1) Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary: Recently, a Royal Bengal Tiger was spotted at Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary in Sikkim.
- IUCN Status of Royal Bengal tiger is ‘Endangered’.
- About Wildlife sanctuary:
- It lies in the Pangolakha Range of Himalayan Mountains.
- This range separates Sikkim from Bhutan.
- Neora Valley National Park (West Bengal) links it with Toorsa Strict Reserve of Bhutan.
- Forest Type: Subtropical Pine Forest, Subtropical Broadleaf Hill Forest and Alpine Moist Pasture.
- Fauna – Brown dipper, Red panda, Snow leopard etc.
- Key river: Chukha
2) AKTOCYTE: AKTOCYTE (nutraceutical tablets) has shown remarkable results in enhancing the quality of life for cancer patients.
- Nutraceutical refers to a food products that provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease.
- It minimizes side effects of radiotherapy.
- Radiotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.
- Developed by: Department of Atomic Energy along with private pharma company.
- It is approved by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
3) Currency Devaluation: Argentina has devalued its currency Argentine Peso to handle the economic crisis.
- Devaluation is the deliberate attempt by the government or central bank to lower its currency value.
- Advantages: Promotes exports, reduction in trade deficit etc.
- Disadvantages: Raises the value of external debt, etc.
- On the other hand, Depreciation refers to decrease in the value of currency with respect to other currencies mainly due to market forces
4) Chilika Lake: A new species of marine amphipod ‘Demaorchestia alanensishas’ been found in Chilika Lake (Odisha).
- Amphipods are member of the invertebrate order Amphipoda (class Crustacea).
- It is Asia’s largest brackish water and world’s second largest coastal lagoon.
- It was first Indian Wetland of International Importance (WII) under Ramsar Convention.
- It was first site in Asia which was removed from Montreux Record (MR) in 2002.
- MR is register of WII where changes in ecological character have occurred or are likely to occur.
- It is famous for Nalabana Bird Sanctuary and Irrawaddy dolphin.
Places in News:
1) Poland (Capital: Warsaw):
- Donald Tusk becomes Poland’s new Prime Minister.
- Political features
- It lies in Central Europe.
- It is bordered Baltic Sea (North), Russia and Lithuania (northeast), Belarus and Ukraine (East), Slovakia and Czech Republic (South), Germany (West).
- It is a member of European Union.
- Geographical features
- Major Mountains: Carpathians, Sudeten and Tatra mountains
- Major Rivers: Vistula, Neisse, Oder, and Motlawa.
