Table of Contents
Sanitation a base of Singapore
- Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s 1 st prime minister, wanted to build a strong and prosperous country.
- He understood the power of sanitation, and knew that a sick nation could not be productive. Singapore did not have the time or resources to build an expensive curative health-care system.
- Yew, therefore, invested in toilet hygiene and clean water as a preventive health strategy, which was much cheaper and far more effective.
- Through an aggressive approach, the Singapore River, which was polluted from heavy boat traffic, and untreated animal and human waste, was cleaned up within 10 years.
- By focussing on providing clean water and sanitation, Singapore created a healthy and productive workforce, ready for international business and commerce by the 2000s.
Asiatic Lions
- September 2018: 24 lions died
- After the first 10 deaths in September, Gujarat claimed these were territorial deaths but was forced to backtrack after more deaths surfaced.
- Medical reports of another 21 lions are positive for canine distemper virus (CDV).
- Supreme Court 2013: ordered relocation of some Gir lions to the Kuno sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.
- When an endangered species is clustered in a single geographical region the risk of its extinction is too high.
- Lion population increased 27% from 411 in 2010 to 523 in 2015
- Mortality: 184 lions had died in 2016 and 2017.
- Gujarat must not live in denial.
- The dilution of environmental norms to allow construction, mining, tourism and other human activity in the vicinity of Gir is also facing questions.
- There comes a point where pride must yield to reason and science.
- Infections like CDV and Babesia protozoa were possibly contracted when the lions came into contact with cattle and dogs outside the Gir sanctuary.
Enforcement Directorate
- ED attached various assets and valuables including cut and polished diamonds worth over 218 Crore rupees in the Punjab National Bank scam case.
- The assets belong to Mihir Bhansali, A. P. Gems and Jewellery Park, Hyderabad, Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and others. • Total attachment is nearly 4500 Crore rupees till date. The ED is probing this case along with the CBI.
CVC
- The Central Vigilance Commission, formally handed over analysis report of top 100 Bank Frauds to the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr Jitendra Singh in New Delhi.
- Dr Singh said that the documented report will serve as a reference material for policy planners, lawmakers and researchers.
- Vigilance Commissioner T M Bhasin said, the entire exercise was mainly inspired by the rising trend in bank frauds which has become a cause of concern at all levels.
Booker Prize
- Anna Burns has become the first Northern Irish writer and the first woman since 2013 to win Britain’s renowned Man Booker Prize for her novel ‘Milkman’.
- The novel Milkman is an exploration of three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, told through the voice of a young woman.
- The novel chronicles the struggles of a middle sister in a family as she confronts rumour, social pressures and politics amid violent sectarian divisions in her community.
VP
- The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu today left for Belgium to attend the two-day 12th AsiaEurope Meeting (ASEM) in Brussels.
- The theme of the ASEM Summit is ‘Global Partners for Global Challenges’.
- The bi-annual event is considered the highest platform for dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe in the areas of trade, investment, security, tourism, climate change & terrorism.
- 51 Heads of States/ Heads of Government are expected to participate in the Summit.
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