08th July 2020 Current affairs

1. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has quarantined himself at his Ranchi residence after a minister he had met earlier tested positive for COVID-19. The staff of the Jharkhand CMO has also been asked to go into home quarantine. 

2. An investigation launched to probe match-fixing allegations during the 2011 World Cup final has been dropped due to lack of evidence. The investigation was suspended insufficient evidence and public outcry. 

3. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for COVID-19 on July 7, 2020. Bolsonaro had earlier played down the severity of the virus calling it little flu. He had taken the test on July 6 after developing the symptoms.  

4. The Maldives and Sri Lanka have become the first two countries in the South-East Asia region to eliminate both measles and rubella ahead of the 2023 target. The announcement was made by WHO South-East Asia’s Regional Director, Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh after the fifth meeting of the regional verification commission for measles and rubella elimination, held virtually. 

5. The Union Cabinet on July 8, 2020 gave its approval to extend the Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Ann Yojana till November end. Under the scheme, 5kg of wheat or rice and 1 kg of chana will be distributed to each beneficiary family for 5 more months, benefitting more than 80 crore people in the country. 

6. The World Health Organization (WHO) on July 7, 2020 acknowledged “evidence emerging” of the airborne spread of the novel coronavirus. The global body made the acknowledgement after a group of scientists urged it to update its guidance on how the respiratory disease spreads between people. 

7. International cricket will resume today with England vs West Indies test series after 116 days of suspension of play to control the spread of novel coronavirus. England and West Indies are scheduled to play a three-match test series while taking adequate precautions against the virus. 

8. India was ranked at the 34th position globally in Jones Lang LaSalle’s biennial Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI). The higher ranking is because India’s real estate industry has registered one of the largest improvements regionally and globally in the index.