Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 23 February 2017
:: National ::
Scientists predict life expectancy will reach 90 years
Life expectancy will soon exceed 90 years for the first time, scientists have predicted, overturning all the assumptions about human longevity that prevailed at the beginning of the 20th century.
Women born in South Korea in 2030 are forecast to have a life expectancy of 90, a study has found.
But other developed countries are not far behind, raising serious questions about the health and social care that will be needed by large numbers of the population living through their 80s.
It is impossible to accurately forecast the natural disasters, disease outbreaks or climate changes that may take a toll of lives around the world.
But the study in medical journal Lancet shows a significant rise in life expectancy in most of the 35 developed countries studied.
A notable exception is the U.S., where a combination of obesity, deaths of mothers and babies at birth, homicides and lack of equal access to healthcare is predicted to cause life expectancy to rise more slowly than in most comparable countries.
The big winners are South Korea, some western European countries, and some emerging economies.
France is second in the league table for women — as it was in 2010 — at 88.6 years, and Japan is third on 88.4 years after decades with the longest life expectancy in the world.
The study incorporates 21 different models of life expectancy to try to come to a definitive prediction of the future, but the authors say there is still uncertainty.
There is a 97% probability that women’s life expectancy at birth in 2030 in South Korea will be higher than 86.7 years and 57% probability that it will exceed 90 years.
South Korea’s performance is due to improvements in its economy and education. Deaths among children and adults from infectious diseases have dropped and nutrition has improved, which has also led to South Koreans growing taller.
EU team says Kashmir issue must be dealt internally in India
Human rights ‘violations’ in Jammu and Kashmir must be resolved internally in India, says a visiting delegation of Members of European Parliament, accepting that the conflict in the State is an internal Indian matter.
The conflict is a very sensitive issue, we know how sensitive it is. Delegations of MEPs visited both sides of Kashmir in 2003-04. This has to be settled through domestic Indian institutions,” said, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the EU Parliament.
However, while giving India its full support on the human rights issue, the delegation, however, will take up two other thorny issues: India’s denial of a visa to a member of their delegation, and recent Home Ministry action against NGOs in India.
On the issue of NGOs operating in India, the EU delegation said it was concerned about strictures on funding and the functioning of rights organisations, that had also been brought to the EU parliament’s notice.
Three lakh Indian in US face risk of deportation (Register and Login to read Full News)
Apex court remain firm on construction of SYL (Register and Login to read Full News)
:: International ::
Pak military announced anti-terror operation
Following a spate of terrorist attacks across the country, Pakistani military announced a new anti-terror operation.
More than 120 people have died in eight suicide attacks over the last 10 days while law enforcement agencies claimed to have killed more than 150 suspected terrorists.
The attacks have been claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban that has reportedly owed allegiance to the Islamic State (IS). Pakistani authorities claim that its leadership is hiding in Afghanistan, near the border.
Authorities have handed over a list of 76 suspected terrorists wanted by the state to Afghanistan.
Kabul, in turn, has given Islamabad a list of 85 suspected terrorists wanted by the Afghan government and also a list of 12 militant camps. Both governments have agreed to fight the battle together.
The operation is to include nationwide de-weaponisation drives, explosive control operations and effective border security management.
:: Science and Technology ::
Scientists have spotted seven Earth-sized planets
Scientists have spotted seven Earth-sized planets, with mass similar to Earth, orbiting around a dwarf star the size of Jupiter, just 39 light years from the Sun.
The planets’ temperature is low enough to make possible the presence of liquid water on their surface.
In May last year, scientists found three planets passing in front of TRAPPIST-1, the dwarf star. Based on further monitoring of the star from the ground and space, scientists have found four more ‘exo-planets’ orbiting TRAPPIST-1.
The scientists have been able to make precise mass measurement for six of the seven planets. Though the mass measurements are preliminary, they do indicate that the planets are terrestrial with liquid water.
The four newly discovered planets orbit around the star every 4.04 days, 6.06 days, 8.1 days and 12.3 days respectively; the orbital period of two of the three planets discovered last year is 1.51 days and 2.42 days respectively.
Five planets have sizes similar to that of the Earth, while the remaining two are intermediate in size — between Mars and Earth. Based on the mass estimates, the six inner planets may have a rocky composition.
The sixth planet has low density suggesting a volatile rich composition. The volatile content could be either ice layer and/or atmosphere.
