TNPSC Current Affairs May 18, 2020

www.tnpsc.academy – TNPSC Current Affairs May 18, 2020 (18/05/2020)

 

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Topic: World Organizations, Latest Diary of Events

International Telecommunications Union (ITU)

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2020 was observed on 17 May with the theme “Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

It has been celebrated annually on 17 May since 1969, marking the founding of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention in 1865.

About International Telecommunication Union (ITU):

It is an agency of the United Nations (UN) whose purpose is to coordinate telecommunication operations and services throughout the world. Originally founded in 1865, as the International Telegraph Union, the ITU is the oldest existing international organization. Headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.

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Topic: Latest Diary of Events

International Day of Light

The United Nations marks the International Day of Light (IDL) — an annual initiative held globally to raise awareness on the critical role played by light-based technologies in everyday life — on May 16.

May 16 was selected for the occasion as it marks the anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960 by physicist and engineer Theodore Maiman.

The IDL is administered from the International Basic Science Programme (IBSP) of UNESCO, and its Secretariat is located at the Abdus Salam International Centre of Theoretical Physics (ICTP) at Trieste, Italy.

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Topic: Discovery of New Species

Troglomyces twitteri

A new species has just been discovered using a Twitter image and thus has been named as Troglomyces twitteri. It is a type of parasitic fungus. It belongs to an order called Laboulbeniales — tiny fungal parasites that attack insects and millipedes.

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Topic: Latest diary of Events

AMPHAN: Severe Cyclonic Storm

The Cyclonic storm Amphan in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into severe cyclonic storm. The cyclone is to cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts on May 20, 2020.

The National Disaster Response Force has sent 7 teams to West Bengal and 10 teams to Odisha to aid the state government in its relief measures.

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Topic: Indian Army and Defense Activities

GoI to convert world’s only horse serving cavalry into regular armoured regiment

The Indian Army is to convert the 61st cavalry, the only horse serving cavalry in the world into a regular armoured regiment with tanks.

Key facts:

The main aim of the plan is to convert the 61st cavalry into a combat force. This is largely a ceremonial unit that is based in Jaipur. After changing the cavalry into a combat force, the commanding officers will have independent squadrons of tanks under them. There are oppositions to the steps claiming that the step will destroy the glorious tradition that lives with the regiment.

The 61st cavalry was raised in 1953. It was raised by amalgamating the horse mounted cavalry units in the princely states of India. The soldiers in the cavalry are armed with lances.

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Topic: Geographical Landmarks

Super Earth

The scientists from New Zealand have discovered the “Super Earth”. It potentially holds the conditions to sustain human life.

Key facts:

The super earth is one of the handful of planets discovered that are of the same size and orbiting distance as that of the earth. The host star of the planet is 10% the mass of the sun.

About the planet:

The planet is larger than the earth and hence the name “Super Earth”. The planet could be cold according to the scientists as the star is much smaller than the sun.

Due to this reason, water may not exist in its liquid state, but might occur as ice. As the planet is heavier in mass, it might take 617 days to revolve around its star. The super earth, according to the scientist might possess “Goldilocks Zone” in the future.

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Topic: International Events

Bundesliga of Germany: World’s first sports competition after COVID-19 lock down

The Bundesliga of Germany becomes the world’s first major sports event to resume after COVID-19 lock down.

Key facts:

Though the sports events are beginning, they will not be played the same way. The Bundesliga games began with empty stadium though the stadium had capacity to hold more than 80,000 players. The players are being tested twice a week. The teams participating in the games were kept under quarantine. The teams entered the ground at different times. The substitutes sat well apart during the matches.

The Bundesliga is the primary football league in Germany. It has the highest stadium attendance worldwide.

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Topic: Places in News, Latest Diary of Events

Baltic Travel Bubble

The Baltic countries have opened their borders to one another creating “travel bubble”. This is being called the Baltic Travel Bubble.

Key facts:

With the opening of the borders, the citizens and residents of the European Nations can move freely. However, people coming from outside the zone are being quarantined for 14 days. This is the first travel bubble since the lock down. The Baltic states are not as badly affected as the other European states. There are less than 150 recorded deaths in the region. Finland and Poland have been called to join the Baltic Travel Bubble.

What is Travel Bubble?

The term Travel Bubble came into existence in the month of April 2020. Under the travel bubble strategy, the governments will open the travel pertaining to safe travel zones in the world. This will include regions where the virus risk is minimal. This was initiated by Australia and New Zealand. The countries agreed to the idea of travel bubble between them recently.