Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 10 July 2016

:: National ::

Tension across the Kashmir valley

Eleven protesters were killed and over 120 persons, including 96 security personnel, were injured, as violent street protests erupted across the Kashmir valley.
The Government clamped curfew in large parts of Kashmir and the Amarnath yatra has been suspended.
The State has also requested for 30 paramilitary companies from the Centre to control the situation.
While phone services were snapped in large parts of south Kashmir, internet services remained suspended across the Kashmir Valley. All examinations and interviews have been cancelled and railway services suspended.
As Wani was laid to rest in his native Tral, violent mobs attacked police and paramilitary installations at various places in the Valley and set ablaze several buildings including three police stations.

Kerala says it is serious about IS

Kerala state has taken a serious note of the reports about a group of Muslims, including women from Kasaragod and Palakkad districts, joining the IS and investigate the issue with due seriousness.
CM said the reports in this regard were needed to be investigated further. State Police Chief said no confirmation with regard to these missing persons joining the Islamic State were available thus far.
A detailed investigation is on and more details could be known only after this, the DGP said.

Defence Ministry is considering a full review

Faced with an acute shortage of personnel in the Barracks and Store (B&S) cadre and a massive shortfall in the collection of dues, the Defence Ministry is considering a full review of this crucial arm of the Military Engineer Services.
The B&S cadre refers to the Defence Ministry’s civilian staff under the MES and are instrumental in recovering dues for utilities like rent, electricity, water and other allied charges.
In response to the query Mr. Parrikar in a written reply in Rajya Sabha acknowledged the shortage of subordinate staff in the cadre.

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:: Business and Economy ::

Survey says that website should be proactive with content

Amid debates on the role of social media networks in censoring inflammatory content on their platforms, a new survey has found that nearly 90 per cent of citizens want these firms proactively removing offensive content.
Over 14,000 people participated in the survey by online community network LocalCircles.
Recently, the European Commission, together with IT companies such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft, announced a code of conduct to combat the spread of illegal hate speech online in Europe.
Among other things, these companies have committed to proactively monitor social media and remove any hate or offensive content within 24 hours of posting.
On the question if social media companies in India should follow a similar code of conduct, 89 per cent answered in the affirmative.
Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi held meeting with a team from Twitter India to iron out details of how harassment & hateful conduct on social media platform can be handled.
Ms Maneka Gandhi also announced that women being harassed on Twitter can reach out to her by using the hashtag which was #IamTrolledHelp.
It was also suggested that a Central Government ministry should become the owner of the subject and should keep a close watch on different groups and forums in social media.
Currently, online content is usually taken off by companies such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter in India after law enforcement agencies flag something off as “anti-religious and hate speech” that could cause unrest and disharmony within India.
LocalCircles enables citizens to connect and engage with communities for most aspects of urban daily life like government, causes, interests and needs, neighbourhood etc.

U.S. Bill may block IT firms from hiring H-1B employees

A bipartisan group of two U.S. lawmakers has introduced in the House of Representatives a legislation, which if passed by the Congress would prevent Indian companies from hiring IT professionals on H-1B and L1 work visas.
Since the revenue model of majority of big Indian IT companies is heavily dependent on H-1B and L1 visas in the U.S., such a bill is likely to have a major impact, if not sound a death knell, on their businesses.
The lawmakers said the H-1B and L1 Visa Reform Act of 2016 would close loopholes in the H-1B and L1 visa programs, reduce fraud and abuse, provide protections for American workers and visa holders, require more transparency.
It would provide more authority to the Departments of Homeland Security and Labour to investigate fraud and abuse in the H—1B and L—1 programs.

:: Science & Tech ::

Better diagnosis of disease-causing mitochondrial genetic mutations is possible

Fast and accurate diagnosis of disease-causing mitochondrial genetic mutations is now possible thanks to automation of the entire process of data analysis and interpretation by a team of researchers at the Delhi-based CSIR Institute.
Mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell, are unique in several ways. A cell can have multiple mitochondriae, with each mitochondriae differing from one another by a few variations. This phenomenon is known as heteroplasmy.
Heteroplasmy can vary between cells of the same tissue, organ, individual or even between individuals of the same family.
Though heteroplasmic mutations implicated in mitochondrial diseases are seen even in healthy individuals, the reason why they do not manifest as disease is due to low frequency of heteroplasmy.
A person does not manifest the disease when the heteroplasmy frequencies are low, usually less than 10 per cent.
The mutations could also be acquired during cell division. While all cells will carry the mutations associated with disease when it is inherited, cells in different tissues may have different mutations when it is acquired.