About: 

• Sub Species: Classically considered a single species, the Clouded Leopard has recently been split into two species.
  • Neofelis Nebulosi: It is restricted to mainland Southeast Asia.
    
    
  • Neofelis Diardi: It is found on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
    
    
  
  
  
• Physical description:
  • Clouds: It is named after the distinctive 'clouds' on its coat - ellipses partially edged in black, with the insides a darker colour than the background colour of the pelt.
    
    
  • Legs: It has relatively short legs and broad paws which make it excellent at climbing trees.
    
    
  
  
  
• Range:
  • Historically, their range covered most of Southeast Asia from Nepal and southern China through Thailand, Indonesia, and Borneo. It is regionally extinct in Singapore and Taiwan.’
    
    
  • In India, it occurs in north-east and West Bengal. It is the state animal of Meghalaya. 
    • Dampa tiger reserve in Mizoram has one of the highest population densities.
      
      
    
    
    
  
  
  
• Habitat: Subtropical/Tropical Moist Forests.
  
  
• Conservation status: Both the species are listed as Vulnerable in IUCN red list.
  
  
• In 2018, India added clouded leopards to its Recovery Programme for Critically Endangered Species to aid more research and strengthen conservation efforts.
  
  

About: 

• The newly described species belong to the genus Mesovelia whose size ranges from 1.5 mm to 4.5 mm and are equipped with hydrophobic setae (bristles) on their legs. The combination of hydrophobic setae and water surface tension prevents them from sinking.
  
  
• These bugs are hemimetabolous insects without having larval stage i.e., they go from egg to nymph to adult.
  
  
• They are found on freshwater bodies such as ponds, lakes, pools, streams, rocks with moss and sometimes on estuaries.
  
  
• There are 12 species of genus Mesovelia found in the country.
  
  

Mesovelia vs water striders:

• Other than the size, there are morphological features that make these pond-weed insects different from water striders.
  
  
• The claws of Mesovelia are placed apically (tip or extreme end of legs), whereas in water striders, they arise from the pre-apex (just before the tip) of legs.
  
  

About: 

• Location: Greenland, an autonomous province of Denmark, is located to the north east of Canada.
  
  
• Demography: Most of its inhabitants are Inuit whose ancestors migrated from Canada.
  
  
• Capital: Nuuk. 
  
  
• Governance: The autonomous Danish dependent territory has limited self-government and its own parliament. While its government decides on domestic matters, foreign and security policy is handled by Denmark.
  
  
• Economy: Denmark contributes two thirds of Greenland's budget revenue, the rest coming mainly from fishing. 
  
  

Significance:

• The US President wants to buy the Danish territory as it is in a crucial strategic location in case tensions with Russia rise - but admits it's not a No1 priority.
  
  
• Potential oil, gas and rare earth mineral reserves have also attracted prospecting firms.
  
  

Legal Obstacles To Sale

• Any sale would require a change to Greenland’s legal status through an amendment to Denmark’s constitution. Since 2009 Greenland has held the right to declare independence from Denmark. If Greenland do so, it could choose to become associated with the United States.
  
  
• But few Greenlanders see independence as viable given their economic dependence on Denmark, part of the affluent European Union.
  
  

Recent decision: 

• it has also found that Pakistan was non-compliant on 32 of the 40 compliance parameters of terror financing and money laundering. 
  
  
• On 11 effectiveness parameters of terror financing and money laundering, Pakistan was adjudged as low on 10. 
  
  
• While the placing does not bring any new punitive measures on Pakistan, it will mean quarterly reporting to the group on improvement in its financial safeguards. 
  
  
• Now, Pakistan has to focus on avoiding the blacklist in October, when the 15-month timeline ends on the FATF's 27-point action plan. 
  
  

Trend this year: 

• There have been more than 72,800 fires in Brazil this year, with more than half in the Amazon region -- an 80% increase compared with the same period last year -- according to the country’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE). 
  
  
• Brazil’s Amazon has lost more than 344,500 hectares (1,330 square miles) of forest cover between January and June, according to INPE. 
  
  

Reason: 

• Forest fires are common in the Amazon during the dry season, which runs from July to October. They can be caused by naturally occurring events, such as by lightning strikes, but also by farmers and loggers clearing land for crops or grazing.
  
  
• However activists also blame Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, who has encouraged such tree-clearing activities for agriculture and mining.
  
  

Concern:

• The Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, is roughly half the size of the United States and produces 20 per cent of the oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere.
  
  
• it is a repository of rich biodiversity and is also home to indigenous communities whose live is now under threat.
  
  
• Carbon intake by the Amazon basin matches the emissions released by nations in the basin. The burning of forests, therefore, implies additional carbon emissions.
  
  
• Amazon rainforest influences the water cycle not only on a regional scale, but also on a global scale. The rain produced by the Amazon travels through the region and even reaches the Andes mountain range.
  
  

About: 

• Loaded with nuclear fuel, the Akademik Lomonosov with a crew of 69 left the port of Murmansk to begin its 5,000 km voyage to Pevek in Siberia. The reactor's trip is expected to last between 4 and 6 weeks. 
  
  
• When it arrives in Pevek, it will replace a local nuclear plant and a closed coal plant. It is due to go into operation by the end of year, mainly serving the region's oil platforms as Russia develops the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the Arctic. 
  
  
• It follow the examples of submarines, icebreakers and aircraft carriers, which have long used nuclear power, and are intended for isolated areas with little infrastructure. 
  
  
• But environmental groups have long warned of the dangers of the project, dubbing it a potential "Chernobyl on ice" and a "nuclear Titanic." 
  
  

About: 

• Asia is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal, accounting for 75 % of global demand. 
  
  
• China is the world’s largest consumer of Coal, followed by India, Japan and South Korea. China continues to emit more carbon dioxide than any other country. 
  
  
• Global coal consumption peaked in 2013 at 3,867 billion tonnes of oil equivalent, but that demand last year had declined merely 2.5 % below the peak. 
  
  
• South-East Asia was the only region in the world in which coal’s share of power generation grew last year. 
  
  

Key findings of report: 

• Since 1970, natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region have killed two million people — 59% of the global death toll for that period. 
  
  
• Disasters also cause more damage in Asia and the Pacific, measured as a percentage of GDP, than the rest of the world, and this gap has been widening. 
  
  
• However, big data innovations reveal patterns of complex disaster risks which helps to understand and predict the risk of extreme and slow-onset events. 
  
  
• Flood and cyclone forecasting now relies on computer simulations. Sensor webs and the Internet of Things have enabled efficient earthquake early-warning systems. Remote sensing via satellites and drones provide quick assessments of damage and people affected, and help in relief efforts. 
  
  

Big Data? 

• Big data refers to the analysis of very large data sets to reveal patterns, trends and associations. 
  
  
• The data can come from a range of sources, including satellite imagery, drone videos, simulations, crowdsourcing, social media and global positioning systems. 
  
  

Key findings of the report:

• In this report, WHO looked into the specific impact of microplastics in tap and bottled water.
  
  
• The level of microplastics in drinking water is not yet a health risk for humans. Microplastics larger than 150 micrometres are not likely to be absorbed by the human body but the chance of absorbing very small microplastic particles, including nano-sized plastics, could be higher.
  
  
• WHO has called on researchers to conduct a more in-depth evaluation into microplastics and the potential impact on human health.