News: On May 3rd,2020, World Press Freedom Day is being celebrated.
Facts:
- World Press Freedom Day has been organized and promoted by the United Nations since 1993.The day also marks the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration.
- Theme: Journalism without Fear or Favour.
Additional Facts:
- World Press Freedom Conference: It is organized by UNESCO since 1993 to discuss emerging challenges to press freedom and journalists safety and to work together on identifying solutions. Netherlands is the host for 2020.
- Windhoek Declaration: Itis a statement of press freedom principles put together by African newspaper journalists in 1991.The Declaration was later endorsed by the UNESCO General Conference.
- World Press Freedom Prize: It was established in 1997 on the initiative of UNESCO’s Executive Board to honour a person or institution who contributed to freedom of press especially in the face of danger.
Prime minister to participate in NAM Summit through Video Conference
News: The Prime Minister will participate in the Virtual Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit through Video Conference. The summit will be chaired by Azerbaijan and will conclude with a political declaration of Uniting Against COVID-19.
Facts:
- Non-Aligned Movement: It was formed during the Cold War as an organization of States that did not seek to formally align themselves with either the United States or the Soviet Union but sought to remain independent or neutral.
- Origin: The concept of NAM originated in 1955 at the Asia-Africa Bandung Conference held in Indonesia.
- First NAM Summit: It took place in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1961 under the heads of Yugoslavia, India, Egypt, Ghana and Indonesia.
- Purpose: It was enumerated at the Havana Declaration of 1979 to ensure the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries in their struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism and all forms of foreign subjugation.
- Members: It consists of 120 member states.
- Observers: There are 17 countries and 10 international organizations that are Observers at NAM.
China tests state-run digital currency in 4 cities amid pandemic
News: China has started testing its digital currency named e- RMB in four major Chinese cities.
Facts:
- e-RMB is set to be the first digital currency operated by a major economy.
- People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the country’s central bank will be the sole issuer of the digital currency.
- This is part of China’s Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) project which began in 2014.
Additional Facts:
- Digital Currency:It is a form of currency that is available only in digital or electronic form and not in physical form.It is also called digital money, electronic money, electronic currency or cyber cash. Cryptocurrency is also a type of Digital Currency.
- Cryptocurrency:
- It is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security. It uses decentralized technology to let users make secure payments and store money without the need to use their name or go through a bank.
- They run on a distributed public ledger called blockchain which is a record of all transactions updated and held by currency holders.
- The most common cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin.
- Blockchain Technology: It is a digital, immutable, distributed ledger that chronologically records transactions in near real time. It is managed by a cluster of computers and not owned by any single entity; therefore, it is decentralized.
Red Cross plans log of recovered patients
News:The Indian Red Cross Society is starting a database of people who have recovered from Covid-19 so that they can be potential plasma donors for convalescent plasma therapy(use of blood from the recovered patients to treat severely sick patents).
Facts:
- Indian Red Cross Society is a voluntary humanitarian organization established in 1920 under the Indian Red Cross Society Act.The act was amended in 1992 and rules were formed in 1994.
- Aim: To provide relief in times of disasters/emergencies and promote health & care of the vulnerable people and communities.
- It is also a leading member of the largest independent humanitarian organization in the world, the International Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement.
- The President of India is the President and Union Health Minister is the Chairman of the Society.
- National Managing Body: It consists of 19 members with the Chairman and 6 members nominated by the President and the remaining 12 are elected by the state and union territory branches through an electoral college.
CAIT to launch national e-commerce marketplace ‘bharatmarket’ for retail traders
News: Confederation of All India Traders(CAIT) has announced to launch the national e-commerce marketplace “Bharat Market”.
Facts:
- Bharat Marketplace:It will be an e-commerce portal that aims to bring retailers on a single platform to provide end-to-end services in the logistics and supply chains from manufacturers to end consumers including deliveries at home.
- This initiative also has support and guidance from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
News:Ministry of Tourism’s Dekho ApnaDesh webinar on 1st May 2020 was ‘Destination- Sariska Tiger reserve’
Facts:
- Sariska Tiger Reserve is located in Alwar district, Rajasthan.It is a part of the Aravalli Range and the Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forests’ ecoregion.
- It was given the status of a tiger reserve in 1978.
- Kankwadi Fort, a 16th-century fort, originally built by Jai Singh II, is located near the centre of the park.
Additional facts:
“DekhoApnaDesh” webinar series:
- It was launched by Ministry of Tourism in April 2020
- Objective: to create awareness about and promote various tourism destinations of India.
News: A study led by Spanish doctors has found five kinds of rashes, including Covid-toe, affecting covid-19 patients.
Facts:
- Covid-toe: Asymmetrical, chilblain-like lesions around the hands and feet
- Outbreaks of small blisters, often itchy, found on the trunk and limbs
- Pink or white raised areas of skin that look like nettle rash.
- Maculopapules – small, flat and raised red bumps
- Livedo (also known as necrosis): skin looks blotchy red or blue, with a net-like pattern
India slips two places on global press freedom index
News: 2020 World Press Freedom Index was released.
Facts:
- It is an annual ranking of countries which shows the degree of freedom that journalists, news organisations, and netizens have in each country. It ranks 180 countries.
- Published by:Reporters Without Borders
2020 World Press Freedom Index:
- Global: Norway ranks 1st. China is at 177th and North Korea ranks 180th.
- India: India’s ranking has slipped from 140 in 2019 to 142 in 2020. Butan, Nepal and Sri Lanka ranked better than India.
