• Pedro Sanchez won the backing of Spain’s parliament for second term as prime minister recently.
• Sanchez, in office since 2018, won the backing of 179 lawmakers, three more than the absolute majority of 176 in the 350-seat parliament after an often tense two-day debate.

• Indian art historian and a world authority on miniature paintings, Brijinder Nath Goswamy passed away recently at the age of 90.
• Born in August 1933, the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee BNG, as he was lovingly known in art circles, often called himself an “accidental art historian”.
• He was best known for his path-breaking work on the Pahari style of paintings
• He authored more than 26 books.

• National Epilepsy Day is celebrated every year in India on November 17^th to raise awareness around the brain disorder and bust myths surrounding the disease.
• Epilepsy is a brain disorder that can cause seizures due to abnormal brain activity or temporary changes in the brain’s electrical functioning.
• The brain continuously generates tiny electrical impulses in an orderly pattern that travel along the network of nerve cells in the brain.
• In epilepsy, these electrical rhythms become imbalanced, and the normal electrical pattern is disrupted by sudden and synchronized bursts of electrical energy that may briefly affect their consciousness, movements or sensations.
• According to WHO, around 50 million people worldwide are affected by epilepsy and India accounts for nearly 10-20 percent (5-10 million) of the global burden of epilepsy.

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on “Enhancing Innovation Ecosystems through an Innovation Handshake” under the framework of India – U.S. Commercial Dialogue was signed recently in San Francisco.
• The MoU is signed with the objective to
  • connect the two sides’ dynamic startup ecosystems,
  • address specific regulatory hurdles to cooperation,
  • share information and best practices for startup fundraising and
  • promote innovation and job growth, particularly in critical and emerging technologies (CET) as identified under India -U.S. initiative for Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).

• The ninth edition of a joint military exercise between India and Sri Lanka, Exercise Mitra Shakti commenced in Pune.
• India is being represented by a contingent of 120 personnel and officers from the Maratha Light Infantry Regiment and 15 air warriors and officers from the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• The Sri Lankan side is being represented by personnel from Sri Lankan Army’s 53 Infantry Division and five personnel from Sri Lankan Air Force.
• ‘Mitra Shakti’, which means power of friendship, is conducted alternately in India and Sri Lanka.
• Both sides will practice tactical actions such as raid, search and destroy missions, heliborne operations, etc. In addition, Army Martial Arts Routine (AMAR), combat reflex shooting and yoga will also form part of the exercise curriculum
• It will also involve employment of drones and counter unmanned aerial systems, besides helicopters.

• External Affairs Minister presided over a repatriation ceremony in London for two 8th-century temple idols stolen from India and discovered in England recently.
• The Yogini Chamunda and Yogini Gomukhi idols, stolen from a temple in Lokhari in Uttar Pradesh between the late 1970s and the early 1980s, were recovered by the High Commission of India in London with support from India Pride Project, and Art Recovery International.
  • India Pride Project is an organisation that works on restoring India’s lost artefacts.
• ’Yogini’ refers to female masters of the yogic arts with 64 divine Yoginis worshipped as goddesses at Yogini temples such as Lokhari.
• The term is slightly ambivalent as it applies both to the goddesses and adept worshippers, who were believed to be able to take on some of the goddesses’ powers by performing secret rituals before the statues.
• These are associated with the Tantrik mode of worship.
• The major surviving temples of the 64 Yoginis, commonly termed as the ‘Chausath Yogini” shrines are two in Orissa and two in Madhya Pradesh in India.
• These include Chausath Yogini temple (Odisha), Khajuraho temple complex (M.P) etc.
• The Lokhari temple is believed to have 20 Yogini statues, depicted as beautiful women with the heads of animals. In the 1970s, the temple was targeted by a group of robbers who smuggled goods into Europe via Switzerland.

• The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) has been recognised as a global ‘centre of excellence’ in the domain of landslide disaster reduction.
• The institute has been recognised as a World Centre of Excellence on Landslide Risk Reduction (2023-2026) during the sixth world landslide forum held in Florence, Italy.

ABOUT NIDM

• The NIDM, is a statutory body that functions under the Disaster Management Act of 2005
• One of the NIDM’s key responsibilities is to create human resources, enhance capacities, give training, conduct research, document disaster management projects, and lobby for legislative changes.
• The Institute works with a variety of ministries, state governments, and municipal governments, as well as academic, research, and technical institutions in India and overseas, to achieve its objectives.
• NIDM also provides capacity building support to a variety of national and state-level agencies.
• Ministry of Home Affairs is the nodal ministry.
• NIDM President– Union Minister of Home Affairs

• The 10th Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) was held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

ABOUT ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH EAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN) DEFENCE MINISTERS’ MEETING-PLUS

• The ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN.
• ADMM-Plus is a platform comprising 10-nation ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and its eight dialogue partners — India, China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States.
• India became the dialogue partner of the ASEAN in 1992 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 12, 2010.
• Since 2017, the ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually to bolster the cooperation amongst the ASEAN and the Plus countries.
• The ADMM-Plus progresses practical cooperation amongst member countries through seven Experts Working Groups (EWGs) namely – Maritime Security, Military Medicine, Cyber Security, Peacekeeping Operations, Counter Terrorism, Humanitarian Mine Action and Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR).

• The Coconut Development Board (CDB) has launched ‘Hello Naariyal’ Friends of Coconut Trees (FoCT) call centre facility to help farmers with coconut harvesting and plant management operations.
• The initiative aims to improve the activities of the coconut sector by catering to the needs of coconut farmers in harvesting, coconut tree climbing, plant protection, seed nut procurement, nursery management, etc.
• Furthermore, the services will be extended to states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
• There are 1,924 registered FoCTs for the call centre.
• The services will be available at block and grama panchayat levels in respective districts.
• It will function from the headquarters of the board in Kochi.

ABOUT CDB

• Coconut Development Board (CDB) is a statutory body established under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• It was established under the Coconut Development Board Act, of 1979 and the Board came into existence in 1981.
• Its mandate is the integrated development of coconut cultivation and industry in the country with focus on productivity increase and product diversification.

• The first and only enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of a very rare and complex blood disorder has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
• Adzynma, the first recombinant (genetically engineered) protein product indicated for on-demand enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) in adult and pediatric patients with congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (cTTP) has been approved for Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A. Inc.

ABOUT ERT

• Enzyme replacement therapy is typically used to replace a missing or deficient enzyme in a person with an inherited enzyme deficiency syndrome.
• The replacement enzyme derived from human, animal or plant cells is administered directly into the bloodstream of patient through fluids.

ABOUT CTTP

• cTTP is a rare and life-threatening blood clotting disorder.
• It is caused by a disease-causing mutation in the ADAMTS13 gene, which is responsible for making an enzyme, also named ADAMTS13, that regulates blood clotting.
• A deficiency in this enzyme causes blood clots to form in the small blood vessels throughout the body.
• Symptoms of this rare disorder typically develop in infancy or early childhood, but in some cases may develop in adulthood and may first manifest during pregnancy.
• Individuals with cTTP may experience severe bleeding episodes, strokes and damage to vital organs.
• If left untreated, the disease can be fatal.