1) Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT): India has reportedly requested evidence from US under MLAT in connection with an attack on Indian consulate in San Francisco.
- MLAT is a bilateral treaty/Agreement that provides a mechanism for seeking assistance from other contracting States in civil and criminal matter.
- Criminal Matters: Assistance is sought for prevention, investigation and prosecution of crime. Ministry of Home Affairs is nodal Ministry
- Civil and Commercial Matters: Assistance is sought for service of all kinds of judicial processes, including summons etc. Ministry of Law and Justice is nodal Ministry.
2) National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO): As per NOTTO data, 80% of organ recipients in India between 1995 and 2021 were men.
- NOTTO is set up under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- It is the apex centre for procurement and distribution of Organs and Tissues and registry of Organs and Tissues Donation and Transplantation in the country.
- Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act 2011 has established two divisions:
- National Human Organ and Tissue Removal and Storage Network
- National Biomaterial Centre (National Tissue Bank)
3) Mars solar conjunction: Mars solar conjunction impacted the NASA robotic probes on planet Mars.
- During this phenomenon, the Sun comes between Earth and Mars.
- Occured this year-11th November to 25th November.
- It happens once every two years.
- Impact: Solar conjunction can cause the sun’s corona to eject ionized gas, interfering with radio signals used to communicate with Mars spacecraft
4) Golden Passport: Few Indian businessmen got a golden passport.
- It is a facility offered by certain countries where foreigners can get citizenship through significant investments.
- Benefits- greatly facilitate business operations, Visafree travel, tax benefits, market penetration, etc.
- Reported to be misused for money laundering, tax evasion, etc.
Places in News:
1) Tuvalu (Capital: Funafuti):
- Australia inked an agreement with Tuvalu to offer residency to its citizens displaced by climate change.
- Political features:
- It is a nation of nine coral islands and is not landlocked.
- Bordering nations: Kiribati and Nauru, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, Tokelau and Fiji, Samoa, Wallis and Futuna, and Tonga.
- Bordering water bodies: Located midway between Hawaii and Australia in South Pacific Ocean.
- It is believed to be first nation to face climate change-induced complete submersion.
- Geographical Features:
- Archipelago is volcanic in origin and includes both atolls and reef islands.
- Largest atoll: Funafuti
