Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2019

Notes:
M J Radhakrishnan (60), the well-known Malayalam cinematographer , has passed away in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on July 12, 2019. Starting his career as a still photographer, Radhakrishnan later worked as an associate of renowned cinematographer-turned-director Shaji N Karun. His well-acclaimed works include: Deshadanam, Karunam and Naalu Pennungal. Radhakrishnan had won three International awards besides being a 7-time winner of the Kerala State Award for Best Cinematography. One of his works, Marana Simhasanam (English: Throne of Death; French: Le Trone de la mort), won Camra d’Or (Golden Camera Award) in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

Notes:
The researchers in the United States (US) have found that Electronic Cigarettes (ECs) produce a stress response in brain stem cells. They identified the mechanism underlying EC-induced stem cell toxicity as “Stress-Induced Mitochondrial Hyper-fusion (SIMH) using cultured mouse neural stem cells. The study showed that exposure of stem cells to e-liquids, aerosols, or nicotine produces a response that leads to SIMH. Stem cells are present throughout life & become specialized cells with more specific functions, such as brain cells, blood cells, or bone. ECs are nicotine-delivery devices that aerosolize nicotine and flavour chemicals through heating. The high levels of nicotine in ECs lead to a nicotine flooding of special receptors in the neural stem cell membrane. If the nicotine stress persists, SIMH collapses, the neural stem cells get damaged and could eventually die. If that happens, no more specialised cells, astrocytes and neurons, for example, can be produced from stem cells. Then, damaged stem cell mitochondria could accelerate aging and lead to neurodegenerative diseases. Nicotine exposure during prenatal or adolescent development can affect the brain in multiple ways that may impair memory, learning, and cognition

Notes:
The captain of the New Zealand, Kane Williamson has been adjudged player of the tournament at the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup for his excellent returns with the bat and inspiring leadership. On 14th July 2019, England lifted their first-ever ICC World Cup cricket trophy after defeating New Zealand in a nerve-wracking final that was decided via a dramatic Super Over in London. Opting to bat, New Zealand put up a modest 241 for eight. In reply, England ended at the same score leading to the one-over eliminator at the Lord’s. In the Super Over, England batted first and the duo of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler made 15, and New Zealand also ended at the same score but for the loss of one wicket, paving the way for an English victory on boundary count. England’s Ben Stokes is named player of the match for a heroic knock of 84 not out off 92 balls.

Notes:
The critically acclaimed Bengali movie, Nagarkirtan has won the Best Feature Film award at the 9th edition of SAARC film festival 2019 in Colombo. The movie, which was directed by Kaushik Ganguly, has also won the ‘Best Director’, ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Original Score’ awards. It’s a love story of a transwoman and a flautist. Two other Indian films have won awards at the fest. ‘Na Bole Wo Haram’, a 20-minute film by debutant director Nitish Patankar, bagged the ‘Best Short Film’ award, while ‘Walking With the Wind’ by Praveen Morchhale received the Special Jury award for direction and story.

Notes:
The West Bengal government has observed the first-ever Save Water Day on 12th July 2019 across the state to spread the message of water conservation. From now onwards, the day will be observed in the state every year to create awareness among people to check misuse of water. The state government also organized the Padayatra in Kolkata to save the natural resource as water scarcity has become a major issue in the world.

Notes:
Hussain Muhammad Ershad (89), the former military dictator of Bangladesh, has passed away in Dhaka on July 14, 2019. He was the Jatiya Party chief and also the leader of the opposition in Parliament. He was born in 1930 in Coochbehar district of West Bengal state in the then British India. His parents migrated to present-day Bangladesh, which was then a part of Pakistan, in 1948, after the end of British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent. In 1982, Ershad took over the state power in a bloodless coup and subsequently ran the country for 8 years until he was forced to quit in a pro-democracy mass upsurge in 1990. Despite being imprisoned subsequently on several charges, Ershad emerged as one of the most powerful political leaders in the 1990s after his Jatiya Party became the country’s third biggest political outfit. His rule was marked by a controversial move to make Islam the state religion of the officially secular Bangladesh.

Notes:
The Union Environment Ministry has selected 12 beaches in India to vie for a ‘Blue Flag’ certification. These beaches are at Shivrajpur (Gujarat), Bhogave (Maharashtra), Ghoghla (Diu), Miramar (Goa), Kasarkod and Padubidri (Karnataka), Kappad (Kerala), Eden (Puducherry), Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu), Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh), Golden (Odisha), and Radhanagar (Andaman & Nicobar Islands). The Blue Flag certification is an international recognition conferred on beaches that meet certain criteria of cleanliness and environmental propriety. The Blue Flag Programme for beaches and marinas is run by a Denmark-based organization – Federation of Environment Education (FEE).There are nearly 33 criteria that must be met to qualify for a Blue Flag certification, such as the water meeting certain quality standards, having waste disposal facilities, being disabled- friendly, have first aid equipment, and no access to pets in the main areas of the beach. Some criteria are voluntary and some compulsory.

Notes:
Star Indian sprinter Hima Das clinched gold in the 200m race in 23.25 seconds creditable timing in the Tabor Athletics Meet in Czech Republic. Hima’s compatriot VK Vismaya was second with a season of best 23.43 seconds. Hima has a 200m personal best of 23.10 seconds.This was Hima’s fourth gold since 2nd July 2019 when she ran her first competitive race in Europe.

Notes:
The World Day for International Justice (WDIJ) is observed every year on July 17 to promote international criminal justice and as a way of supporting the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) . The aim of this day is to unite everyone who wants to support justice as well as promote victims’ rights. It is to help prevent serious crimes and those that put the peace, security and well-being of the world at risk. The day is also referred as the International Criminal Justice Day (ICJD) or International Justice Day (IJD).

Notes:
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The outbreak in DR Congo has killed more than 1,600 people. The outbreak, the second largest in history, started in August 2018 and is affecting two provinces in DR Congo – North Kivu and Ituri. This is the fifth such declaration in history. Previous emergencies were declared for the devastating 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people, the emergence of Zika in the Americas, the swine flu pandemic and polio. Ebola is a virus that initially causes sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and a sore throat. It progresses to vomiting, diarrhoea and both internal and external bleeding. People are infected when they have direct contact through broken skin, or the mouth and nose, with the blood, vomit, faeces or bodily fluids of someone with Ebola. Patients tend to die from dehydration and multiple organ failure.