Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 02 May 2017
:: National ::
India and Turkey called for collective fight against terrorism
Turkey and India called for a collective fight against terrorism. Turkish President condemned the attack on CRPF personnel in Sukma, Chhattisgarh, and expressed solidarity with India.
“We will never bow to terrorism that spreads tears and unhappiness. Terrorists will drown in their own blood,” said Mr. Erdogan
However, Mr. Erdogan’s condemnation of the killing of security personnel in central India contrasted with his silence over the news of alleged cross-border attack by elements based in Pakistan.
The issue of cross-border terrorism was strongly taken up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who urged for a common strategy against states that use terrorism as an instrument of power.
Seas around India shows signs contrary to popular belief
Global warming may be inching the oceans higher every year but researchers studying the seas around India report a paradox.
From 1993 to 2003 — the first decade when satellites started to consistently track the rise and fall of ocean heights and global temperatures soared — the north Indian Ocean (NIO) sea levels fell.
The NIO consists of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and part of the Indian Ocean up till the 5°S latitude. After 2004, sea levels began an unprecedented, accelerated spike till 2014.
This rise and fall was even as global temperatures steadily climbed and registered their largest two-decadal jump in more than a century.
Previous studies that had measured ocean heights based on traditional tide gauges found that the NIO —like the rest of the world’s seas — continued to rise between 1993 and 2004.
The NIO went down about 0.3 mm a year and from 2004 gained about 6 mm annually. This was twice the global, annual average of about 3 mm.
When temperature and sea level trends in the NIO were mathematically separated out from the other oceans, the fall was even more dramatic: nearly 3 mm per year and the Arabian Sea cooling off rapidly at 4 mm per year.
Sea levels primarily rise due to water expanding from atmospheric heat and, more water being added from, for instance, melting ice sheets and glaciers. In this case, said Mr. Ravichandran, 70% of the NIO’s warming could be explained by expansion.
Unlike the Pacific and Atlantic, the NIO was hemmed in all sides, except for an outlet on the southern side. This influenced the rate at which heat was absorbed and flushed out from within the system.
According to their calculations, heat was moving out slower during after 2004 than during the 1990s.
Visiting Turkish President supports India’s UNSC bid (Register and Login to read Full News)
:: International ::
ASEAN focussed on a regional trade pact
Steering clear of blaming China for the maritime disputes in the South China Sea, the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has focussed on a regional trade pact and shoring up economies of some of the lesser developed countries in the grouping.
A statement issued at the end of the Manila summit took note of the improving cooperation between ASEAN and China. It welcomed the progress to complete a framework of the code of conduct in the South China Sea by mid-2017.
The code is a non-binding document that urges self-restraint and resolution of disputes through direct negotiations
The document welcomed the operationalisation of the Guidelines for Hotline Communications among senior officials of the ministries of foreign affairs of ASEAN countries and China in response to maritime emergencies.
The leaders focused on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations, pointing out that the giant free trade pact will boost global trade.
The RCEP is a proposed free trade agreement between ASEAN and six other states — Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.
The document highlighted a commitment to assist Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam to enable them to bolster regional integration.
The grouping reaffirmed its aspiration to play a bigger role in the global economy and reiterated their full support for the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, and for concerned parties to explore all avenues for dialogue.