• The United Nations’ (UN) International Day of the World’s Indigenous People is observed on August 9^th each year to promote and protect the rights of the world’s Indigenous population.
• It is also known as World Tribal Day.
• Theme for World Tribal Day 2023 is “Indigenous Youth as Agents of Change for Self-determination.”
• It was first proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1994.

• The central government will be soon investigating the possibility of ‘Havana Syndrome’ in India.

About Havana syndrome

• The mysterious illness ‘Havana’ came to the public attention in 2016 after several diplomats at the American embassy in Havana began complaining of being sick.
• Their symptoms included migraines, nausea, memory lapses, dizziness, hearing sounds without any external noise, balance issues and vertigo.
  • Some of the officials claimed that their symptoms lasted for months.
• According to reports, thousands of alleged cases of the mysterious condition have been reported by diplomats, spies, and US officials across the world including Vienna, Paris, Geneva, Beijing, and Havana, among others over the past few years

• The Perseid Meteor Shower, one of the most spectacular celestial events of the year, is set to peak on the nights of August 11 and 12.
• This meteor shower, which has been active since July 17, will continue until September 1, but the best views are expected during its peak period.
• Originating from the Comet 109 P/Swift-Tuttle, the Perseid Meteor Shower is named after the constellation Perseus, from where it appears to radiate.
  • The Swift-Tuttle comet has an orbital period of 133 years.
• This year’s Perseid Meteor Shower promises to be particularly breathtaking, with an estimated 50 to 100 meteors visible per hour.
• The Perseid meteors streak across the sky at 37 miles per second, or about 133,000 miles per hour.
• The friction between these fast-moving objects and the atoms and molecules in Earth’s atmosphere causes them to heat up and burn, appearing as breathtaking streaks of light to observers on the ground.

• For more than 2,000 years, Hinduism, Buddhism and the shamanic Himalayan religion of Bon have venerated.
• These are ancient fossils of ammonites, a type of mollusk, a class of extinct sea creatures related to modern squids.
• Originating from a single remote region in northern Nepal — the Kali Gandaki River Valley of Mustang — Shaligram stones are viewed primarily as manifestations of the Hindu god Vishnu.
• Because they are not human-made, but created by the landscape, they are believed to have an intrinsic consciousness of their own.
• As a result, Shaligrams are kept in homes and in temples, where they are treated as both living gods and active community members.
• However, climate change and gravel mining are altering the course of the river, which is making it harder to find Shaligrams.

• The fossil remains of 167-million-years-old long-necked, plant-eating dicraeosaurid dinosaur have been discovered in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
• Scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) managed to unearth the prehistoric findings.
  • The fossils were collected from the Jaisalmer region in 2018 and a group of six researchers from the two institutes, spent almost five years studying them.
• It is named as ‘Tharosaurus indicus’– the nomenclature paints a vivid picture—’Thar desert’, the very cradle of discovery, and ‘Indicus’, an ode to its country of origin, India.
• The discovery of the fossils, of all the places in India, suggests that the country also played a small yet unexpected part in the dinosaur evolution cycle.
• Researchers said since the fossils were found in rocks dated to be around 167 million years old, it makes Indian sauropod not only the oldest known dicraeosaurid but also globally the oldest diplodocoid (broader group which includes dicraeosaurids and other closely related sauropods).
• Previously, dicraeosaurid dinosaurs fossils have been discovered in North and South America, Africa and China but never in India.

• The Indian Army inducted the lighter and more compact version of the indigenously developed Weapon Locating Radar (WLR-M) called “Swathi Mountains”
• The Swathi Mountains WLR is an advanced electronically scanned phased array radar, specifically designed for operations in mountainous and high-altitude areas and
• It has been developed by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in Bengaluru.

About WLR

• The Weapon Locating Radar (WLR) stands as a critical asset for modern militaries, employing advanced signal processing techniques to autonomously detect and track hostile artillery, mortars, and rocket launchers.
• It even tracks friendly fire trajectories, enabling precise calculations for more accurate artillery strikes.
• Major feature of a WLR is high mobility and swift deployment capabilities, allowing it to adapt to changing operational requirements efficiently.
• Ensuring effectiveness in hostile environments, the radar is designed with survivability and resistance to electronic warfare measures in mind.
• The WLR also acts as a potent friendly force multiplier by providing critical information on enemy weapon systems.

Swathi Radar

• The Swathi radar comes in two versions:
  • the Swathi Plains (WLR) and the Swathi Mountains (WLR-M).
• The Swathi Plains version is primarily designed to locate hostile guns, mortars, and rockets, and it can also track the fall of shot from friendly weapons for corrective measures on flat terrains like Plains.
• On the other hand, the Swathi Mountains version, is a more compact and mobile version.
  • It is specifically designed for operations in mountainous and high-altitude terrains.
  • The WLR-M, or Swathi Mountains, is capable of detecting mortar shells and rockets and tracking projectiles.
  • It classifies projectile and non-projectile targets, rejecting unwanted signals like birds, clutter, and aircraft.
  • Moreover, it offers trajectory estimation and launch/impact point extrapolation, automatically correcting for height to enhance accuracy.
  • It is equipped to store and display trajectory data and maintain communication with higher echelons for better coordination.

• Recently, 152^nd birth anniversary of Abanindranath Tagore was observed on August 7^th.

About Abanindranath Tagore (1871-1951)

• Abanindranath Tagore was an artist and writer from Tagore family.
• He was the nephew of Rabindranath Tagore.
• He was trained by European artists O. Ghilardi and Charles Palmer at Calcutta Sanskrit College.
• He was the first major supporter of the Swadeshi movement in Indian Art and created the ‘Indian Society of Oriental Art’.
• He later founded the Bengal School of Art.
• He modernized the Mughal and Rajput styles.
• His paintings reflected a medley of the influences of the Japanese ‘wash’ style and Chinese ink painting, English pre-Raphaelite and Art-Nouveau trends.
• Famous paintings-
  • Arabian Nights
  • Ganesh Janani
  • The Victory of Buddha and
  • Bharat Mata’s (1905) painting is the best-known work of Abanindranath
    • Abanindranath portrays Bharat Mata as Swadesh’s ideals during the more significant Indian Independence movement.

• The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has issued an extinction alert for the vaquita porpoise, whose population is estimated to have shrunk to less than a dozen.
• This marks the institution’s first-ever extinction warning.
• The IWC’s scientific committee highlighted in a report an 83% drop in the vaquita’s population between 2015 and 2018 to only nine or 10 of the marine animals in total.

About Vaquita

• The critically endangered vaquita is the world’s smallest porpoise.
• It is also known as vaquita marina.
• It is native to Mexico’s Gulf of California.
• They are known for their distinctive appearance, characterized by dark rings around their eyes and dark patches on their lips.
• It has been imperiled by illegal gill net fishing for an endangered fish called the totoaba, whose bladder is highly valued in Asia.

About IWC

• International Whaling Commission was set up as an inter-governmental organisation under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (1946).
• Headquarters- Cambridge, England
• It has 88 member countries including India.
• The objective of the International Whaling Commission is to ensure the proper conservation of whale stocks and, in turn, enable the industry’s orderly growth.

• The 132^nd edition of Durand Cup kicked off in Kokrajhar, Assam
• The tournament is organised by the Armed Forces and supported by the Government of Assam.
• It is Asia’s oldest and the world’s third oldest football tournament.
• Top Indian football clubs participate in Durand cup from across the country.
• The first ever edition took place in Shimla in 1888, when it started off as an Army Cup, open only to the British Indian Army troops in India.

• Renowned folk singer and activist, Gaddar from Telangana, passed away at the age of 74.
• Gaddar, also known as Gummadi Vittal Rao, gained popularity primarily through his stage name.
• He brought attention to various issues faced by the common people with his songs.