1) World Bicycle Day celebrated on 3rd June
•United Nations celebrates World Bicycle Day every year on 3rd June to advance the use of the bicycle as a means of fostering sustainable development. The day aims to strengthen education for children and young people, preventing disease, promoting health, promoting tolerance, mutual understanding and respect and facilitating social inclusion and a culture of peace.
•The day was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in April 2018. World Bicycle Day is being observed every year to encourage member nations to give particular attention to the bicycle in cross-cutting development strategies and to improve road safety and integrate it into sustainable mobility and transport infrastructure planning and design. It also aims to promote the bicycle among all members of society.
2) SCO Agreement On Mass Media Cooperation Gets India’s Retrospective Nod
•The Cabinet accorded an ex post facto approval for signing and ratifying an agreement on cooperation in the field of mass media between all member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The agreement aims to promote equal and mutually beneficial cooperation among associations in the field of mass media. The agreement, which was signed in June 2019, would provide an opportunity for the member states to share best practices and new innovations in the field of mass media.
•The main areas of cooperation in the agreement are the creation of favourable conditions for the wide and mutual distribution of information through mass media in order to further deepen the knowledge about the lives of the peoples of their states. The agreement shall promote equal and mutually beneficial cooperation among professional associations of journalists of the states in order to study the available professional experience, as well as to hold meetings, seminars and conferences.
3) Isaac Herzog Elected as President of Israel
•Veteran Israeli politician, Isaac Herzog, has been elected as the President of the country on June 01, 2021, during the 120 members parliamentary election for 2021. The 60-year-old Herzog will be the 11th President of Israel, assuming office with effect from July 09, 2021. He will succeed Reuven Rivlin, who is set to complete his tenure in July 2021 after seven years in office.
4) BRICS Foreign Minister meeting concluded virtually
•External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar has chaired the meeting of BRICS foreign ministers through video conferencing. Foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa participated in this meeting. In this meeting, Ministers agreed to cooperate on the pillars of political and security, economic and finance, and People to people and cultural exchanges.
5) Lt. General Pradeep Chandran Nair takes charge as DG of Assam Rifles
•Lieutenant General Pradeep Chandran Nair, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), Yudh Seva Medal (YSM) took over as the 21st Director General of the Assam Rifles (popularly known as Sentinels of the North-East). He has rich experience of Assam Rifles and the North East, having earlier served as an Inspector General and a Company Commander in Assam Rifles, besides having commanded Assam Rifles battalions as a Brigade Commander.
6) XraySetu Launched to Detect Covid in Rural Population via WhatsApp
•A new AI-driven platform called ‘XraySetu’ has been developed to help in the early detection of COVID 19, with the help of Chest X-ray. The solution will be beneficial for early detection especially in rural areas, where RT-PCR tests and CT-Scans are not easily available. XraySetu will operate through WhatsApp. It will identify COVID positive patients even from low-resolution Chest X-Ray images sent over Whatsapp-based Chatbot.
•The solution has been developed by ARTPARK (AI & Robotics Technology Park), a not-for-profit foundation established by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, with support from the Department of Science & Technology (DST), GOI, in collaboration with Bangalore based HealthTech startup Niramai and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
7) China reports first human case of H10N3 bird flu
•A 41-year-old man in China’s eastern province of Jiangsu has been confirmed as the first human case of infection with the H10N3 strain of bird flu, China’s National Health Commission (NHC). The man, a resident of the city of Zhenjiang, was hospitalised on April 28 after developing a fever and other symptoms. He was diagnosed as having the H10N3 avian influenza virus.
8) Dr Patrick Amoth of Kenya Appointed as Chair of WHO Executive Board
•Dr Patrick Amoth, the acting Director-General for Health, Ministry of Health of Kenya has been appointed as the Chairman of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Executive Board, for a period of one year. The announcement was made during the 149th session of the WHO Executive Board, on June 02, 2021, by the outgoing Chair Dr Harsh Vardhan.
•Mr Amoth replaces Union Health Minister, Government of India, Dr Harsh Vardhan, who completed his tenure as Chairman of WHO Executive Board on June 02, 2021. Dr Vardhan will continue to be a member of the Executive Board of WHO till 2023. The chairman’s post is held on a rotation basis for one year among regional groups.
9) Dr Vinay K Nandicoori appointed as Director of CCMB
•Former IITian, Dr Vinay K Nandicoori, has been appointed as the Director at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, Telangana. He is a well-known molecular biologist, and a scientist at the DBT-National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi.
•Dr Nandicoori’s research interest extensively spans molecular signalling networks in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the micro-organism that causes TB. His research has found national and international relevance and recognition.
10) Amul’s RS Sodhi elected to board of International Dairy Federation
•The International Dairy Federation (IDF) has unanimously elected R S Sodhi, managing director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd or GCMMF that sells Amul branded products in India, to its board during the general assembly held on 1 June. He is alumni of the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA). He joined GCMMF (Amul) in the year 1982 after completing his post-graduation from IRMA.
11) WhatsApp appoints Paresh B Lal as Grievance Officer for India
•The Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp has named Paresh B Lal as the Grievance Officer for India. WhatsApp has updated the details on its website for how to contact Mr Lal because, under the IT law, social media companies are required to display the names and other details of their grievance officers on their websites.
•The appointment is in line with the government’s new IT order that requires all the tech companies, like Google, Facebook, WhatsApp to appoint a grievance officer, nodal officer and a chief compliance officer from India. The grievance officer shall address the complaint within 24 hours and dispose of the complaint within 15 days.
12) UN Sustainable Transport Conference will take place in China
•The second United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference will be held from 14-16 October 2021 in Beijing, China. It will provide an opportunity to focus attention on the opportunities, challenges and solutions towards achieving sustainable transport worldwide.
•The conference will follow up on the first Global Sustainable Transport Conference, held in 2016 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and is expected to indicate a way forward for sustainable transport to help achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
13) Microsoft launches the first ever Asia-Pacific cybersecurity council
•The first Asia Pacific Public Sector Cyber Security Executive Council has been launched by Microsoft. It consists of policymakers and influencers from Brunei, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The council aims to accelerate public-private partnerships in cybersecurity and share threat intelligence.
•The council will meet virtually on a quarterly basis. As part of the council, government agencies and state leaders will join a forum. The forum includes Microsoft and its cybersecurity industry advisors. Encounter rates for malware and ransomware attacks are higher than average in the case of APAC. APAC means Asia-Pacic (A-sia PAC-ic).
14) ICC Expands Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup to 14 teams
•The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that the Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2027 and 2031, will once again be a 14-team, 54-match tournament. Earlier in the 2019 World Cup, only 10 teams contested, compared to 14 teams in the 2015 World Cup.
•These 14 teams will split into two groups of seven, top three from each group will be progressing to a Super Six stage, followed by semifinals and final. ICC has also decided to expand the men’s T20 World Cup to 20 teams. The tournament will take place every two years from 2024-2030.
