Current Affairs in Short: 13 July 2020

India, China to hold top Corps Commander-level talks tomorrow

•  India and China will conduct a Corps Commander-level talks on July 14, 2020 at Chushul in Eastern Ladakh. The talks will mainly focus on the second phase of disengagement along the Line of Actual Control. 
•  The Ministry of External Affairs had stated earlier that diplomatic and military officials of India and China will continue their de-escalation meetings aimed at ensuring disengagement of troops at the LAC. 
•  China has already reportedly pulled back its troops from several frictional points by around 2 kms including Galwan valley, Hotsprings and Patrolling Point-15. The Chinese Army has also reduced its presence in the ridgeline of Finger 4 over the last week.
•  India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi had held in-depth discussions on July 5 over the telephone during which they had agreed that both sides will complete ongoing disengagement process at the LAC.

Bangladesh makes COVID-19 negative certificate mandatory for travelling abroad

•  Bangladesh has made COVID-19 negative certificates mandatory for its citizens travelling abroad. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on July 12, 2020 that the decision was taken during an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by the Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen. 
•  During the meeting, it was recommended to upload all COVID-19 negative certificates online to help immigration authorities to verify their authenticity easily. 
•  It was also decided that dedicated corona testing centers will be set up to facilitate corona testing of migrants travelling abroad for employment purposes. 

MP govt to run 'Roko -Toko' campaign for those who do not wear masks

•  The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to run a Roko -Toko campaign for those who do not wear masks. Under the campaign, the district collector will select voluntary organizations, which will provide masks to those who don’t wear masks in public places and charge them Rs 20 per mask. 
•  The number of people available, credibility and efficiency of the organization will be taken into consideration while making the selection. 
•  The collectors will then make suitable places available to these organizations for the distribution of masks. The selected organizations will be provided 100 masks created under 'Jeevan Shakti Yojana' on credit. 

Institute of Life Sciences establishes stable cultures of coronavirus

•  The Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) in Odisha has successfully established vitro cultures of coronavirus from the patient samples using Vero cells. This is a major development in the path towards developing drug formulations for COVID-19.
•  The institute has established 17 virus cultures from swab samples originating from different locations across the country with varying virus loads by the ILS.
•  The Vero cell culture technology is used worldwide to develop inactivated whole cell-based vaccines. This can potentially help in testing and screening for possible drug targets, formulations as well as in vaccine development. Cultured SARS-CoV-2 can also be used to develop antibodies or antidotes.

Actress Kelly Preston, wife of John Travolta passes away at 57

•  Kelly Preston, Hollywood actress and wife of John Travolta passed away at the age of 57. She was suffering from breast cancer. The tragic news was shared by Travolta and his daughter Ella Bleu on Instagram. 
•  Travolta posted a beautiful picture of Kelly with a caption that read, "My beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer. She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many."
•  Preston was married to John Travolta for almost 29 years. They had gotten married in 1991 and had three children together- Jett, Ella and Benjamin. Jett Travolta had died at the age of 16 in January 2009 from a seizure during a family holiday in the Bahamas.
•  Preston has appeared in more than 60 films and television programmes. Her most notable roles were in Jerry Maguire (1996), Twins (1988) and Mischief (1985). She had collaborated with Travolta on a science fiction film Battlefield Earth (2000) and the biographical film Gotti (2018).