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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 16 July 2015

Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 16 July 2015

:: International ::

Draconian Trade Union Bill of Britain

Treasury and Opposition benches clashed in the British Parliament over the new Trade Union Bill introduced on Wednesday, which if passed will restrict the right of unions to resort to industrial action.
The announcement, which comes after a recent 24-hour strike by London tube workers, is being seen as an attempt not only to further restrict the right to strike, but to also neutralise the considerable political clout of British trade unions in Parliament.

Right of working people

Prime Minister David Cameron and Opposition leader Harriet Harman crossed swords over the issue at the Prime Minister’s Question Time in Parliament, with Ms. Harman calling it an attack on “the right of working people to have a say on their pay and conditions”.
Among the battery of changes proposed by Business Secretary Sajid Javid will be a 50 per cent threshold for ballot turnout, and a further threshold of 40 per cent (of the 50 per cent) of support for a strike.
According to the present U.K. laws, unions have to ballot their members and must get at least 40 per cent support before a strike call can be given.
The new bill also sets a four-month time limit for industrial action. The bill seeks also to reduce the money that unions currently have to campaign with or to donate (to parties such as Labour). Now, union members must “opt in” to pay a political levy, which is currently automatic unless members opt-out.
The rules are likely to be welcomed by Indian-owned companies in the U.K, which, according to the consultancy Grant Thornton, collectively employ 110,000 workers.
The present bill is seen as more draconian than the labour reforms brought in by the Thatcher government in 1985.

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:: Science & Technology ::

CERN discover new particle

Scientists working at the world’s biggest atom smasher say they have discovered a new kind of particle called “pentaquark”.
The existence of pentaquarks was first proposed in the 1960s by American physicists Murray Gell-Mann and Georg Zweig. Prof. Gell-Mann, who coined the term “quark,” received the Nobel Prize in 1969.
The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, or CERN, says the discovery was made by a team working on one of the four experiments at the Large Hadron Collider beneath the Swiss-French border.
Guy Wilkinson, a spokesman for the LHCb team, said in a statement on Tuesday that studying pentaquarks may help scientists to understand better “how ordinary matter, the protons and neutrons from which we’re all made, is constituted”.

Hopes rise for brain tumour cure

Scientists have identified a family of genes responsible for the growth of a spectrum of hard-to-treat brain tumours, known as gliomas. “With these new genetic findings, our group of researchers plan to develop targeted therapeutics that we hope will one day be used to treat patients with high-grade brain tumours and increase their survival,” said lead author Joshua Breunig, a research scientist in the Brain Programme at the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute in the U.S.

Mutation combinations

“Any given tumour can harbour a variety of different combinations of mutations,” said Moise Danielpour, director of the Paediatric Neurosurgery Programme and the Centre for Paediatric Neurosciences in the Maxine Dunitz Children’s Health Centre.
Researchers first modelled high-grade brain tumours from resident stem cells inside the brain, using a cutting-edge method of rapid modelling that can create up to five distinct tumour models within 45 minutes. After modelling high-grade brain tumours, researchers identified the Ets family of genes as contributors to tumours.
The Ets factors regulate the behaviour of tumour cells by controlling expression of genes necessary for tumour growth.
When expression of the Ets genes is blocked, researchers can identify and strategise novel therapies.

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:: Business ::

Positive signs for Make in India

In another boost for Make in India, Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems ( TASL) have agreed to work together on manufacturing aerospace and defence equipment including unmanned aerial vehicles, the US company said on Wednesday.
Boeing said in a statement that the two firms intend to sell into markets products that they have jointly developed.
The Narendra Modi-led government is trying to encourage more companies to manufacture in India and boost skilled employment, particularly in defence.
Tata Advanced Systems, which already works with Airbus Group and Lockheed Martin, is owned by conglomerate Tata Sons.
The agreement was signed by Shelley Lavender, president of Boeing Military Aircraft and Sukaran Singh, managing director and chief executive officer of TASL. TASL already has a contract to manufacture aerostructures for Boeing's CH-47 Chinook and AH-6i helicopters.
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook
The collaboration, which is in line with the government's 'Make in India' initiative, will not only work in the domestic market but will also be for international markets.
"This agreement with TASL is significant because it demonstrates Boeing’s commitment to expanding its aerospace manufacturing footprint in India," Lavender was quoted as saying in a Boeing statement.
Government is in the process of clearing a contract worth over USD 2.5 billion for 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers.
S Ramadorai, Chairman of TASL, said this gives them an opportunity to explore the massive potential in India for aerospace manufacturing and make the investments required to grow the industry.
Last month, Airbus Helicopters and Mahindra Defence, a Mahindra Group announced a plan to produce helicopters to cater to India's military requirements as the Modi government readies to place $10 billion worth of helicopter orders for reconnaissance, surveillance and naval utility.

:: Sports ::

After india Bangladesh beat south Africa

Beating South Africa has given Bangladesh the confidence that it can win against any top One-Day International (ODI) side, batsman Tamim Iqbal has said.
Seventh-ranked Bangladesh triumphed against fourth-placed South Africa 2-1 in a three-match series on Wednesday.
Chasing 170, Bangladesh created history with a resounding nine-wicket win in the third ODI in Chittagong to clinch their first-ever series victory against South Africa.
After easily losing the first ODI by eight wickets, the home team fought back convincingly in the second and levelled the series.
The win comes after they whitewashed Pakistan 3-0 and won against India 2-1.