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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 04 May 2014

Indian missile Astra

Marking an important milestone, for the first time an Indian missile, Astra, was successfully test-fired from a fighter aircraft — the Sukhoi-30 MKI — from a naval range in the Western Sector .
The test-firing met all the mission objectives and the air-launch was captured by side and forward looking high-speed cameras and the separation was exactly as per simulation, according to a press release from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Astra is India's first Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air missile and has been designed and developed indigenously by the DRDO. The 60-km plus range missile possesses high Single Shot Kill Probability (SSKP) making it highly reliable.
Astra is an all-weather missile with active radar terminal guidance, excellent ECCM (electronic counter-counter measures) features, smokeless propulsion and process improved effectiveness in multi-target scenario, making it a highly advanced state-of-the-art missile.

Dealing a blow to many visa aspirants especially students, British authorities have said global testing giant ETS will no longer offer TOEFL and TOEIC tests for U.K. visa-granting purposes, in the wake of a recent controversy.
As per the U.K. Council for International Student Affairs’ official website, “ETS is no longer providing TOEIC and TOEFL tests for people who want to use them in support of U.K. immigration applications. This is because of allegations of fraud.”
Following the broadcast of a BBC Panorama programme in February 2014 which highlighted an organised element seeking to circumvent the U.K.’s visa-granting process, ETS has made the decision not to extend our Secure English-language Testing (SELT) licence with the Home Office. As a result, TOEIC and TOEFL iBT testing will no longer be offered for U.K. visa-granting purposes.
The TOEFL test remains the most widely respected English-language test in the world recognised by more than 9,000 institutions in more than 130 countries.

Libya’s Parliament has sworn in a new Prime Minister despite a disputed vote.
A Libyan television station and lawmakers said the country’s interim Parliament swore in 42-year-old businessman Ahmed Matiq .
Initially, only 113 lawmakers voted for Mr. Matiq, falling short of the 120 votes necessary to secure his win. After the session was adjourned, Al-Ahrar reported that voting resumed and Mr. Matiq secured eight new votes.

In the race to colonise Mars, microbes may end up beating humans!
Hardy little micro-organisms from Earth could hitch a ride on a spacecraft and colonise the surface of Mars and trick scientists into thinking they are aliens, a new study by NASA scientists, including one of Indian-origin, has found.
These bacteria could contaminate celestial bodies such as Mars, making it difficult for researchers to determine if a life form actually originated on the site, researchers said.
Currently, spacecraft landing on Mars or other planets where life might exist must meet requirements for a maximum allowable level of microbial life, or bioburden.
These acceptable levels were based on studies of how various life forms survive exposure to the rigours associated with space travel, researchers said.
Spore-forming bacteria are of particular concern because spores can withstand certain sterilisation procedures and may best be able to survive the harsh environments of outer space or planetary surfaces.
Spores of Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 have shown especially high resistance to techniques used to clean spacecraft, such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation and peroxide treatment.
When researchers exposed this hardy organism to a simulated Mars environment that kills standard spores in 30 seconds, it survived 30 minutes.

People can now read comics on personalities such as Akbar, Chanakya, Jawaharlal Nehru and JRD Tata on smartphones and tablets, as Amar Chitra Katha has made the digital debut.
Amar Chitra Katha has launched ACK Comics, its official digital store app for across platforms — Windows 8, iOS and Android — giving users access to over 300 of its titles.
The app has been developed by App9 Digital Studio, the digital division of Ninestars Information Technologies.
Users will also get 10 comics to download for free including Chanakya, Ashoka, Akbar, Jawaharlal Nehru and Babasaheb Ambedkar, Birbal, JRD Tata, Subbulakshmi, Ganesha and the special title on DhyanChand.

Bhagat Singh’s name was not mentioned in the FIR for the murder of a British police officer here in 1928, the Lahore police have found, in a major boost to prove the legendary freedom fighter’s innocence in the case 83 years after his execution.
Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi, chairman of the Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation, had filed a petition seeking an attested copy of the First Information Report (FIR) registered against Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru for allegedly killing the then SSP John P Saunders.
Bhagat Singh was awarded the death sentence for killing Saunders and was hanged at Shadman Chowk in Lahore in 1931, aged just 23.
The High Court has referred the case to the Chief Justice for constitution of a larger Bench to hear the case.