Nigeria Conflict

Context: Nigeria’s complex internal conflicts have regained global focus following the U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of Christian persecution, drawing sharp rebuttals from Nigerian authorities.

• The violence spans jihadist insurgency, herder-farmer clashes, and criminal banditry, killing over 10,000 civilians between 2023–2025, according to Amnesty International.

About Nigeria

• Location and Borders: Nigeria, situated in West Africa, shares borders with Benin to the west, Niger to the north, Chad and Cameroon to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south.
• Geographical Overview: Covering about 923,769 sq km, Nigeria features diverse landscapes  from arid savannas in the north to lush rainforests and coastal wetlands in the south.
• Mountains and Highest Peak: Chappal Waddi, at 2,419 metres, located in eastern Nigeria, is the nation’s highest point and part of the scenic Cameroon Highlands.
• Major Water Bodies: The Niger and Benue Rivers form Nigeria’s key water network, converging before draining into the Gulf of Guinea, shaping fertile floodplains and supporting agriculture.

Heavy Metals Detected in Cauvery River Fish

Context: A recent study has revealed significant contamination of the Cauvery River and its fish with toxic heavy metals, particularly cadmium and lead.

Key Findings of the Study

• Metals analysed: Chromium (Cr), Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), and Zinc (Zn).
• Main contaminants of concern: Cadmium and Lead, both found above permissible limits in several fish species.
• Health Risk: Occasional consumption is safe.
  • Regular or long-term consumption can lead to serious health risks, especially for children and frequent fish eaters.
• Pollution Indices Used:
  • Igeo (Geoaccumulation Index) – to measure pollution levels in sediments.
  • Pollution Load Index (PLI) and Potential Ecological Risk Index (PERI) – to assess ecological hazards.

What are Heavy Metals

• Heavy metals are naturally occurring metallic elements that have high density (usually > 5 g/cm³) and are toxic even at low concentrations.
• Examples include lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn).
• In trace amounts, some heavy metals such as copper, zinc are essential for maintaining normal metabolic functions.

Causes of Heavy Metal Contamination

• Anthropogenic Sources:
• • Industrial effluents – Textile dyeing, electroplating, and metal-processing units near Erode and Tiruchirappalli release untreated waste.
  • Agricultural runoff – Fertilisers and pesticides contribute cadmium and chromium contamination.
  • Urban wastewater – Untreated sewage adds to metal load in river sediments.
• Natural Sources: Geological deposits and mineralised zones upstream release iron and trace metals, but at much lower levels than industrial discharge.

QS World University Rankings 2026

Context: The QS World University Rankings 2026 have been released.

About QS World University Rankings

• Introduction: The QS World University Rankings are among the world’s most recognized global university rankings, assessing higher education quality and research impact.
• Conducted By: They are compiled annually by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a UK-based higher education analytics company.
• Global Representation: The 2026 edition covers over 1,500 universities across 100+ countries, with nearly 500 institutions improving their ranks since 2025.
• 2026 Global Ranking: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has retained its position as the top-ranked university globally.

India’s Position in QS World University Rankings 2026

• India’s top:  IIT Delhi leads Indian institutions at 123rd place, followed by IIT Bombay (129th) and IIT Madras (180th).
• Broader Representation: India achieved a record participation of 54 institutions, making it the fourth most represented nation in the 2026 rankings.
• Other Top Performers:  IIT Kharagpur (215th), IISc Bangalore (219th), IIT Kanpur (222nd), and the University of Delhi (Top 350) also feature prominently.

About QS Asia Rankings 2026

• It evaluates Asian universities on academic reputation, research impact, international outlook, and employability.
• Key Findings of QS Asia Rankings 2026
  • Top Universities: The University of Hong Kong moved up to the first position, overtaking Peking University, Beijing, China, now holds the second place.
  • Overall Trend: Nine of India’s top ten institutes recorded rank drops despite better scores.
  • Top Indian Institutions: IIT Delhi retained top national position but fell to 59th from 44th.
    • IISc Bengaluru, IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, and IIT Kharagpur also slipped.
• Regional Overview: Chinese, Singaporean, and South Korean universities outperformed Indian counterparts, highlighting intensified competition in Asia’s higher education landscape.

Umngot River

Context: The Umngot River in Meghalaya, once known for its crystal-clear waters, has turned murky due to construction and demolition waste from Shillong–Dawki highway project.

About Umngot River

• The Umngot River, also called the Dawki River, originates from the Eastern Shillong Peak in the Khasi Hills and flows through the West Jaintia Hills district.
• It passes through Mawlynnong, Dawki, and Shnongpdeng villages  of Meghalaya before entering Bangladesh, where it continues as the Shari Goyain River.
• The river acts as a natural boundary between India and Bangladesh near Dawki.
• It is one of India’s cleanest rivers, known for its transparent, emerald-green water that makes boats appear to float in air.
• It supports local livelihoods through eco-tourism, fishing, and boating activities, attracting thousands of domestic and foreign tourists annually.

Environmental Concern

• Dumping of debris and hill-cutting for the Shillong–Dawki highway has caused soil erosion and sedimentation, turning the river turbid.
• The Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MPCB) found violations of environmental safeguards and directed immediate waste removal.
• Legal Action : The MPCB invoked Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, which grants powers to issue binding directions to halt dumping and enforce compliance with environmental norms.

GW250114 Wave Event

Context: The 2025 gravitational wave event GW250114, detected by LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA network, is the clearest signal yet of a black hole merger, providing strong evidence for Stephen Hawking’s black-hole area theorem.

About GW250114

• Detected on January 14, 2025, the signal originated from 1.3 billion light-years away.
• It involved two nearly identical, low-spin black holes, each over 30 times the Sun’s mass, orbiting in near-circular paths.
• The event was recorded simultaneously by detectors in the U.S., Italy, and Japan, confirming its authenticity.

Key Findings

• GW250114 provided the clearest gravitational signal ever, due to enhanced detector sensitivity and reduced noise.
• Analysis of pre- and post-merger signals confirmed that the combined surface area of the resulting black hole increased, validating Hawking’s 1971 area theorem.
  • It states that the total surface area of black holes’ event horizons can never decrease over time.
• Post-merger vibrations matched predicted rotating black hole frequencies, empirically supporting Roy Kerr’s 1963 solution for rotating black holes.
  • The Kerr solution is an exact solution to Einstein’s field equations of general relativity describing a rotating (spinning) black hole.

About Gravitational Waves

• Predicted by Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity (1915), gravitational waves are ripples in spacetime produced by massive accelerating bodies.
• They travel at the speed of light, carrying information about extreme cosmic events like colliding black holes and neutron stars, transforming modern astrophysics.

LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA Network

• LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory): Twin detectors in Hanford (Washington) and Livingston (Louisiana), USA.
  • LIGO-India is a planned gravitational-wave observatory under construction in the Hingoli district of Maharashtra to be completed by 2030.
• Virgo: Located near Pisa, Italy, operated by the European Gravitational Observatory.
• KAGRA (Kamioka Gravitational-Wave Detector): Underground observatory in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, enhancing global detection precision.

Revised EU Emission Targets

Context: The Council of the European Union has approved revised climate targets to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

About the New Commitments

• Intermediate Target for 2040: The EU maintained the European Commission’s proposal to cut net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 as compared to 1990 level establishing a key milestone toward climate neutrality by 2050.
• Biennial Progress Assessment: A biennial review mechanism will be introduced to monitor progress toward intermediate goals, ensuring accountability and adjustment of national policies.
• Flexibility and National Contributions: The Council clarified flexibility provisions for member states in meeting targets and approved an updated nationally determined contribution (NDC) to be submitted ahead of UN’s Annual Climate Change Conference 2025 (COP30) in Brazil

European Climate Law (2021)

• The European Climate Law, adopted in 2021, makes it legally binding for the EU to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
  • It mandates a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030, forming the backbone of the European Green Deal and long-term sustainability strategy.

India’s Updated NDC (2022)

• To reduce Emissions Intensity of its GDP by 45 percent by 2030, from 2005 level.
• To achieve about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
• To create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.

Survey Vessel-Class Ship Ikshak

Context: Recently, the Indian Navy commissioned INS Ikshak, the third vessel of the Survey Vessel (Large) [SVL] class, at the Kochi Naval Base. 

About Survey Vessel-Class Ship Ikshak

• Indigenous Build: Built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, with 80% indigenous content, as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
  • It is the first SVL-class ship based at the Southern Naval Command.
• Role: Designed for coastal and deep-water hydrographic surveys of ports, harbours, and navigational channels to ensure safe maritime navigation.
• Specifications: 
  • Length: 110 meters, Beam: 16 meters, Displacement: 3,300 tons
  • Crew: 231 crew members and 20 officers.
• Advanced Equipment:
  • Multi-beam echo sounder for seabed mapping, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) for deep-water missions, Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) for underwater inspections, and four Survey Motor Boats (SMBs) for shallow water operations.
  • Equipped with a helicopter deck and can be converted into a 40-bed hospital ship for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) missions.
• Significance of INS Ikshak:
  • Enhances Maritime Safety: Vital for accurate nautical charts and strengthening India’s maritime safety.
  • Self-Reliance in Shipbuilding: Reflects India’s growing self-reliance in defense manufacturing.
  • Supports Blue Economy: Aids in port development, undersea cable planning, and marine resource management.

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