Current Affairs Today

1. US investigating whether coronavirus came from Wuhan lab, says Trump

US President Donald Trump said his government is trying to determine whether the coronavirus came to form a lab in CHina's Wuhan. Fox News reported that multiple sources in the US government believe initial transmission of the virus was bat-to -human in Wuhan virology lab. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China "needs to come clean" on what they know.

2.MS Dhoni Brand ambassador of Pokerstars India 

Pokerstars India has appointed MS Dhoni as its new brand ambassador.
The announcement of the endorsement deal was delayed due to the COVID-19's impact on the world and postponement of the Indian Premier League and other sporting events.
 Prior to MS Dhoni's appointment, popular Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui was the brand ambassador of the company.

3.BSNL launched a payment platform

BSNL in partnership with SBI has launched a UPI-based payment platform, Bharat Insatapay.
The new payment facility developed by the company will enable its partners, especially prepaid sellers, to buy service immediately for sale.
Bharat Instapay will help its partners do digital transactions on a real-time basis.

4. 6 Indian Companies working on COVID-19 vaccine

Six Indian companies are working on a vaccine for COVID-19. Nearly 70 vaccine candidates are being tested and at least three have moved to the human clinical trial stage.
While Zydus Cadila is working on two vaccines, Serum Institute, Biological E, Bharat Biotech, Indian Immunologicals, and Mynvax are developing one vaccine each.

5. Coronavirus in 2 Indian Bat Species

Researchers have found the presence of a different kind of coronavirus, bat coronavirus (Btcov) in two bat species from Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Tamil Nadi.
A study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (IMCR) found this.
There is no evidence or research to claim that these bat coronaviruses can cause disease in humans.

6. World Art day celebrated on 15 April

Every year World Art day is celebrated on April 15, According to UNESCO, it is celebrated to promote the development, diffusion, and enjoyment of art.
April 15 was marked as a day to celebrate art and performance art since it is also the birthday of the great painter Leonardo Da Vinci. World Art was the first to celebrate in 2012.

7. Springboard offers AI & ML course mentored by industry experts

San Francisco headquartered Springboard is offering a 1:1 mentor lead course in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. The program aims to match mentors from India's top companies and startups with learners, based on their backgrounds and aspirations. The 6-month long curse offers a job guarantee by Springboard and participants are only required to have active programming presently or in the past.

8. Vatnajokull is Iceland's most voluminous ice cap covering 8% of the country 

Vatnajokull in Iceland is the biggest and most voluminous ice cap in Europe and has an average ice thickness of 1250 feet and a maximum thickness of 3120 feet. The ice cap covers over 7900 km are or 8% of Iceland and gas around 30 outlet glaciers. In June 2008 the glacier becomes a part of the Vatnajokull National Park.

9.  Guj head Constable tests +ve for COVID-19 after nabbing infected theft accused

35 years of head constable in Gujarat's Vadodara tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. He had on Tuesday nabbed a theft accused who had later tested positive for the virus. According to the police, the 52-year-old theft accused along with an accomplice had stolen pan masala worth Rs.4265 form a provision store.

10. GP Global acquires lubricants assets

GP Global energy to agriculture the conglomerate has acquired Nigeria bases Grand Peroleum's lubricants assets.

It has done so to strengthen its presence in Nigeria and West Africa. Grand Petroleum is a part of Nigeria' Nosak Group. The acquisition includes assents such as a lubricants brand and a blending plant with an annual capacity of about 500000 tonnes in Lagos.