• Astronomers have discovered a quasi-moon named 2023 FW13 with the help of the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii.
  • A quasi-moon is a space rock (asteroid) that orbits both the Earth and the Sun but is bound by the Sun’s gravity.
• Experts believe that it has been orbiting Earth since 100 BC.
• It will revolve around the earth for the next 1500 years, i.e., till AD 3700.
  • After this, it will leave the Earth’s orbit.
• There will be no danger to the earth from this asteroid.
• 2023 FW13 revolves around the Sun in the same amount of time that the Earth takes (365 days), plus it also revolves around the Earth.
• Orbit
  • New Moon – 2023 FW13 orbits outside Earth’s ‘hill sphere’.
  • The ‘Hill Sphere’ of an astronomical body is such a region, where the gravitational force of the planet is the most powerful.
  • To be retained by a planet, a moon must have an orbit that lies within the planet’s Hill sphere.
  • The radius of the Earth’s ‘hill sphere’ is 1.5 million kilometers, while the radius of 2023 FW13 is larger than this, i.e., 6 million kilometers.
  • At the same time, the radius of the ‘Hill Sphere’ of our Moon is only 60 thousand kilometers.

• Marking the 298^th birth anniversary of Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar on May 31^ST, Maharashtra CM announced that Ahmednagar city would be renamed ‘Ahilyanagar’ after her.
• History of city
  • In 1486, Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah assumed the position of the Bahmani Sultanate’s prime minister. He successfully defeated the king of the Bahmani kingdom in 1490. Later, he laid the foundation of a city close to where he had defeated the army, on the left bank of Sina river. This city was named after him: Ahmednagar.

ABOUT AHILYABAI HOLKAR (1725 – 1795)

• Ahilyabai was born in Chondi village of Ahmednagar to the village head Mankoji Shinde, who ensured that his daughter received an education, which was quite rare at that time.
• Malhar Rao Holkar, the army commander to Peshwa Bajirao, was impressed by devotion and character of young Ahilyabai at a temple service in Chondi and decided to get his son, Khande Rao, married to her.
• After her husband’s death in the Battle of Kumbher against the king of Bharatpur in 1754, Ahilyabai took control of Malwa.
• She excelled at administrative and military strategies under the guidance of her father-in-law.
• After the death of her father-in-law and son a few years later, she petitioned the Peshwa to become the ruler, backed by the support of her army.
  • She ruled Malwa province for 28 years.
• City of Maheshwar became a literary, musical, artistic and industrial centre under her rule, and she helped establish a textile industry there, which is now home to famous Maheshwari saris.
• Restoration of various temples including Kashi Vishwanath, Badrinath, Dwarka, Omkareshwari etc. was done by her.

• With the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) simplifying the process for grant of heliport licence, the Himachal Pradesh Government is planning to set up one in Chandigarh connecting all heliports in the hill state.
• The Chandigarh heliport, said sources, would serve as a base for all heliports in Himachal.
• The move is expected to boost tourism, the mainstay of the state’s economy.
• The government would also set up heliports in all 12 districts and upgrade facilities in the districts that already had one, said an official.
• Currently the state has only three airports at Bhuntar (Kullu), Gaggal (Kangra) and Jubbarhatti (near Shimla).

• Praveen Kumar Srivastava, a retired 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, has been officially sworn in as the Central Vigilance Commissioner.
• President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Srivastava.
• He had been serving as the acting Central Vigilance Commissioner since December, following the completion of Suresh N Patel’s tenure as the chief of the probity watchdog.

TURKEY

• The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been relected in the recent election following a tense run-off.
• Erdogan received 52.14% of votes, beating his rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who won 47.86%.
• Erdogan is set to extend his rule by another five years, joining the likes of Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who served for 15 years.

NIGERIA

• Bola Tinubu was sworn in as the President of Nigeria recently, amidst mounting pressure to address the country’s persistent economic and security issues.
• The inauguration ceremony was held at Eagles Square in the capital city of Abuja.

• Minister of Finance reviewed activities of National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT).

ABOUT NICDIT

• NICDIT is an apex body under Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) (Ministry of Commerce and Industry)for coordinated and unified development of several industrial corridors including: Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Corridor, Bengaluru Mumbai Industrial Corridor.
• It was constituted in 2016.

• A recent research found that flavanol deficiency is a key driver of aging memory loss.
• Researchers have found that flavanols improved memory by acting selectively on dentate gyrus– an area within brain’s hippocampus, which is vital for memory.
• Flavonols are a major class of flavonoids, molecules that have interesting biological activity such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, and vasodilatation effect.
• They have also been considered as potential anticancer agents.
• Foods that contain a high amount of flavonols include apples, blackberries, peaches, tomatoes, onions and dark chocolate.
• Flavonols can also lower the chances of frailty.
  • Frailty is a geriatric syndrome that can lead to a greater risk of hospitalization, disability, falls, fractures, and mortality.

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently rolled out its 2023-27 Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for India that identifies accelerating structural transformation and job creation, promoting climate-resilient growth, and deepening social and economic inclusiveness as key focus areas.
• ADB projects India to grow at 6.4% in FY24.
• As of December 2022, ADB had committed $52.6 billion in public sector loans, grants, and technical assistance in India, as well as $8 billion in private sector investments.

ABOUT ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

• Asian Development Bank (ADB) was established in the year 1966.
• This bank was modelled on the lines of the World Bank.
• HQ- Manila , Philippines
• It assists its members, and partners, by providing loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development.
• Members: 68 members—of which 49 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside
• Japan holds the largest share in ADB with 15.677%, followed by U.S.A (15.567%), China (6.473%), and India (5.812%).

• A fresh round of excavations at the site of Delhi’s Purana Qila or Old Fort has uncovered evidence of the continuous history of the city since the pre-Mauryan era.
• Findings include
  • shards of Painted Gray Ware pottery which are usually dated to around 1200 BC to 600 BC.
  • remains of a 900-year-old Vaikuntha Vishnu from the Rajput period,
  • a terracotta plaque of Goddess Gaja Lakshmi from the Gupta period,
  • the structural remains of a 2,500-year-old terracotta ring well from the Mauryan period, and
  • a well-defined four-room complex from the Sunga-Kushan period dating back to 2,300 years ago, besides beads, seals, copper coins and a bone needle.
• The excavations have revealed nine cultural levels, representing different historical periods, including pre-Mauryan, Mauryan, Sunga, Kushana, Gupta, post-Gupta, Rajput, Sultanate, and Mughal.

About Purana Qila

• It is one of the oldest forts in Delhi and built on the banks of river Yamuna.
• It is believed by many to be the site of Indraprastha, as mentioned in the Mahabharat.
• The present citadel at Purana Qila started its construction in the reign of Humayun and was completed by Sher Shah Suri.
• The Qila was inspired by Jama Masjid, which was established 15 years before the reconstruction of Qila.
• It is rectangular in shape and is spread over an area of 1.5 kilometers.
• Another amazing feature of the Purana Qila are the three gates that are a display of a happy blend of Hindu and Muslim styles of architecture.
  • Bara Darwaza,
  • Humayun Gate, and
  • the Talaqqi Gate, which is often referred to as the forbidden gate.
  • All of the gates are double-storeyed and comprise of huge semi-circular bastions flanking either of their sides.
• Purana Qila Complex also includes
  • Qila-e-Kuhna mosque– built by Sher Shah, it reflects a transitional stage between architecture of Lodhis and Mughals.
  • Sher Mandal– Built by Sher Shah, an octagonal structure built in red sandstone and decorated with white and black marble inlay.
    • Humayun made it into a library and died after falling from the steps of this structure.

• Scientists used AI to discover a new antibiotic abaucin that can kill a deadly superbug Acinetobacter baumannii.

ABOUT ABAUCIN

• Abaucin is known to compromise the normal function of a protein called CCR2.
• It was originally developed to treat diabetes.
• Abaucin had “modest bactericidal activity against A. baumannii” in a medium containing other compounds that the bacteria resisted.

ABOUT ACINETOBACTER

• Acinetobacter is a group of bacteria commonly found in environment, like in soil and water.
• Most common cause of infections is Acinetobacter baumannii, which accounts for most Acinetobacter infections in humans.
• baumannii is a Gram-negative bacteria, which means it has a protective outer membrane that allows it to resist antibiotics.
  • It has been associated with hospital-acquired infections in India.
• It can cause infections in blood, urinary tract, and lungs, or in wounds.
• WHO has classified it as a critical threat among its “priority pathogens” – a group of bacteria families that pose greatest threat to human health.

SIGNIFICANCE

• This discovery is significant because of the rise of antimicrobial resistance and the struggle to identify new classes of antibiotics.
• It also clarifies how machines can help speed up the identification, discovery, and testing of new antibiotics.

ABOUT AMR

• It refers to the ability of microbes to evolve to resist the drugs that have been developed to beat them.
• As a result, many drugs, but especially antibiotics, have become less effective or ineffective against disease-causing bacteria, allowing the diseases to become more prevalent again.
• The global cost of antimicrobial resistance is expected to be $300 billion to more than $1 trillion every year.
• India is a ‘hotspot’ of antimicrobial resistance because of-
  • overuse of antibiotics, among people and animals,

improper disposal of pharmaceutical waste etc.