Daily Current Affairs and GK | 5 September 2024

Topic: Sports

1. For the first time, Lord's will host the ICC World Test Championship final.

• The third edition of the World Test Championship final will take place at London's iconic Lord's Stadium starting on June 11 of next year.
• The one-off Test match will be played at the iconic London venue from June 11 to 15, 2025, with June 16 available as a reserve day, if required.
• Southampton was the venue for the first edition (2021), and The Oval was the venue for the second edition (2023), won by New Zealand and Australia, respectively.
• The match will be played between the top two teams in the table at the completion of the current cycle, with India at the top spot ahead of reigning champions Australia.
• The Men in Blue have featured in both the WTC finals so far but are yet to capture the coveted mace.
• New Zealand (third), England (fourth), Sri Lanka (fifth), South Africa (sixth) and Bangladesh (seventh) are still in the race to make it to the finals.

Topic: Defence

2. Under National One Health Mission, “Virus Yudh Abhyas”: A mock drill on pandemic preparedness conducted.

• Under the aegis of National One Health Mission (NOHM), a comprehensive National Mock Drill, "Vishanu Yuddh Abhyas" (Virus War Exercise) was conducted in Ajmer District, Rajasthan during 27th August to 31st August, 2024 to assess pandemic preparedness.
• The aim of the exercise was to evaluate the preparedness and response of the National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT), comprising experts from human health, animal husbandry, and wildlife sectors.
• A simulated zoonotic disease outbreak scenario was created to simulate a real-world outbreak.
• Union Minister Shri J.P. Nadda lauded this first of its kind exercise, which highlights the role of One Health Mission by fostering collaboration to care for the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment in a holistic and sustainable way.
• Various stakeholders including National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), etc. were involved in the drill.
• The drill was organised around two major components: a) Investigation and identification of the virus responsible for the mock outbreak; and b) Actions initiated to control the spread of illness across human and animal populations.

Topic: State News/ Uttar Pradesh

3. UP government to build Vedic-3D Museum in Varanasi.

• Uttar Pradesh government will construct a Vedic-3D museum at the main building of the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University.
• The art museum will be dedicated to Indian astrology, astronomy, and Vedic literature.
• It will showcase the evolution of Vedic literature, highlighting the 16 Sanskars, 64 arts, and 18 Vidya Sthans.
• It will serve as contributions of Indian sages and as a platform to revive the tradition of ‘Shastrartha'(spiritual discourse).
• The rare manuscripts preserved in the historic Saraswati Bhawan, including the “Raas Panchadhyayi,” Shrimad Bhagwat Gita, and Durgasaptashati.
• The conservation work is being carried out in the university by the National Manuscript Mission.

Topic: Personality in News

4. Siddhartha Agarwal became the oldest Indian to swim solo across the English Channel.

• Siddhartha Agarwal, a 49-year-old swimmer from Bengaluru, became the oldest Indian to swim across the English Channel.
• He successfully navigated the 42-km stretch between England and France on August 29.
• He took 15 hours and six minutes to complete the distance of 42 km.
• The English Channel is a narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separate the southern coast of England from the northern coast of France.
• The English Channel is a funnel-shaped shallow shelf sea between France and England.

(Source: DD News)