20 th October 2018 Daily Current Affairs:

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1 20 th October 2018 Daily Current Affairs: 12 th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit: The 12 th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit began on October 18, 2018 in Brussels, Belgium. Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu led the Indian delegation at the two-day summit. Around 51 Heads of state or government from the European countries and Asian partners, including India, attended the two-day summit. European Council President Donald TUSK chaired the summit. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini represented the EU.

2 The summit prioritised issues related to connectivity, trade and investment, sustainable development, climate change, terrorism, migration, maritime security and cyberspace. Saudi Arabia admits that Jamal Khashoggi killed inside Saudi consulate in Istanbul: Saudi Arabia has finally admitted that critic Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate in Istanbul, after his disappearance on 2 nd of this month. Preliminary results of investigations showed the dissident writer died after a fight broke out inside the building shortly after he entered The official Saudi Press Agency said the discussions between Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi and those he met at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul devolved into a fistfight, leading to his death. The admission that Khashoggi died at the hands of Saudi officials after weeks of vehement denials by the Gulf kingdom comes after President Donald Trump said that the United States could impose sanctions if it was proved the journalist was killed. In its first reaction to Khashoggi's confirmed death, the White House said it was "saddened" but made no mention of any possible action against its major ally. UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was deeply troubled adding there needed to be full accountability for those responsible. Shortly before Riyadh confirmed that Khashoggi had been killed, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi King Salman agreed in telephone talks to continue cooperation in the investigation into the Khashoggi affair. Geopolitics:

3 Jamal Khashoggi's killing is a tale of geopolitical drama and intrigue with historic stakes that could shake an Arab monarchy, shape regional security and influence global Islam. One of the least appreciated aspects of this drama is the influence of Turkish President Erdogan, who has shown the ability, through the well-timed release of crucial details, to fuel the global outrage against Saudi Arabia or tamp it down. The most worrisome aspect of the Khashoggi affair and its aftermath, says one well-informed Western diplomat in Turkey, is the glimpse it provides into an unraveling world order constructed by the U.S. and its allies, and the jungle that appears to be growing in its place. Western diplomats believe the Turkish leader's rapid response was driven by a mixture of regional rivalry, religiously motivated disgust and diplomatic cunning. The final chapter of this drama has yet to be written. Should India have two time zones? Scientists at the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research s National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), which maintains Indian Standard Time, have published a research article describing the necessity of two time zones, with the new one an hour ahead of the existing time zone. Over the years, various citizens and political leaders have debated whether India should have two separate time zones. The demand is based on the huge difference in daylight times between the country s longitudinal extremes, and the costs associated with following the same time zone. Opposition to the idea is based on impracticability particularly the risk of railway accidents, given the need to reset times at every crossing from one time zone into another. India extends from 68 7 E to E, with the spread of 29 representing almost two hours from the geographic perspective.

4 Legislators, activists, industrialists and ordinary citizens from the Northeast have often complained about the effect of IST on their lives, and pursued the issue of having a separate time zone with the Central government, without much success. In the Northeast, the sun rises as early as four in the morning and in winter it sets by four in the evening. By the time government offices or educational institutions open, many daylight hours are already lost. In winter this problem gets even more accentuated and the ecological costs are a disaster with much more electricity having to be consumed. The research paper proposes to call the two time zones IST-I (UTC h) and IST-II (UTC h). The proposed line of demarcation is at E, the narrow border between Assam and West Bengal. States west of the line would continue to follow IST (to be called IST-I). States east of the line Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Andaman & Nicobar Islands would follow IST-II. Debate: India extends from 68 7 E to E, with the spread of 29 representing almost two hours from the geographic perspective. This has led to the argument that early sunrise in the easternmost parts the Northeast causes the loss of many daylight hours by the time offices or educational institutions open, and that early sunset, for its part, leads to higher consumption of electricity. A committee set up in 2002 did not recommend two time zones because of the complexities involved. It had cited the same committee s findings in the Gauhati High Court, which last year dismissed a public interest litigation seeking a direction to the Centre to have a separate time zone for the Northeast.

5 No insurance cover to persons suffering from congenital anomalies: The Delhi High Court has asked the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) to "explain the reasonableness" of not granting insurance cover to people suffering from congenital anomalies. The bench also issued notices to the General Insurance Council and the Life Insurance Council, which represent the entities that carry on the business of general and life insurance respectively, and sought their stand on the issue before the next date.

6 The court was hearing a PIL seeking directions to the Centre, the IRDAI and insurance companies to remove congenital anomalies, like external or internal abnormality in the womb, from the list of general exclusions in the health or life insurance policies. The petition, by Nipun Malhotra, has challenged the "arbitrary" and "illegal" mechanisms adopted by the IRDAI in denying the rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) to seek insurance cover for themselves on the ground that their conditions are categorised under the scope of "congenital anomalies", as defined under a July 29, 2016 circular by the regulator. Congenital anomalies are also known as birth defects and could be caused by single gene defects, chromosomal disorders, multifactorial inheritance, environmental teratogens and micronutrient deficiencies. Regular yoga practice can improve sperm DNA quality, reduce recurrent spontaneous abortion: Regular practice of Yoga by men can reduce the incidence of recurrent spontaneous abortion as it improves the quality of sperm DNA, according to a study conducted by the AIIMS. The study was conducted by experts from the Department of Anatomy in collaboration with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and was published in Andrologia in October and the International Journal of Scientific Research, February edition. Unhealthy social habits like smoking, excess alcohol consumption, fast food calorie dense and nutritionally depleted food, sedentary lifestyle, excessive use of mobile phones, high levels of psychological stress, obesity all contribute to oxidative stress and DNA damage. Sperm DNA integrity is vital for the birth of healthy offspring and impacts its lifelong health. Mature sperm has a very basic and incomplete DNA repair mechanism, thus it is better to follow a policy of prevention is

7 better than cure by following a healthy lifestyle (increased intake of whole unprocessed plant-based foods) and minimising exposure or intake of factors causing oxidative stress that compromise genomic integrity The adoption of yoga has shown to lower OS, reduce DNA fragmentation, and thus improve the genomic integrity and normalise sperm transcripts, positively impacting the sperm epigenome. This may aid in the normal embryonic development and reduce the incidence of genetic and epigenetic defects in the offspring and reduce the incidence of spontaneous abortions. India s first Bitcoin ATM kiosk set up in Bengaluru Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, has got its first ATM in India amid the repetitive warnings from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with regard to its validity in the country. Unocoin, a blockchain solution provider, has instituted a first of a kind kiosk Bitcoin ATM In Bangalore. The first-of-its-kind automated teller machine will have both a trading and exchange platform, and will allow verified customers to use the device. It is expected to become operational soon. This kiosk is accessible to registered customers of Unocoin. The customers will be able to buy or sell up to 10 Bitcoins one of the high value cryptocurrencies per day. However, all the transactions will have to be conducted in Indian rupees which will then be changed into the currency of choice of the consumer. The kiosk will allow customers to trade in Bitcoin and Ethereum, while providing an exchange platform for 24 other cryptocurrencies in circulation. Customers risking the use of Bitcoins will have to register by using their mobile number and entering a password. A verification process is initiated during which details such as

8 PAN number, phone number, address, bank details, and others have to be furnished. It uses an elaborate procedure for both deposits and withdrawals, with the withdrawals requiring a prior request and 12-digit OTP. Source:TH,IE,ANI,PTI