About:

• The mRNA vaccine from the U.S. manufacturer joins vaccines from AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson in receiving the WHO’s emergency use listing.
  
  
• Messenger RNA vaccines—also called mRNA vaccines—are a new type of vaccine to protect against infectious diseases.
  
  
• Similar approvals for China’s Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines are expected in the coming days and weeks.

About:

• More than a third of the two impoverished, mountainous countries’ border is disputed, with the area surrounding the Vorukh, where recent conflict erupted, a regular flashpoint over territorial claims and access to water.
  
  
• Vorukh is a jamoat in northern Tajikistan. It is an exclave surrounded by Kyrgyzstan that forms part of the city of Isfara in Sughd Region.
  
  
• The location of the border of the enclave is disputed by the Tajik and Kyrgyz governments.
  
  
• In April and May 2021 the region once again brought tensions betrween the two countries - at least 31 people were killed in an ongoing fighting.
  
  

About:

• In the first four months of 2021, the Western Ghats presented new butterflies, frogs, fruit flies, and even a freshwater crab.
  
  
• Joining the list is a tiny snake of just 20 cm length with iridescent scales - Xylophis deepaki, first stumbled upon in a coconut plantation in Kanyakumari, is now reported to be an endemic species of Tamil Nadu and has been sighted in a few locations in the southern part of the Western Ghats.
  
  
• The species is named in honour of Indian herpetologist Deepak Veerappan for his contribution in erecting a new subfamily Xylophiinae to accommodate wood snakes.
  
  
• The team suggests the common name Deepak’s wood snake.
  
  

About:

• Polar wander is the motion of a pole in relation to some reference frame. It can be used, for example, to measure the degree to which Earth's magnetic poles have been observed to move relative to the Earth's rotation axis.
  
  
• True polar wander represents the shift in the geographical poles relative to Earth's surface, after accounting for the motion of the tectonic plates. This motion is caused by the rearrangement of the mantle and the crust in order to align the maximum inertia with the current rotation axis.
  
  
• This is the situation with the lowest kinetic energy for the given, unchanging, angular momentum of the earth, and is attained as kinetic energy is dissipated due to the non-rigidity of the earth.
  
  

About:

• Lag B’Omer is an annual Jewish festival observed during the Hebrew month of Iyar.
  
  
• It is celebrated on the 33rd day of the Omer, the 49-day period between Passover and Shavuot.
  
  
• Lag B’Omer is the only day during the 49-day period when celebration is permitted. Hence, it is common for Jews to schedule weddings on this day every year. Young boys, who have reached the age of three, are also traditionally brought here for their first hair cut.
  
  
• To mark the occasion, tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jewish pilgrims make their way to the base of Mount Meron every year, to pay their respects to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a second century sage and mystic, who is believed to have died on this day.
  
  
• The Rabbi’s tomb is a much revered holy site in Israel.
  
  

About:

• Normally, the first instalment of SDRF is released in the month of June as per the recommendations of the Finance Commission.
  
  
• However, in relaxation of normal procedure, not only has the release of SDRF been advanced, the amount has also been released without waiting for the utilization certificate of the amount provided to the States in the last financial year. 
  
  
• Up to 50% of the amount released i.e. Rs.4436.8 crore can be used by the States for COVID-19 containment measures. The funds from SDRF may be used by the States for various measures related to containment of COVID-19.
  
  

About:

• Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621 – 1675) was the ninth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion.
  
  
• Name: He was born as Tyaga Mal. He came to be known by the name Teg Bahadur (Mighty of The Sword), given to him by Guru Hargobind after he shown his valour in a battle against the Mughals.
  
  
• Family: His father was the Sixth guru, Guru Hargobind. His son Guru Gobind Singh, became the tenth Sikh guru.
  
  

Life and works:

• He built the city of Anandpur Sahib (in Rupnagar/Ropar district, on the edge of Shivalik Hills, near the Sutlej River, in Punjab). Here the last two Sikh Gurus lived and where Guru Gobind Singh Ji founded the Khalsa Panth in 1699.
  
  
• He contributed more than 100 poetic hymns to Granth Sahib which cover various topics, such as the nature of God, human attachments, body, mind, dignity service etc.
  
  
• He resisted the forced conversions of Kashmiri Pandits and non-Muslims to Islam.
  
  

Martyrdom:

• He was publicly beheaded in 1675 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi for himself refusing to convert to Islam. He is remembered for giving up his life for freedom of religion.
  
  
• His martyrdom is remembered as the Shaheedi Divas of Guru Tegh Bahadur every year on 24 November, according to the Nanakshahi calendar released by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in 2003.
  
  
• • Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib mark the place of his execution.
    
    
  • Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib mark the places of cremation of his body.
    Memorials in Delhi: