Horseshoe crabs disappearing off Odisha’s coast (GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- Scientists have urged Odisha government to come up with a robust protection mechanism for Horseshoe crabs before the living fossil becomes extinct due to destructive fishing practices.
- They appealed to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to place the horseshoe crabs on the list of marine species for which a Species Recovery Plan has to be developed.
Horseshoe crabs:
- Horseshoe crabs, one of the oldest living creatures on earth and medicinally priceless, appear to be disappearing from their familiar spawning grounds along Chandipur and Balaramgadi coast in Odisha’s Balasore district.
- They first discovered horseshoe crabs along Balasore coast and brought the species to the State’s notice in 1987.
- Like olive ridley sea turtles, these crabs are basically deep-sea animals.
- They come to coasts of Balasore in Odisha and Digha and Sundarban in West Bengal for breeding purposes. They select a suitable site for laying their eggs. Unfortunately, those eggs are also damaged by local people.
- This is the oldest living creature on Earth. Palaeontological studies say the age of horseshoe crabs is 450 million years.
- The creature has lived on earth without undergoing any morphological change. Scientists are surprised to find strong immune system in animal that helped it survive millions of years.
Medicinal value:
- The blood of this crab is very important for the preparation of rapid diagnostic reagents. All injectable medicines are tested on them. A molecule has been developed from a reagent of horseshoe crab to help treat pre-eclampsia.
- Only a few countries in the world have horseshoe crab population and India is one among them.
Way Forward:
- They suggested that the horseshoe crab’s breeding grounds be declared as a conservation reserve to protect the species.
International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant against Putin over Ukraine
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
Why in news?
- Recently, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for the “unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children.
- It had also issued a warrant against Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights.
- Russia is not a member of the ICC. It was unclear how the ICC planned to enforce the warrant.
Allegations against Russian President:
- As per the ICC, Vladimir Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”
- The ICC said the crimes dated from February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
- He was allegedly responsible both directly by committing the acts and for “failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission”.
Russia’s stand:
- It said that the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin was legally “void” since Russia does not recognise the court’s jurisdiction.
About ICJ:
- ICJ was established in 1945 by the United Nations charter and started working in April 1946.
- It is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, situated at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
- The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.
Jurisdiction:
- ICJ acts as a world court with two fold jurisdiction i.e. legal disputes between States submitted to it by them (contentious cases) and requests for advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by United Nations organs and specialized agencies (advisory proceedings).
- Only States which are members of the United Nations and which have become parties to the Statute of the Court or which have accepted its jurisdiction under certain conditions, are parties to contentious cases.
Chhattisgarh cabinet approves anti-naxal policy changes, journalists safety bill
(GS Paper 32, Governance)
Why in news?
- Recently, the Chhattisgarh government made changes in its anti-Naxalite policy related to compensation and other facilities.
Details:
- Earlier, there was no provision for compensation to the kin of anyone who comes from other state to Chhattisgarh and gets killed in Maoist violence. But under the amended policy, provision for compensation has been made in such cases.
- A key change in the policy will enable the family of a person from outside Chhattisgarh to receive compensation in case of death in Naxalite violence in the insurgency-affected state.
‘Chhattisgarh Mediapersons Protection Bill 2023’:
- The draft of the ‘Chhattisgarh Mediapersons Protection Bill 2023’ was approved in the meeting.
- The bill that aims to enshrine protection of mediapersons in law.
Other decisions:
- The Chhattisgarh Goods and Service Tax (Amendment) Bill 2023 and the Salary, Allowance and Pension of Members of Chhattisgarh Assembly (Amendment) Bill 2023 were among other bills approved by the cabinet.
- The cabinet also decided to appoint badminton player Akarshi Kashyap, a silver medallist in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and a resident of Durg district, as a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
