Saudi pledges big oil cuts in July as OPEC+ extends deal into 2024

OPEC+:

• It is a group of 23 oil-exporting countries which meets regularly to decide how much crude oil to sell on the world market.
• These nations aim to work together on adjusting crude oil production to bring stability to the oil market.
• At the core of this group are the13 members of OPEC (the Organization of the Oil Exporting Countries), which are mainly Middle Eastern and African countries.
• Members: It comprises 13 OPEC countries plus Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mexico, Malaysia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Oman.

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC):

• It is a permanent intergovernmental organization of oil-exporting countries.
• Mission:
  • To coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries.
  • Ensure the stabilization of oil prices in the international oil markets, with a view to eliminating harmful and unnecessary fluctuations.
• Formation: It was established in 1960 by the five founding members Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.
• Currently, it has 13 members, including Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates
• Headquarters: Vienna, Austria.

Stay alert for typhoid, malaria, states told

National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC):

• It is an institute under the Indian Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• The Director, an officer of the Public Health sub-cadre of Central Health Service, is the administrative and technical head of the Institute.
• History:
  • The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), formerly National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) had its origin as Central Malaria Bureau, established at Kasauli (Himachal Pradesh) in 1909 and following expansion was renamed in 1927 as the Malaria Survey of India.
  • The organization was shifted to Delhi in 1938 and called as the Malaria Institute of India (MII).
  • In view of the drastic reduction achieved in the incidence of malaria under National Malaria Eradication Programme (NMEP), Government of India decided to reorganize and expand the activities of the institute to cover other communicable diseases.
  • Thus in 1963 the erstwhile MII was renamed as National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) to shoulder these additional responsibilities.
  • In year 2009,NICD transforms into National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) with a larger mandate of controlling emerging and re-emerging diseases.
• Headquarters: New Delhi.
• Functions:
  • It functions as the nodal agency in the country for disease surveillance facilitating prevention and control of communicable diseases.
  • In coordination with the State Governments, NCDC has the capacity and capability for disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, and rapid response to contain and combat outbreaks.
  • It also deals with Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR), an emerging area of concern with far-reaching consequences.
  • It also provides referral diagnostic support, capacity building and technical support to States/UTs in the country.

Injured tigress dies in Dudhwa buffer zone

• It is located on the Indo-Nepal border in the district Lakhimpur-Kheri in Uttar Pradesh.
• It includes the Dudhwa National Park, and two nearby Sanctuaries, viz. Kishanpur and Katerniaghat, besides forest areas of North Kheri, South Kheri and Shahjahanpur forest divisions in its buffer.
• Rivers: The Sharda River flows by the Kishanpur WL Sanctuary, the Geruwa River flows through the Katerniaghat WL Sanctuary and the Suheli and Mohana streams flow in the Dudhwa National Park, all of which are tributaries of the mighty Ghagra River.
• Vegetation: The vegetation is of the North Indian Moist Deciduous type, containing some of the finest examples of Sal forests (Shorea robusta) in India.
• Flora: The flora is predominantly Sal forest alongwith its associate tree species like Terminalia alata (Asna), Lagerstroemia parviflora (Asidha), Adina cordifolia (Haldu), Mitragyna parviflora (Faldu), Gmelina arborea (Gahmhar), Holoptelea intgrifolia (Kanju) etc.
• Fauna:
  • The major mammals include: Guldar, Tiger, Fishing cat, Monkey, Langur, Mongoose, Small Indian Mongoose, small Indian civet, Jackal etc.
  • Birds include a wide variety of species, which include migratory and resident ones like Dabchick, spotbilled pelican, Large cornorant, Little cormorant, Grey Heron, White stork, Black storck, White Ibis etc.
  • Reptiles include: Mugger, Ghariyal, Python, Sandboa, Banded krait, Russel’s viper, Rat snake etc.

Law Commission Says No Need To Reconsider Law On Adverse Possession; Disagrees With Supreme Court

Adverse Possession:

• It is a legal concept that allows a person who has unlawfully occupied someone else’s land for a certain period of time to claim legal ownership of that land.
• The claimant, or disseisor, must demonstrate that several criteria have been met before the court will allow their claim.
• In India, adverse possession has been a part of the legal framework for a long time and is rooted in the idea that land must not be left vacant and instead be put to judicious use.
• To claim adverse possession, the occupier must prove that they have been in continuous, uninterrupted possession of the land for at least 12 years and that their possession was open, notorious, and hostile to the true owner.
• The law of Adverse Possession in India is governed by the principle of The Limitation Law of 1963.
• As per adverse possession under limitation act, if over a due course of time or period, if an appeal is not made to revise any limitation, the current scenario of titles continues.
• According to the Indian legal system, if a property owner fails to make a claim towards their property for 12 years, and the same tenant continues to occupy the property for 12 years, the ownership rights to the property is transferred to the tenant.

What is a sonic boom? Blast heard across Washington, D.C., after F-16 fighter jets scramble to intercept plane

• A sonic boom is a thunderous noise caused by an object, like an aircraft, moving faster than the speed of sound.
• How is it formed?
  • As the object zooms through the sky, the air molecules around it are pushed aside with tremendous force, generating shock waves along its flight path.
  • The release of pressure, following the shock waves’ buildup, is heard as the sonic boom.
  • Sonic booms create huge amounts of sound energy.
• The intensity of the sonic boom is determined not only by the distance between the craft and the ground but also by the size and shape of the aircraft, the types of maneuvers that it makes, and the atmospheric pressure, temperature, and winds.
• Generally, a larger aircraft will cause stronger shock waves, and therefore, a louder sonic boom.
• If the aircraft is especially long, double sonic booms might be detected, one emanating from the leading edge of the plane and one from the trailing edge.
• Sonic booms can shatter glass, but there is generally little risk for people on the ground.

WTO flags poor utilisation of India scheme for least developed countries

Duty-free quota-free (DFQF) scheme:

• What it is? The decision to provide duty-free quota-free (DFQF) access for LDCs was first taken at the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting in 2005.
• India became the first developing country to extend this facility to LDCs in 2008, providing market access to 85 per cent of India’s total tariff lines
• The scheme was expanded in 2014 providing preferential market access on about 98.2 per cent of India’s tariff lines to LDCs.

World Trade Organisation (WTO)

• It was set up on 1st January 1995 and was born out of the 1986-94 Uruguay Round of Negotiations.
• It is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations.
• It is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
• The main function of the WTO is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.
• It further consists of two principles, the Most-favoured Nation (MFN) principle and the National treatment principle.
• It is a ''member-driven'' organisation, with decisions taken by consensus among the member governments.
• Special and differential treatment to LDCs and developing countries in the form of special flexibilities and rights are specified in various WTO agreements and decisions.

Integrated Management of Bakanae Disease in Basmati Rice

Foot rot disease:

• It is also known as Bakanae Disease.
• It is a soil and seed-borne deadly fungus which is seen only in the Basmati variety of paddy.
• It is caused by ‘Fusarium verticillioides’ fungi.
• The infected saplings turn pale yellow and become elongated and later, the saplings start drying and usually die.
• Symptoms sometimes appear after transplantation and the infected plants first grow way taller than the normal plants and die after a few days.

Basmati Rice

• India is known for its Basmati rice, with the produce from seven States — Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand — earmarked for Geographical Indication.
• It is known for its mouthfeel, aroma, and length of the grain when cooked and tasted, has a market abroad and brings about ₹30,000 crores in foreign exchange every year.

Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary: Army generates unique ecosystem for peaceful co-existence with wild elephants

Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary:

• It is located in the state of Assam.
• It comprises three Reserve forests-Khanapara, Amchang, and South Amchang.
• It stretches from the Brahmaputra River in the northto the hilly forests of Meghalaya in the south, forming a continuous forest belt through Meghalaya''s Maradakdola Reserve Forests.
• **Flora:**Khasi Hill Sal Forests, East Himalayan Mixed Deciduous Forest, Eastern Alluvial Secondary Semi-evergreen Forests and East Himalayan Sal Forests.
• **Fauna:**Flying fox, Slow loris, Assamese macaque, Rhesus macaque, Hoolock gibbon, Porcupine. White-backed Vulture, Slender-billed Vulture.
• Tree yellow butterflies (gancana harina) are found at the Amchang wildlife sanctuary which is indigenous to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and northeast India

Smart bandage’ with biosensors could help chronic wounds heal, study claims

• It is a soft stretchable polymer that helps the bandage maintain contact with and stick to the skin.
• The bioelectronics system consists of biosensors that monitor biomarkers in the wound exudate.
• Data collected by the bandage is passed to a flexible printed circuit board, which relays it wirelessly to a smartphone or tablet for review by a physician.
• A pair of electrodes control drug release from a hydrogel layer as well as stimulate the wound to encourage tissue regrowth.

Working

• Biosensors determine the wound status by tracking the chemical composition of the exudates, which changes as the wound heals.
• Additional sensors monitor the pH and temperature for real-time information about the infection and inflammation.
• A pair of electrodes, the same electrodes that stimulate the tissue, control the release of drugs from a hydrogel layer.
• The wireless nature of the device sidesteps the problems of existing electrical stimulation devices, which usually require bulky equipment and wired connections, limiting their clinical use.

World Environment Day: History, significance and theme

• It is observed on the 5th of June every year since 1973 as part of the United Nations Environment Programme to build awareness to save life on planet Earth.
• The event has been led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) since its inception in 1973.
• The theme of this year''s World Environment Day will focus on solutions to plastic pollution under the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution.
• This year’s event is hosted by Côte d''Ivoire in partnership with the Netherlands.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):

• It is the leading global authority on the environment.
• Mission:To inspire, inform, and enable nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
• It is driving transformational change by drilling down on the root causes of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss and pollution.
• Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya.
• Reports published by UNEP: Emission Gap Report, Global Environment Outlook, Frontiers, Invest into Healthy Planet.
• It provides secretariat functions for numerous multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and other entities as follows:
  • Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
  • Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora**(CITES)**
  • Minamata Convention on Mercury
  • Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions
  • Vienna Convention for the Protection of Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol
  • Convention on Migratory Species