27TH JULY
Contents
UZBEKISTAN HOSTS ‘CENTRAL & SOUTH ASIA CONFERENCE’
INS TALWAR IN EXERCISE CUTLASS EXPRESS 2021
DHOLAVIRA ADDED IN UNESCO’S WORLD HERITAGE SITE
AMIT SHAH LAUNCHED GREATER SOHRA WATER SUPPLY
FIRST COUNTRY TO APPROVE GOLDEN RICE FOR PLANTING
SPACE X FOR MISSION TO JUPITER MOON EUROPA
UZBEKISTAN HOSTS ‘CENTRAL & SOUTH ASIA CONFERENCE’
- Uzbekistan has hosted a high-level International Conference titled “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity. Challenges and Opportunities” at Tashkent.
- The conference was an initiative of the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. It was attended by President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani, Ministers from Central Asian, West Asian and South Asian countries, including Minister of External Affairs of India S. Jaishankar.
- Delegates from over 40 countries and about 30 international organizations, and heads of think tanks participated in the conference.
- About the conference: Ashraf Ghani underlined the historical proximity of two regions and the importance of strengthening it on the basis of mutual trust and interests.
- President Mirziyoyev said the world has entered an era of global geopolitical transformations and that the ‘revival of mutual ties between Central and South Asia, where about two billion people live today, is becoming an ever more demanding and objective process’.
- The international conference was also addressed online by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He said connectivity is central to economic growth and sustainable development, leading to regional cooperation and friendly relations among near and far neighbours. He urged active and collective engagement in support of Afghanistan’s peace and security.
- Jaishankar said that for Central Asian countries, the Chabahar port in Iran provides a ‘secure, viable and unhindered access to the sea. The port has been proposed to be included in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
- It may be added that an India-Uzbekistan-Iran-Afghanistan Quadrilateral Working Group has been formed on the joint use of Chabahar port.
(SOURCE: THE HINDU)
INS TALWAR IN EXERCISE CUTLASS EXPRESS 2021
- Indian Naval Ship Talwar is participating in Exercise Cutlass Express 2021, being conducted from 26 July 2021 to 06 August 2021 along the East Coast of Africa.
- The exercise is an annual maritime exercise conducted to promote national and regional maritime security in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean.
- About the exercise: The exercise focuses on East Africa’s coastal regions and is designed to assess and improve combined maritime law enforcement capacity, promote national and regional security and increase interoperability between the regional navies.
- As part of the exercise, the Indian Navy, together with other partners, shall undertake the training of contingents from various participating countries in various fields across the spectrum of maritime security operations.
- Information sharing and information flow between various partner countries with respect to maritime domain awareness is also a key focus of the exercise and participation of India’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) would contribute to achieving the same.
(SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA)
DHOLAVIRA ADDED IN UNESCO’S WORLD HERITAGE SITE
- A Harappan-era metropolis, Dholavira in Gujarat has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
- Now Gujarat has three world heritage sites, Champaner near Pavagadh, Rani ki Vav in Patan and the historic city of Ahmedabad. Dholavira is now the 40th treasure in India to be given.
- The ongoing 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO has already given India a new world heritage site in the form of the Rudreswara/ Ramappa Temple in Telangana, which dates back to the 13th century.
- This session of the World Heritage Committee is being chaired from Fuzhou in China.
- Gujarat Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani.
- Gujarat Governor: Acharya Devvrat.
(SOURCE: JAGRAN JOSH)
AMIT SHAH LAUNCHED GREATER SOHRA WATER SUPPLY
- Union Home Minister, Amit Shah along with chief minister Conrad K. Sangma inaugurated the much-awaited Greater Sohra Water Supply Scheme at Sohra in East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya.
- The Greater Sohra Water Supply Scheme was conceptualised by the Meghalaya government and an amount of Rs. 24.08 cr was sanctioned by the DoNER ministry in 2019 under North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS).
- He also planted tree saplings in Sohra as part of the Sohra Afforestation Project of the Assam Rifles.
- This is a first of its kind initiative of the Government of Meghalaya to bring together the Ministry of Home Affairs, Defence officials, and village communities for a novel and humanitarian purpose in the field of Natural Resource Management in a very important and ecologically fragile landscape.
(SOURCE: JAGRAN JOSH)
FIRST COUNTRY TO APPROVE GOLDEN RICE FOR PLANTING
- The Philippines has become the first country in the world to get approval for the commercial production of genetically modified “golden rice”, a variety of rice enriched with nutrients to help reduce childhood malnutrition.
- The Golden rice has been developed by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) in partnership with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), after spending nearly two decades.
- About the Golden Rice: It is named Golden Rice due to its bright yellow colour. A cup of golden rice can give as much as 40 percent of vitamin A which is very essential for children aged six months to five years, to combat childhood blindness and save lives in the developing world.
- It is also the first genetically modified rice approved for commercial propagation in South and Southeast Asia.
- Philippines President: Rodrigo Duterte.
- Philippines Capital: Manila.
- Philippines Currency: Philippine peso.
(SOURCE: THE TELEGRAPH)
SPACE X FOR MISSION TO JUPITER MOON EUROPA
- The US space agency NASA has selected California-based SpaceX to provide launch services for Earth’s first mission to conduct detailed investigations of Jupiter’s moon Europa.
- The mission called ‘Europa Clipper mission is scheduled to be launched in October 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
- The main objective of this mission will be to: Conduct a detailed survey of Europa to investigate whether the icy moon has conditions suitable for life, produce high-resolution images of Europa’s surface, determine its composition, look for signs of recent or ongoing geological activity, measure the thickness of the moon’s icy shell, search for subsurface lakes, determine the depth and salinity of Europa’s ocean.
- NASA administrator: Bill Nelson.
- Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United States.
- NASA Founded: 1 October 1958.
- SpaceX founder & CEO: Elon Musk.
- SpaceX Founded: 2002.
- SpaceX Headquarters: California, United States of America.
(SOURCE: FIRSTPOST)
WORLD MANGROVE DAY: 26TH JULY
- The International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem (or World Mangrove Day) is celebrated annually on 26 July.
- The day is celebrated to raise awareness of the importance of mangrove ecosystems as “a unique, special and vulnerable ecosystem” and to promote solutions for their sustainable management, conservation and uses.
- The day was adopted by the General Conference of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2015.
- It was on this day in 1998, that a Greenpeace activist Hayhow Daniel Nanoto, died of a heart attack during a massive protest to re-establish the mangrove wetlands in Muisne, Ecuador.
(SOURCE: NEWS INDIAN EXPRESS)