Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 22 April 2014

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Mr Garcia Marquez, widely considered one of the greatest Spanish-language authors of all time was eulogized in the dramatic art deco lobby by the presidents of both Mexico and Colombia, two countries linked by the writer through his birth, life, heritage and career.
‘He will live on in his books and writings. But more than anything he will live forever in the hopes of humanity’ according to his admirers.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said the death was ‘a great loss not only for literature but for humanity. Various generations found answers to the questions of life in his stories and tales.’
At the end, attendees tossed up a flurry of yellow paper butterflies, one of Garcia Marquez's most famous literary images from One Hundred Years of Solitude, and his favorite color.

ND Tiwari : the biological father of Rohit Shekhar

After a six-year legal battle, the Delhi High Court today declared veteran Congress leader ND Tiwari as the biological father of Rohit Shekhar.
Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw also injuncted Mr Tiwari from denying in public that Mr Shekhar is not his natural born son.
The court passed the order after taking into account newspaper reports in which Mr Tiwari had admitted that Mr Shekhar is his natural born son.
Rohit Shekhar, in 2008, had filed the paternity suit, claiming the veteran Congress leader and 67-year-old Ujjwala Sharma were his biological parents.
Earlier, the court had rejected the plea of Mr Tiwari that he be allowed to "explore" the possibilities of an "amicable" out-of-court settlement of the 2008 paternity suit, saying that the other parties were not agreeing to the proposal.
However, the counsel for Mr Tiwari had reiterated that he was still willing to go for mediation.
The court had also closed the right of Mr Tiwari to lead evidence as he failed to appear and testify in the case.
The court had on July 27, 2012 read out that the DNA report in the case according to which Mr Tiwari was shown as Rohit's biological father.
Mr Tiwari had given blood sample for the DNA test on May 29 last year at his residence in Dehradun following the apex court's order in the case, after repeatedly contesting against undergoing the test on various grounds.

Happy Earth Day doodle

Google is celebrating Earth Day”(April 22), which is marked to raise awareness for our planet's environment, through animated doodles featuring six creatures from the animal planet.
Earth Day was first held in 1970 and is now observed in over 192 countries each year, with activities being coordinated by the nonprofit Earth Day Network which is chaired by the first Earth Day coordinator Denis Hayes.

These are a few facts about these animals:

The Rufous Hummingbird, which is the first to appear, is beautifully incorporated in the doodle. A couple of blooming flowers become the Os of Google as the Rufous hummingbird, which is known to attack flowers relentlessly, flaps its wings at the speed of light while devouring the nectar.
The Rufous Hummingbird makes one of the longest migratory journeys of any bird in the world, as measured by body size.

Next is a pair of sleeping Japanese Macaques sticking to each other for warmth in the falling snow as they make the Os of Google. They are also knowns as "snow monkeys" and inhabit three out of four main islands of Japan.

Then there is the bloated, rotating puffer fish which is known for its ability transform and enlarge its body in a split of a second. It also makes one of the Os of Google.
The puffer fish is one of the most poisonous creatures on Earth and is considered a major delicacy in Japan. When prepared correctly, the flesh of the fish gives a tingling sensation on the tongue because of a non-lethal dose of tetrodotoxin which is a potent neurotoxin and has no antidote.
However, anyone eating a badly made dish of puffer fish could completely be paralysed and die.

Togadia’s ‘hate speech’

A first information report (FIR) has been registered against VHP leader Pravin Togadia for “inciting communal passions” after he allegedly asked locals of a society to forcibly occupy a house purchased by a Muslim man in Hindu majority area.
An FIR has been filed against him under sections 153(A), 153(B) and under 188 for violating notification of the Election Commission.
Section 153(A) of the IPC deals with ‘intention to cause disorder, promoting enmity between religious groups and incite people to violence’, Section 153 (B) of the IPC deals with those who assert, propagate or publish that any class of persons by reasons of their being members of any religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community be denied, or deprived of their rights as citizens of India.
Section 188 deals with disobedience to order duly promulgated by the Election Commission by way of its notification of elections.
The poll panel had asked the district administration to take action against Mr. Togadia over his hate speech and also directed it to submit action-taken report as soon as possible.
Mr. Togadia had allegedly asked his supporters to get vacated the house a Muslim man had purchased in the Hindu-majority locality near Meghani Circle area of Bhavnagar city.

Novartis to buy Glaxo’s cancer drugs

Novartis AG agreed to buy GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s (GSK’s) cancer-drug business for as much as $16 billion, form a consumer-health venture with GSK and sell its animal-health operations to Eli Lilly and Co. for $5.4 billion in an overhaul of the Swiss drug maker.
Novartis also will sell its vaccines business, excluding the flu operations, to GSK for $7.1 billion, the Basel, Switzerland-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. That includes royalties and as much as $1.8 billion payments based on the achievement of certain business goals.
The transactions culminate a process that began last year when Novartis chief executive officer Joe Jimenez began reviewing the company’s smaller businesses for possible sale.
GSK and Novartis’s consumer-health venture will have about £6.5 billion ($10.9 billion) in revenue, GSK said. GSK will have majority control, with an equity interest of 63.5%.
The venture brings together brands including Novartis’s Excedrin painkiller and GSK’s Sensodyne toothpaste. GSK’s vaccines purchase will add Bexsero for meningitis to its Cervarix for human papillomavirus.