KERALA

· Floods imperil Western Ghats ecology

ð The intense rainfall that unleashed widespread devastation throughout Kerala earlier this month could have extracted a heavy toll on the rich biodiversity and ecology of the Western Ghats region, according to experts.

ð The government has initiated steps for a rapid assessment of the biodiversity loss, prior to launching remedial measures for ecological restoration.

ð Everything from mammals to reptiles, amphibians, vegetation and microflora are likely to have been affected. It may take decades for the ecosystem to recover from the shock.

ð The impact of the floods on the riverine and aquatic systems is another area of concern for environmentalists and experts.

INTERNATIONAL

· Iran unveiled its first domestic fighter jet named ‘Kowsar’

The aircraft is nicknamed ‘Kowsar’, which in Islam is ariver in paradise and also the title of a chapter in the Koran.
This defence programme was motivated by repeated threats from Israel and the US.
Iran celebrates National Defence Industry Day on August 22.

· First-ever IAF-RMAF joint air exercise begins in Malaysia

This is the inaugural bilateral exercise between Indian Air Force (IAF) and the the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).

It is the first ever bilateral exercise launching two Sukhoi Su-30MKM and Su-30MKI Flankers each from Subang airport.

NATIONAL

Cyclone Warning Centre to be set up in Thiruvananthapuram

With several incidents of tropical cyclones and severe weather events striking over Kerala and Karnataka coasts in the recent times, the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences is proposing to set up a Cyclone Warning Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Ministry is planning to set up the Centre in another one month.

At present, IMD has cyclone warning centres only at Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

Chhattisgarh to rename its new capital Atal Nagar

Chhattisgarh’s new capital, Naya Raipur, will be renamed “Atal Nagar” after late former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajapyee.

The decision was taken at a meeting of Chhattisgarh Cabinet chaired by chief minister Raman Singh in Raipur.

Naya Raipur is India’s sixth planned city after Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Bhubaneswar (Odisha), Gandhi Nagar (Gujarat), Chandigarh (Punjab and Haryana), and Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra).

Seven states get new governors, Malik replaces Vohra in J&K

President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed seven new governors, the most significant of which was the appointment of Bihar’s governor Satya Pal Malik as the new governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

Lalji Tandon: Bihar

Satyadev Narayan Arya: Haryana

Baby Rani Maurya: Uttarakhand.

Ganga Prasad: Sikkim

Tathagata Roy: Meghalaya

Kaptan Singh Solanki: Tripura.

Saurabh Chaudhary becomes India’s youngest Asian Games gold medallist

Saurabh Chaudhary, all of 16, became the youngest Indian shooter to win an Asian Games gold medal as he trumped a field comprising multiple world and Olympic champions in the 10m air pistol finals.

Chaudhary aggregated 240.7 to finish at the top and become the fifth Indian shooter to win an Asian Games gold.

The seasoned Sanjeev Rajput then won the silver in the 50m rifle 3 positions.

· VVS Laxman wrote down his autobiography titled ‘281 and Beyond’

The autobiography will be released by the Westland Publications on November 20, 2018.
Indian cricketer VVS Laxman who announced his retirement from international cricket in 2012, played 134 Tests, scoring 8,781 runs at an average of 45.97.
He also played in 86 ODIs for an aggregate of 2338 and average of 30.76 in the shorter format.

· Shane Warne autobiography No Spin to be released in October

Australian cricketer Shane Warne’s autobiography “No Spin”will have a global release on October 4. The memoir is written with cricketer and TV presenter Mark Nicholas.
Warne played his first Test match in 1992, and took over 1,000international wickets (in Tests and One-Day Internationals).
He also captained the Rajasthan Royals to victory in the IPL in 2008.

· Centre ruled out the ban on fire crackers on Diwali

The Centre announced a national ban on firecrackersin order to combat pollution during Diwali. It also suggested an alternative measure as the production of green crackers community fireworks events in major cities and to freeze the production of series crackers or laris.
The Supreme Court announced the blanket ban on fireworks in its reply to the plea sought by the people for a complete nationwide ban on the use, manufacture, licensing, sale, resale or distribution of firecrackers and sparklers to fight pollutionon an emergency basis.
The Tamil Nadu government asked for the restrained use of firecrackers but not a total ban on the firecrackers for Diwali.

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