Home General Knowledge Briefs The Daily Brief – 29th July 2018

The Daily Brief – 29th July 2018

July 29, 2018

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Blood Moon 2018 or century’s (2001 AD to 2100 AD) longest total lunar eclipse of 1 hour 43 minutes occurred on July 27-28, 2018. The rare celestial event was visible from all parts of India. It was majorly seen in Eastern Hemisphere including Central Asia, Eastern Africa and South East Asia. In this particular eclipse, Moon passed through central part of Earth’s umbral shadow. During this time, Moon was located at apogee (i.e. at farthest from Earth) in its orbit and moved at slower speed in its orbit.
Blood moon
The World Hepatitis Day is being observed every year on July 28 around the globe to spread awareness about viral hepatitis since 2010. Observance of the day seeks to encourage diagnosis, prevention and treatment of Hepatitis. It also seeks to provide single global platform to raise awareness about hepatitis and influence real change in disease prevention, testing and treatment. The theme for World Hepatitis Day 2018 is “Test. Treat. Hepatitis” It is one of the 8 official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Union Food Ministry has decided to allow sugar mills to manufacture ethanol directly from sugarcane juice or an intermediate product called B-molasses. In this regard, Sugarcane Control Order, 1966 has been amended. The move would help mills divert cane juice for ethanol manufacturing during surplus years. OMCs procure ethanol from sugar mills for blending with petrol. It has mandated blending of up to 10% ethanol in petrol.
Indian Railways had organised a programme on Ethics in Public Governance and launched Mission Satyanishtha at a day-long event held at National Rail Museum, New Delhi with an aim to sensitize all railway employees about need to adhere to good ethics and to maintain high standards of integrity at work. Under it, talks and lectures on subject were organised all over Indian Railways for this purpose. It was first of its kind event organised by any government organization in the country.
India has been designated as nodal centre for developing customized model to issue advance warning of floods to Asian countries, including Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand by World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The model will be called as Flash Flood Guidance System. Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) under Ministry of Earth Sciences will work to customize this weather model. The model will provide forecasts by computing likelihood of rainfall and soil moisture levels to warn of possible floods. WMO founded in 1873, is an intergovernmental organization whose mandate covers weather, climate and water resources.
On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day (July 28) Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme to control viral hepatitis C. The programme which is a part of National Health Mission aims at both prevention and treatment of hepatitis which is among leading causes of liver cancer, cirrhosis of liver and acute liver failure. It aims to treat minimum of 3 lakh hepatitis C cases over a period of three years for eliminating deadly condition by 2030.
India and China on July 26, 2018 reiterated their commitment to maintain peace and tranquillity along their border by enhancing communications between their militaries. The agreement came during a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the annual BRICS Summit in Johannesburg. Both leaders agreed to give their militaries the necessary directions to enhance communications between them and to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.