Morocco’s territorial claims on Western Sahara: A new conflict brewing?

Conflict might intensify in Western Sahara as Algeria and Morroco ramp up their military expenditure.

• The United Nations categorises it as a non-self-governing territory, essentially a remnant of a former colony.
• But it has abundant reserves of phosphate — a vital component in fertilizer production, which became a strategically important commodity following the war in Ukraine.
• The territory also has rich fishing waters along its coastline on the Atlantic Ocean.

Morocco considers Western Sahara an integral part of its territory and has maintained de facto control over most of the region for decades. However, most countries—and the United Nations—have refused to endorse Morocco’s claim.

Along with the UN General Assembly, several international courts including the International Court of Justice have ruled that colonisation in Western Sahara is still pending and Morocco’s efforts to annex it are illegal.

Israeli Prime Minister officially recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, making Israel the second country (after the United States )

However, there are concerns that the situation in Western Sahara is in fact moving away from “peace and stability”, and that the territories might once again become scenes of armed conflict between the Moroccan military, the pro-independence Polisario Front, and neighbouring Algeria.

Nearly half of MLAs in India have criminal records: ADR analysis

A recent analysis conducted by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has claimed that an approximate 44 per cent of MLAs in State Assemblies across India have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Legal Aspect of Disqualification of Criminal Candidates

• In this regard, Indian Constitution does not specify as to what disqualifies a person from contesting elections for the Parliament, Legislative assembly or any other legislature.
• The Representation of Peoples Act 1951 mentions the criteria for disqualifying a person for contesting an election of the legislature.
  • Section 8 of the act, i.e. disqualification on conviction for certain offences, according to which an individual punished with a jail term of more than two years cannot stand in an election for six years after the jail term has ended.
  • The law does not bar individuals who have criminal cases pending against them from contesting elections therefore the disqualification of candidates with criminal cases depends on their conviction in these cases.

What are Bacteriophages, the ‘good viruses’ that fight bacteria?

With antibiotic resistance rising, scientists think bacteriophages — which hunt and kill bacteria — could cure bacterial infections.

• Not all viruses are killers. As with bacteria, “good” or “friendly” viruses can also be beneficial for health.
• Scientists now talk of a virome — all the different types of viruses we host in our bodies which contribute to health, much like the bacterial microbiome.
• This virome is huge. You have 380 trillion virus particles living (or existing) in or on your body right now — 10 times more than the number of bacteria. These viruses lurk in our lungs and blood, live on our skin and linger inside the microbes in our guts.
• They’re not all bad, however: There are viruses that kill cancer cells and help break down tumors, others that train our immune system and help them fight pathogens, and even some that control gene expression in pregnancy.

Bacteriophages: Anti-bacterial guard dogs

• The vast majority of viruses inside us are bacteriophages — viruses that kill bacteria in our microbiomes. Bacteriophages, also known as phages, are harmless to human cells as they do not recognize them as their bacterial prey.
• They work by hunting down bacteria and attaching themselves to the surface of a bacterial cell, before injecting viral DNA material into the cell.
• The viral DNA then replicates inside the bacteria, sometimes by borrowing the DNA replication hardware of the bacteria.
• Once enough new viruses have been created inside the bacterial cell, the cell then bursts to release the new viral particles.

Phage therapy

• But antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria are now on the rise, with experts saying antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest medical challenges facing global communities.
• As a result, scientists are racing to find new forms of antibiotic agents, putting phages back on the menu as agents to fight bacterial infections.
• The advantages of phages lie in their effectiveness against every multi-resistant pathogen.
• Pletz added that phages are extremely precise in their elimination of bacterial strains — so much so that you don’t disturb the gut microbiome, as is the case with antibiotics.

Phages were a Soviet medicine

• Due to the scarcity of antibiotics in Soviet-era Russia, phages were used to treat bacterial infections, and their use has continued in countries like Georgia, Ukraine and Russia for decades.
• Georgia is a hot spot for phage tourism, with patients from all over the world going there to be treated with phages.

Is there a place for phages in medicine?

• A central problem is that there is no standardization of therapy. Phage therapy must be precisely tailored to the bacteria that cause an infection in a patient.
• Infections can be caused by bacteria with various properties, so you need a cocktail of different phages as a therapy, and that mix of phages has to be available very quickly before the infection gets out of hand.
• And bacteria do also develop resistance to phage therapies.
• But phage therapies have good safety records. Pletz said humans ingest billions of phages every day with our food without any relevant side effects. That means our bodies should be able to tolerate phage therapies very well.
• The German research report recommends the next steps should include large-scale research and clinical projects to nail down effective phage therapies for different types of infections.
• For now, bacteriophages are unlikely to replace antibiotics. But scientists are optimistic they could be used in combination to make antibiotics more effective, especially against resistant strains of bacteria.

Bacteriophages

• It is also called phage or bacterial virus, any of a group of viruses that infect bacteria.
• It was discovered independently by Frederick W. Twort in Great Britain (1915) and Félix d’Hérelle in France (1917).
• D’Hérelle coined the term bacteriophage, meaning “bacteria eater,” to describe the agent’s bactericidal ability.

Characteristics of bacteriophages

• Thousands of varieties of phages exist, each of which may infect only one type or a few types of bacteria or archaea.
• Phages are classified in a number of virus families; some examples include Inoviridae, Microviridae, Rudiviridae, and Tectiviridae.
• Like all viruses, phages are simple organisms that consist of a core of genetic material (nucleic acid) surrounded by a protein capsid.
• The nucleic acid may be either DNA or RNA and may be double-stranded or single-stranded.
• There are three basic structural forms of phage: an icosahedral (20-sided) head with a tail, an icosahedral head without a tail, and a filamentous form.

Processing in Human body

• Bacteriophages are harmless to human cells as they do not recognize them as their bacterial prey.
• They work by hunting down bacteria and attaching themselves to the surface of a bacterial cell, before injecting viral DNA material into the cell.
• The viral DNA then replicates inside the bacteria, once enough new viruses have been created inside the bacterial cell, the cell then bursts to release the new viral particles.
• All this takes just 30 minutes, meaning one virus can become many in a couple of hours.

Section 69 (A), under which Govt has asked social media platforms to take down Manipur video

• Some links have been shared with social media companies to take down the video as it could further disrupt the law and order situation in the state
• The Centre has powers to issue content takedown orders to social media companies under Section 69 (A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Section 69 (A) of the IT Act

Section 69 of the IT Act allows the government to issue content-blocking orders to online intermediaries such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), telecom service providers, web hosting services, search engines, online marketplaces, etc. The Section requires the information or content being blocked to be deemed a threat to India’s national security, sovereignty, or public order.

Supreme Court on Section 69 (A)

• In a landmark 2015 ruling, the Supreme Court in Shreya Singhal vs Union of India struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act of 2000, which entailed punishment for sending offensive messages through communication services, etc. The plea had also challenged Section 69A of the Information Technology Rules 2009, but the SC held this to be “constitutionally valid”.
• It will be noticed that Section 69A unlike Section 66A is a narrowly drawn provision with several safeguards.
• First and foremost, blocking can only be resorted to where the Central Government is satisfied that it is necessary to do so.
• Secondly, such necessity is relatable only to some of the subjects set out in Article 19(2).
• Thirdly, reasons have to be recorded in writing in such blocking order so that they may be assailed in a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution.

Rule 176 vs Rule 267

The opening day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament was disrupted on Thursday after the government and the Opposition differed on the format of the discussion on the Manipur situation. While the government agreed for a short-duration discussion, the Opposition insisted that the Prime Minister make a suo motu statement followed by a discussion, suspending all business under Rule 267.

What is Rule 267, and Rule 176

• Rule 267 - Any member, may, with the consent of the Chairman, move that any rule may be suspended in its application to a motion related to the business listed before the Council of that day and if the motion is carried, the rule in question shall be suspended for the time being: Provided further that this rule shall not apply where specific provision already exists for suspension of a rule under a particular chapter of the Rules.
• Short-duration discussion, on the other hand, is a brief discussion not exceeding two-and-a-half hours under Rule 176.
• Rule 176 - Any member desirous of raising discussion on a matter of urgent public importance may give notice in writing to the Secretary-General specifying clearly and precisely the matter to be raised: Provided that the notice shall be accompanied by an explanatory note stating reasons for raising discussion on the matter in question: Provided further that the notice shall be supported by the signatures of at least two other members.
• Once the Chairman admits the notice, the rules say he, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, will fix the date on which such matter may be taken up for discussion and allow such time for discussion, not exceeding two and a half hours.
• It means that a short-duration discussion under Rule 176 can be taken up immediately, a few hours later, the next day or can be fixed for a later date and time.
• But the rule says there shall be no formal motion or voting under a short duration discussion. “The member who has given notice may make a short statement and the Minister shall reply shortly,” the rule says.

Fruit flies develop specific defences against common bacteria; may explain human susceptibility to infections

• The immune systems of fruit flies develop certain genes that can combat common bacteria found in food, a new study has found.
• Bacteria such as acetobacter found in fruits can harm flies once they exit the gut and reach the bloodstream. However, various fly species have developed a specific peptide (strings of compounds that combine to form proteins) that can fight acetobacter
• The findings are critical as fruit flies’ evolutionary process might help explain human susceptibility to certain diseases. That can help us fight infections, including infections that resist antibiotics.
• The bacteria in their food and environment mould the immune systems of fruit flies. These flies have developed two peptides to defend a single bacterial species that affects them.
• Some of these peptides are common in certain species. Various fly species have developed a particular peptide (diptericin B) to control acetobacter, the study added.
• This peptide is the silver bullet that kills this specific bacterium. Without it, flies are extremely vulnerable because acetobacter is so common in rotten fruit.
• Food and environment shape animal ‘microbiome’ — the cluster of microbes that live in an organism. Our study shows how immune systems evolve in response to this, to control common bacteria that could otherwise cause harm
• While this study states how fruit flies defend food-borne bacteria, a 2021 study explained how these flies respond to food poisoning. The study explains how olfactory responses restrict them from consuming the food that caused a prior infection — the same way we restrain from eating the food that caused food poisoning.
• Glial cells and neurons in the fly brain communicate, dampening olfaction and shielding the animals from consuming the pathogen again after an intestinal bacterial infection

Dhankhar reconstitutes Rajya Sabha panel of vice-chairpersons, half of them women

Panel of Vice-Chairpersons

• Under the Rules of Rajya Sabha, the Chairman nominates from amongst the members a panel of vice-chairpersons.
• Any one of them can preside over the House in the absence of the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman.
• He/she has the same powers as the Chairman when so presiding.
• He/she holds office until a new panel of vice-chairpersons is nominated.
• When a member of the panel of vice chairpersons is also not present, any other person as determined by the House acts as the Chairman.
• It must be emphasised here that a member of the panel of vice chairpersons cannot preside over the House, when the office of the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman is vacant.
• During such time, the Chairman’s duties are to be performed by such member of the House as the president may appoint for the purpose.
• The elections are held, as soon as possible, to fill the vacant posts.

Shri Kiren Rijiju says IMD has launched Heat Index

Heat Index

• It provides information about the impact of humidity on the high temperatures and thus provides a feel like temperature for human beings which can be used as an indication for human discomfort.
• It provides guidance towards additional care to be taken by people to reduce discomfort.
• Colour codes used for Experimental Heat Index are as follows:
  • Green: Experimental heat Index less than 35° C
  • Yellow: Experimental heat Index in the range 36-45° C
  • Orange: Experimental heat Index in the range 46-55°C
  • Red: Experimental heat Index greater than 55 °C
• The Heat Index is implemented on experimental basis only across the entire country including the State of Andhra Pradesh.
• At present, heat index is derived using the heat index equation similar to what is used by National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USA.

IMD

• It is the main agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology in India.
• It operates hundreds of observation stations across India and Antarctica.
• Regional offices are in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Nagpur, Guwahati and New Delhi.
• It has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distributing warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region, including the Malacca Straits, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Earth Sciences.

First ever “Credit Guarantee Scheme” for Livestock Sector

Credit Guarantee Scheme

• It aims to strengthen the credit delivery system and ensure smooth access to finance for entrepreneurs engaged in the Livestock sector.
• Objective**:**
  • The main objective is to encourage lenders to focus on the viability of projects and provide credit facilities based on the primary security of the assets being financed.
  • By providing access to financial assistance, it promotes investments in various areas of the livestock sector, such as dairy and meat processing, animal feed plants, breed improvement technology, waste management, and veterinary vaccine and drug manufacturing facilities.
• Funding
  • The DAHD has set up a credit guarantee fund trust of Rs 750 crore, which will cover up to 25 per cent of credit facilities extended to eligible MSMEs by lending institutions.
  • The trust, formed in partnership with NAB Sanrakshan Trustee Company Private Ltd, a subsidiary of NABARD, ensures credit guarantee for MSMEs under the AHIDF scheme.
• Key features include:
  • Interest subvention of three per cent
  • Loan of up to 90 per cent of the total project cost from any Scheduled Bank, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
• Who is eligible for the scheme? The scheme targets underserved sections of society, including first-generation entrepreneurs and underprivileged individuals, who often lack collateral security for their ventures.

‘Zombie fires’ in the Arctic: Canada’s extreme wildfire season offers a glimpse of new risks in a warmer, drier future

• It is a fire from a previous growing season that can smoulder under the ground which is made up of carbon-rich peat.
• These smouldering fires also produce more smoke because of their lower temperature of combustion.
• Why it occurs?
  • As the organic-rich Arctic soils dry up because of changing climate conditions, they can burn slowly and release vast amounts of smoke into the atmosphere.
  • One major culprit is the rising temperature: The Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than the rest of the world, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification.
  • Among the changing conditions that favour wildfires are changes in atmospheric circulation that create periods of extreme heat, dry out vegetation and reduce moisture in soils, and, importantly, lead to more frequent lightning strikes that can spark blazes.
• What is the Impact?
  • As the Arctic warms and fires move farther northward, peat soils rich in dead plant material burn at an accelerated rate.
  • The burning peat also removes the layer insulating permafrost, the region’s frozen carbon-rich soil.
  • Northern ecosystems store twice as much carbon in their peat and permafrost as the atmosphere, and both are increasingly vulnerable to fire.

In single-day record, Ranjit Sagar Dam generates 153.97 lakh units

Ranjit Sagar Dam (RSD)

• The Ranjit Sagar Dam, also known as the Thein Dam, is a major water reservoir and hydroelectric power project located on the Ravi River in the state of Punjab.
• It is located about 24 kilometres (15 miles) from the international border with Pakistan.
• The dam was constructed to harness the waters of the Ravi River and was completed in 2000.
• It is a concrete gravity dam with a height of about 162 meters (531 feet) and a length of approximately 518 meters (1,699 feet).
• The dam creates a vast reservoir known as the Ranjit Sagar Lake or Thein Lake. The reservoir has a storage capacity of around 0.97 billion cubic meters (789,000 acre-feet) and helps regulate water flow for various purposes.
• It has an installed capacity of 600 megawatts (MW).

Ravi River

• Origin: It originates in the western Himalayas in the Multhan tehsil of Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.
• It then flows through the Indian state of Punjab and enters Pakistan, where it eventually joins the Chenab River in the province of Punjab.
• Length: The total length of the Ravi River is approximately 720 kilometres (447 miles). Around 158 kilometres (98 miles) of the river''s course lie in India, and the remaining 562 kilometres (349 miles) flow through Pakistan.
• Tributaries: The Ravi River is fed by several tributaries, including the Bhadal, the Ujh, the Tarnah, and the Basantar rivers in India, and the Aik, the Bara, and the Beas rivers in Pakistan.

Scientific breakthrough uses mRNA technology to create a highly effective malaria vaccine

• Messenger RNA (a mRNA) is a type of single-stranded RNA involved in protein synthesis.
• mRNA is made from a DNA template during the process of transcription.
• The role of mRNA is to carry protein information from the DNA in a cell’s nucleus to the cell’s cytoplasm (watery interior), where the protein-making machinery reads the mRNA sequence and translates each three-base codon into its corresponding amino acid in a growing protein chain.
• So, mRNA really is a form of nucleic acid which helps the human genome, which is coded in DNA, to be read by the cellular machinery.

mRNA Vaccines

• mRNA vaccines work by introducing a piece of mRNA that corresponds to a viral protein, usually a small piece of a protein found on the virus’s outer membrane.
• By using this mRNA, cells can produce the viral protein.
• As part of a normal immune response, the immune system recognizes that the protein is foreign and produces specialized proteins called antibodies.
• Once produced, antibodies remain in the body, even after the body has rid itself of the pathogen, so that the immune system can quickly respond if exposed again.
• Antibodies help protect the body against infection by recognizing individual viruses or other pathogens, attaching to them, and marking the pathogens for destruction.
• If a person is exposed to a virus after receiving mRNA vaccination for it, antibodies can quickly recognize it, attach to it, and mark it for destruction before it can cause serious illness.
• Individuals who get an mRNA vaccine are not exposed to the virus, nor can they become infected with the virus by the vaccine.
• How are mRNA vaccines made
  • To make an mRNA vaccine, scientists must first identify a protein on the outside of the virus that the body’s immune response will respond to (the “target” protein).
  • The protein they choose must be sufficiently different from proteins on the outside of the body’s own cells, so the immune system only attacks the virus.
  • They then identify the DNA that has the information for making the target protein.
  • Scientists use the DNA to produce the mRNA for the target protein.
  • Once enough mRNA has been made, the DNA is broken down to ensure that only the mRNA is packaged in the vaccine.
  • The speed and efficiency of this process can make large amounts of mRNA in a short period of time.

Cinematograph Amendment Bill 2023 introduced in Rajya Sabha; aims to tackle film piracy

Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023

• It seeks to amend the Cinematograph Act 1952.
• It has provisions for harsher punishment for film piracy and the introduction of new-age categories for classifying films.
• Film Classification:
  • It has provisions to classify films on the basis of age group instead of the current practice of rating them "U" (unrestricted public exhibition), "A" (restricted to adult audiences), and "UA" (unrestricted public exhibition subject to parental guidance for children below the age of 12).
  • The amendments seek to add new classifications – ‘UA-7+’, ‘UA-13+’, and ‘UA-16+’ in place for 12 years.
  • It also seeks to bring about uniformity in categorisation of films and content across platforms.
• Stricter Laws Against Piracy:
• The Bill holds stricter punishment for those responsible for piracy. This includes three years of imprisonment and a Rs 10 lakh penalty for those engaged in piracy.
• Once the Bill is released, the act of piracy will be considered an offence legally and will include even transmitting pirated content punishable.

Cinematograph Act 1952

• It was enacted by the Parliament to ensure that films are exhibited in accordance with the limits of tolerance of Indian society.
• It establishes Central Board of Film Certification(CBFC, popularly known as the censor board) appointed by the Central Government to sanction and certify films.
• The Board scrutinizes the film in its entirety and based on the contemporary standard of Indian society following the procedure laid down under the Act.
• Board can either make a speaking order of rejection or grant the certificate, which shall be valid for ten years.
• The Act also authorizes the police to conduct search and seizure if the film is being exhibited in contravention of any of the provisions of the Act.

Ships Sailing To Ukrainian Ports Will Be Seen As ''Carriers Of Military Cargo'', Says Rusia

Black Sea

• It is a large inland sea located in southeastern Europe.
• Bordering countries: It is bordered by six countries, Ukraine to the north, Russia to the northeast, Georgia to the east, Turkey to the south, Bulgaria to the southwest, and Romania to the west.
• It is connected to the Mediterranean Sea through the Bosporus Strait, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles Strait.
• It covers an area of approximately 436,000 square kilometres (168,000 square miles).
• The Black Sea receives freshwater inflows all around the basin, but the important ones (Danube, Dniepr and Dniestr) discharge into the north-western coastal waters.
• Limited Oxygen Levels:
  • The Black Sea''s deeper waters have lower levels of oxygen due to its unique geological and hydrological conditions.
  • The lack of oxygen in the lower layers creates a distinct environment, and it is one of the world''s largest anoxic basins, meaning it has areas with very little dissolved oxygen.
• Islands: It contains several islands, with the largest ones being Snake Island (Ukraine), Giresun Island (Turkey) and St. Ivan Island (Bulgaria).