Nelloptodes gretae
Why in news?
- A tiny species of beetle discovered more than 50 years ago has been named after Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
About the species
- Scientists at the Natural History Museum in London have officially called the insect Nelloptodes gretae to honour the 16-year-old Swedish activist’s “outstanding contribution” in raising global awareness of climate change.
- The arthropod, which has no eyes or wings, is less than 1mm long and belongs to the Ptiliidae family, which is made up of some of the world’s smallest beetles.
- The beetle was first found in 1965 by British naturalist Dr William C Block in Nairobi, Kenya.
- Biological names comprise two words, one for the genus and the second for the species. Traditionally, it is the species name that scientists coin to honour a prominent personality.
- While the species name gretae derives from Greta, the genus Nelloptodes too is a new genus.
- Postal ballot
Why in news?
- On the recommendation of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Central Government has amended the Rules to facilitate the process of postal ballot paper for Absentee voters of essential services, Senior citizens of more than 80 years and marked PwD electors.
Salient features of these amendments:
- A concept of ‘absentee voter’ has been introduced and defined for the elections;
- ‘Absentee voter’ means a person belonging to such class of persons as may be notified, under clause (c) of section 60 of the Act, and who is employed in essential services as mentioned in the said notification, and includes an elector belonging to the class of senior citizen or persons with disability [rule 27 A (aa)];
- ‘Person with Disability’ means a person flagged as person with disability in the data base for the electoral roll;
- ‘Senior Citizen’ for the purpose of this Part means an elector belonging to the class of absentee voters and is above 80 years of age;
- In case of an absentee voter, the application shall be made in Form 12D, and shall contain such particulars as specified therein, and shall be duly verified by the Nodal Officer for the absentee voter, other than senior citizen or persons with disability, which shall reach the Returning Officer within five days following the date of notification of election;
- In the case of absentee voter, postal ballot paper shall be returned to the centre provided for recording of vote under sub-rule(3) of rule 27F, subject to any direction that may be issued by the Election Commission in this behalf.
- Doxxing
Why in news?
- A court in Hong Kong has issued a temporary order, in effect until November 8, banning the practice of ‘doxxing’.
What is Doxxing?
- Doxxing (also spelt as ‘doxing’) means to publicly identify or publish private information about someone, especially with the intention of punishing or taking revenge.
- Doxxing first emerged as hacker slang for obtaining and posting private documents about an individual, usually a rival or enemy. To hackers, who prized their anonymity, doxxing was considered a cruel attack.
- In Hong Kong, protesters have been releasing information about police officers and their families, thereby opening them up to targeted violence or harassment and abuse, either physically or online.
- Doxxing has emerged as one of the major tactics employed by pro-democracy protesters who have been carrying out relentless, sometimes violent, demonstrations that the administration has found impossible to suppress for over four months now.
- Sri Guru Nanak Dev
- In a unique gesture to mark 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji, Air India has depicted Sikh religious symbol ‘Ik Onkar’ on the tail of one of its aircraft.
About:
- Ik Onkar is the symbol that represents the unity of God in Sikhism, meaning God is One or One God.
- It is a central tenet of Sikh religious philosophy. It is the opening phrase of the Mul Mantar and the opening words of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. It is consequently also part of the Sikh morning prayer, Japji Sahib.
- It is found in the Gurmukhi script and is found in all religious scriptures and places such as gurdwaras.
- It is a combination of two characters, the numeral ੧, Ikk (one) and the first letter of the word Onkar (Constant taken to mean God).
- Takedown of al-Baghdadi
Why in news?
- On 27 October 2019, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed himself and three children by detonating a suicide vest during the Barisha raid conducted by the Delta Force, in Syria’s northwestern Idlib Province, according to a statement by President Donald Trump.
About:
- Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (1971 – 2019) was the leader of the Islamic State (ISIS) militant terrorist organisation.
- In 2014, the ISIS announced the establishment of a worldwide caliphate. Al-Baghdadi was named its caliph, to be known as “Caliph Ibrahim”.
- He was designated by the United States Department of State as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
Operation Kayla Mueller / Barisha raid
- The Barisha raid was a United States military operation in Barisha, Idlib Governorate, in northwestern Syria targeting Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) leadership, notably its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, on October 26-27, 2019.
- The special forces raid was officially code-named Operation Kayla Mueller after the American humanitarian worker who was held captive, tortured, and sexually abused by Baghdadi before her death in 2015.
- According to U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, Baghdadi killed himself when he detonated a suicide belt.
- Indo-French Joint Exercise Shakti-2019
Why in news?
- Indo-French Joint Exercise Shakti-2019 will be conducted from 31 October 2019 to 13 November 2019 at Foreign Training Node at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges, Rajasthan.
About:
- Series of ‘Exercise SHAKTI’ between Indian and France commenced in year 2011.
- It’s a biennial exercise and is conducted alternately in India and France.
- As part of Exercise SHAKTI – 2019, a contingent of the Sikh Regiment of Sapta Shakti Command will represent Indian Army in this exercise. The French Army delegation will be represented by troops of 21st Marine Infantry Regiment of 6th Armoured Brigade.
- The joint exercise will focus on Counter Terrorism operations in backdrop of semi-desert terrain under United Nations Mandate. The training will focus primarily on high degree of physical fitness, sharing of drill at tactical level and learning of best practices from each other.
- Capture carbon dioxide
- Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US have developed a new technology to capture carbon dioxide from a stream of air, virtually at any concentration level.
Details
- While most methods of removing carbon dioxide from a stream of gas required higher concentrations such as those found in the flue emissions from fossil fuel-based power plants, the new method could take out the gas even when it was present in very low concentrations.
- The device is a large, specialized battery with a stack of electrodes that absorbs carbon dioxide from the air passing over its surface as it was being charged up, and then released the gas as it was being discharged.
- A chemical reaction takes place at the surface of each of a stack of electrodes as the battery charges. Electrodes are coated with a compound called polyanthraquinone compounded with carbon nanotubes.
- The electrodes have a natural affinity for carbon dioxide and readily reacted with its molecules in the airstream or feed gas. The device operates at room temperature and normal air pressure.
- INS Baaz
- Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh visited INS Baaz, the southernmost air station of the Indian Armed Forces and spent a day with personnel stationed there.
About:
- The Indian Naval Ship (INS) ‘Baaz’ was commissioned in July 2012.
- It is the southernmost air station of the Indian Armed Forces. INS Baaz is located at Campbell Bay on the Great Nicobar island, the southernmost and largest island of the Nicobar islands, in the UT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This island is also the location of the Indira Point.
- The primary functions of the INS Baaz include helping build Maritime Domain Awareness by providing information via airborne surveillance using aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
Significance:
- The location has been described as India’s “window into East and Southeast Asia”, and is in close vicinity of the Six Degree Channel, one of the Indian Ocean’s busiest shipping lines, carrying strategic cargo to East Asian countries.
- It is also close to the Strait of Malacca.
- It is a part of the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the only tri-services formation of the Indian Armed Forces that was started in 2001.