Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Prize
- The UNESCO has decided to launch a prize in the field of ‘creative economy’ in the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
- Starting November 2021, the award will be given away once in two years for global economic initiatives of the youth.
- This award will create a knowledge-sharing mechanism by capturing, celebrating and communicating best practice in the development of creative entrepreneurship.
- UNESCO has declared 2021 as ‘International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development’.
Mujibur Rahman
- He was the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh (1972-75).
- He was given the title of “Bangabandhu” (Friend of Bengal) by the people of Bangladesh.
- His daughter Sheikh Hasina is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
Myristica Swamp Tree Frog
- This rare arboreal species (Mercurana myristicapalustris) is endemic to the Western Ghats.
- It was first spotted in Myristica swamps of Arippa, near the Kulathupuzha Reserve Forest, in the western foothills of Agasthyamalai.
- The current species has been adapted to a non-Myristica swamp predominant with the plant polyalthia fragrans.
- It was now spotted north of the Shencottah gap in the Vazhachal Reserve Forest in Kerala’s Thrissur district.
- These frogs are rare and elusive for the reason that they are arboreal and active only for a few weeks during their breeding season.
Amnesty Scheme
- Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change came out with an advisory on a one-time voluntary disclosure scheme, an amnesty scheme.
- This scheme allows owners of exotic live species that have been acquired illegally, or without documents, to declare their stock to the government between June and December 2020.
- It has defined exotic live species as animals named under the Appendices I, II and III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
- It does not include species from the Schedules of Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972. So, the advisory excludes exotic birds.
- The disclosure has to be done online through MoEFCC’s Parivesh portal.
- In its current form, the amnesty scheme is just an advisory, not a law.
Western Sahara Dispute
- The United States recognised the sovereignty of Morocco over the disputed Western Sahara region.
- In turn, Morocco agreed to normalise its relations with Israel.
- Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is an arid region in northwest Africa, which is rich in phosphate reserves.
- This region is under dispute between Morocco and Mauritania since 1975 when Spain partitioned the region between these two countries.
- The recent recognition by US is a major symbolic victory for Morocco.
Plasmodium ovale
- P. ovale has been identified in a soldier in Kerala, who is believed to have contracted it during his posting in Sudan, where it is endemic.
- It is termed ovale as about 20% of the parasitised cells are oval in shape.
- It is not a very common type of malaria, and rarely causes severe illness.
- P ovale is very similar to P vivax, which is not a killer form.
- In India, malarial cases are in high-burden in the states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh.
- P. falciparum malarial cases are most common in India.
Source: AIR, The Indian Express, The Hindu
