Today's Headlines

Israel-Palestine Conflict

GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)

Thousands of rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza on 7 October 2023, and Palestinian militants infiltrated Israel, killing at least one person, according to the Israeli military and medics. Rockets rained down on Israel from Gaza starting, following months of rising violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the highest number of fatalities in West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict, in years. The Palestinian group Hamas claimed responsibility for the rocket assault on Israel, saying its militants had launched more than 5,000 rockets.

Historical Context

1. After the Ottoman Empire was defeated in World War I, Britain gained control of Palestine, which was inhabited by a Jewish minority and Arab majority. The international community tasked Britain with creating a Jewish homeland in Palestine, which heightened tensions between the two groups.
2. In the 1920s and 1940s, the number of Jewish immigrants to Palestine increased significantly, as many Jews fled persecution in Europe and sought a homeland in the wake of the Holocaust.
3. Friction between Jews and Arabs, as well as resistance to British rule, intensified. In 1947, the United Nations voted to divide Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem under international administration.
4. The Jewish leadership embraced the plan, but the Arab side rejected it, and it was never implemented.
5. In 1948, unable to end the strife, British authorities withdrew and Jewish leaders proclaimed the founding of Israel.
6. Many Palestinians objected, and a war ensued. Neighboring Arab countries intervened with military force. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes in what they call Al Nakba, or "The Catastrophe".

War And Peace

1. Over the years, Israel and Palestine have been involved in several skirmishes, some minor, some of catastrophic proportions that led to the deaths of thousands.
2. In 1987, Hamas, an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Islamic Resistance Movement), a political group with military capabilities, was launched by Palestinian cleric Sheikh Ahmed Yassin as a political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Sunni Islamist organisation.
3. The two Palestinian uprisings, or 'intifadas', profoundly impacted Israeli-Palestinian relations, especially the second, which ended the 1990s peace process and ushered in a new era of conflict; both the intifadas had the involvement of Hamas.
4. US President Bill Clinton convened the Camp David Summit on 11 July 2000, bringing together Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat for intensive final status negotiations, but the summit ended in no cigars, further worsening relations between the two nations.

Indo-Gangetic plain continues to battle pollution despite NCAP: Report

GS Paper - 3 (Environment)

The Indo-Gangetic Plain remains besieged by persistent pollution, despite initiatives under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), according to a report by Respirer Living Sciences and Climate Trends released, the study reveals that seven of the top 10 most polluted cities lie within this plain, covering areas in Delhi-NCR and Bihar.

More about the report

1. Cities named in this alarming list include Delhi, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida, and Meerut from the NCR region, as well as Patna and Muzaffarpur in Bihar.
2. The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has been deployed in Delhi-NCR to combat air pollution, but the problem persists.
3. Delhi retains its unfortunate distinction as the country's most polluted city. Data shows that from 1 October 2022, to 30 September 2023, the city registered PM2.5 levels of 100.1 μg/m3, which is 3.3 times the limit specified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and a staggering 20 times the World Health Organisation's (WHO) recommended limit.
4. PM2.5, or fine particulate matter, serves as a critical parameter to gauge the health impact of air pollution.
5. Data on this is accessible via NCAP, which has set a target to cut PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations by 40 per cent, based on 2017 figures, by 2026.

5.

6. Although Delhi's air quality improved by 4 per cent from the previous year; Patna saw a concerning 24 per cent deterioration.
7. Other cities like Nalbari in Assam, Asansol in West Bengal, and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh also ranked high on the pollution scale.
8. The report states that factors such as stubble burning, firecrackers, cooler temperatures, and minimal rainfall contribute to a spike in pollution in cities like Delhi during winter.
9. In contrast, Aizawl in Mizoram reported the country's cleanest air, with a PM2.5 concentration of 11 μg/m3.
10. Chikkamagaluru in Karnataka and Mandikhera in Haryana followed closely. However, even these levels surpassed the WHO's safety threshold, though they stayed within the CPCB's recommended limit.

What is the GRAP?

1. GRAP is a set of emergency measures that kick in to prevent further deterioration of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold.
2. Stage 1 of GRAP is activated when the AQI is in the ‘poor’ category (201 to 300).
3. The second, third and fourth stages will be activated three days ahead of the AQI reaching the ‘very poor’ category (301 to 400), ‘severe’ category (401 to 450) and ‘severe +’ category (above 450) respectively.
4. For this, the CAQM is relying on air quality and meteorological forecasts by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
5. Measures being imposed under the previous categories will continue even when the subsequent category is activated, that is, if measures under Stage-2 are activated, measures under Stage-1 will continue to remain in place.

First Internet satellite under Project Kuiper

GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)

Amazon launched two satellites as part of its plan to deliver the internet from space and compete with Elon Musk's Starlink service. The Atlas V rocket carrying the satellites lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The launch was carried out by the United Launch Alliance (ULA) industrial group, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

More about the News

1. The company founded by Jeff Bezos says its Project Kuiper will provide "fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world," with a constellation of more than 3,200 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).
2. The company has said it would invest $10 billion in the project and has booked 77 heavy-lift launches with commercial providers Arianespace, ULA, and Bezos-owned Blue Origin.
3. The first operational satellites of the Kuiper project are due to be launched in early 2024, according to Amazon, which hopes for initial tests with customers at the end of next year.
4. The test attempted to establish contact between the probes and Earth, deploy their solar panels, and confirm that all instruments are operating correctly and at the desired temperatures.
5. The two prototypes will then be removed from orbit and disintegrated in the Earth's atmosphere at the end of the test mission.
6. These services are designed to provide internet access to even the most remote and underserved areas around the world, including war zones or disaster-struck areas.

Flashback

1. Musk's SpaceX launched the first batch of its more than 3,700 operational Starlink satellites in 2019 and is by far the biggest player.
2. Musk's ownership of Starlink caused uproar in Ukraine last month when it was revealed that he refused to turn on the service for a planned attack by Kyiv forces on Russia's Black Sea navy fleet last year.
3. London-headquartered OneWeb is another early entrant in the emerging sector. Given the technology's strategic importance, governments are also keen to join the rush into the sector.
4. China plans to launch 13,000 satellites as part of its GuoWang constellation, while Canada's Telesat will add 300 and German start-up Rivada is eyeing 600.
5. That will be in addition to the European Union's Iris project -- 170 satellites -- and the 300-500 satellites planned to be launched by the US military's Space Development Agency.