Current Affairs For SSC CGL Exam

19 October, 2013

Alarming health condition

• The World Health Organisation warned against devastating health consequences of lead poisoning, particularly for children, and called upon countries to strengthen national action to eliminate lead paint.
• Lead exposure is estimated to contribute to 6,00,000 new cases of children with intellectual disabilities every year, it says.
• Overall, 99 per cent of the affected children live in low and middle income countries.
• Lead paint may be found in home, on toys, furniture and on other objects. Decaying lead paint on walls, furniture and other interior surfaces creates contaminated dust that young children easily ingest.
• Mouthing lead-painted toys and other objects also exposes them to lead.
• The sweet taste of the paint means some children even pick off and swallow small chips of it.
• It is estimated that 1,43,000 deaths every year result from lead poisoning and lead paint is a major contributor.

Security Council

• Saudi Arabia has rejected a rotating seat at the Security Council, as a mark of protest against the perceived inaction by the world body against Syria.
• The kingdom had for the first time been elected by the General Assembly to become a non-permanent member.
• Riyadh said the UNSC had also failed to settle the Israel-Palestinian issue. It also drew attention to the Council’s inability to turn West Asia into a zone free of weapons of mass destruction — an apparent reference to Israel’s alleged stockpile of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
• The decision evoked a strong response from Moscow, which has stood against regime change in Damascus. “We are surprised by Saudi Arabia’s unprecedented decision,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Great Indian bustards

• The declining fortunes of many bird species in India, and the likelihood that some of the critically endangered ones would barely exist in a small part of their historical range in coming years call for a serious review of conservation efforts.
• There are 145 avian species in the country facing various levels of threat according to a list compiled for the current year by IUCN, an international conservation organisation.
• Among the birds that face a bleak future is the great Indian bustard.
• By some estimates, less than 250 representatives of this heavy, terrestrial species survive today.
• Research insight points to the peculiarities of its grassland habitat, growing pressures from cattle grazing and expanding farming activity as significant causes for its depletion.
• The Bombay Natural History Society, after a lot of study, has expressed worry at the lack of a comprehensive approach to conservation.
• A comeback for the great Indian bustard, as well as the lesser florican and Bengal florican belonging to the same family, will now depend on a conservation programme that is based in science and quickly builds community support.
• Rajasthan has the largest known population of the great Indian bustard and has done well to allocate resources to aid a dedicated effort.
• The priorities for the handful of States where the species still exists are clear. Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have to contend with the fact that the great Indian bustard does not confine itself to a protected area, and often flies into community lands.

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