A deadly disease affecting amphibians has descended into a global pandemic and it has already wiped out 90 species.  This was disclosed by a prominent US biologist  Jonathan Kolby, at the World Organisation for Animal Health Aquatic Conference in Santiago, Chile yesterday. The disease attacks the skin of frogs, toads and other amphibians. 

As the creatures use their skin to breathe and regulate their bodies' water levels, the damage caused by the disease eventually leads to heart failure and death.

Over the past five years, the highly contagious disease has already caused nearly 90 species to disappear, with over 500 impacted.
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Amphibians play a major role in maintaining aquatic environmental quality. They also feed on mosquitoes, which carry human diseases such as malaria and the Zika virus. 

Japan's space agency has said its Hayabusa2 spacecraft released an explosive onto an asteroid to make a crater on its surface and collect underground samples to find possible clues to the origin of the solar system. 

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), said in Tokyo that Hayabusa2 dropped a "small carry-on impactor" made of copper onto the asteroid and safely evacuated and remained intact. JAXA is analyzing further details. 

Hayabusa2 successfully touched down on a tiny flat surface on the boulder-rich asteroid in February, when the spacecraft also collected some surface dust and small debris.

David Malpass, the Treasury official nominated by President Donald Trump to head the 189-nation World Bank, has won election to the post.

The World Bank says Malpass was approved unanimously by the bank’s 25-member executive board on Friday. He will begin a five-year term next Tuesday succeeding Jim Yong Kim, who stepped down earlier this year, three years before his term was to end.

Malpass was serving in the Trump administration as Treasury’s under secretary of international affairs. He has been a longtime critics of the World Bank and its sister lending organization, the International Monetary Fund.

However in his Treasury post, Malpass helped win support last year for a $13 billion funding increase for the bank.

The 7th Foreign Office consultations between India and Italy were held in New Delhi on Thursday. 

The Indian side was led by Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, A. Gitesh Sarma. The Italian side was led by Director General of Global Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Luca Sabbatucci. 

In a release, the External Affairs Minister said these consultations provided an opportunity to review the follow-up actions taken after the visit of Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in October last year as well as the entire range of bilateral relations, including political, defence, scientific, economic and commercial ties. 

They also exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues, including cooperation in the United Nations and other international organizations.

Both sides took note of the growing economic and commercial relations and discussed steps to further facilitate their growth, including through strengthening the existing institutional mechanisms. In the light of the robust exchange of people between the two countries, both sides agreed to establish a regular Consular Dialogue.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and The India International Exchange (IFSC) Limited (India INX), India’s first international exchange based in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) on April 3, 2019, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate with regards to maintain a orderly securities markets in India and Russia. Speaking at the signing ceremony which took place at the annual exchange forum in Moscow Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD and CEO, BSE said: “BSE, India Inx and MOEX are collaborating together to facilitate the development of channels of communication. We strongly believe together we would foster a continuing relationship for the benefit of the financial services industry in India and in Russia”.

With this the BSE, India INX has become the first Indian exchanges to sign a MoU with Moscow Exchange. With the collaboration, BSE, India INX and MOEX feel the initiative between India-Russia Portal would boost professional intermediaries in both markets to share their know-how and expand their client network in their home market and abroad. With that the exchange companies would also conduct joint research to explore the possibility of further cooperating in the area of cross-listing of derivative products, ETF, dual listing and fixed income product cooperation, stated the circular. All in all, the initiative would also open up a community of professional intermediary networks to benefit their development and cross-border operation.

NATO foreign ministers are meeting in Washington to celebrate the alliance’s 70th anniversary amid rifts between members over security and trade issues.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo opened the meeting Thursday with an appeal for unity to confront “great power” challenges from Russia, China and Iran.

He said the alliance was well positioned to move forward.

But a deepening dispute with Turkey over its planned purchase of a Russian air defence system and US demands for allies, particularly Germany, to boost their defence spending threatened to overshadow the proceedings.

Pompeo said every NATO member had an obligation to explain to its citizens the need to increase their defence budgets.

He rejected what he called “tired” arguments about public opposition to such spending.

China has deployed its latest guided missile destroyer and frigate in the fleet of naval ships participating in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and Somalian coast in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, a media report said Thursday. China’s 32nd convoy fleet to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters set sail from a military port in Zhoushan, East China’s Zhejiang Province on Thursday, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy official announced.

The naval fleet includes the guided-missile destroyer Xi’an, the missile frigate Anyang and the Gaoyanghu, a comprehensive supply ship, state-run Global Times reported. It is the first time Xi’an and Anyang are participating in an escort mission, it said. One of the country’s new generation of self-developed Type-052C guided missile destroyers, Xi’an, which entered into service in February 2015, possesses over-the-horizon strike capability at sea, the report said.

The Pentagon said on Thursday that it stood by Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan’s assessment last week that debris from an Indian anti-satellite weapons test would eventually burn up in the atmosphere, despite a subsequent, more negative assessment by NASA.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said on Monday more than 400 pieces of orbital debris from the test had been identified, including debris that was traveling above the International Space Station — something he called a “terrible, terrible thing.”

Asked whether the Pentagon stood by Shanahan’s earlier assessment, spokesman Charlie Summers said: “Yes.”

Nepal-India Franchise Investment Expo and Conclave will be held in Kathmandu from 15th to 16th May, 2019. 

The event primarily focuses on building the relations between India and Nepal through entrepreneurship development. 

The conclave is organised by Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FNCCI) in association with Embassy of India and Franchise India. 

Briefing media persons in Kathmandu this afternoon, FNCCI President Bhawani Rana said the event is expected to introduce new investment opportunities to Nepalese market. She said one of the core areas will be to focus for networking between investors of Nepal and India. 

According to Indian Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri the summit will help in bringing the leading Indian iconic brands to Nepal. 

The United Arab Emirates has conferred the prestigious Zayed Medal on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the highest decoration awarded to kings, presidents and heads of states. 

The award comes in appreciation of Prime Minister Modi’s role in consolidating the long-standing friendship and joint strategic cooperation between the two countries. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has thanked the UAE President  Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for conferring the prestigious Zayed Medal on him. 

In a tweet, Mr Modi said he accepts the honour with utmost humility. He said, under his visionary leadership, India-UAE strategic ties have reached new heights. 

The Prime Minister said, this friendship is contributing to the peace and prosperity of our people and the Planet.