17-18 September 2016
17 September
Barack Obama designates first US Marine National Monument in Atlantic Ocean
The United States President Barack Obama on 15 September 2016 designated the country’s first marine national monument, Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, in the Atlantic Ocean.
The monument aims at protecting fragile deep-sea ecosystems off the coast of New England.
The announcement was made by the American president at the third annual Our Ocean Conference in Washington DC. The Conference is hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry. The Conference focuses on issues related to marine-protected areas, sustainable fisheries, marine pollution, and climate-related impacts on the ocean.
In August 2016, Obama had decided to expand the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off the coast of Hawaii by 1.1 million square km, creating the world’s largest marine protected area.
More than 20 countries attending the annual ocean conservation meeting will announce the creation of 40 significant new marine protected areas, totalling nearly 1.2 million square km of ocean.
When combined with the Papahanaumokuakea expansion, the nations of the world have protected more than 900000 square miles of ocean in 2016, exceeding last year’s record of more than 1.9 million square km.
About Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument
• The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is a marine national monument of the United States off the coast of New England.
• It will protect 12725 square km of ecosystems encompassing three underwater canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon, and four underwater
• It will provide habitat for protected species such as sea turtles and marine mammals, including endangered sperm, fin, and sei whales and Kemp’s ridley turtles.
• It is the first U.S. national marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean.
International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer 2016 observed across the world
16 September: International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
The 2016 International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed across the world on 16 September 2016. The theme for the year 2016 is Ozone and climate: Restored by a world united.
The theme for the 2016 International Ozone Day recognizes the collective efforts of the parties to the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol towards the restoration of the ozone layer over the past three decades and the global commitment to combat climate change.
The UN General Assembly in 1994 proclaimed 16 September as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer to commemorate the date of the signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1987.
Montreal Protocol
• Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed on 16 September 1987.
• It has been recognized as the most successful international environment treaty in history, which has received universal ratification; all countries in the world have now ratified this landmark agreement.
• As of 1 January 2015, the production and consumption of key Ozone Depleting Substances (ODSs) like chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs), CTC halons, Methyl Chloroform and Methyl Bromide have already been phased-out globally.
• As per expert estimates, GHG emissions have been reduced by more than 11 Giga tonnes CO2 equivalent per year through the ODS phase-out activities of the Montreal Protocol.
Vienna Convention
• The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer is a Multilateral Environmental Agreement.
• It was agreed upon at the Vienna Conference of 1985 and entered into force in 1988.
• In terms of universality, it is one of the most successful treaties of all time, having been ratified by all United Nations members as well as the Holy See, Niue and the Cook Islands and the European Union.
• It acts as a framework for the international efforts to protect the ozone layer.
• However, it does not include legally binding reduction goals for the use of CFCs, the main chemical agents causing ozone depletion.
Indian-American Dinesh Bharadia wins 2016 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award
India-born researcher Dinesh Bharadia on 14 September 2016 was chosen for the prestigious Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award.
Bharadia was chosen for his contribution to send and receive radio (wireless) signals, including mobile telephony and data on the same channel. His research disproved a 150-years long assumption that it is not possible for a radio to receive and transmit on the same frequency band because of the interference that results.
Bharadia will receive the award at a ceremony in Mountain View, California, on 2 November 2016.
Who is Dinesh Bharadia?
• Dinesh Bharadia hails from Ichalkarnji in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra.
• He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
• He obtained his doctorate from Stanford University.
• At present, he is a researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
About Marconi Society
• The Marconi Society is named after Nobel laureate Guglielmo Marconi, who invented radio.
• The Marconi Society awards annually outstanding individuals whose scope of work and influence emulate the principle of creativity in service to humanity.
• The Paul Baran Young Scholar Award is an equivalent of the Nobel Prize in science and technology domain.
• The award includes 4000 US dollar prize and expenses to attend its annual awards event.
• The Society also honours distinguished scientists with the 100000 US dollar Marconi Award and Fellowship for emulating the principle of creativity in service to humanity.
His Bloody Project authored by Graeme Macrae Burnet shortlisted for Man Booker prize
His Bloody Project: Graeme Macrae Burnet
Novel titled His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet was in news in September 2016. It came in news after being shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker prize.
His Bloody Project, a crime thriller, narrates a story in which a triple murder in a remote community in the Scottish Highlands leads to arrest of a young man, Roderick Macrae. It talks about a memoir by the accused that makes it clear that he is guilty; however, the country’s finest legal and psychiatric minds fails to uncover what drove him to commit such merciless acts of violence.
It is one of the six books that were shortlisted for the £50,000 award that will be announced on 25 October at Guildhall. The other five books are
• The Sellout by Paul Beatty
• Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
• Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
• All That Man Is by David Szalay
• Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma conferred with Arjuna Award
Sports Minister Vijay Goel conferred Arjuna Awards on cricketers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane at a function in New Delhi. Sharma was given the award for 2015 and Rahane for 2016.
Earlier, the two cricketers could not receive the awards from the President Pranab Mukherjee as they were participating in international tournaments.
The Arjuna Awards, instituted in 1961, are given to sportspersons for consistently outstanding performance for four years preceding the year of award and who have also shown qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline. The awardees are given a statuette, a certificate, ceremonial dress and award money of 5 lakh rupees.
Nadia Murad Basee Taha appointed UNODC Goodwill Ambassador
Nadia Murad Basee Taha, who survived trafficking at the hands of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), on 16 September 2016, was appointed the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking.
The appointment marks the first time a survivor of atrocities is bestowed with this distinction.
The induction ceremony took place in the United Nations Trusteeship Council Chamber in the New York United Nations Headquarters.
During her Ambassadorship, Murad will focus on advocacy initiatives and raise awareness around the plight of the countless victims of trafficking in persons, especially refugees, women and girls.
Who is Nadia Murad Basee Taha?
• Murad is a 23-year-old Yazidi woman who was kidnapped and held by the Islamic State in August 2014.
• She briefed the Security Council in the first-ever session on human trafficking, which was held during the presidency of the United States on 16 December 2015.
• She described being rounded up with fellow Yazidis in Iraq in 2014 and witnessing as ISIL fighters shot men and boys in cold blood.
• She was subject to grave abuses at the hands of ISIL fighters and was bought and sold various times.
• She was recently named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2016.
• On 5 January 2016, the Iraqi government nominated her for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for her activism.
• On 15 September 2016, she was nominated for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
India announces major initiative for R&D into Next Generation HFC refrigerant alternatives
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on 15 September 2016 announced an ambitious collaborative R&D programme to develop next generation, sustainable refrigerant technologies as alternatives to HFCs.
This R&D initiative brings together Government, research institutes, industry and civil society to develop long term technology solutions to mitigate impact of currently used refrigerant gases on the ozone layer and climate. With this initiative, India reaffirms its commitment to working with all other nations to safeguard the Earth’s natural ecosystem.
Some of the key players of the initiative include
• The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research and its allied institutions
• Department of Science and Technology
• Centre for Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences as well as key industry players in the sector
Members of this initiative have already had multiple rounds of consultation to reach a consensus on the contours and decide on the roadmap for this initiative.
India has a small carbon footprint at citizen level and its sustainable lifestyle results in low contribution of the country to overall emissions of greenhouse gases and ozone depleting substances, as compared with other developed countries. However, there is an urgent need for developing new technologies indigenously as alternatives available today are patented apart from being expensive. A research based programme to look for cost effective alternatives to the currently used refrigerant gases is, therefore essential.
The initiative is a significant step forward in line with India’s national focus on research, innovation and technology development and Mission Innovation. The research initiative of the Ministry will be led by the CSIR’s Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad.
The MoEF&CC, along with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) has also decided to create a corpus fund for this research programme, with Industry also committing to contribute to the effort.
The collaboration of research institutes as well as industry will create larger ecosystem for developing sustainable solutions, and eventually deploying low global warming potential - GWP HFCs on a national scale. By establishing an effective collaboration between all important stakeholders, the initiative is focused on prioritising areas of research in new refrigerant technologies and natural refrigerants. This shall help the country leapfrog from the current technology high GWP HydroFluoroCarbons or HFCs to technologies with lower climate impact.
The proposed initiative is an important step in the direction of enabling the country achieves national development goals, while continuing to maintain a sustainable environmental footprint.
Track Asia Cup 2016 concluded; Indian finished second
The 2016 Track Asia Cup concluded on 16 September 2016 at the Cycling Velodrome in IG Stadium in New Delhi. Hong Kong topped the chart with 18 medals which comprise 11 Gold, four Silvers and three bronze.
On the other hand, India the hosts of the tournament ended their campaign at second position with 16 medals, including five gold, four Silver and seven bronze.
India's Deborah Herold, in her Final Sprint event, clinched the top position with a time of 12.576 minutes and 12.493 minutes in the first and second rounds, respectively. She beat Zhaojuan of Hong Kong, who clocked 12.820 minutes and 12.734 minutes in both the rounds to settle for silver. The third position was taken by Farina Shawati of Malaysia with a time of 12.552 and 12.342.
Another Indian -- Kezia Vargheese -- missed the bronze medal by a whisker, finishing fourth in this event. Deborah, however, lost the gold medal in her favourite event -- Keirin -- and managed to win silver ahead of her teammate Kezia Varghesse, who bagged the bronze. The 21-year-old Deborah turned out to be the star performer for the country, having clinched three golds and one silver.
In the Men's Elite Keirin event, Indian cyclist Amarjeet Singh finished 8th, but in the Junior Keirin competition, Emerson won the bronze medal for India.
Track Asia Cup
The Track Asia Cup cycling completition is being held from 14 September to 16 September 2016 at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex velodrome. This is the third year in succession that India is hosting the event. The event is recognised by the International Cycling Federation and is part of the World Championship qualifier.
The event is being held in four categories namely elite and juniors in men and women.