The Daily Brief – 23rd May 2019

‘Not all animals migrate by choice’ campaign was launched ahead of International Day of Biological Diversity (May 22) to raise awareness on illegal wildlife trade by United Nation (UN) Environment India and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) of India. It also complements worldwide action taken on illegal trade in wildlife via UN Environment’s global campaign called Wild for Life.

Indian peacekeeper, Late Jitender Kumar, an Indian Police Officer, is among the 119 military, police and civilian personnel who will be honoured with this year’s prestigious UN medal called Dag Hammarskjöld Medal for courage and sacrifice in line of duty. The award was established in 22 July 1997 by UN Security Council (UNSC) and is named after Dag Hammarskjöld, who was the second Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) celebrated its 10th Annual Day on 20 May 2019. CCI is a statutory body which was established in 2003 under the provisions of Competition Act, 2002. It consists of a Chairperson and six Members appointed by the Central Government. The date ‘20 May’ marks the notification of substantive enforcement provisions of the Competition Act, 2002.

Supreme Court appointed four new judges to attain its full sanctioned strength of 31 (30 judges + 1 CJI). The judges appointed are: Justice Aniruddha Bose (Chief Justice of Jharkhand HC), Justice Surya Kant (Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh HC), Justice A S Bopanna (Chief Justice of Gauhati HC) and Justice B R Gavai (a judge of the Bombay High Court). This is the first time that SC will have its full sanctioned strength.

Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully launched its earth observation satellite RISAT-2B on PSLV-C46 from Sriharikota on 22 May 2019. The 615 kg satellite is meant for application in fields such as surveillance, agriculture, forestry and disaster management support. It will replace the RISAT-2, which was launched in 2009. With this, PSLV has crossed a landmark of launching 50 tonnes into space.

South African lawmakers have re-elected Cyril Ramaphosa as the president of the country. Members of Parliament from the African National Congress have chosen the head of state in the parliament’s first post-election sitting. The African National Congress party won the ballot with 57.5 per cent of the vote. Ramaphosa will be sworn in on 25 May and name a deputy president and cabinet.

The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) is observed every year on May 22 every year to spread awareness about species turning endangered or going to extinct. The theme for IDB 2019 is “Our Biodiversity, Our Food, Our Health.” The day was proclaimed by UNGA in 2002. During last hundred years, more than 90% of yield varieties have vanished from farmers’ lands. The loss of varied food is directly linked to health risk factors, such as diabetes, obesity and malnutrition, and has a direct impact on the availability of traditional medicines.