Current Affairs 18th March 2019

Current Affairs 18th March 2019 - Important Points

• Coorg Arabica Coffee, four others get GI Tag on - 1st March 2019
• Goa CM Manohar Parrikar passed away on - 17th March 2019
• Contempt Order against Shillong Times Editor, Publisher -  Put on Hold
• West Nile Virus detected in - Kerala
• Special Olympics World Games Inaugurated at - Abu Dhabi

Current Affairs 18th March 2019 - Details

Coorg Arabica Coffee, four others get GI Tag on - 1st March 2019

The Geographical Indications Registry on March 1st, 2019 approved the Geographical Indication- GI Tag to Coorg Arabica Coffee, Wayanad Robusta Coffee, Chikmagalur Arabica Coffee, Araku Valley Arabica Coffee & Bababudangiris Arabica Coffee breeds.

Coorg Arabica Coffee

The Coorg Arabica Coffee is cultivated entirely in Kodagu district of Karnataka. The Coffee cultivated develops the backbone of economy of the district. The landscape of the district delivers unique aroma &  flavour to the coffee, when roasted.

Wayanad Robusta Coffee
The Wayanad Robusta Coffee is typical of the Western Ghats & the plantation crop is cultivated in the cool climate of Wayanad, Kerala. The Coffee in Wayanad is cultivated as a pure crop and a mixed crop along with pepper. The Robusta coffee formed is above 95% of the total coffee cultivation done in Wayanad.

Chikmagalur Arabica Coffee & Bababudangiris Arabica Coffee

Chikmagalur Arabica Coffee & Bababudangiris Arabica Coffee are cultivated in Chikmagalur district ,  Karnataka. The cultivation of only Chikmagalur Arabica Coffee in the year 2016 -17 was around 10426 MT. The Chikmagalur district is usually referred as the birthplace of coffee in the nation.

Araku Valley Arabica Coffee

Araku Valley Arabica Coffee is cultivated around the Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh & in the Koraput district, Odisha. This coffee has a citrus taste of grape fruit & a mild jaggery-like sweetness.

Goa CM Manohar Parrikar passed away on - 17th March 2019

Goa CM and former Union Defence Minister, Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar passed away on March 17th, 2019 after fighting with pancreatic cancer. He was 63 years old.
Earlier in February 2018, Manohar Parrikar was identified with advanced pancreatic cancer and had been in/out of hospital in Goa, Mumbai, Delhi and New York since the diagnosis. He was continuously seen wearing a nasogastric tube.
More about Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar

• Born on 13th December 1955, Mr.Manohar Parrikar completed his graduation in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT-Bombay in 1978.
• Manohar Parrikar was a member of the BJP and he worked as the CM of Goa thrice in his political career including 1st from 2000-2005; then from March 2012-November 2014 and later from March 2017 till the time he passed away.
• He represented the Panaji constituency in the Legislative Assembly of Goa.
• In November 2014, he offered the position of the Defence Minister in the Union Cabinet succeeding the victory of Bhartiya Janta Party in 2014 General Elections.
• On March 13th, 2017, Parrikar resigned as the Union Defence Minister to accept position of the Goa CM.

Contempt Order against Shillong Times Editor, Publisher -  Put on Hold

The Supreme Court has put on hold the Meghalaya High Court’s order holding The Shillong Times editor Patricia Mukhim and publisher Shobha Chaudhuri’s guilty of contempt and fining of Rupees Two lakh to both.
Case History
The Shillong Times has printed an article headed ‘When judges judge for themselves’ in pursuant to a high court order guiding the government to modify rules so that spouses and children of retired judges to be qualified for medical treatment.
The High Court had found the editor and publisher guilty for printing the article ‘When judges judge for
themselves’ and the Supreme Court has now put on hold the order of Meghalaya High Court.

Contempt of Court

• Contempt of court mentions to actions which defy a court’s authority, cast disrespect on a court/obstruct the ability of the court to do its function.
• The Contempt of Court provisions in India are preserved under Articles 129 and 215 of the constitution for Supreme Court and High Court respectively and Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.
• Criminal Contempt is well-defined as the publication, whether by words, spoken / written / signs / visible representation, of any matter/doing of any other act which:
  Scandalises/tends to scandalise, lowers/tends to lower the authority of, any court, or
  Prejudices, or interferes/tends to inhibit with the due course of any judicial arrangement,
  Interferes/tends to interfere with, or obstructs/tends to obstruct, the management of justice in any other manner.

West Nile Virus detected in - Kerala

A 7 years old in Kerala has been sensed with the West Nile Virus. The central government has directed
the team to the state and is monitoring the case closely.
Nile Virus
West Nile Virus is a viral infection which characteristically is spread by mosquitoes and causes neurological disease and even death in people.
The Virus is the member of the flavivirus genus and fits to the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae. It was 1st noticed in a female in the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937 and was later recognized in birds specially in crows and Columbiformes, in the Nile delta region in 1953.
Spread of Disease
The disease spreads through infected mosquito bites, when mosquitoes feed on infected birds. The virus then multiplies in blood and also travels to salivary glands from where it is passed into humans as well as animals via mosquito bites. A small amount of human infection has reported via organ transplant, blood transfusions and breast milk while one case of transplacental.
Symptoms 
People infected with West Nile Virus suffer from fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, infrequently
with a skin rash and swollen lymph glands. There are no vaccines or medications to treat the infection.

Special Olympics World Games Inaugurated at - Abu Dhabi

The Special Olympics World Games 2019 was initiated at Abu Dhabi. The Special Olympics World Games 2019 is being presented by the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE. For the 1st time, the Special Olympics is being organised in the Middle East and North Africa region. The host United Arab Emirates had presented the term ‘people of determination’ as part of a new National Strategy for Empowering People with Disabilities.
Special Olympics

• Special Olympics is a worldwide movement of people forming a new world of inclusion, where every
  single person is welcomed, regardless of their ability/disability.
• The Special Olympics are organised every 2 years and alternates among summer and winter.
• Last Special Olympics were organised in Austria in 2017 and the next Special Olympics will be organised in Sweden in year 2021.
• The axiom of Special Olympics ‘Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me brave in the attempt.’ exemplifies what every athlete desire to pursue in life by dissipating the myth that children with intellectual disabilities must be limited behind the walls of unique and uncommon societies.