Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
- E-Tribunal
- e-bola
- Retaliatory Tariffs
- Facts for Prelims : Pressurised intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC)
1 . Shanghai Co-operation Organisation
Context : SCO summit concluded in Bishkek
About SCO
- The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation founded in 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.
- The SCO’s main goals are as follows: strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states; promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas; making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region; and moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order.
- The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO.
- The SCO Heads of Government Council (HGC) meets once a year to discuss the organisation’s multilateral cooperation strategy and priority areas, to resolve current important economic and other cooperation issues, and also to approve the organisation’s annual budget.
- The SCO’s official languages are Russian and Chinese.
Members
- SCO comprises eight member states, namely the Republic of India, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan;
- SCO counts four observer states, namely the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Belarus, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Mongolia;
- SCO has six dialogue partners, namely the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Republic of Turkey, and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
Regional Anti Terrorist Structure
- Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is a permanent organ of the SCO which serves to promote cooperation of member states against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism.
- The Head of RATS is elected to a three-year term. Each member state also sends a permanent representative to RATS
Details of the Summit
- The Bishkek Declaration urged the international community to encourage global cooperation to fight terrorism and “without politicisation and double standards and with respect for the sovereignty and independence of all countries, as well as to work towards a consensus on adopting the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
- The SCO summit also called for “prompt solution” for the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and urged the people and government of Afghanistan to act in favour of peace and dialogue to end the conflict. SCO also declared that the Republic of Uzbekistan is expected to host a Ministerial Meeting of the Eighth Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA VIII) in Tashkent in the second half of 2019.
- The summit also signed a document titled ‘Roadmap for Further Action of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group. Apart from that the other agreements were on sports, mass media, coordination of humanitarian affairs, tourism, healthcare.
- A separate MoU was signed for establishment of Astana International Financial Centre.
2 . E-Tribunal
Context : The Centre has approved setting up of e-Foreigner Tribunal (e-FT) in Assam.
About E-Tribunal
- Integrated e-FT IT system will be implemented across the state for effective monitoring and resolution of cases registered with Foreigner Tribunal.
- The new IT system will not only strengthen the Judiciary in the disposal of cases but also help Police organization in faster detection, prosecution and detention
- The main objective of the project is to maintain a statewide bio-metric and biographic data, to capture the illegal migrants’ data to computerize data flow for all the stakeholders.
- It will also help in the legalization of eligible beneficiaries for welfare schemes
3 . E-bola
Context : For the third time, the World Health Organization declined Friday to declare the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a public health emergency, though the outbreak spread this week into neighboring Uganda and ranks as the second deadliest in history.
About E-bola
- Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a rare and deadly zoonotic disease most commonly affecting people and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees).
- It is caused by an infection with one of five known Ebola virus species, four of which can cause disease in people:
- Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus)
- Sudan virus (Sudan ebolavirus)
- Taï Forest virus (Taï Forest ebolavirus, formerly Côte d’Ivoire ebolavirus)
- Bundibugyo virus (Bundibugyo ebolavirus)
- Reston virus (Reston ebolavirus), known to cause disease in nonhuman primates and pigs, but not in people
- Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Scientists do not know where Ebola virus comes from. However, based on the nature of similar viruses, they believe the virus is animal-borne, with bats being the most likely source. The bats carrying the virus can transmit it to other animals, like apes, monkeys, duikers and humans.
- Ebola virus spreads to people through direct contact with bodily fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from EVD. This can occur when a person touches the infected body fluids (or objects that are contaminated with them), and the virus gets in through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, or mouth.
- The virus can also spread to people through direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected fruit bats or primates. People can get the virus through sexual contact as well.
- Community engagement is key to successfully controlling outbreaks. Good outbreak control relies on applying a package of interventions, namely case management, infection prevention and control practices, surveillance and contact tracing, a good laboratory service, safe and dignified burials and social mobilisation.
- Early supportive care with rehydration, symptomatic treatment improves survival. There is as yet no licensed treatment proven to neutralize the virus but a range of blood, immunological and drug therapies are under development.
4 . Retaliatory Tariffs
Context : India has decided to impose retaliatory tariffs on 29 goods imported from the U.S. from June 16 onwards, a year after it initially decided to do so
5 . Facts for Prelims
Pressurised intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC)
- Pressurised intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy, or PIPAC is a technique developed in Germany in 2013 for providing chemotherapy through aerosol spray
- In this method drugs are not injected into the bloodstream. Instead, treatment is introduced by laparoscopy and chemotherapy is introduced into the peritoneal cavity by an aerosol spray.
- It is a minimally invasive without harmful side effects