls.
British sci-fi writer Brian
Aldiss dies at 92
Brian Aldiss, one of the
most prolific and influential science fiction writers of the 20th century.
- He has died aged 92.
