Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Aussie mammal the first ‘climate change extinction’

News

• Australia officially declared a Great Barrier Reef rodent extinct, making it the first mammal believed to have been killed off by human-induced climate change.

Beyond News

• The rat-like Bramble Cay melomys whose only known habitat was a small sandy island in far northern Australia has not been spotted in a decade.
• Researchers determined a key factor in its disappearance was “almost certainly” repeated ocean inundation of the cay a low-lying island on a coral reef over the last decade, which had resulted in dramatic habitat loss.
• Australia’s environment ministry said it had officially transferred the animal to the “extinct” list.
• The researchers completed a wide-ranging survey in 2014 in a bid to track down the species, but found no trace.
• Available data on sea-level rise and weather events in the Torres Strait region “point to human-induced climate change being the root cause of the loss of the Bramble Cay melomys”.
• The Melomys rubicola, considered the Great Barrier Reef’s only endemic mammal species, was first discovered on the cay in 1845 by Europeans who shot the “large rats” for sport.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

India, Saudi Arabia to launch Strategic Partnership Council

News

• India and Saudi Arabia will launch a mechanism for coordinated decisions regarding strategically important issues.
• The announcement came a day before the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman arrives here as part of his tour of Asia, where he chose Pakistan as his first destination.

Beyond News

• India and Saudi Arabia have a strong independent strategic partnership and it will be further strengthened with the launching of the Strategic Partnership Council that will cover critical areas of mutual interest.
• The Ministry of External Affairs, NITI Aayog and other government agencies are expected to be the constituent units of this council.
• The visit has acquired greater attention here as Prince Mohammed Bin Salman declared himself an “ambassador of Pakistan” during his Islamabad visit. The Prince is coming to India on his first state visit.
• One of the Saudi investments in Pakistan’s Gwadar port has also drawn attention here as it is a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, of which India disapproves. Regarding the investment, the official said stakeholders in this case are aware of India’s objections.
• The Pakistan visit by Prince Mohammed brought investment of $20 billion, even as India had begun to campaign for international isolation of the country after the Pulwama attack.
• Saudi Arabia has displayed greater appreciation of India’s concerns regarding cross-border terrorism as recently seen in the Pulwama attack.
• The Saudi understanding of terrorism has evolved and they have a far better understanding of terrorism in Kashmir. They are aware of the bilateral nature of the issue.

Cabinet approves 3% hike in DA for central govt employees, pensioners

News

• Union Cabinet approved the release of an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance to central government employees and Dearness Relief to pensioners with effect from January 1, 2019.
• This will involve an increase of 3% over the existing rate of 9% of the basic pay or pension.

Beyond News

• The government said that the combined impact of the hike in dearness allowance and dearness relief will amount to Rs 9,168.12 crore per annum and Rs 10,696.14 crore in the financial year 2019-20 (for a period of 14 months from January 2019 to February, 2020).
• This will benefit about 48.41 lakh Central Government employees and 62.03 lakh pensioners, it added.
• The increase is in accordance with the accepted formula based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC).
• The government had last increased the dearness allowance in August last year when it approved an increase of 2% in dearness allowance for central government employees over the rate of 7%, effective from July 1, 2018.
• Previously, the Cabinet had increased dearness allowance in March 2018, from 5% to 7% in accordance with the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission.
• Dearness allowance is provided as an adjustment to compensate for the increase in the cost of living due to inflation. Computed as a component of the salary, it is a percentage of the employee’s basic salary.

France to move proposal at U.N. to ban JeM chief Masood Azhar

News

• In a significant development, France will move a proposal at the United Nations in a “couple of days” to ban Masood Azhar, chief of the United Nations-proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which has claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror strike that left 40 CRPF personnel dead.

Beyond News

• This will be the second time France will be party to such a proposal at the U.N.
• In 2017, the U.S., supported by the U.K. and France, moved a proposal at the U.N.’s Sanctions Committee 1267 to ban the chief of the Pakistan-based terror outfit. However, the proposal was blocked by China.
• The French decision was discussed between Philippe Etienne, Diplomatic Advisor to the French President and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Synthetic fibres contribute to plastic pollution

News

• Polyester and other synthetic fibres such as nylon are major contributors of microplastic pollution in the environment, say researchers and suggest switching to biosynthetic fibres may help prevent this.

Findings

• These materials, during production, processing and after use, break down and release microfibres that can now be found in everything and everyone.
• Synthetic fibres are petroleum-based products, unlike natural fibres such as wool, cotton and silk, which are recyclable and biodegradable.
• Mixed fibres that contain both natural and synthetic fibres are difficult or costly to recycle.
• In the oceans, pieces of microscopic plastic are consumed by plants and animals and enter the human food chain through harvested fish.
• Few things to prevent this: minimising the use of synthetic fibres and switching to natural fibres such as wool, cotton, silk and linen, even though synthetic fibres are less expensive and natural fibres have other environmental costs, such as water and land-use issues; large scale use of bacteria that could aid in biodegradation of the fibres for reuse; substituting synthetic fibres with biosynthetic fibres, that are both recyclable and biodegradable; and blending synthetic fibres with natural fibres to lend them durability and make them recyclable.

New Universe map unearths 3,00,000 more galaxies

News

• A new map of the night sky charts hundreds of thousands of previously unknown galaxies discovered using a telescope that can detect light sources optical instruments cannot see.

Findings

• The international team behind the unprecedented space survey said their discovery literally shed new light on some of the Universe’s deepest secrets, including the physics of black holes and how clusters of galaxies evolve.
• More than 200 astronomers from 18 countries were involved in the study, which used radio astronomy to look at a segment of sky over the northern hemisphere, and found 3,00,000 previously unseen light sources thought to be distant galaxies.
• The map created by the LOFAR observations, contains data equivalent to the capacity of ten million DVDs yet charts just two percent of the sky.
• Radio astronomy allows scientists to detect radiation produced when massive celestial objects interact.
• The team used the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope in the Netherlands to pick up traces or “jets” of ancient radiation produced when galaxies merge. These jets, previously undetected, can extend over millions of light years.
• The discovery of the new light sources may also help scientists better understand the behaviour of one of space’s most enigmatic phenomena.
• Black holes which have a gravitational pull so strong that no matter can escape them emit radiation when they engulf other high-mass objects such as stars and gas clouds.
• The Hubble telescope has produced images that lead scientists to believe there are more than 100 billion galaxies in the Universe, although many are too old and distant to be observed using traditional detection techniques.
• The LOFAR telescope is made up of a network of radio antenna across seven countries, forming the equivalent of a 1,300-km diameter satellite dish.
• The team plans to create images of the northern sky, which they say will reveal as many as 15 million as-yet undetected radio sources.

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