Extremely Rare ‘Half Female, Half Male’ Honeycreeper Snapped in Colombia.

• Ornithologists in Colombia recently photographed a wild green honeycreeper with distinct half-green, or female, and half-blue, male, plumage.
• This distinct honeycreeper discovered had male plumage on one half of its body and female coloring on the other.
• This differs from the typical males of this species, which are bright blue with a black head, and the females, which are grass-green all over.
• The rare phenomenon is scientifically known as bilateral gynandromorphic. It arises from an error during female cell division to produce an egg, followed by double-fertilization by two sperm.

About Green Honeycreeper:

• It is a small bird in the tanager family.
• Scientific Name: Chlorophanes spiza
• Distribution: The New World Tropics (Rainforests in Central and South America), from Mexico to Brazil.

Features:

• It is 13–14 cm long and weighs 14 to 23 grams.
• The male is mainly blue-tinged green with a black head and a mostly bright yellow bill. The female is grass-green, paler on the throat, and lacks the male''s iridescence and black head.
• They are called Green Honeycreepers because the females and young birds are bright green with red eyes.
• Although males have, on average, slightly longer wings and tails than females, there is considerable variation within each sex and much overlap.
• It feeds largely on nectar, fruit, and insects and often frequents feeders supplying fruit.

Conservation Status:

• IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Forest department in Odisha plans nocturnal trail in -Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary.

• As a first, the Forest Department in Odisha has planned a ‘nocturnal trail’ for people, especially students and researchers, in the Chandaka-Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Location: It lies partly within Khurda and partly in Cuttack Districts of Odisha State, and is in close proximity to the state capital, Bhubaneswar.
• It is nestled in the Khordha uplands of the ‘North-Eastern Ghats’ biotic region.
• Spread over 193.39 sq.km of rolling table land and small sprawling hillocks, it is a wildlife sanctuary since August 1982.
• It is known for the successful conservation of elephants, which is the principal species here.
• Vegetation: The floral diversity of the sanctuary is distributed in six types, which include secondary moist miscellaneous semi-evergreen forests, moist Kangada (Xyliaxylocarpa) forests, Coastal Sal forests, thorny bamboo brakes, planted Teak, and Eupatorium scrub.
• There are two water reservoirs, Deras Dam and Jhumka Dam, situated within the sanctuary.
• Flora: The main tree species are Kochila, Kalicha, Belo, Kangada, Giringa, Sunari, Sal, Kumbhi, Jamu, Karanja, Teak, and Sidha.
• Fauna:
• Apart from elephants, other mammals include Leopard, Chital, Barking deer, Mouse deer, Wild pig, Common langur, Rhesus monkey, small Indian civet, etc.
• Prominent birds of the sanctuary are Peafowl, Red jungle fowl, Crested serpent eagle, Great horned owl, Black headed oriole, etc.

North India’s first river rejuvenation project ‘Devika’.

• Built on the lines of ‘Namami Ganga’, the project was launched in February 2019.
• It is north India’s first river rejuvenation project.
• The project is implemented along the Devika River in Jammu and Kashmir.
• It has been included in the Government of India’s National River Conservation Project (NRCP).
• Under the project, bathing “ghats” (places) on the banks of the Devika River will be developed, encroachments will be removed, natural water bodies will be restored, and catchment areas will be developed along with cremation ground.
• The project includes the construction of three sewage treatment plants with 8 MLD, 4 MLD and 1.6 MLD capacities, a sewerage network of 129.27 km, the development of two cremation ghats, protection fencing and landscaping, small hydropower plants, and three solar power plants.
• Built at a cost of over Rs 190 crore, the sharing of fund allocation is in the ratio of 90:10 by the centre and UT, respectively.
• On completion of the project, the rivers will see a reduction in pollution and an improvement in water quality.
• It will offer a unique destination both for pilgrim tourists as well as recreation tourists, in addition to being a state-of-the-art cremation centre.

Key Facts about Devika River:

• Devika River is considered the sister of the sacred river Ganga, and it has great religious significance.

Course:

• It originates from the hilly Suddha Mahadev temple in the Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir.
• It flows down towards western Punjab (now in Pakistan), where it merges with the Ravi River.
• As it appears and disappears in many places, Devika is also known as Gupt Ganga.

Truckers End Stir After Centre Says ''Hit-And-Run Law Decision After Talks''.

• The countrywide truckers'' stir has been called off recently as the government assured that it would consult stakeholders before implementing a contentious law against hit-and-run.
• As per the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), which is a replacement for the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), if a driver causes a serious road accident due to careless driving and then leaves without informing the police or any official, they could be punished with up to 10 years in jail and a fine of Rs 7 lakh.
• BNS has established two distinct categories under the umbrella of "causing death by negligence."
• The first category addresses causing death through any rash or negligent act that does not amount to culpable homicide.
• Offenders in this category may face imprisonment for up to five years and a fine.
• The second category deals with causing death through rash and negligent driving, not amounting to culpable homicide.
• If the individual escapes without promptly reporting the incident to a police officer or magistrate, they could be subjected to up to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine.

What was the hit-and-run law before?

• The old, British-era IPC did not have a specific provision for hit-and-run cases.
• Actions in such cases were taken under Section 304 A of the IPC.
• As per this section, an individual causing the death of another due to a reckless or negligent act could face a maximum jail term of two years or a fine.
• All cases of hit-and-run, along with other forms of activities that came under the ambit of causing death by a "rash and negligent act" were lodged under Section 304A of the IPC.

The crucial role of the Kármán Line in space defense strategies.

• The Kármán line lacks a specific national demarcation, resembling the concept of international waters.
• Located at 100 km (62 miles) above sea level, it is an imaginary line that demarcates the earth’s atmosphere from space.
• It was established in the 1960s by a record-keeping body called the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
• It was named after aerospace pioneer Theodore von Kármán.
• Though not all scientists and spacefarers accept it (for example, the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, and the U.S. military place the line between outer space and the atmosphere at 80 km (50 miles) above the Earth’s surface) , a majority of countries and space organisations recognise this boundary between earthsky and space.
• It is based on physical reality in the sense that it roughly marks the altitude where traditional aircraft can no longer effectively fly.
• Anything traveling above the Kármán line needs a propulsion system that doesn’t rely on lift generated by Earth’s atmosphere—the air is simply too thin that high up.
• In other words, the Kármán line is where the physical laws governing a craft’s ability to fly shift.
• Anyone who crosses this line qualifies as an astronaut.

Why do we need a Kármán line?

• The 1967 Outer Space Treaty says that space should be accessible to all countries and can be freely and scientifically investigated.
• Defining a legal boundary of what and where space can help avoid disputes and keep track of space activities and human space travel.

India starts four-year term as UN Statistical Commission member.

• UN Statistical Commission was established in 1947 and is the highest body of the global statistical system.
• It brings together the Chief Statisticians from member states from around the world.
• Functions:
• It is the highest decision-making body for international statistical activities, responsible for setting statistical standards and the development of concepts and methods, including their implementation at the national and international levels.
• The Statistical Commission oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), and it is a Functional Commission of the UN Economic and Social Council.
• Membership:
• The Commission consists of 24 member countries of the United Nations elected by the United Nations Economic and Social Council based on an equitable geographical distribution according to the following pattern:
• Five members from African States
• Four members from Asia-Pacific States
• Four members from Eastern European States
• Four members from Latin American and Caribbean States
• Seven members from Western European and other States
• Term:
• The term of office of members is four years.
• India was a member of the Statistical Commission last in 2004 and the country is returning to the UN agency after a gap of two decades.
• Headquarter: New York

Maharashtra’s indigenous Warlis teach a lesson about peaceful coexistence with leopards.

• Indigenous Warli Tribe, living near Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Maharashtra teaches a lesson about peaceful coexistence with leopards.
• Warli Tribe are an adivasi indigenous tribe who live in the mountainous, coastal, and bordering regions of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
• The word ''Warli'' is derived from the word ''Warla,'' which means ''piece of land''.
• Language - The Warli people speak Varli or Warli, an Indo-Aryan language. The language is typically classified as Marathi, but it is also known as Konkani or Bhil.
• Culture –They have their own animistic beliefs, way of life, customs, and traditions, and they have adopted many Hindu beliefs.
• The Warli culture is centred on the concept of Mother Nature, and natural elements are frequently depicted as focal points in Warli painting.
• The Warli tribe values folk art as well as gods, goddesses, and ritual culture. They use painting to depict their traditional way of life, customs, and traditions. The majority of these paintings are created by women.
• Style & attire - The Warli Tribe women wear a Lugden that is worn until the knee and is typically a one yard sari. The Maharashtrian rural regions influenced the sari. The knee length draping resembles the Maharashtrian sari draping style.
• Festival: Bohada is a three-day mask festival held by the Warli tribes. During this celebration, mask owners wear these masks and perform several times.
• Dance & music - The Warli Tribes perform Tarpa Dance along with Tarpa music instruments.
• They usually perform in groups. One person plays music with a Tarpa instrument and the rest of the people form a circle keeping the musician in the centre and dance with people.

South Africa files genocide case against Israel at ICJ: Why the African nation supports Gaza so strongly.

• South Africa moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ), for an urgent order declaring that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
• The term ‘genocide’ is often loosely used when speaking of attacks against various communities across the world.
• It has been defined using set criteria in the UN’s Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, moved in the General Assembly in 1948.
• It says, “In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such Killing members of the group; Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
• As per this convention the genocide is a crime whether committed during wartime or peacetime.
• India ratified the convention in 1959; there is no legislation on the subject.

Key facts about the International Court of Justice

• It is the principal judicial organ of the UN established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations.
• French and English are the official languages of the Court.

Powers and Functions:

• The Court may entertain two types of cases: legal disputes between States submitted to it by them (contentious cases) and requests for advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by United Nations organs and specialized agencies (advisory proceedings).
• Advisory proceedings before the Court are only open to five organs of the United Nations and 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations family or affiliated organizations.
• The court''s judgments in contentious cases are final and binding on the parties to a case and without appeal.
• Unlike the Court’s judgments, advisory opinions are not binding.

Composition:

• It is composed of 15 judges, all from different countries, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the Security Council (UNSC).
• A candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes in both UNGA and UNSC.
• One-third of the composition of the Court is renewed every three years.
• Once elected, a member of the Court is a delegate neither of the government of his own country nor of any other State.

Why telcos are asking govt to auction direct-to-mobile services spectrum?

• Indian telecom operators have asked the government to auction the spectrum that will be used for direct-to-mobile (D2M) technology services.
• The science behind D2M is similar to that of an FM radio, where a receiver within the device can tap into different radio frequencies.
• This new-age technology is a combination of broadband and broadcast that uses mobile phones to capture territorial digital TV signals.
• Using D2M, multimedia content, including live TV matches, can be streamed to phones directly without using the internet.

D2M can ensure

• Emergency alerts are delivered directly, reliably and without dependence on internet/cellular networks.
• Disaster Management audio content is delivered directly and authentically in a targeted manner.
• With D2M, governments can broadcast citizen-centric information.
• This approach benefits consumers by reducing their reliance on internet data consumption for staying informed and entertained.

Challenges involved

• It is still in the development stage.
• The biggest challenge in front of the government is to bring different stakeholders, including telecommunications, on board in launching D2M tech on a wide scale.

Himachal Pradesh implements ST tag for Hattees after Centre clarifies on SC community of same name.

• Hattee community are a close-knit community who got their name from their tradition of selling homegrown vegetables, crops, meat and wool etc. at small markets called ‘haat’ in towns.
• Their homeland straddles the Himachal-Uttarakhand border in the basin of the Giri and Tons rivers, both tributaries of the Yamuna.
• This community’s men generally don a distinctive white headgear during ceremonies, is cut off from Sirmaur by two rivers called Giri and Tons. Tons divide it from the Jaunsar Bawar area of Uttarakhand.
• The Hattees who live in the trans-Giri area and Jaunsar Bawar in Uttarakhand were once part of the royal estate of Sirmaur until Jaunsar Bawar’s separation in 1815.
• They are governed by a traditional council called Khumbli.
• The two Hattee clans, in Trans-Giri and Jaunsar Bawar, have similar traditions, and inter-marriages are common.