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Scarborough shoal

Context:

  • Philippine navy holds exercise near disputed shoal amid standoff with China

More info:

  • The exercise around the Scarborough shoal, one of Asia’s most hotly contested areas, was aimed at enhancing the navy’s capability to secure what it said were Philippine waters and the country’s territorial integrity.
  • The drills coincided with the continued radio challenges by the Philippine coast guard to the presence at the shoal of China’s largest coast guard vessel, which it says is illegally patrolling in Manila’s EEZ.
  • China’s expansive territorial claims in the key maritime trade route overlap with the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
  • A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal said Beijing’s claims, based on its historic maps, have no basis under international law, a decision China does not recognise.
  • In recent round of talks, both countries pledged to advance coast guard and marine scientific cooperation while committing to resolving issues peacefully.

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ):

  • The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) defines an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as generally extending 200 nautical miles from shore, within which the coastal state has the right to explore and exploit, and the responsibility to conserve and manage, both living and non-living resources.

About Scarborough shoal:

  • Scarborough Shoal (Bajo de Masingloc and Panatag for the Philippines or Huangyan Island for China), located some 220 kilometers from the province of Zambales (Luzon Island, Philippines), is, since 1997, a bone of contention between the Philippines and China.
  • Scarborough is the largest atoll in the South China Sea, submerged at high tide with few rocks above sea level, but was largely unheard-of before the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1994.
  • The shoal is located inside the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Philippines but is claimed by China as its ancestral territory since the Yuan dynasty (1271- 1368).
  • For the Chinese authorities, Huangyan Island is part of a larger archipelago called Zhongsha Qundao comprising mostly underwater features (like Macclesfield Bank) located in the northern part of the South China Sea. The stakes are high.
  • The few rocks of Scarborough Shoal are the only features of Zhongsha Qundao above sea level.
  • If China loses these rocks, it would not only lose the natural resources around the shoal (fishing grounds and the potential deposits of polymetallic nodules) but also the possibility of claiming Zhongsha Qundao and, by consequence, the whole of the South China Sea.
  • This conflict, recurrent year after year during the fishing season, worsened from April to July 2012.
  • To settle the issue once and for all, the Philippine government invokes the possibility of bringing the matter to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

            

 

Upper Karnali Hydropower Project

News:

  • Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) has finalized a Joint Venture Agreement for the development of the 900 MW Upper Karnali Hydro-electric Project in Nepal.

More info:

  • This strategic initiative aims to strengthen regional energy security and accelerate renewable energy growth.
  • The joint venture agreement lays out a comprehensive framework for the project development, construction, operation, and maintenance under a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model, with 25-years project term from the Commercial Operation Date (CoD).
  • This agreement marks a significant step towards realizing our collective vision of sustainable energy development in the region.
  • By leveraging Hydropower’s vast potential, the Upper Karnali project will serve as a model of cross-border collaboration, delivering both economic and environmental benefits.

Karnāli River System:

  • Karnali river basin, drains most of the mid and far western development region of Nepal.
  • Karnali river system also originates from Macha-khabab of Tibet and flows through Nepal and meets Ghaghara river in India.
  • Karnali river is the longest river (507 km) flowing through Nepal along with other snow-fed rivers constitute Karnali river system.
  • More than 90% area of the basin lies in Nepal.
  • Humla Karnali originates in Tibet and meets Mugu Karnali at Galwa forming the Karnali river.
  • West Seti, Bheri, Kawari and Tila rivers are other tributaries of Karnali river system.

 

 

PRSC-EO1 satellite

Context:

  • Pakistan launches first home-made observation satellite

News:

  • Pakistan launched its first home-made observation satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northern China.

More info:

  • The PRSC-EO1 satellite will boost Pakistan’s ability to monitor and manage natural resources, respond to disasters, and improve urban planning and agricultural development, the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) said in a statement.
  • This type of satellite uses electro-optical sensors to collect data and images of the Earth’s surface by detecting and measuring reflected sunlight or emitted radiation.
  • China’s Long March-2D carrier rocket also launched two other satellites, Tianlu-1 and Blue Carbon 1, into orbit along with the PRSC EO1.
  • Currently valued at $5 billion, the earth observation satellite market is among the fastest growing sectors within the commercial space industry, with Novaspace predicting it to exceed $8 billion by 2033.
  • Countries including the United States, China and India have been building their own government and private satellite constellations to map the Earth.
  • Indian startup Pixxel this month launched the country’s first privately built satellite constellation.

 

Ringer’s Lactate (RL) intravenous (IV) fluid  

Context:

  • One woman died, and four others fell ill in West Bengal after the administration of reportedly expired Ringer’s Lactate

About Ringer’s Lactate:

  • Ringer’s Lactate (RL) is an intravenous (IV) fluid that medical professionals use as replacement for patients who lack fluid in their bodies due to a medical cause: this can happen as a result of an accident, dehydration, childbirth or any other cause.
  • RL is a sterile fluid that is a combination of sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride, and lactate, and can be used in various patients including those with burn injuries, accident cases, cases with post-operation blood loss issues, women undergoing Cesarean section deliveries, and other medical cases.
  • RL is a crystalloid solution – one of the most common types of IV fluids, containing small, dissolved molecules that can easily pass from the bloodstream into tissues and cells.

Uses of IV fluids:

  • Our bodies are made up of about 60% water.
  • Water is essential to every cell in the human body.
  • When there is inadequate water in the body, a person becomes dehydrated.
  • Dehydration can affect the balance of electrolytes in the body; it can affect energy levels, cognition and also affect multiple organs of the body including the kidneys, heart and brain.
  • Extreme dehydration requires the administration of IV fluids.
  • People who are hospitalised, who have had surgery, have suffered injuries or burns or have spent too much time in the heat may be dehydrated and require IV fluids.
  • The administration of IV fluids helps treat/prevent dehydration and helps with correcting electrolyte imbalances.
  • IV fluids are administered into a person’s veins through an intravenous tube.
  • RL is a commonly used IV fluid for anyone who is losing water in their body due to any medical condition.

 

Places of Worship Act

Context:

  • moves SC to defend Places of Worship Act, says it ensures religious freedom

About the Place of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991:

  • It is an Act to prohibit conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August, 1947, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
  • “Place of worship” means a temple, mosque, gurudwara, church, monastery or any other place of public religious worship of any religious denomination or any section thereof, by whatever name called.
  • No person shall convert any place of worship of any religious denomination or any section thereof into a place of worship of a different section of the same religious denomination or of a different religious denomination or any section thereof.
  • It is hereby declared that the religious character of a place of worship existing on the 15th day of August, 1947 shall continue to be the same as it existed on that day.
  • If, on the commencement of this Act, any suit, appeal or other proceeding with respect to the conversion of the religious character of any place of worship, existing on the 15th day of August, 1947, is pending before any court, tribunal or other authority, the same shall abate, and no suit, appeal or other proceeding with respect to any such matter shall lie on or after such commencement in any court, tribunal or other authority:
  • Provided that if any suit, appeal or other proceeding, instituted or filed on the ground that conversion has taken place in the religious character of any such place after the 15th day of August, 1947, is pending on the commencement of this Act, such suit, appeal or other proceeding shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
  • Act not to apply to Ram Janma Bhumi Babri Masjid.
  • Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the place or place of worship commonly known as Ram Janma Bhumi-Babri Masjid situated in Ayodhya in the State of Uttar Pradesh and to any suit, appeal or other proceeding relating to the said place or place of worship.
  • Exemption: Any place of worship which is an ancient and historical monument or an archaeological site or remains covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
  • Whoever contravenes the provisions of the Act shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

Reason for the Act to keep making News:

  • The Supreme Court’s ruling on the law will be crucial to the fate of dozens of religious structures.
  • These include Gyanvapi and Shahi Eidgah, two disputed mosques in the holy cities of Varanasi and Mathura.
  • The hearing comes against the backdrop of different religious groups filing cases to challenge the status of many mosques, claiming they were built over demolished Hindu temples.
  • These groups said the 17th-Century Gyanvapi mosque was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb on the partial ruins of the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
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