• The UN’s top relief official released $100 million from the organization’s core humanitarian emergency fund– CERF, to support underfunded aid operations in seven countries in Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas.
• These countries are- Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan, Syria, Chad, Niger , Lebanon and Honduras.
• The new allocation is among the smallest in recent years for the world’s least-financed crises.

ABOUT CERF

• Established by the General Assembly in 2005, CERF is one of the fastest and most effective ways to ensure humanitarian assistance and protection reaches people caught up in crises.
• The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator administers the Fund on behalf of the Secretary-General.
• It releases resources for underfunded emergencies twice a year.
• It also serves as a strategic instrument for addressing critical funding gaps in underfunded humanitarian emergencies.

• Former Supreme Court judge, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, has been appointed as the Lokpal chairperson recently, one and half years after he retired from the apex court.
• Justice Khanwilkar retired from the Supreme Court in July 2022.
• Justice Khanwilkar’s appointment continues the controversial tradition of top post-retirement positions going to judges of the highest court of the country after retirement.
• Other members
  • The Rashtrapati Bhavan has also announced the appointment of former high court judges Lingappa Narayana Swamy, Sanjay Yadav and Ritu Raj Awasthi as judicial members of the Lokpal.
  • Non-judicial members Sushil Chandra, Pankaj Kumar and Ajay Tirkey were also appointed.

ABOUT LOKPAL

• The Lokpal or anti-corruption ombudsman is an independent statutory body established under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 to investigate graft cases against public servants.
• The Lokpal chairperson and its eight members are appointed by a high-level selection committee
  • chaired by the Prime Minister and
  • comprising the Lok Sabha Speaker, Leader of Opposition, Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge nominated by the CJI.

• India has stopped the flow of water from the Ravi river into Pakistan by building a dam that was waiting for completion for 45 years.
• The Shahpur Kandi barrage — located in Punjab’s Pathankot district — was held up by a domestic dispute between Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
• But that led to substantial chunk of water that belongs to India, going to Pakistan all these years.
• Under the Indus water treaty signed under the supervision of the World, India has full rights over the water of Ravi, Sutlej and Beas, while Pakistan has rights over the water of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.

ABOUT THE DAM

• The 5 meters high Shahpurkandi Dam is part of a multi-purpose river valley project that includes two hydel power projects with a total installed capacity of 206 MW.
• It is built on river Ravi, 11 km downstream of Ranjit Sagar Dam Project.

 TIMELINE

• In 1979, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir governments signed an agreement to build Ranjit Sagar Dam and downstream Shahpur Kandi barrage to stop water to Pakistan.
• In 1982, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi laid foundation for the project, which was expected to be completed by 1998.
• While construction of Ranjit Sagar Dam was completed in 2001, Shahpur Kandi barrage couldn’t materialise and water from Ravi river continued flow into Pakistan.
• In 2008, Shahpur Kandi project was declared national project but construction work started in 2013.
• Ironically, the project was again stalled due to disputes between Punjab and J&K in 2014.
• Finally in 2018, the Centre mediated and brokered an agreement between the two states.
• The water which was going to Pakistan will now be used to irrigate two key districts of Jammu and Kashmir — Kathua and Samba.
  • 1150 cusecs of water will now irrigate 32,000 hectares of land in the Union Territory.
  • Jammu and Kashmir will also be able to get 20 per cent of the hydel power generated from dam.
  • Besides Jammu and Kashmir, the waters from the dam will also help Punjab and Rajasthan.

• India’s first indigenously developed hydrogen fuel cell ferry was launched recently.
• The vessel, manufactured by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), will be deployed for service at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
• The Hydrogen fuel cell vessel is a 24-meter-long catamaran, which can carry 50 people in its air-conditioned passenger area.
• This boat has five hydrogen cylinders that can carry 40kg of hydrogen and support eight hours of operations.
• This vessel uses a 50-kW PEM (proton-exchange membrane) fuel cell, with Lithium-Ion Phosphate batteries.
  • The advantage is that the cells can quickly change their output depending upon the power demand.
  • PEM fuel cells are popular in automotive applications because they operate at a lower temperature, and are lighter and more compact.
• The vessel is also fitted with a 3-kW solar panel.
• The hydrogen fuel cell-powered vessel has zero emission, zero noise and is energy-efficient, which makes it more environment-friendly.

ABOUT HYDROGEN FUEL CELL

• Hydrogen fuel cell vessels do not use conventional batteries as the primary storage house of electrical energy.
• A hydrogen fuel cell generates electricity by utilising the chemical energy contained in hydrogen.
• It releases only pure water, not discharging pollutants.
  • Hydrogen is loaded into cells.
  • The energy within the hydrogen is converted into electricity and heat, which is then used to power the vessel’s propulsion mechanism.

HARIT NAUKA GUIDELINES

• The ‘Harit Nauka’(green boat) initiative of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways envisages a green transition of inland vessels.
• In January 2024, the shipping ministry unveiled the Harit Nauka guidelines for inland vessels.
• As per the guidelines, all states have to make efforts to use green fuels for 50 per cent of inland waterways-based passenger fleets in the next one decade, and 100 per cent by 2045.
• This is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as per the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047.

• More than half of the world’s countries will be at a high or very high risk of measles outbreaks by the end of the year unless urgent action is taken, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) update.

ABOUT MEASLES

• Measles is an airborne virus that mainly affects children under the age of five.
• Measles virus belongs to the Paramyxoviridae family and is very well known for its rapid transmission.
• Measles is one of the most contagious diseases on the planet.
• Humans are the only natural hosts of measles virus.
• A person infected with measles can potentially spread the virus to nine to 18 others, making the disease even more contagious than the coronavirus.
• It spreads through the air, by infectious droplets, and on surfaces.
• The usual symptoms of the disease begin around 10–14 days after exposure to the virus.
• Symptoms-One of its most visible symptoms is rashes on the body. Others are:
  • Running nose.
  • Red and watery eyes.
  • Small white spots inside the cheeks.
• It can be prevented by MR (Measles Rubella) vaccination – more than 50 million deaths have been averted since 2000, as per WHO.

• A book written by Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai was released by Archbishop of Changanacherry, Kerala, H G Mar Joseph Perumthottam.
• This book is titled “Basic Structure and Republic” and was released in Panaji.

• Renowned ghazal singer and Padma Shri awardee Pankaj Udhas, died recently due to prolonged illness.
• He was 72.
• He was best known for hits like- “Chitthi Ayee Hai” and “Aur Ahista Kijiye Baatein”.
• He launched his career with a ghazal album ‘Aahat’ (1980) and followed it up with three other successful albums — ‘Mukarar’, ‘Tarrannum’ and ‘Mehfil’.

• European Union lawmakers approved the bloc’s Nature Restoration Law.
• The new law sets a target for the EU to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.
  • It aims to reverse the decline of Europe’s natural habitats, 81% of which are classed as being in poor health.
• The law also sets specific targets such as peatlands that can soak up CO2 emissions and help curb climate change.
  • Other ecosystems explicitly covered by the law include forests, grasslands, and wetlands, as well as rivers, lakes, and coral beds.
• Member states must restore at least 30% of habitats specifically covered by the new law from a poor to a good condition by 2030. That target would increase to 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050.

• The world’s inaugural Vedic clock, designed to display time according to the ancient Indian traditional panchang, has been crafted and positioned in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain district.
• The Vedic clock is mounted on an 85-foot tower within Jantar
• This unique clock will exhibit information related to Vedic Hindu Panchang, planetary positions, Muhurat, astrological calculations, predictions, and also indicate Indian Standard Time (IST) and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
• The time calculation is based on the duration from one sunrise to the next.
• The clock will showcase 30 Muhurats, tithi, and various other time calculations from the Vedic Hindu panchang.

• Belgium has become the first country in the European Continent to recognise ‘ecocide’ as a crime.
• The Federal Parliament of Belgium voted in favour of a new penal code which makes ecocide a national and international crime.
• Nationally, the new crime, which is aimed at preventing and punishing the most severe cases of environmental degradation (such as extensive oil spills), will apply to individuals in the highest positions of decision-making power and to corporations.
• The punishment for individuals may include up to 20 years in prison, while corporations could face fines of up to €1.6 million.
• In addition, Belgium now recognises ecocide as a fifth ‘international crime’ after war crimes, crimes of aggression, crimes against humanity and genocide.

 DEFINITION

• Ecocide means unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts.