Current Affairs in Short: 4 August 2021

Mass coronavirus testing to take place in Wuhan

•China has suspended flights and trains and canceled professional basketball league games and announced mass coronavirus testing in Wuhan.

•China has undertaken the move after the spread of the delta variant in the city.

•The latest outbreak has been reported from over 35 cities in mainland China. The previous outbreaks had not spread beyond a city or province. 

INS Khanjar becomes first Indian Navy ship to call at heritage coastal port of Gopalpur

•Indian Naval Ship Khanjar has become the first Indian Navy ship to call at the heritage coastal port of Gopalpur in Odisha. 

•The two-day visit, which concluded on August 2, 2021, was organised as part of Aazadi ka Amrit Mahotsav to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Independence and the 50th anniversary of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

•The visit aimed to enhance ties and spread awareness with the local populace on aspects of coastal security and maritime operations.

Germany becomes 5th country to sign International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement

•Germany has become the fifth country to sign up with the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement. 

•The International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement was amended on January 8, 2021 opening its membership to all member nations of the United Nations.

•German Ambassador to India, Walter J. Lindner deposited signed copies of the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement with the Ministry of External Affairs, the depositary of Agreement. 

Boeing Starliner’s launch delayed yet again

•The launch of the Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (oft-2) has been delayed. The launch was scheduled to be launched by The National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA last night. 

•The delay was caused after teams discovered an issue with the Starliner spacecraft.

•The Starliner was scheduled to be launched last night on a crucial demonstration mission bound for the International Space Station (ISS).

•It was delayed earlier also by three days due to an anomaly on the space station.

Cabinet approved MoU between IIST and Netherlands University

•The Union Cabinet has approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Indian Institute of Space science and Technology (IIST) and Netherlands' The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) for research collaboration.

•The agreement was signed for carrying out the Academic programmes and Research activities involving students and faculty members in each institution. It was signed on April 9, 2021 and May 17, 2021 at respective institutes.

•The parties may exchange students at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. They will also mutually decide the areas of studies and credits to be pursued under the scheme.  

•The parties may also consider a Faculty exchange programme, during which their faculty will offer courses in the partner institute.