News in Shorts:

Swachh Sagar Surkashit Sagar (Clean Coast, Safe Sea) Campaign

It is a citizen-led mega beach clean-up drive by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) on International Coastal Cleanup Day (ICCD) on 16th September 2023, as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
ICCD: It is observed annually worldwide on the third Saturday of September every year.
Coastal States & Union Territories Involved: Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal, Goa, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar.
Aim: Create awareness about preserving and protecting the oceans and waterways and Fisherfolk Awareness Programs were organised along with the clean-up drive.
Ozone Day: The occasion coincided with ICCD.

Liptako Gourma Charter

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Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have formalised Liptako-Gourma charter establishing the “Alliance of Sahel States”.
Aim: To establish a collective defence and mutual assistance framework.
Binding Charter: It binds these nations to extend military assistance to each other in the event of an attack on any one of them.
The Liptako-Gourma region: It is an area where the borders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger converge.
- It has been plagued by armed rebellions.
Historical Context: The armed rebellion initially erupted in northern Mali in 2012 and gradually spread to Niger and Burkina Faso by 2015.
Core Principle: Any attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of one or more signatory parties will be considered an aggression against the other parties.
G5 Sahel Alliance Joint Force: All three countries were previously members of this France-supported grouping, which included Chad and Mauritania.

Hyderabad Liberation Day-September 17

It signifies the merger of erstwhile Hyderabad State under Nizam rule with the Indian Union, which did not accede to India before 15th August 1947.
Significant Personalities: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and K M Munshi played a major role in the liberation of Hyderabad.
Operation Polo: September 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of Operation Polo conducted by the Indian Army to liberate Hyderabad without any bloodshed.
Resistance: The private militias called Razakars resisted Indian troops.
Support: Various organisations like Arya Samaj, Hindu Mahasabha and others prominent personalities like P.V. Narasimha Rao, Burgula Ramakrishna Rao ensured Hyderabad joined the rest of the Indian Union.
Communal Violence: Operation Polo was followed by massive communal violence leading to around 35,000 deaths according to official estimates.
United Nations (UN): After accession to India, Nizam was retained as the head of state who disowned complaints made to the UN.
- Despite protests from Pakistan and criticism by other countries, the UN Security Council did not deal further with the question.