News in Short

• A British judge formally approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges.
• The ordercomes after the U.K. Supreme Court refused Assange permission last month to appeal against a lower court’s ruling that he could be extradited.
• Assange will be forced to face trial in the U.S. on charges related to WikiLeaks’ publication of a trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.

• Newly appointed Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring will officially take charge on April 22.
• Three-time MLA from Gidderbaha constituency of Muktsar district and a former transport minister, Warring was named the Congress’s state unit chief on April 9.
• He succeeds Navjot Singh Sidhu, who quit after the party’s debacle in the recent Punjab Assembly election.

• A team of researchers from IISc has collaborated with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop a prototype for bricks made of Martian and lunar soil, using bacteria, nickel chloride, guar gum, and urea.
• The study was performed on a standard material that simulates this for research, called Mars soil simulant. For the moon’s soil, a lunar soil simulant was used, manufactured by ISRO.
• The mixture for the brick is a slurry made out of the respective soil simulant and guar gum, a fibre extracted from the guar bean that’s native to the Indian subcontinent.

• Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih issued a decree banning the ‘India Out’ campaign, now led by former President Abdulla Yameen.
• The move follows a recent decision by the Maldives’s National Security Council that the campaign “to incite hatred against India” is a “threat” to national security.
• The ‘India Out’ campaign, started and sustained by critics of the Solih administration, gained prominence in recent months with former President Yameen spearheading it.

• The World Earth Day, also known as the International Mother Earth Day, is celebrated every year on April 22. Countries across the globe come together to create more awareness about the dire need to protect our environment.
• The theme for Earth Day 2022 is “Invest In our Planet” calling for businesses to shift towards sustainable practices.
• The United Nations celebrates the day as International Mother Earth Day. It will mark the day with the theme – “Harmony with Nature”.