Namibia Cheetah gets a new home ‘Kuno national park’

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a coalition of cheetahs into the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh
• Eight animals — including five females — were flown from Windhoek, Namibia, to Gwalior, followed by a helicopter ride to the grasslands of Kuno Palpur.

About Kuno National Park

• Kuno National Park is a national park in Madhya Pradesh, India, established in 1981 as a wildlife sanctuary with an initial area of 344.686 km2 (133.084 sq mi) in the Sheopur and Morena districts. In 2018, it was given the status of a national park. It is part of the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.
• KunoPalpur Wildlife Sanctuary is underway to become India’s second home for the Asiatic lion.
  • It is to prevent decline, and possible extinction, in a single habitat due to natural disasters, epidemics, decline in prey or retaliatory killings.
  • Kuno’s habitats have been fine-tuned for these new entrants with abundant populations of herbivores like nilgai, chital, sambhar and chinkara, who are the lions’ natural prey.
  • Geographically, Kuno also features the same kind of semi-arid vegetation in Gir, as it is under the same biogeographic zone. This should make the transition more seamless for the lions.
  • The introduction of lions at Kuno is happening 29 years after it was first proposed.

China blocks listing of Lashkar ‘commander’ Sajid Mir at UNSC

• For the third time in three months, China blocked a joint India U. S. attempt to put a Pakistan based terrorist on the UN Security Council’s 1267 list, placing a hold on the proposal to add Lashkare Taiba ‘commander’ Sajid Mir, who is wanted for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, as well as attacks in the U.S. and Denmark.
• Mir is one of Indias most wanted terrorist and has a bounty of $5 million placed on his hade by US for his role in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack

 What is United Nation Security Council?

• The UNs Charter established six main organs of the UN, including the UNSC. Article 23 of the UN Charter concerns the composition of the UNSC.
  • The other5 organs of the UN are—the General Assembly, the Trusteeship Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat.
• The UNSC has been given primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security and may meet whenever peace is threatened.
• Headquarter:
  • The council is headquartered at New York.
• Members:
  • The UNSC is composed of 15 members, 5 permanent and 10 non-permanent.
    • Five Permanent Members: China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
    • Ten Non-Permanent Members: Elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly.
      • India, for the eighth time, has entered the UNSC as a non-permanent member last year (2021)and will stay on the council for two years i.e. 2021-22.
    • Each year, the General Assembly elects five non-permanent members (out of ten in total) for a two-year term. The ten non-permanent seats are distributed on a regional basis.

What is UNSC 1267 committee?

• It was first set up in 1999, and strengthened after the September, 2001 attacks. It is now known as the Da’esh and Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
• It comprises all permanent and non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
• The 1267 list of terroristsis a global list, with a UNSC stamp. It is full of Pakistani nationals and residents.
• It is one of the most important and active UN subsidiary bodies working on efforts to combat terrorism, particularly in relation to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
• It discusses UN efforts to limit the movement of terrorists, especially those related to travel bans, the freezing of assets and arms embargoes for terrorism.
  • India has made at least three attempts in the last decade— in 2009, 2016 and 2017 — to list JeM chief as “global terrorist”. All attempts have been blocked by China at Pakistan’s behest.

6 Indian Colleges List In Top 100 Management Colleges Globally! IIM Bengaluru is  no. 1 Management School

Kerala puppets showcase India’s pride in Korea museum

• Two Tholpavakoothu puppets from the Palakkad district are on display at a prestigious international exhibition being held at Chuncheon in South Korea
• The puppets of Hanuman and Ravana will be boasting India’s long tradition of shadow puppetry for 10 months at the Chuncheon Puppet Museum, Korea.
• The leather puppets of Ravana and Hanuman were chosen for the exhibition as they perfectly suited the Chuncheon theme of ‘traditional and contemporary Asian puppetry.

Cochin Shipyard  will  install missile systems on INS Vikrant

• With the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant now joining the Navy, its builder, Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (CSL), has to complete the installation of the LRSAM (longrange Surfacetoair missile system) and the MFSTAR (multifunctional digital active electronically scanned array) radar.

About INS Vikrant:

• Name: Vikrant (which means courageous) is named after India’s first aircraft carrier, bought from the UK and commissioned in 1961.
• Weightage: At 43,000 tonnes, Vikrant is the largest naval ship to be designed and built in India.
  • India joins the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), France, Russia, Italy, and China, which have similar capabilities.
• Technologies used: STOBAR (short take-off but assisted recovery)
• 76% indigenous material was used.
• Made at: Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi

India’s firsts

• First indigenous warship: INS Ajay (1960)
• First indigenous frigate: INS Nilgiri (1968)

Varanasi declared as first ever SCO tourist capital

• The leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Friday endorsed the holy city of Varanasi as the first ever tourist and cultural capital of the grouping for the year 2022-23.