International Current Affairs

Bangladesh opened its first Islamic school for transgender Muslims on November 6, 2020 with clerics calling it a first step towards integrating the discriminated minority into society.

The Chinese researcher who stunned and alarmed the international scientific community with the announcement that he had created the world’s first gene-edited babies has been sentenced to three years in prison by a court in China. He Jiankui sparked a bioethical crisis last year when he claimed to have edited the DNA of human embryos, resulting in the birth of twins called Lulu and Nana as well as a possible third pregnancy. The gene editing, which was aimed at making the children immune to HIV, was excoriated by many scientists as a reckless experiment on human subjects that violated basic ethical principles. He was convicted of “illegal medical practice,” sentenced to three years in prison and fined about $430,000, according to the news agency Xinhua. He pleaded guilty, along with two collaborators, Zhang Renli and Qin Jinzhou, who also received prison sentences and fines.

The United States plans to have the first nuclear reactor on the moon by the end of the year 2026. NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy will seek proposals from industry to build nuclear power plants on the moon and Mars to support its long-term exploration plans.

Pakistani education activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai became the most famous teenager in the world of the 21st century.

Luxembourg is to become the first country to offer a free public transport system, as the government tries to reduce particularly dense car traffic. As of March 1, all public transport in Luxembourg buses, trams, and trains in the country became completely free of charge.

Argentinian football legend Diego Armando Maradona, one of the greatest players of all time, has died after suffering a heart attack. He was 60. Argentina President Alberto Fernandez declared three days of national mourning following Maradona’s death in the city of Tigre on Wednesday, 25 Nov 2020.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 24, 2020, led the first prayers attended by thousands in Hagia Sophia since the iconic Istanbul cathedral was converted back into a mosque.

West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo on August 26, 2020 became the first bowler to pick up 500 wickets in T20 cricket.
Bravo achieved the feat of 500th wicket in his 459th match in the shortest format of cricket. He has taken the wickets at an average rate of 24.62 and an economy rate of 8.25.
Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga is the second-highest wicket-taker in T20 cricket with 389 wickets from 339 matches.

The World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand will be played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. The WTC final will be played from June 18 to 22 and June 23 has been kept as the reserve day.