Current Affairs in Short: 19 February 2021

Ravichandran Ashwin becomes the first bowler for dismissing left-handers 200 times in Test matches

•  Ravichandran Ashwin took 200 wickets against left-handed batsmen and became the first player in the Test Cricket’s history to do so.

•  The bowler achieved the feat during the second day of the second test match between India and England in Chennai. Stuart Broad, the fast bowler, was the 200th left-hander to be dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin.

•  Ravichandran Ashwin has so far picked 391 wickets in his career and 51.2% of his scalps have come against the left-handers. His bowling average against right-hander batsmen is 31.24 and against left-hander is 19.55.

•  Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka is the second most successful bowler in Test Cricket against left-handed batsmen.

12.4 million Syrians face food insecurity in the year 2021

•  The World Food Program informed on February 18, 2021, that an additional 4.5 million people in Syria have become food insecure over the past year. This addition has brought the total number of people on the brink of hunger to 12.4 million.

•  The UN agency, in a press release, mentioned that job losses, economic crisis amid the pandemic, and the rising food prices have added up to the suffering of people in Syria who have been worn down by a decade of conflict.

•  The Syrian families have exhausted their savings after the 10 years of conflict as they face an economic crisis. The UN agency further warned that an additional 1.8 million more Syrians will become severely food insecure unless urgent action is taken.

•  In order to make sure that aid continues to flow into Syria, the World Food Program requires an additional 375.3 million SU dollars until July 2021.

India’s COVID-19 vaccines effective against Coronavirus variants

•  The Indian Council of Medical Research informed on February 18, 2021, that the interim results of the ongoing clinical trials indicate that the indigenous vaccines will be effective against the mutated coronavirus strains from the UK, Brazil, and South Africa.

•  The Director-General of ICMR Dr. Balram Bhargava mentioned that a paper on the neutralization potential of COVAXIN against the UK strain has been accepted for publication.

•  In the case of the variants from Brazil and South Africa, efforts were going on to isolate the mutated virus strains from the samples that were collected from the travelers of these countries.

•  Balram Bhargava also pointed out that India was the 5th country globally to isolate the virus. It was as part of the efforts for developing a vaccine for the deadly pandemic.

LG of Puducherry orders floor test on February 22

•  The Lt Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan on February 18, 2021, ordered a floor test in the assembly on February 22 amid the ongoing political crisis in the UT.

•  The floor test will be conducted by the government at 5 pm. It will also establish the claims of the ruling Congress party in UT about having the majority. The Chief Minister of Puducherry V Narayanasamy met the Governor on February 18.

•  The BJP President of Puducherry V Saminathan mentioned that his party, All India N.R. Congress and AIADMK submitted a memorandum to LG mentioning that the current ruling government has been reduced to a minority.

•  A John Kumar, Congress MLA had resigned on February 16 and Malladi Krishna Rao, Congress leader had also earlier resigned as the MLA and Health Minister. The UT is likely to face elections in April-May 2021.

EAM S Jaishankar to visit Maldives and Mauritius from February 20

•  The External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be visiting the Maldives on February 20-21 and Mauritius on February 22-23, 2021.

•  As per the statement by the Minister of External Affairs, during the visit to the Maldives, the EAM will call on Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, President of Maldives, and will also have substantive discussions with Ministers for Defence, Foreign Affairs, Economic Development, Finance, and Planning, and Infrastructure.

•  During his visit to Mauritius, the External Affairs Minister will call on the country’s President Prithivirajsing Roopun and PM Pravind Jagnauth. He will also be meeting his counterpart the Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister, Minister for Land Transport and Light Rail.