1) Slender Loris: In a first in the country, the Tamil Nadu government notified Kaduvur slender loris sanctuary. They are small nocturnal mammals that are arboreal in nature as they spend most of their life on trees.
- The species acts as a biological predator of pests in agricultural crops and benefits farmers.
- It is native to India and Sri Lanka. In India, the animal is largely found in the Eastern Ghats.
- It is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and protected under Schedule 1 of the Indian legislation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972.
2) Living Planet Report 2022: It is published biennially by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
- It is a comprehensive study of trends in global biodiversity and the health of the planet.
- According to it, Wildlife populations decline by 69% in 50 years.
- The highest decline (94 per cent) was in the Latin America and the Caribbean region, followed by Africa and Asia.
- It identified six key threats to biodiversity — agriculture, hunting, logging, pollution, invasive species and climate change — to highlight ‘threat hotspots’ for terrestrial vertebrates.
3) World Sloth Bear Day: The first World Sloth Bear Day was observed on October 12.
- Sloth bears are endemic to the Indian sub-continent with small populations in Nepal and Srilanka and 90% of the species population is found in India.
- They are classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List. Listed under Schedule I of the (Wildlife Protection) Act of India, 1972 the species has the same level of protection as tigers, rhinos and elephants.
- They are found in all parts of the country except Jammu and Kashmir and north-eastern States.
4) Committee of Parliament on Official Language: The Committee was set up in 1976 under Section 4 of The Official Languages Act, 1963. The 11th volume of the report has been submitted.
- Section 4 of the Act says “there shall be constituted a Committee on Official language, on a resolution to that effect being moved in either House of Parliament with the previous sanction of the President and passed by both Houses”.
- The Committee is chaired by the Union Home Minister, and has, in accordance with the provisions of the 1963 Act, 30 members — 20 MPs from Lok Sabha and 10 MPs from Rajya Sabha.
- The mandate of the Committee is to review the progress made in the use of Hindi for official purposes, and to make recommendations to increase the use of Hindi in official communications.
5) Interpol Red Corner Notice: is issued to alert police forces across the world about fugitives who are wanted internationally. They are accessible only to law enforcement agencies.
- They can only be issued after a competent court has taken cognizance of a chargesheet against the fugitive. The Red Corner Notice acts as a request to all law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. Interpol cannot force law enforcement authorities in any country to arrest the individual in question. It is up to member countries to decide on actions.
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