US exit from Paris climate deal
The US formally exited the Paris Climate Agreement on 4 November 2020, three years after President Donald Trump announced his intent to remove the country from participating in the landmark global pact to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/26927-us-exit-from-paris-climate-deal.html
#US #Paris #Parisclimatedeal #DonaldTrump #UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

US imposes new Iran-related sanctions
The United States imposed fresh Iran-related sanctions, blacklisting an entity and an individual as Washington continues to ramp up pressure on Tehran during U.S. President Donald Trump's final months in office.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/27394-us-imposes-new-iran-related-sanctions.html
#US #Iran #DonaldTrumps #UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses #ksgnews

KSG Podcast - Australia-France submarine deal | Exam Oriented Edited Editorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1JfkMKMFZY&list=PLCUwtp5IghZmJBi1h7xiAhsORKmmumVsR&index=9
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

Watch: KSG Podcast - India and the geopolitics of the moon | Exam Oriented Edited Editorial #Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgMHpJup0OI&t=4s
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

KSG Podcast - Australia-France submarine deal | Exam Oriented Edited Editorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1JfkMKMFZY&list=PLCUwtp5IghZmJBi1h7xiAhsORKmmumVsR&index=30
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

KSG Podcast - Australia-France submarine deal | Exam Oriented Edited Editorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1JfkMKMFZY&list=PLCUwtp5IghZmJBi1h7xiAhsORKmmumVsR&index=50
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

Watch: Russia is not a ''most favored nation.'' What now? #ukraine #russia #us
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCwukbb52go

KSG Podcast - India and the geopolitics of the moon | Exam Oriented Edited Editorial #Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgMHpJup0OI&list=PLCUwtp5IghZmJBi1h7xiAhsORKmmumVsR&index=52
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

KSG Podcast - India and the geopolitics of the moon | Exam Oriented Edited Editorial #Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgMHpJup0OI&list=PLCUwtp5IghZmJBi1h7xiAhsORKmmumVsR&index=56
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

KSG Podcast - Russian space agency’s threat on ISS | best daily editorial analysis for upsc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98ODuwby-7g
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

Watch: Russia is not a ''most favored nation.'' What now? #ukraine #russia #us
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCwukbb52go&list=PLCUwtp5IghZlGtWhDAkuXVFs8MLdVey75&index=58
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

KSG Podcast - Russian space agency’s threat on ISS | best daily editorial analysis for upsc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98ODuwby-7g&list=PLCUwtp5IghZmJBi1h7xiAhsORKmmumVsR&index=67
#UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

Today's Headlines - 04 August 2023
The crypto project WorldCoin
GS Paper - 3 (Economy)

A new cryptocurrency project called WorldCoin, from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has claimed over 2 million sign-ups across the world after its official launch on 24 July 2023. OpenAi was the company behind the AI chatbot ChatGPT.

What differentiates WorldCoin from many existing cryptocurrencies?

It is its use of biometrics. Its unique method of sign-up, involving scanning of irises, has rung alarm bells in countries such as France, Germany and Kenya.
India also has at least 17 sign-up locations – mostly at Delhi Metro stations in the NCR region and a few in Bengaluru. In comparison, the United States has 10 locations and Japan has three locations, according to the WorldCoin website.

What is WorldCoin?

The Worldcoin protocol is intended to be the world’s largest identity and financial public network, open to everyone regardless of their country, background or economic status.
WorldCoin wants to offer users an account that only “real humans” can get, through what it calls a “World ID”.
For this, a customer has to sign up and do in-person eyes scan at particular locations, where their irises would be scanned through a ball-like object called an ‘orb’.
Once the orb’s iris scan verifies the person is a real human, it creates a World ID for them.
The reasoning given here is that biometric data would help differentiate between humans and Artificial Intelligence systems and prevent duplication of IDs from the same person.
It can then be used as an ID in a variety of everyday applications – such as a cryptocurrency wallet – without revealing the user’s identity.
The project has three aspects: a World ID or a digital identity for “proving an individual’s unique personhood,” a Worldcoin token (WLD) that is its cryptocurrency, and a World App that enables “payment, purchases and transfers globally using digital assets and traditional currencies.”
It says that creating a World ID (through the orb scanning) is not essential for accessing the app or tokens. But it provides certain incentives for doing so.

Who owns WorldCoin?

San Francisco and Berlin-based company Tools for Humanity is behind WorldCoin. Altman is its Co-Founder and Alex Blania is its Co-Founder and CEO.
The company’s website simply states that it is a technology company that was built to ensure a “more just economic system”, and re-directs visitors to the WorldCoin website.
The Worldcoin can help address how the economy will be reshaped by generative AI technology.

#upsc #news #headline #crypto #project #worldcoin #economy #world #chatGPT #OpenAi #currencies #germany #kenya #delhimetro #US #japan #location #financial #worldID #human #intelligence #technology #visitors #humanity #berlin #francisco #CEO

Today's Headlines - 05 August 2023
Mineral iron is important in ocean ecosystems
GS Paper - 3 (Environment)

According to new research published in Nature, mineral forms of iron play an important role in regulating the cycling of this bio-essential nutrient in the ocean. The discoveries pave the way for future research into the relationship between the iron and carbon cycles, as well as how changing ocean oxygen levels may interact.

More about the research

The research, led by the University of Liverpool and involving collaborators from the United States, Australia, and France, aims to fill a knowledge gap in ocean science.
The early Earth's ocean was low in oxygen and high in iron, which served as a catalyst in many biological reactions. These include photosynthesis, which oxygenated the earth's system through its proliferation.
Because iron is less soluble in well-oxygenated seawater, precipitation and sinking of iron oxides resulted in a decrease in iron levels.
As a result, iron now plays a critical role in regulating ocean productivity and thus ecosystems throughout the modern ocean.
It is thought that organic molecules called ligands, which bind iron, regulate iron levels above their soluble thresholds.
This viewpoint has underpinned the representation of the marine iron cycle in global models used to investigate how future climate changes will affect levels of biological productivity.
However, oceanographers have been perplexed as to why there appeared to be a much larger loss of iron due to insolubility in the ocean than would be expected based on the measured high levels of ligands.
In general, ocean models built in accordance with the expected pattern have performed poorly in reproducing observations.

#upsc #news #headline #mineral #iron #ocean #ecosystem #enviroment #bioessential #nutrient #carboncycles #oxygenlevels #liverpool #US #Australia #france #photosynthesis #ligands #climatechanges #bindiron #regulateiron #seawater #earth

Today's Headlines - 08 August 2023
Centre to look into ‘Havana Syndrome’
GS Paper - 3 (Health and Diseases)

The Central government has told the Karnataka High Court that it will look into the matter of the ‘Havana Syndrome’ in India, in response to a Bengaluru resident’s recent petition. The petitioner had approached the court requesting a writ of mandamus for an enquiry on Havana Syndrome in India and the prevention of high-frequency microwave transmission in India.

What is Havana Syndrome?

Havana Syndrome refers to a set of mental health symptoms that are said to be experienced by United States intelligence and embassy officials in various countries.
It is worth noting that in general, the word ‘syndrome’ simply means a set of symptoms. It does not mean a unique medical condition, but rather a set of symptoms that are usually experienced together whose origins may be difficult to confirm.
What is known as the Havana Syndrome typically involves symptoms such as hearing certain sounds without any outside noise, nausea, vertigo and headaches, memory loss and balance issues.
As the name suggests, it traces its roots to Cuba in late 2016. This was about a year after the US opened its embassy in the capital city of Havana after ties between the two countries were normalised in 2015.
Some US intelligence officials and members of the staff at the embassy began experiencing sudden bursts of pressure in their brains followed by persistent headaches, feelings of disorientation and insomnia.

Where else has Havana syndrome been reported?

Since the Cuban incident, American intelligence and foreign affairs officials posted in various countries have reported symptoms of the syndrome.
In early 2018, similar accusations began to be made by US diplomats in China. The first such report was in April 2018 at the Guangzhou consulate.
An American employee reported that he had been experiencing symptoms since late 2017. Another incident had previously been reported by a USAID employee at the US Embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in September 2017.
In 2019 and 2020, such incidents have been reported from within the US — particularly in Washington DC. One incident was even reported at The Ellipse, a lawn adjacent to the White House.
In India, the first such case was reported in the same year, when a US intelligence officer travelling to New Delhi with CIA director William Burns reported symptoms of Havana Syndrome.

What are the causes of Havana Syndrome?

No one is entirely sure. But initially during the Cuban experience, being in a country that had been hostile to the US for over five decades, the suspicion was on Cuban intelligence or a section within the Cuban establishment that did not want US-Cuba relations to normalise. It was then speculated to be a “sonic attack”.
However, further study by scientists in the US and medical examination of the victims began to suggest that they may have been subjected to high-powered microwaves that either damaged or interfered with the nervous system.

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Today's Headlines - 12 August 2023
Malabar naval exercise held

GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)

India, Japan, the United States and Australia hold the Malabar navy exercise off the coast of Sydney on 11 August 2023, the first time the war games previously held in the Indian Ocean have taken place in Australia. Japanese and Indian navy vessels stopped in Pacific Island countries Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea on the way to Sydney, highlighting the strategic importance of the region at a time of friction between China and the United States.

More about the Exercise

The U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet said in Sydney the exercise was "not pointed toward any one country" and would improve the ability of the four forces to work with each other.
The deterrence that our four nations provide as we operate together as a Quad is a foundation for all the other nations operating in this region.
Oceania, the island nations that are just northeast of Australia...all of our nations now are focusing on those countries.
Indian Navy Vice Admiral Dinesh Tripathi said there had been large changes in the world since the United States and India held the first Malabar Exercise in 1992 at the end of the Cold War. When Australia participated for the first time in 2007, it "sent some signals around the world".
Australia dropped out of the so-called Quad in 2008 after protests from China over its participation in Malabar.
The Quad was revived and Australia rejoined Malabar in 2020, although China continues to criticise the grouping as an attempt to contain it.
Ships from the four nations were joined by Australian F-35 fighter jets, as well as P-8 surveillance aircraft and submarines.
The underwater battlespace is seen to be the front line in terms of competition and potential future conflicts.
Malabar is being held off the east coast of Australia, instead of the west coast which faces the Indian Ocean, because ships were nearby after the larger Talisman Sabre exercise involving 13 nations which closed recently.

#upsc #news #headline #malabar #naval #internationalrelations #japan #australia #japanese #indiannavy #solomon #island #papua #newguinea #wargames #indianocean #china #US #island #coldwar #aircraft #survillance #fighter #battlespace #talisman #world

Today's Headlines - 16 August 2023
Wildfires ravage Hawaii’s Maui Island
GS Paper - 3 (Environment)

The images of the aftermath of the devastating fire in Hawaii’s Maui Island have grabbed the world’s attention. The wildfires, which have already killed nearly 100 people and left thousands homeless, have become part of a wider global list of unusually intense blazes that have raged across Europe, Canada and the United States.

What happened in Hawaii

Hawaii is no stranger to fires, which burn on a smaller scale with some regularity, especially in the drier parts of the island.
The current fires – active in Lahaina, Upcountry and Pūlehu/Kīhei – are believed to have started with the one in Lahaina spreading quickly across the town.
The exact cause of the fires is still under investigation, but experts agree that the fires were bolstered by strong winds from Category-4 Hurricane Dora, which was passing through the Pacific Ocean – far to the southwest of the island.
Low humidity and dry vegetation too precipitated the issue. Initial reports suggest that the changing land-use patterns in Hawaii, which has seen farm and forest lands being replaced by flammable non-native species of grasses like Guinea grass, are a likely cause for the easy spread of the fire.
Over the past few decades, wildfire has been increasing in Hawaii as a result of changing climate, as a result of increases in invasive species, and a lot of our active agriculture going out… and becoming fallow.

What is the link between wildfires and climate change?

Wildfires have been a part of life on Earth, usually following a seasonal pattern during the June-August period.
Be it natural or human-made, the phenomenon is a critical part of the ecosystem. A healthy fire is key to ensuring that forests remain robust and resilient.
It also aids the natural replenishment of nutrients in the soil, helps sunlight reach the forest floors, and encourages the germination of seeds.
It is the increasingly intense nature of the wildfires – aided by the warming weather, dry conditions and change in rain cycles – that is now becoming a source of worry.
Experts have compared it akin to the difference between throwing a lighted matchstick on a pile of wet, green wood and on dry kindling. And increasingly, climate change is determining the degree of dryness of the latter.
Besides the destruction of lives and livelihoods, these catastrophic wildfires also release an immense amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
There is also one immediate issue – these immense fires contribute adversely to air pollution, leading to long-term and short-term respiratory issues, heart disease and lung cancer.

#upsc #news #headline #wildfires #hawaiimaui #island #enviroment #worldattention #europe #US #fires #pulehu #kihei #lahaina #pacific #ocean #humidity #category #guinea #forest #ecosystem #natural #peroid #seeds #catastrophic #greenhouse #gases #cancer #airpollution #respiratory #heart #disease

Today's Headlines - 09 September 2023
India, ASEAN agree to deepen strategic ties
GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)

India and 10-nation ASEAN agreed to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership with concrete actions through practical implementation of the 'Plan of Action' to implement the ASEAN-India partnership for peace, progress and shared prosperity.

More about agreement

In a joint statement on maritime cooperation, it was agreed to support India's connectivity initiatives in the region to ensure seamless connectivity in the Indo-Pacific, besides boosting cooperation in a range of areas including blue economy, space and food security among others.
The two sides agreed to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership with concrete actions through practical implementation of the 'Plan of Action' to implement the ASEAN-India partnership for peace, progress and shared prosperity.
They reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, and other lawful uses of the seas and unimpeded lawful maritime commerce and to promote peaceful resolutions of disputes, in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The two sides agreed to further strengthen ASEAN-India cooperation on maritime safety and security, promote cooperation in a Blue Economy and develop new and renewable energy including marine-based renewable energy, among others.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners.
ASEAN-India dialogue relations started with the establishment of a sectoral partnership in 1992.
This graduated to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995 and a summit-level partnership in 2002. The ties were elevated to a strategic partnership in 2012.
What is ASEAN?

On 8 August 1967, five leaders – the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – came together in Bangkok.
Thailand was brokering some disputes among Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, and it eventually led to the signing of a document.
The five Foreign Ministers who signed it – Adam Malik of Indonesia, Narciso R. Ramos of the Philippines, Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia, S. Rajaratnam of Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand – would subsequently be hailed as the Founding Fathers of probably the most successful inter-governmental organisation in the developing world today. And the document that they signed would be known as the ASEAN Declaration.
The ASEAN Declaration signed by the five leaders conveyed the aspiration to further regional cooperation. These were about cooperation in the economic, social, cultural, technical, educational and other fields, and in the promotion of regional peace and stability and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter.
Its major pillars that help lay out a blueprint for cooperation are Political-Security Community (APSC), Economic Community (AEC) and Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC).

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Today's Headlines - 11 September 2023
India-Middle East-Europe mega economic corridor
GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of the India-Middle East-Europe mega economic corridor. The project includes India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and the US.

What is the project?

The rail and shipping corridor is part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII) — a collaborative effort by G7 nations to fund infrastructure projects in developing nations. PGII is considered to be the bloc’s counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The project will aim to enable greater trade among the involved countries, including energy products.
It could also be one of the more ambitious counters to China’s massive infrastructure program, through which it has sought to connect more of the world to that country’s economy, AP said.
The corridor will include a rail link as well as an electricity cable, a hydrogen pipeline and a high-speed data cable, according to a document prepared by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The document also called the project “a green and digital bridge across continents and civilizations.”
Why is the project being proposed?

First, it would increase prosperity among the countries involved through an increased flow of energy and digital communications.
Second, the project would help deal with the lack of infrastructure needed for growth in lower- and middle-income nations.
Third, it could help “turn the temperature down” on “turbulence and insecurity” coming out of the Middle East

#upsc #headline #news #india #middle #East #Europe #mega #economic #corridor #international #relations #UAE #saudiarabia #europeanunion #france #Itlay #germany #US #project #rail #PGII #China #BELT #Road #intiative #ountries #trade #hydrogen #pipeline #speed #data #cable #civilizations #infrastructure #income #nations #turbulence #insecurity #prosperity