NATIONAL:
1. Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR)
Why in news - Engineers India (EIL) is studying the feasibility of developing salt cavern-based strategic oil reserves in Rajasthan.
Key Points –
• Currently, India has no salt cavern-based oil storage facility.
• Salt cavern-based storage is considered cheaper and less labour- and cost-intensive than rock caverns.
• India has 3 strategic oil storage facilities (rock caverns) –
(a) Mangaluru (Karnataka)
(b) Padur (Karnataka)
(c) Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
• India’s new target - expanding its SPR capacity by a cumulative 6.5 million tonnes at two locations –
(a) Chandikhol in Odisha (4 million tonnes)
(b) Padur (2.5 million tonnes).
• India’s SPR come under the Petroleum Ministry’s special purpose vehicle Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve (ISPRL).
Value Addition –
• Reason for building SPRs - to mitigate major supply disruptions in the global supply chain (energy security).
• India’s current SPR capacity - 5.33 million tonnes (39 million barrels of crude) that can meet around 9.5 days of demand.
• India is the world’s 3rd largest consumer of crude oil.
• India depends on imports for more than 85% of its requirement.
• International Energy Agency (IEA) recommends that all countries should hold an emergency oil stockpile sufficient to provide 90 days of import protection.
• Indian scenario in oil stockpile (74 days) –
(a) SPR - 9.5 days.
(b) Oil marketing companies (OMCs) - 64.5 days.
2. Necrophilia
Why in news - Karnataka High Court held that having sexual intercourse with a woman’s dead body will not attract the offence of rape.
Key Points –
• It also recommended amending the provisions of Section 377 of IPC to include dead bodies of men, women, and animals to protect the dignity of the dead.
• As of date, necrophilia is not an offence in India.
About Necrophilia –
• Necrophilia means sexual interest in or sexual contact with dead bodies.
• Psychosexual disorder
• Classified under the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).
3. Akhand Bharat
Why in news - Bangladesh sought “further clarification” on “Akhand Bharat” mural in new Parliament.
Key Points –
• As per India, mural in question depicts the spread of the Ashokan empire and the idea of responsible and people-oriented governance.
• The official description says: “Between 265 and 238 BC, Ashoka spread the message of Buddhism and got it inscribed at many places”.
About Akhand Bharat –
• Coverage - landmass stretching from today’s Afghanistan to Myanmar and Tibet to Sri Lanka.
• Historian Radha Kumud Mookerji first articulated the idea of Akhand Bharat in 1944 in response to the Muslim League demand for a separate Pakistan.
INTERNATIONAL:
1. Kakhovka Dam
Why in news - A huge Soviet-era dam on the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine was breached.
Key Points –
• It separated Russian and Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine.
• It was built in 1956 as part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.
• It supplies water to the Crimean peninsula and Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
• Its volume is about equal to the Great Salt Lake in the U.S. state of Utah.
• Dnieper (Dnipro) originates in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea.
2. Iran-Taliban Water Conflict
Why in news - Iran and Afghanistan are locked in a long-standing dispute over the sharing of water from the Helmand River.
Key Points –
• Afghanistan and Iran signed the Helmand River Treaty in 1973 to regulate the allocation of river water.
• It was neither ratified nor fully implemented.
• Taliban claim that there is not enough water to flow from Kajaki dam towards the Iranian border.
About Helmand –
• Afghanistan’s Longest River.
• Origin - Western Hindu Kush mountain range (near Kabul).
• Emptyies into Lake Hamun, which straddles the Afghanistan-Iran border.
• Lake Hamun is the largest freshwater lake in Iran. (Lake Hamun has partially dried up).
3. Kosovo-Serbia Tension
Why in news - Violent clashes between Kosovo’s police and NATO-led peacekeepers on one side and local Serbs on the other erupted.
Key Points –
• 1998-99 conflict in Kosovo claimed more than 10,000 lives and left more than one million homeless.
About the Conflict –
• Kosovo (ethnic Albanian-population), formerly a province of Serbia, declared independence in 2008.
• Serbia has refused to recognize Kosovo’s statehood and still considers it part of Serbia.
• Serbia does not recognise Kosovo’s statehood.
• Kosovo’s independence has been recognized by about 100 countries, including the United States.
• India has not formally recognized Kosovo.
Value Addition –
• Serbia is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe.
• Serbia shares borders with Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.
• Kosovo lies to Serbia’s southwest.
• Balkan countries - Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania.
• Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Macedonia were once part of Yugoslavia.
• Battle of Kosovo (15 June 1389) - Between Lazar Hrebeljanovic (Serbian prince) and the Murad Hudavendigar (Ottoman Sultan).
4. Hvaldimir
Why in news - Hvaldimir, the beluga whale, was spotted off the Swedish coast.
Key Points –
• Hvaldimir was the name given by the Norwegians who first saw it.
• It was first seen in April 2019 in Norway.
• It is a play on the Norwegian word for whale “Hval” and the “dimir” was added because of the beluga’s alleged connection to Russia.
• It supposedly Russia’s newest spy.
SCIENCE – TECH:
1. Acinetobacter Baumannii
Why in news - Scientists from the United States and Canada have found a new antibiotic using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Key Points –
• It is powerful enough to kill a superbug.
• Superbugs are bacteria that are resistant to several types of antibiotics.
• Study name - Deep learning-guided discovery of an antibiotic targeting Acinetobacter baumannii.
• Institutes involved - McMaster University (Canada) and Massachusetts Institute of technology (USA).
About the Bacteria –
• It was identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2017.
• One of the world’s most dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
• It causes pneumonia, meningitis and infect wounds.
• Usually found in hospital settings, where it can survive on surfaces for long periods.
Antibiotic Resistance –
• It occurs when bacteria change in response to the use of antibiotic medicines.
• Causes – using antibiotics without prescription, overconsumption of medicines etc.
• Pneumonia, tuberculosis, and foodborne diseases as becoming harder to treat with existing medication.
POINTERS:
• When was the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression celebrated - June 4.
• Who won the Spanish Grand Prix 2023 race title - Max Verstappen.
• State Bank of India launched Project Kuber in which city – Bengaluru.
• Dubai has set a target of achieving zero emission public transport by which year – 2050.
• Who announced to provide free schooling to children who lost their parents in Odisha train accident - Gautam Adani.
• Where is India's first carbon neutral Village being developed - Bhiwandi Taluka (Thane district).
• Recently, which Asian country has joined the Central Laboratory Network – India.
• Which organization decided to set up a global alliance for the prevention of drowning – WHO.
• Which state government has signed an MoU with NIOS to bring dropouts back to school – Meghalaya.
• Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has discovered a new eel species in which state – Odisha.