UN Launched Trust Fund for Zika Virus Response
- The United Nations (UN) established a Zika Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) to finance critical unfunded priorities in the response to the outbreak of the mosquito borne virus in Latin America and the Caribbean on May 9, 2016.
- The fund aims to provide a rapid, flexible and accountable platform to support a coordinated response from the UN system and partners.
- It will directly support the Zika Strategic Response Framework, developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in consultation with UN agencies, partners and international epidemiological experts.
- Zika, which is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. Due to spread in virus number of children being bom with unusually small heads—identified as microcephaly.
155th Birth Anniversary of Tagore Celebrated in Egypt
- The Indian embassy in Cairo and the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture are hosted a Tagore Festival here from May 8-12, 2016 to mark the 155th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.
- He visited Egypt as an adolescent in 1878 and later as a famous poet-philosopher in 1926 when he met King Fouad and interacted with scholars in Alexandria and Cairo. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.
- Egyptian scholars have translated many of Tagore’s works into Arabic and have also written several books on Tagore.
Mogao Caves Revealed India-Chfna Buddhist Link
- On May 5, 2016 it was found that the art also reflects the changes in religious belief and ritual at the pilgrim site. In the early caves, jataka tales (previous lives of the Historical Buddha) were commonly depicted. During the Tang dynasty, Pure Land Buddhism became very popular.
- In terms of art, it was the Greco-Buddhist Gandhara School, known for depicting Buddha in human form, that finally reached China, heavily influencing the emergence of what became known as Serendian art, embodying a powerful Chinese artistic tradition as well..
- The Mogao Caves are the best known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes and, along with Longmen Grottoes and Yungailg Grottoes, are one of the three famous ancient Buddhist sculptural sites of China. Mogao cave-temples of Dunhuang are a World Heritage Site.
- Dunhuang in China was a major point of intersection along the ancient Silk Road. Dunhuang houses the famous Mogao caves.
