The Varanasi-Chunar Cruise service started on September 5, 2021 and added a new dimension to the tourism facilities in Varanasi.
Chunar Fort is located in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh. Chunar town is also situated below the fort. Both the places are historic places with common history and legends. It is located 23 kilometres south west of Varanasi. South-eastern part of the fort touches the rocky bank of the Ganges River. The history span of the fort is from 56 BC and between Afghan decedent Sher Shah Suri’s rule, the Mughal Empire rule, as well as the Maratha rule in 1782 to 1804. British Raj occupied this fort till 1947 when India gained independence.
Ravidas ghat is the southernmost and largest ghat in Varanasi. It is known for an important religious place Ravidasis comprising of a 25 acres park known as Sant Ravidas Smarak Park. Its creation was announced in in February 2008 and was inaugurated in 2009.
Government of Sri Lanka declared an economic emergency in last week of August 2021 because of rising food prices, depreciating currency, and depleting forex reserves.
President of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, called in the army to manage this crisis by rationing the supply of essential goods.
Factors that led to the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka include:
Sri Lankan government blamed speculators for resulting into rise in food prices by hoarding essential supplies. Government declared “economic emergency” under the Public Security Ordinance. Under the emergency situation, army has been tasked to seize the food supplies from traders and supply them to consumers at fair prices. Government has also given power to the army to ensure that forex reserves are used to purchase the essential goods only.
Sri Lankan President seeks to make Sri Lankan agriculture fully organic which will significantly decrease the domestic food production and cause a further rise in prices. Capping of food prices could also lead to severe shortages because demand exceeds the supply at prices fixed by the government. When supplies will be seized from traders, it will lead to further drop in supplies and higher prices for essential goods.
The Taliban and opposition forces battled badly to control the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan on September 4, 2021.
The Taliban were unable to control this valley earlier, when they ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
The war over Panjshir province escalated on the night of September 3, 2021. During the fight, two senior leaders of National Resistance Front were killed. According to reports, the acting president of Afghanistan, Amrullah Saleh, has moved to a safe place following a helicopter attack on his house.
Panjshir is one among the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in the north-eastern part of Afghanistan comprising of the Panjshir Valley. It is divided into seven districts with 512 villages. Provincial capital of Panjshir is Bazarak. The region is currently controlled by the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan. Panjshir and Baghlan provinces are reportedly not controlled by the Taliban following the 2021 Taliban offensive.
Panjshir became an independent province out of Parwan Province in 2004. It shares its border with Baghlan & Takhar to the north, Badakhshan & Nuristan to the east, Laghman & Kapisa to the south and Parwan to the west.
It is the provincial capital of Panjshir Province comprising of six villages, viz., Jangalak, Khanez, Malaspa, Parandeh and Rahmankhel. The tomb of Ahmad Shah Massoud (Lion of Panjshir) is located in Bazarak.
According to US-based global leader approval tracker morning consult, approval rating of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the highest among thirteen world leaders who were surveyed.
In June 2021, this approval rating had dropped to 66 per cent. It has dipped by 20-point dip from August 2019 when his rating was 82 per cent.
The real-time polling data on elections, elected officials and voting issues are provided by Political Intelligence proprietary platform of Morning Consult. Morning Consult conducts around 11,000 daily interviews globally regarding the leadership approval and 5,000 daily interviews with registered voters in the United States regarding the presidential and congressional elections. Daily global survey data is prepared on the basis of 7-day moving average of all adults in any country with a margin of error of between +/- 1-3 percent. Surveys are weighted on the basis of age, gender, region and education breakdowns etc.
All interviews are conducted online. In India, the sample represents the literate population.
The historic tripartite Karbi Anglong Accord was signed on September 4, 2021 between the government of India, government of Assam and six factions of the Karbi.
As per agreement, an institutional mechanism will be set up to coordinate between government of Assam and KAAC on periodical basis in order to resolve issues of mutual concern such as pending legislature, financial transactions and flow of revenue.
External affairs minister (EAM), S. Jaishankar, co-chaired the 4th round of ‘Indo-Danish Joint Commission Meeting (JCM)’ with this Danish counterpart Jeppe Kofod in Copenhagen on September 5, 2021.
EAM is in Denmark on the last phase of his visit to three European nations viz., Slovenia, Croatia and Denmark. This visit was planned with the aim of boosting bilateral ties and further strengthen India’s cooperation with the European Union (EU). It was his first visit to Denmark and the first by any Indian foreign Minister in 20 years.
In order to enhance bilateral trade relation, EAM met five chief executive officers of important businesses, who have businesses in India. These companies include Grundfos, Vestss, Maersk, Haldor, Topsoe and CIP besides major chambers concerned with business like DIDE, Danish shipping and Agriculture & Food Council. 200 Danish companies are operating in India.
Friendly relations between India and Denmark were established after India’s Independence in 1947. Indian prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited to Denmark in 1957 to laid the foundation for the relationship. However, in July 2012, Indian government decided to scale down its diplomatic ties with Denmark after it refused to appeal in their Supreme Court against a decision of rejecting extradition of prime accuse of Purulia arms drop case, Kim Davy.
The International Day of Charity is celebrated on September 5, every year along with the celebration of Teacher’s Day.
The International Day of Charity was first celebrated by the Hungarian civil society with the support of government of Hungary.
September 5 was chosen to celebrate the day because it is Mother Teresa’s death anniversary. She devoted her life for charity and helping people in need. Her compassion and giving nature had made her a revered figure worldwide.
September 5 was declared as the International Day of Charity, by a resolution adopted by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), on December 17, 2012. The resolution was co-sponsored by 44 UN member nations.
The concept of charity helps in bringing balance in society. Charity is directed towards providing necessities and help those who need them the most. Thus, this day becomes significant as it motivates people to do their bit in helping people in need. One can celebrate this day either donating money to a charity organization or by doing activity that is charitable in nature in order to make the world a better place.
Big John, an enormous triceratops, is to be auctioned in October 2021 and is expected to get big bucks on the auction block in France.
Skeleton of Big John will be displayed to public by French auction house Giquello from September 16 to October 15 at 13 Rue des Archives in Paris. On October 18, it will make its debut appearance at the Parisian auction house Hotel Drouot. In the Parisian auction house, it will be auctioned on October 21 to the highest bidder. It is expected to fetch between $1.4 million and $1.8 million.
Tri-horned triceratops inhabited North America during Cretaceous period some 67 million to 65 million years ago. Big John lived on an island continent called Laramidia, in South Dakota. Island continent Laramidia was formed during the Cretaceous when a shallow sea had flooded the central region of North America.
Paleontologist Walter W. Stein had discovered the fossil of triceratops in 2014. He excavated the skeleton from Hell Creek Formation which is an ancient flood plain and a rich fossil site spanning over Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. Big John died and was covered by thick mud as a result it got fossilized.
Government of Tamil Nadu recently announced its plan to set up India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve in the Palk Bay on the southeast coast.
Dugong is a sea mammal and is the only living species of the order Sirenia. The mammal is restricted to coastal habitat because of seagrass, which is a major part of its diet. They have a distinct dolphin-like tail, different skull form and teeth pattern. Its closest relative is Steller’s Sea cow, which got extinction in eighteenth century. The IUCN has listed dugong as a “vulnerable to extinction species”. On the other hand, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species has limited or banned the trade of derived products.
Governing body of Vatan Prem Yojana held its first meeting on September 4, 2021. The Vatan Prem Yojana was launched on August 7, 2021.
Governing body has formed a project management unit for the smooth implementation of this scheme.
Governing body has made it possible for donors to send their money online. Under the scheme, Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRGs) and NRIs can contribute 60 percent of the cost of a village-level project. Remaining 40 percent amount will be borne by the state government.
Vatan prem Yohana is a repackaged version of Madar-e-Vatan scheme by the state government of Gujarat. Madar-e-Vatan has been renamed due to association of the title with Persian language. In the earlier version of the scheme, contribution of the state government and NRIs was 50:50. Now, it has been changed to 60:40.
The Vatan prem yojana will cover village-level projects such as:
Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes (1970-2019) was released on September 1, 2021.
As per catastrophe and risk modelling group AIR, wider economic cost comprises of an estimated hit to insurers of between $17bn and $25bn. This will cover the damage from wind & storm surge and it will pay out to repair cars, residential property, commercial as well as industrial property. However, it does not include insurance claims that will come from the heavy rains and flooding caused by Ida.
Frequency and severity of extreme weather events, including wildfires, across southern Europe, Siberia & the US and flooding in northern Europe, has increased due to global warming.
Prime minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, will not run for re-election as the party leader in September.
Japan is still under a state of emergency and is grappling with the worst ever Covid wave. It has now seen more than 1.5 million virus cases while it is witnessing a slow vaccination roll out. Decision to host the Olympics Games in 2021 despite the worsening pandemic further deteriorated the situation.
Financial markets in Japan had made gains in recent weeks. Country’s shares increased sharply on the news. The broad Topix stock index closed up by 1.6% after hitting the highest level in three decades.
The ruling party of Japan is scheduled to hold an election to pick its president on September 29, 2021. The winner of the leadership election is expected to be Japan’s leader as LDP holds a parliamentary majority.
Yoshihide Suga, 72-year-old, was born to a family of strawberry farmers. He was first elected for Yokohama City Council in 1987. He got elected to Japan’s Diet for the first time, in 1996. In 2005, the then prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, appointed him as senior vice of internal affairs and communication. In the following year, prime minister Shinzo Abe appointed him as minister with three cabinet posts. He held this position till 2007.
Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj, current district magistrate of Noida, has become the first IAS officer to win Paralympics medal.
In the semi-final match, Suhas has outwitted Fredy Setiawan of Indonesia by 21-9 ,21-15.
Suhas is a computer engineer who went on to become an IAS officer. He has been posted as a district magistrate of Noida since 2020. This role saw him at the forefront of the fight against ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In 2017, he has won gold medals at BWF Turkish Para badminton championship in men’s singles as well as in men’s doubles. In 2016, he won gold at Asia championships while in 2018, he won bronze in Asian Para Games.
India made its first appearance at the Paralympics in 1968. In total, India had won 12 medals till 2016 Rio edition. India now improved upon the entire number by 7 medals at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics alone. India have finished at 24th position out of 162 nations in terms of overall medal tally.