9 PM Current Affairs Brief – April 8, 2019

Highway ban disrupts life in J&K The first day of closure of the 271-km Baramulla-Udhampur national highway for civilian traffic has disrupted the distribution of essentials and halted all passenger services. The Jammu and Kashmir administration and Centre had announced that the national highway from Baramulla to Udhampur will be put out of bounds for… Continue reading Highway ban disrupts life in J&K

Trinamool, BJP seek credit for enclave exchange Political parties in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district has raised the issue of enclaves and are demanding votes seeking credit for the land boundary agreement between India and Bangladesh in 2015. The Cooch Behar constituency includes 51 enclaves which became part of India in 2015 after the Land… Continue reading Trinamool, BJP seek credit for enclave exchange

Angel investors get further relief The government has announced that it will be mandatory to disclose holdings in unlisted companies while filing tax returns. This data will be matched with filings of startups which have been asked to disclose the list of investors along with some of their details. This may give some relief to… Continue reading Angel investors get further relief

100 years on, UK may not apologise for Jallianwala India is still hopeful of an apology from the U.K government as 100 years of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre approaches. Last year, UK Foreign Secretary had said that he would give consideration to the suggestion that the U.K. should mark the anniversary by seeking forgiveness from… Continue reading 100 years on, UK may not apologise for Jallianwala

For second time, India declines China’s invite for BRI forum India has turned down an official invite from China to attend the second Belt and Road Forum meet scheduled to take place later this month. India had boycotted the first Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in 2017 after protesting against the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor… Continue reading For second time, India declines China’s invite for BRI forum

Maldives: MDP headed for big win in parliamentary polls Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) has got an overwhelming majority in the parliamentary elections held recently. Preliminary results have shown that the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) led by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and former President Mohamed Nasheed have won more than 60 seats in the 87-member parliament.… Continue reading Maldives: MDP headed for big win in parliamentary polls

About 85% of Ujjwala beneficiaries in 4 States still use earthen stoves A recent survey by the Research Institute for Compassionate Economics has found that 85% of the beneficiaries of the Ujjwala scheme in rural Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan still use solid fuels for cooking. Among the surveyed households 53% exclusively used… Continue reading About 85% of Ujjwala beneficiaries in 4 States still use earthen stoves

‘One more official in each booth will cut VVPAT delay’ Opposition parties have argued in the Supreme Court that deployment of one more official and an extra worktable in each polling booth will ‘substantially reduce’ the 5.2-day delay a proposed 50% VVPAT verification will cause. The opposition parties had moved to the SC demanding the… Continue reading ‘One more official in each booth will cut VVPAT delay’

Swiss protest over global warming Recently, demonstrations against climate change had been organised across several cities in Switzerland. The demonstrations were organised by an alliance of green activist groups in Switzerland, including Greenpeace, Swiss Youth for Climate. The climate change protests in Switzerland were in part inspired by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Greta Thunberg is… Continue reading Swiss protest over global warming

Fungus immune to drugs is secretly sweeping the globe A mysterious and dangerous fungal infection called Candida aurishas emerged around the world. The infection has been reported predominantly among patients in healthcare facilities. Candida auris is a fungus that when gets into bloodstream causes serious infections and can life threatening. The fungus was first identified in… Continue reading Fungus immune to drugs is secretly sweeping the globe

Yellow weather warning for Himachal The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow weather warning for rain and hailstorm in Himachal Pradesh. The IMD issues colour-coded warnings to alert the public ahead of severe or hazardous weather conditions that can cause disruption or damage. IMD uses four colour codes to indicate various categories of… Continue reading Yellow weather warning for Himachal

No end to discolouration of Periyar Discolouration of water of the Periyar River, Kerala has continued unprecedently, thus raising concerns among environmentalists. Environmentalists allege that that discolouration was caused due to excess discharge of chemical wastes into the river by industries located on the banks. The Periyar River is the longest river in Kerala. It… Continue reading No end to discolouration of Periyar

Lanka plans month-long military exercise from July 1 The Sri Lankan army has said that it will conduct “Exercise – Western Shield” starting from July 01,2019. The exercise will coincide with 10 years of the end of the island nation’s 30-year civil conflict between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels. The exercise will provide an… Continue reading Lanka plans month-long military exercise from July 1

Nagaland: 4,700 Konyak Naga women dance together to set world record Around 4,700 Konyak Naga women came together in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the “Largest Traditional Konyak Dance”. The programme was organised by Konyak Union at Mon during the ‘Aoleang Monyu festival’. It was organised with an aim to preserve… Continue reading Nagaland: 4,700 Konyak Naga women dance together to set world record