• The first shipments on a newly-launched railway line from the Myanmar border to the key commercial hub of Chengdu in western China were delivered recently.

Transport Corridor

• It involves a sea-road-rail link.
• This passage connects the logistics lines of Singapore, Myanmar and China, and is currently the most convenient land and sea channel linking the Indian Ocean with southwest China.
• Goods from Singapore reached Yangon Port, arriving by ship through the Andaman Sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean, and were then transported by road to Lincang on the Chinese side of the Myanmar-China border in Yunnan province.
• The new railway line that runs from the border town of Lincang to Chengdu, a key trade hub in western China, completes the corridor.
• The one-way journey saves 20 to 22 days.

Other Plans of China

• Kyaukphyu Port - China also has plans to develop another port in Kyaukphyu in the Rakhine state of Myanmar including a proposed railway line from Yunnan directly to the port, but the progress there has been stalled by unrest in Myanmar.
• Gwadar Port - Chinese planners have also looked at the Gwadar port in Pakistan as another key outlet to the Indian Ocean that will bypass the Malacca Straits.
• Gwadar is being developed as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to the far western Xinjiang region, but has been slow to take off amid concerns over security.

UNSC Resolution 2593

• The resolution demanded that Afghan territory not be used to threaten or attack any country and reiterated the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan.
• The resolution adopted by a vote of 13 in favour with two abstentions (Russian Federation and China).
• The resolution also urged Talibans’ to assist the safe evacuations of all Afghan nationals wishing to leave the country.
• It specifically mentions individuals designated by the UNSC resolution 1267, which includes the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).

• The Meghalaya government has recently scrapped an agreement with private power developers to execute the proposed 210 MW Umngot hydroelectric project following protests.

Umngot River

• It flows both in India & Bangladesh.
• It separates East Khasi Hills District from Jaintia Hills District by creating a boundary in between the two.
• It is the natural boundary between Ri Pnar (of Jaintia Hills) with Hima Khyrim (of Khasi Hills).
• Over the river hangs a single span suspension bridge called Dawki Bridge.
• Umngot River is considered as the cleanest river in India and in some parts is as transparent as crystal and you can actually see the river bed.
• Umngot River is also called by the name Dawki River, which has greenish-bluish color transparent water.
• The Umngot River passes through the village of Mawlynnong in Meghalaya, close to India’s border with Bangladesh, which is touted as “Asia’s Cleanest Village".

Effects of Antibiotics in soil

• Carbon in soils exposed to manure from cows administered with antibiotics, travelled into the above-ground plant material, to the roots of the plants, into the soil and respired back out as CO2 much faster than any of the others.
• This means that when antibiotics are used, less carbon is stored in the soil and more is lost to the atmosphere as CO2
• It can change soil microbiome and decrease their ability to store carbon
• It also affects soil respiration and elemental cycling
• It also caused changes in the soil's fungal and bacterial ratios as well as altered the bacterial community structure.

Food Emergency

• Sri Lanka has recently declared a state of emergency over food shortages as private banks run out of foreign exchange to finance imports.
• The emergency regulation allows government officials to seize food stocks held by traders and arrest people who hoard essential food.
• Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves fell to $2.8 billion at the end of July 2021, from $7.5 billion in November 2019.
• Tourism was the only vital source of foreign exchange earnings, but that too suffered due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• It has more foreign debt payments of $1.5 billion each due in the next 12 months. It has already paid $1.3 billion so far.

• The Taliban had recently called on fighters in the Panjshir Valley to lay down their arms.
• The Panjshir Valley is the centre of Afghanistan’s most important pocket of armed anti-Taliban forces.
• The valley stood strong against the Taliban rule from 1996-2001 before the US-led foreign troops invaded Afghanistan.

Panjshir Valley

• Located 150 km north of Kabul, Afghanistan, the Valley is near the Hindu Kush mountain range.
• It’s divided by the Panjshir River and ringed by the Panjshir Mountains in the north and the Kuhestan mountains in the south.
• The mountain tops are covered by snow throughout the year.
• This difficult terrain makes the Valley a nightmare for invaders. 

Animal Spirits

• This is a term that refers to the emotions and instincts that guide the behaviour of investors and consumers in a market economy.
• It was coined by British economist John Maynard Keynes in his 1936 book – “The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money”, to explain the persistence of economic fluctuations under capitalism.
• Animal spirits refer to the ways that human emotion can drive financial decision-making in uncertain environments and volatile times.
• Animal spirits essentially account for market psychology and in particular the role of emotion and herd mentality in investing.
• Animal spirits are used to help explain why people behave irrationally, and are the forerunner to modern behavioral economics.
• Keynes argued that investment and consumption are often based on how people feel about the overall economy rather than on unbiased, rational analysis of facts.
• Critics have argued that while people are not perfectly rational, they are not completely guided by emotions either; hence, animal spirits cannot sufficiently explain economic cycles.

Deep Sea Mining

• It is the process of retrieving mineral deposits from the deep sea – the area of the ocean below 200 m.
• Parts of the ocean floor are rich in minerals, including polymetallic nodules composed mostly of copper, manganese, cobalt and nickel.
• These are found on seabeds 4 to 6 km below the surface.
• International Sea Bed Authority is an intergovernmental body established by the Law of the Sea Convention to organize, regulate and control all mineral-related activities in the international seabed area beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.

Gita Govinda

• It is a work composed by the 12th-century Hindu poet, Jayadeva.
• It describes the relationship between Krishna and Radhika.
• The Gita Govinda consists of twelve chapters, further divided into twenty-four songs.
• Each song consists of eight couplets, it is called Ashtapadi.
• Jayadeva was a contemporary of several other poets in the court of Lakshmana Sena of Bengal.

Blood Honey

• Sunderbans being the home to the Royal Bengal tigers, every year people die venturing into the forests to collect this honey.
• Due to the risks involved in its collection, it is called blood honey.
• It is also called Sundarban honey, as it is collected by the Sunderbans’ Moulis community.
• This comparatively less thick honey has high demand for its nutritional value and purity.
• As this honey is multi-floral and there is practically no use of antibiotics or pesticides in Sundarbans.
• It is nearly twice as expensive as the branded honey.
• Reasons for the high cost - One major part of the cost input is going deep into the forest area. This means that there are also no pesticides or chemicals or any other impurities in this honey.
• Additionally, the purpose of ventures like this is the financial upkeep of this community too.