''Terror beast'' fossils unearthed in Greenland are more than half a billion years old.

• Scientists uncovered the fossils of the newfound species of carnivorous worm, named Timorebestia koprii, or "terror beast", in northern Greenland.
• Timorebestia koprii, meaning ‘terror beasts’, is a species of carnivorous worm, one of the earliest carnivorous animals to have colonised the water column during the early Cambrian period (541 million to 485.4 million years ago).
• The fossils were discovered from the Early Cambrian Sirius Passet fossil locality in North Greenland.
• They were giants of their day and would have been close to the top of the food chain. That makes it equivalent in importance to some of the top carnivores in modern oceans, such as sharks and seals back in the Cambrian period.
• Timorebestia is a distant but close relative of a living group of tiny marine worms known as arrow worms, or chaetognaths. These are much smaller ocean predators today that feed on tiny zooplankton.

UAE announces its participation in Nasa’s Lunar Gateway Station.

• The UAE announced its participation in developing a module on NASA’s Lunar Gateway Station alongside the USA, Japan, Canada, and the European Union.
• Lunar Gateway Station is a primary component of NASA''s Artemis program.
• Artemis intends to establish a long-term base on the Moon (Artemis base), and the Lunar Gateway will serve as a multi-purpose outpost that orbits the Moon.
• The Gateway is a multinational project involving four of the International Space Station partner agencies: NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
• Basically, the Gateway Station is similar to the International Space Station currently in low Earth orbit, but the Gateway will orbit the Moon.
• Incidentally, the Gateway will be the first space station ever to exist outside of low Earth orbit, or LEO.
• From the Gateway, NASA and international partners can provide essential support for long-term human presence on the lunar surface, as well as launch additional missions for deep space exploration.
• Its flight path is a highly elliptical orbit, bringing it both relatively close to the Moon’s surface and also far away, making it easier to pick up astronauts and supplies from Earth, around a five-day trip.
• It will also offer a place to relay communications and act as a base for scientific research.
• The Gateway will weigh around 40 tonnes and consist of a service module, a communications module, a connecting module, an airlock for spacewalks, a place for the astronauts to live, and an operations station to command the Gateway’s robotic arm or rovers on the Moon.
• Astronauts will be able to occupy it for up to 90 days at a time, occasionally travelling to the lunar surface to conduct science and test new technologies.

PPFAS Mutual Fund applies for dynamic asset allocation scheme with SEBI.

• Asset management company (AMC) PPFAS Mutual Fund filed for an open-ended dynamic asset allocation scheme with the capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
• Dynamic Asset Allocation (DAA) is an investment strategy that involves the frequent adjustment of the weights in a portfolio based on the overall market performance or the performance of certain securities.
• Most of the funds in this category are invested and spread across various sectors, including equity funds, real estate, stocks, and bonds.
• Under the dynamic allocation strategy, a portfolio manager assesses the current market conditions and the performance of each asset class.
• He uses the results of the assessment to reduce the weights of assets with bad performance and increase the weights of assets with strong performance.
• Generally, a dynamic strategy is used in reaction to existing risks and market downturns.
• Unlike the strategic asset allocation strategy, dynamic asset allocation does not involve a target mix of assets. Thus, portfolio managers enjoy a high degree of flexibility in their choice of investments.
• Dynamic allocation requires active portfolio management. Therefore, the success of the strategy depends not only on the market conditions but also on the portfolio manager’s ability to make good investment decisions and to adequately respond to changes in the market.

Dynamic Asset Allocation Example:

• Suppose global equities enter a six-month bear market.
• An investment manager using dynamic asset allocation may decide to reduce a portfolio’s equity holdings and increase its fixed-interest assets to reduce risk.
• For example, if the portfolio was initially equities heavy, the manager may sell some of its equity holdings and purchase bonds.
• If economic conditions improve, the manager may increase the portfolio’s equity allocation to take advantage of a more bullish outlook for stocks.

Advantages:

• Returns: The frequent adjustments in the mix of assets can possibly provide higher returns on the investment portfolio.
• Adjustment to market changes: Unlike static asset allocation, dynamic allocation is highly flexible. The strategy can quickly respond to market changes and market risks.

Disadvantages:

• Transaction costs: The frequent rebalancing the weights within the portfolio is associated with transaction costs.
• Active management: It requires tight control of the investment portfolio and constant observation of emerging market trends. Therefore, the asset allocation strategy requires the skills and knowledge of a professional portfolio manager and may often demand extensive sources (e.g., employees for research).

Germany Under Increasing Pressure To Send Taurus Missiles to Ukraine.

• Pressure is mounting on the German Chancellor to give the green light for long-range Taurus missiles that would be a significant boost to Kyiv''s weapons arsenal for striking critical Russian assets.
• Taurus KEPD 350, known as the ''bunker buster'', is a Swedish-Germanlong-range air-to-surface cruise missile.
• The high-precision stand-off guided missile system can penetrate through dense air defence systems and destroy hard and deeply buried stationary and semi-stationary military targets on the ground.
• The missile attacks target bridges, ships in ports, runways, command, control and control centres, bunkers, port facilities, and air base buildings.
• It is in service with the German (Luftwaffe) and Spanish Air Forces.

1,500-year-old gold buckles depicting ruler ''majestically sitting on a throne'' discovered in Kazakhstan.

• Archaeologists in Kazakhstan discovered two gold ornaments in a 1,500-year-old tomb that feature the earliest known depictions of the great khan, or "khagan," of the Göktürks.
• The Göktürks were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples who lived in ancient Inner Asia and the steppes of Central Asia.
• They emerged into history in the early sixth century AD from obscure tribal origins.
• The Göktürk rulers originated from the Ashina tribe, an Altaic people who lived in the northern corner of the area presently called Xinjiang.
• The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Khan (d. 552) and his sons, succeeded the Xiongnu as the main Turkic power in the region and took hold of the lucrative Silk Road trade during the sixth century.
• Under their leadership, the Göktürks rapidly expanded to rule huge territories in north-western China, North Asia, and Eastern Europe(as far west as the Crimea). At their height, the Gokturks controlled a vast area stretching from Eastern Europe all the way across northern China.
• They were the first Turkic tribe known to use the name "Turk" as a political name.
• Their religion, Tengriism, a form of shamanism centred on a celestial deity, Tengrii, includes elements which resemble concepts of Confucian and Hindu thought.
• From 552 to 745, Göktürk leadership bound the nomadic Turkic tribes together into an empire, which eventually collapsed due to a series of dynastic conflicts.