#Bala fossil

[uk-fossils]

Orthoceras vagans Fossil Orthocone | Ordovician Ashgill Series Rhiwlas Bala Wales UK | Genuine Specimen with COA

Enhance your fossil collection with this authentic Orthoceras vagans orthocone fossil, originating from the Ashgill Series of the Late Ordovician period, found in Rhiwlas, near Bala, Gwynedd, Wales, UK. This striking straight-shelled cephalopod is a genuine remnant of ancient marine ecosystems that existed over 445 million years ago.

Fossil Type: Orthocone Cephalopod

Species: Orthoceras vagans

Geological Period: Ordovician (~485 to 443 million years ago)

Geological Series: Ashgill (Late Ordovician)

Location: Rhiwlas, Bala, Gwynedd, Wales, UK

Scale Rule: Squares/Cube = 1cm (Please refer to the photo for full sizing details)

Specimen: The photo shows the exact specimen you will receive

Authenticity: All of our fossils are 100% genuine specimens and come with a Certificate of Authenticity

Geological and Paleontological Information

Orthoceras vagans was a type of extinct nautiloid cephalopod belonging to a group of straight-shelled marine molluscs that thrived in the Paleozoic oceans. Fossils from the Ashgill Series of the Ordovician represent some of the last cephalopod species before the major end-Ordovician extinction event.

Phylum: Mollusca

Class: Cephalopoda

Order: Orthocerida

Family: Orthoceratidae

Superfamily: Orthocerataceae

Geological Stage: Ashgill (approximately 449 to 443 million years ago)

Depositional Environment: Deeper marine shelf environment with fine-grained sediments like shales and limestones typical of the Welsh Basin during the Late Ordovician

Morphological Features: Long, straight shell (orthocone) with multiple internal chambers (phragmocone); transverse septa separate the chambers; central or subcentral siphuncle used for buoyancy regulation; external ornamentation may include fine growth lines and annulations

Notable: Orthoceras vagans and other orthocerids from the Bala region are crucial for understanding cephalopod evolution and paleoecology in the pre-extinction Ordovician marine environment

Biozone: Likely corresponds to the upper Ordovician graptolite or brachiopod biozones of the Ashgill Series, though exact zonation is site-dependent

Identifier: The species vagans has been recognized in European Ordovician fossil records and is frequently used in stratigraphic studies

Why This Fossil Is Special

This fossil provides a window into the Late Ordovician seas of ancient Wales and offers both scientific and aesthetic appeal. Its preservation in a region of high stratigraphic importance makes it valuable for collectors, educators, and geologists alike.

Why Buy From Us?

100% genuine fossil with Certificate of Authenticity

The item shown in the photos is exactly what you will receive

Ethically sourced from established UK fossil localities

Great for teaching, scientific research, collecting, or display

Own a rare and historically significant piece of Earth's ancient oceans with this Orthoceras vagans fossil orthocone from the Ashgill Series of Rhiwlas, Bala, Wales — an enduring relic from over 445 million years ago.

[al-mayriti]

AKKADIAN WITH VIVI - PART 1. CUNEIFORM, FONETICS, AND MORE

so. for christmas i got a grammar of akkadian, and i thought i would study it on my own as sort of a hobby, to detox from all of the other stuff i have to do, just for the love of it. i started this week and i thought it would be fun to share it over here because a few years ago i remember sharing some facts about akkadian and y'all seemed to enjoy it so i hope you like this :)

first of all, for those of y'all who don't know, i studied the ancient world in uni and have in total studied akkadian for a year (as in. in two different years for one semester each). but last time i studied it was in 2021 and as you can imagine. i cannot really practice it. so it's a bit fuzzy in my mind.

also, i studied arabic for a year but that knowledge is also slowly going away (i think I studied it in 2022 ? something like that) and i remember akkadian and arabic having tons of similarities (they're both semitic languages!) so i will be making references to arabic with vocab to refresh myself. also i thought it would be fun to add the other big semitic language, hebrew, to the mix as i have zero knowledge of it and could be a cool way to learn some! i will make some parallels throughout this project, but as stated i am not fluent in any of them so feel free to point out more similarities or correct me when needed !!!!

anyways, enough yapping, under the cut i'll discuss what i studied this week <3

first of all, as an introduction, i've said it before but akkadian is a semitic language - one of the oldest in fact, spoken circa 2500 BC to 75 AD. here's a table with the chronology.

this might look confusing, but it's quite easy to understand don't worry. basically, around 1950 BC akkadian or what it's typically known as 'ancient akkadian' (AAc in the table) split into two distinct dialects, babilonian (AB, mB, nB, tB) to the south, and assyrian (AAs, mAs, nAs) to the north. the grammar book, and almost all akkadian guides you'll find, teach specifically the ancient babilonian dialect (AB in the table), because that's the dialect in which the hammurabi code was written in, and most of classical texts. it was also the basis of what's called classical babilonian (BS in the table), a fossilized literary language that no one actually spoke (think of modern standard arabic). assyrian and babilonian for the most part are pretty similar except with some vocab, and that the babilonian has an extra vowel, the /e/. i think there's a part about dialect differences in this guide so i'll leave the full explanation for that :)

anyways, now that that's out of the way, let's continue onto the writing system, cuneiform. cuneiform was created by sumerians, inhabitants of sumer, basically the south of babilonia, that coexisted with akkadians from the beginning of written history (around 3000 BC). the thing is, cuneiform was made for sumerian and akkadians had to adapt it to their language. sumerian is not a semitic language (it is actually a language isolate) so there's a lot of complications akkadians had to overcome. for instance, they are one of the few semitic languages (possibly the only one?) that notes vowels.

CUNEIFORM

cuneiform script is form by two different strokes:

[clavo means nail in spanish]

as you can see, there's only a limited number of ways a cuneiform ideogram / symbol can be written, 5 in total!

the cuneiform ideograms can be syllabic or logographic. syllabic means they're only phonetic, with no meaning by themselves (think of the katakana system in japanese) versus logographic ones, which have meaning on their own (like kanji)

[V= vowel, C= consonant]

syllables can be V (𒀀 a), CV (𒈠 ma), VC (𒄠 am), or CVC (𒄨 kal). there's also polysyllabic symbols (𒁄 bala).

an example of logogram is 𒈗, which translates to 'king'. this is where the fun starts. so. again. the cuneiform language was made for the sumerian language. so all logographic symbols have the name of the sumerian word it corresponds to. in sumerian, 𒈗 is read lugal, so that's its name. in akkadian, the word is read šarrum, however. in akkadian dictionaries and in scholarly texts, these logograms always appear as akkadian name (SUMERIAN NAME). therefore, 𒈗 appears as šarrum (LUGAL). this is the standard for all logograms discussed here.

before continuing, we are about to talk about transcription and transliteration a lot, so just to have the difference clear:

transliteration is writing in the latin script what each ideogram represents, separating syllables with dashes and noting any technical information pertinent. for example, 𒈗 is transliterated LUGAL.

transcription is writing in the latin script what each word was pronounced like, following grammar and phonetic rules. 𒈗 is transcribed as šarrum .

here is a full example of the original text in cuneiform, its transliteration, transcription, and translation to spanish:

words can be written in cuneiform either syllabic or logographically, there's no rule about this, it usually depended on the scribe's preference or the space they had in the tablet.

there's various ideograms that are homophones, that is, they represent the same sound despite being written differently [this was probably not as drastic when spoken, but we do not know how akkadian was fully pronounced]. for example, there's various symbols that are read as e. in transliteration, they are noted with subscripts. therefore, they would be noted as e, e2, e3, e4... however, x2 and x3 are usually transliterated with ´ and ` respectively, so e2 = é and e3 = è. from x4 onwards they're always transliterated with the subscript.

there's also a thing that also exist in egyptian and that i absolutely adore, and that's lexical determinatives <333 they're non-phonetic symbols - that is, they were not pronounced and thus are not transcribed - that preceded or followed a word to make its meaning clearer. when transliterating these, they appear as superscripts, abbreviated normally in sumerian. for example:

𒀭𒀫𒌓 is transliterated as dMARDUK or ilMARDUK. d stands for 'dingir' (sumerian) and il for 'ilum' (akkadian) and both mean 'god'.

𒄑𒆕 𒄣 is transliterated as giškak-kum. 'kakkum' means 'weapon' in akkadian, whereas 'giš' is 'wood' in sumerian. in this case, it is used to specify the weapon is made of that material.

similarly, there's also grammar complements, written following logograms in order to help with the morphosyntactic value of that particular logogram in the sentence. again, these are not usually transcribed, and are transliterated usually followed by a . for example:

𒈗𒈨𒌍 reads as LUGAL.MEŠ. MEŠ is the plural complement, which means the word should be transcribed as 'šarru'; 'the kings', not 'šarrum', 'the king'. it sometimes is transcribed, and when it happens it appears as a superscript (šarrumeš).

𒉿𒈫 reads as GÉŠTU.MIN. 'géštu' means 'ear' in sumerian ('uznum' in akkadian), and MIN is the dual complement, which means it should be transcribed as 'uznān'; 'the two ears'

𒀭𒂊 reads as AN-e. 'an' means sky or heaven in sumerian ('šamum' in akkadian). e here is just e. in the context of this text, this word is meant to be plural, but depending on the case, the word could be šamu (nominative) or šame (acusative / genitive). the -e is there to make sure the reader understands this word should be read as 'šame'.

before continuing with phonetics, here are some of the most common determinatives:

DUG = karpatu: 'recipient' (קְעָרָה k'ara)

IKU: 'field', for measures

SAL = sinnišat: 'woman'

LÚ = awil: 'man', in professions and masculine ethnonyms

SÍG = šipātu: wool (صوف suf)

KI = ašar: place.

DINGIR = il: god (إله allah)

and here are the most common grammar complements:

MEŠ: plural in people and things

HI.A (HÁ): plural in animals and things

DIDLI / MIN: dual

KAM: numerals

PHONETIC SYSTEM

vowels: there's three main vowel sounds - /a/, /i/, /u/. there's a sneaky fourth vowel tho (again. i'm pretty sure this is just in babilonian). the /e/. it appears in two cases:

when /a/ follows certain sounds (the grammar doesn't go more in detail?). for example; *ḥaqlum > eqlum.

when /i/ follows /ḫ/ or /r/. for example; *palih > paleh

other notes about the vowels:

when long vowels are the result of a contraction, they are marked with ^ (*rabium > rabûm)

long vowels could be expressed in cuneiform by reduplicating the vowel. like rabûm could be written ra-bu-u-um for example.

dipthongs are almost nonexistant. only /ai/ and /au/ exist (for example nawrum). most of the time they become /ī/ and /ū/, like in *baitum > bītum or *šaurum > šūrum.

consonants:

here's the whole table <3

some notes about them:

in terms of pronunciation, emphatic consonants /ṭ/, /ṣ/ and /q/ are pronounced like their arabic counterparts, so ط, ص and i guess a more emphatic version of ق respectively.

the /'/ alif is a funny guy. so. it is very residual in akkadian, it barely is there. it is the result of protosemitic fonemes that dissappeared in akkadian but can be found in other semitic languages, that aren't even written most of the cases. there's five fonemes in total, divided into two groups:

-/e/ alef / soft alef:

/'/ voiceless glottal occlusive: *'akālum > akālum 'to eat' (يأكل yakul, לֶאֱכוֹל le'echol)

/h/ voiceless laringeal fricative: *nahrum > nārum 'river' (نهر nahr, נָהָר nahar)

-/a/ alef / hard alef:

/ḥ/ voiceless faringeal fricative: *ḥaqlum > eqlum 'field'

/'/ voiced faringeal fricative: *ba'lum > bēlum 'lord' (بعل, בָּעַל ba'al)

/ģ/ voiced velar fricative: *ģarābum > erēbum 'to enter'

/ḫ/ is pronounced like the spanish j (or kh if you don't know the sound)

syllables can be open (they end in V), or closed (they end in C). a closed syllable + C makes a long syllable. this is important for accents!

the last syllable is always accentuated when it's long as a result of a contraction. also, in words that have three or more syllable, you gotta pay attention to the second to last syllable. if that syllable is long, then that's the accentuated one. if it's short, then the accent is on the second to last. for example, its (accent is boldened) akālum, iparras, but ibtani.

finally, when the word is followed by an enclitic particle, desinence or suffix, the syllable immediately before the suffix is elongated, which may change the accent of the word. for example, its bītu 'from the house' but bitīšu 'from his / her house'; ibni 'he created', but ibnīma 'he created and...'.

that's all for this week folks <3

[ibrahimsunusibala]

Title: Biofuels, Fossils, and the EV Delusion:A Psychological Lens on Rechargeable Utopias.

Written By: Mr.Ibrahim Sunusi Bala On a freelance digital artwork Title:Biofuels, Fossils, and the EV Delusion: A Psychological Lens on Rechargeable Utopias — IntroductionElectric vehicles (EVs) gleam with promise—silent engines, zero tailpipe emissions, and the hopeful aura of a world unshackled from fossil fuels. They sit at the intersection of innovation and aspiration, icons of a future…

[thesirmourretreat]

Nahan is the capital of Princely Sirmour State, Himachal Pradesh. It is a beautiful town situated in the midst of the rich green surroundings of thick timberlands and is laced with green valleys, little waterway streams, and a charming environment. Located in the lower regions of the Shivalik Ranges, Nahan hill station is a stunning spot for an end-of-the-week outing with loved ones but not extremely famous. Also, no other place offers serenity and culture in the same place. Nahan is among the Best Places to visit near Delhi, which will fulfill your need for vacation and fill your soul with a calming sense. 

Do meander down this quiet paradise that is really a brilliant escape from city life. 

Visit Chaugan, the shopping center street of Nahan that is a solitary spot bustling with tourists. Go for a walk towards the Villa Round, which is encircled by Pine trees and home to birds and Monkeys! Walking towards the Hospital Road would find yourself looking over ruins of old buildings and some frontier structures that actually stand tall. Standing cheek-by-cheek is Ranzor Palace, whose old stable is currently a cinema lobby.

In the evening visit the Rani Tal (worked in 1898) that is brimming with Lotus blossoms and the nursery surrounding it makes for an extraordinary cookout place as well. 

Different spots to be visited include Shanti Sangam and Tallon that offer delightful normal surroundings, an authentic Miyan ka Mandir and a Gunnu Ghat. Relatively few know however the GIFTS (Indian Special Forces Training School) is additionally situated at Nahan hill station. 

It’s typically more popular as a visit for individuals traveling to Paonta Sahib. But Nahan is a pleasant escape for those craving for some very time and it doesn’t disappoint. 

Places That Are Close to Nahan, and A Must Visit: 

Jamta: is found 13 kms from Nahan and offers a tremendous perspective on Nahan Town. Explore Jaitak Fort arranged straight up on the slopes on the Nahan-Dadhau Road. You could decide to take an outing lunch or eat at close by beautiful Resorts in Himachal like Sirmour Retreat. 

The notable Jaitak Fort was worked by the Sirmour kings and remade by Gurkha pioneer Ranzor Thapa, who faced an urgent conflict with the British here in 1810. There’s a conflict dedication in Nahan hill station at Pucca Tank to the European troopers who kicked the bucket fighting this conflict. 

Renuka Lake: The delightful Renuka Lake is located just 35 kms from Nahan. It has an outline of just about 3 kms and is one of the biggest lakes in the territory of Himachal Pradesh. The lake is molded like a reclining ladies’ body and is taken care of by River Giri, underground springs, and rainwater, and is home to an assortment of marine life. 

There is an arrangement for paddle boating in the lake and you can even stroll along the all-around cleared walking zone. Encircled with a shelter of rich green slopes and sensible thick woods, this spot is definitely an extraordinary end-of-the-week escape from New Delhi, Chandigarh, Dehradun, and Ambala. 

You can even take a trip of 8 Kms up ‘Jamu Peak’ that has a little sanctuary and offers a wonderful perspective on the lake and surrounding slopes. 

Renuka Wildlife Sanctuary: is otherwise called ‘Abhayaranya’ and is found right across the lake or you can take a 2 km drive to arrive at it. 

This place is located in the deciduous timberland zone, the Renuka Wildlife Sanctuary likewise has a Zoo that has Asiatic Lions, Spotted Deer, Lion-followed Macaques, ‘Nilgai’ Methuen, Barking Deer, Himalayan Black Bears, and in excess of 300 sorts of Migratory Birds. 

Adjoining the zoo, a shielded van enters the huge walled-in area allowing you a nearer look at the lions within. The Lion Safari draws in numerous and you make certain to identify a couple on the excursion! 

You can likewise remain here at the Fossil park hotel that is found right on the Lakeside and offers an all-encompassing perspective on the surrounding slopes. 

Also Read:- How to Choose the Best Hotels in Himachal

Trilokpur Temple: is situated a ways off of 23 kms from Nahan hill station on Kalka-Ambala Highway and can be visited while reaching Nahan. ‘Trilokpur Temple’ was built in 1573 by Raja Dip Prakash and is given to Goddess Mahamaya Bala Sundri. 

According to local people, a Pindi (consecrated stone) of the goddess was unearthed and later installed here. Some say that it had shown up in a pack of salt, bought by a nearby broker who then, at that point, asked the King to construct a sanctuary. Exceptionally capable bricklayers from Jaipur were called to fabricate the sanctuary.

[smylealong]

Last post on the series “Life Finds a Way,” this post has creatures   from the letters W to Z + bonus. The rest of the series can be seen here: Part  1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

 1. Wiwaxia (Top left) Genus*: Wiwaxia. Time: Cambrian- Ordovician (520-505 mya). Length: 5 centimetres (2.0 in). Weight: Since most animals from this era were soft bodied creatures with a chitinous/carbonaceous protection, all we have in fossil records are just imprints left on the rocks. It is very difficult to estimate the weight of these creatures.

2. Waptia (Top right) Genus: Waptia. Time: Middle Cambrian (509-497 mya). Length: 8 centimetres (3.1 in). Weight: Look above.

3. Xiphactinus (Bottom left) Genus: Bony predatory fish. Time: Early to late Cretaceous (112-66mya). Length: 5.1 metres (16.7 ft). Weight: Approx 1000lbs (453.5kgs)

4. Xuwulong (Bottom right) Genus: hadrosauroid dinosaur. Time: Early Cretaceous (145-100.5mya). Size: Since the creature is known from an incomplete holotype** specimen, size estimates are unavailable.

1. Yawunik (Top left): Genus: Arthropod. Time: Cambrian Period (508mya). Size: Data not available. 

2. Yinlong (Top right): Genus: Balas Ceratopsian. Time: Late Jurassic (158mya). Length:  1.2 metres (3.9 ft). Weight: 15 kilograms (33 lb)

3. Zygosaurus (Bottom left): Genus: dissorophid temnospondyl. Time: Middle Permian (272.3-259 .8mya).  Size: Since it is known from a holotype specimen, the size estimates are unavailable. However, the skull, which is 20cm long, indicates that this maybe one of the largest dissorophid.

4. Zuul (Bottom right): (This is the dinosaur, not the monster from Ghostbusters). Genus: ankylosaurine dinosaur. Time: Late Cretaceous (75mya)  Length:  6 metres (20 ft) Weight of 2.5 tonnes (5,500 lb)

BONUS:

I realized a couple of days ago, that even though I have included the oldest known lifeform (Stromatolites) in the series, I have stayed mostly in the time period known as Phanerozoic eon, which starts from the Cambrian and extends till today, i.e. (541mya- current date). I have not given any information about a very interesting phase of life in that existed in the Proterozoic eon (2500mya-541mya). While for the most part, the planet was cooling down, there was a time near the end of the eon, known as the Ediacaran (635-541mya) , where strange, complex life forms began to appear. They are collectively known as the Ediacaran Biota. These were composed of enigmatic tubular and frond-shaped, mostly sessile***, organisms. Trace fossils of these organisms have been found worldwide, and represent the earliest known complex multicellular organisms.

* Genus:  A  genus (plural genera) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological   classification of living and fossil organisms, as well as viruses,in   biology. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes   above species and below family. 

**Holotype: A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described.

***Sessile: Sessility is the biological property of an organism describing its lack of a means of self-locomotion.

Please feel free to DM me if you have any questions.

[sirmourretreat-blog]

Jamta Nahan has it’s previously spun around various stories and legends connected to history hence contributing to its splendor. Established by Raja Karan Prakash in 1621 as a capital, it is trusted that this town gets its name from a sage named Nahar who inhabited a comparable website where this town stands today. According to another variation, the town gets its name from an episode where the ruler who was trying to murder a lion was halted by a holy individual named Baba Banwari Das who stated Nahar symbolizing ‘don’t eliminate’. Sirmour Tourism Traverse Now, the name of this location brings together with itself, rather amazing facts and stories with no doubt for sure. This interesting town, today, is identified with greenhouses, sanctuaries, and a lake which originated with human experience. You ought to completely go to Nahan in Himachal which is a cantonment town for an unprecedented and spell jumping get-away understanding there are many tourist spots to explore Haripurdhar Temple, Renuka lake, and Suketi fossil Park being some of them. Nahan is a residential community where you will never have a concern with benefit and place, all thanks to the Nahan hotels and resorts. With a couple of occasion spots offered by the spots, it in like manner gives facilities and resorts shifting from moderate to the impressive and unrivaled assortment. With a couple of offices and administrations, you can similarly anticipate terrific nourishment, feel along with ended up being suspects to fantastic hospitality. So, if you are searching for the numerous hotels in Nahan and preparing for a holiday in there, is it really the correct time to check out the location? Haripurdhar- The finest time to go to Nahan is amid winter months that are in between the month of December to the month of March when the temperature level varies from 3 to 17 degrees Celsius. Likewise, the fall months can be chosen. The months of September until November, show temperatures varying in between from 6 to 27 degrees Celsius which can be considered so regarding exploring the charm of this hill station in light of the fact that the area is thought to have a fantastic climate condition around then. You will witness a visitor flood in the time of October in the middle of Dussehra as the Bala Sundari event is praised with incredible fervor in Nahan.

[bluemagic-girl]

Dems Want To Declare A Climate Emergency. Don’t Worry About The Right Co-Opting It.

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Weather alter denialism is in the midst of a glacial retreat on the right as natural disasters mount, scientists’ warnings develop extra dire and public belief shifts away from fossil fuel propaganda. The normal question, then, is what does an precise right-wing reaction to weather change glimpse like? 

The solution, Vox’s David Roberts surmised in a June tweet thread, is a seamless transition to fascistic climate nationalism, in which the chaos wrought by a warming planet serves as justification for exploiting fossil gasoline reserves, creating border walls and halting immigration as tens of millions flee more and more inhospitable nations in the vicinity of the equator. 

That may perhaps be a ten years away. But, on Tuesday, Democrats introduced a joint resolution to declare the local climate crisis an crisis. The bill, a largely symbolic gesture to manage political momentum on weather adjust, is not likely to move. Still it raises the clear question: Could these a piece of laws be co-opted by the correct wing? 

The authors of the bill say no. 

“We really don’t have to fear about that,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), a single of the resolution’s authentic sponsors, told HuffPost on Tuesday. “We will need to force individuals to take a stand and spotlight the concentrate on local climate change.” 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) ― who, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), added progressive star ability as sponsors of the resolution ― credited Blumenauer with using pains “to ensure that doesn’t take place with this resolution.”

Indeed, the 5-page monthly bill includes language that precisely bars the federal federal government from using any “special or amazing power” to respond to the local weather disaster. Relatively, the laws aims to codify recognition of the cataclysmic threat of having anything shorter of radical action to quit burning fossil fuels and suppress planet-warming emissions. 

“This is a moral very important. There is no option,” Sanders claimed on a simply call with reporters. “It surely is a countrywide crisis, and we’ve bought to act accordingly.” 

But the resolution doesn’t declare a “national crisis.” At minimum, not in the sense we know it. In February, President Donald Trump declared a nationwide unexpected emergency on the border. The go permitted him to divert billions of pounds from the military’s price range to fund the construction of his extensive-promised border wall with no congressional acceptance.  

LUKE MONTAVON by using Getty Photos

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) attends with 14 members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus a tour to Border Patrol facilities and migrant detention centers.

The White House’s declaration below the 1976 Countrywide Emergencies Act drew lawsuits from 20 state lawyers basic and the Sierra Club. In May, a judge put an injunction on the expending. A federal courtroom ruled towards the Trump administration’s charm in June. Past 7 days, the U.S. 9th Circuit Courtroom of Appeals upheld the injunction. 

The climate resolution, now co-sponsored by Democratic presidential candidates and Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), declares an unexpected emergency in title only.  

“This resolution is all about formally declaring the depth and breadth of the issues that local weather transform will cause—creating need to have for a ‘massive scale mobilization,’” mentioned Sean Hecht, co-government director at the College of California, Los Angeles, College of Law’s Emmett Institute on Local climate Transform and the Setting. “I can see how somebody could possibly get in touch with people issues an ‘emergency’ supplied the need to have for prompt, large action.”

In basic, it’s better for Congress to determine “what is and what is not an unexpected emergency,” said Bala Sivaraman, a spokesman for the environmental litigation nonprofit EarthJustice. 

“But indeed, legally, an emergency does give the president supplemental powers that … could be applied to justify severe border guidelines,” he mentioned. 

But an unexpected emergency declaration “isn’t important to justify individual border measures,” Hecht added. Backing that up are Trump’s regularly deployment of countless numbers of troops to the border about the past 12 months, the administration’s brutal family separation procedures and squalid detention centers that students now unflinchingly contact focus camps.

“The Trump administration does not appear to be to think it needs any justification at all for dealing with persons harshly,” said Michael Gerrard, director of Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Local weather Improve Regulation. “So I don’t know that this type of climate declaration would make it less complicated for them to treat refugees poorly.”

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[omghunkerworld-blog]

Is battery technology a fortune or a “stranded asset”?

Sep 08, 2018

Currently, the reference to stranded assets is often used to describe fossil fuel projects that have become useless after strict regulation. In the future, the transformation of energy storage equipment means that investment in battery technology will also lose money, although it seems that it is at the heart of energy system reform.

Gradually, people began to use "stranded assets" on battery technology.

Due to the rapid development of the industry, many of the latest battery technologies have been abandoned in the future.

From Silicon Valley in the United States to Shenzhen in China, scientists are experimenting with new materials, hoping to improve traditional lithium-ion batteries and find new ways to store electricity. Investors are now beginning to worry about whether they have missed the technology.

For example, James Frith, energy storage analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said that if you suddenly achieve a technological breakthrough and have a battery technology that provides higher energy density, everyone wants Adoption as soon as possible means that many people must invest in new production equipment; even worse, the entire factory needs to be rebuilt.

According to data from the Cleantech Group, startups investing in new batteries in the first half of this year invested more than $1.5 billion, twice the amount invested in 2017.

Volkswagen, Hyundai, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance are vying to invest their money in battery companies. Japan's New Energy & Industrial Technology Development Organization announced that they will spend $90 million on the development of solid-state battery devices with numerous universities and battery manufacturers.

Peter Carlsson, founder and CEO of NorthVolt AB, said that there is now a lot of money flowing into battery research, which will eventually lead to a technological revolution.

There are thousands of technologies to be tested in the battery research and development industry, including many startups and universities, but not every one can succeed.

Even lithium-ion batteries, which are widely used in electric vehicles and smart phones, have different procedures in the manufacturing process. Different lithium-ion batteries have different formulations and chemical compositions, and different chemical compositions have different variants.

Automakers at home and abroad have launched electric vehicles. Due to the prevalence of electric vehicles, the competition in the battery industry has become more intense. Now, battery capacity can reach 100 million kWh, and by 2030, the demand for batteries may increase to 1.784 billion kWh.

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, it has cost about $16.7 billion worldwide to build a traditional battery factory. By 2022, the investment in equipment for the battery factory will cost $42 billion.

According to the International Energy Agency, lithium-ion batteries are still the dominant source of electric vehicles in a decade. After 2025, new technologies will enter the market one after another.

There will be two possibilities: either the lithium-ion battery is no longer available, or the emerging technology fails to meet the expected standards. Either way, it seems to be unprofitable for investors.

In addition, the process of bringing a battery from the laboratory to the market is long and costly. The batteries used today contain many expensive metals such as manganese and nickel. Scientists are trying to save money by using some common substances such as sulfur and oxygen to reduce the weight of the battery pack.

Recently, a startup in New York, Conamix Inc., raised $2 million and is trying to develop a cobalt-free battery. Since cobalt is mainly produced in the war-torn Republic of the Congo, the price of this material is very high, and it has also brought a lot of cost pressure to many battery manufacturers.

Bala Nagarajan, investment director of Norwegian investment agency Equinor Energy Ventures, said that energy storage is the most important factor for them, and that the use and popularity of clean energy and electric vehicles will require more technological advances. .

He said that if someone asks if the investment in energy storage technology will end in failure, the answer is no doubt.

[putrilintang]

Bismillah. Membantu menjualkan tas ini (FOSSIL brand new leather bag) untuk seorang saudara muslimah yang sangat butuh biaya untuk berobat. Semoga Allah berikan kesehatan yang barakah, tanpa meninggalkan sakit lainnya untuk Kak fulanah. Juga untuk Kita semua. Semoga yang ikut membantu, baik membeli maupun menyebarkan informasi ini juga mendoakan.. Allah balas dengan banyak kebaikan. Baarakallahu fiik. Info : wa.me/628118885779. (at Halallaku Bookstore) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtiD3bOB5X3/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=v8k9d1shxq9f

[halallaku]

Bismillah. Membantu menjualkan tas ini (FOSSIL brand new leather bag) untuk seorang saudara muslimah yang sangat butuh biaya untuk berobat. Semoga Allah berikan kesehatan yang barakah, tanpa meninggalkan sakit lainnya untuk Kak fulanah. Juga untuk Kita semua. Semoga yang ikut membantu, baik membeli maupun menyebarkan informasi ini juga mendoakan.. Allah balas dengan banyak kebaikan. Baarakallahu fiik. Info : wa.me/628118885779. (at Halallaku Bookstore) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtiDadoBwPv/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=xjcunjjka0kr

[iasshikshalove]

Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019

Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019 GS-1 Sangam age: Why in news? In a major turning point in the cultural historiography of the ancient Sangam Age, the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department (TNAD) has stated that the cultural deposits unearthed during excavations at Keeladi in Sivaganga district could be safely dated to a period between 6th century BCE and 1st century CE. This is the first time the date has been officially announced by the TNAD. Findings of the report  The new findings in the report, released on Thursday by Minister for Tamil Culture and Archaeology K. Pandiarajan here, place Keeladi artefacts about 300 years earlier than previously believed — 3rd century BCE.  One of the six samples collected at the depth of 353 cm and sent for carbon dating test in the U.S. “goes back to 580 BCE,” Commissioner of Archaeology T. Udayachandran said.  The report titled, ‘Keeladi-An Urban Settlement of Sangam Age on the Banks of River Vaigai’, was published by the TNAD.  The results from the fourth excavations suggest that the “second urbanisation [the first being Indus] of Vaigai plains happened in Tamil Nadu around 6th century BCE as it happened in Gangetic plains.”  The report also spells the site as Keeladi as against the erstwhile widely used Keezhadi. ‘Tamil-Brahmi older’  The recent scientific dates obtained for Keeladi findings push back the date of Tamil-Brahmi script to another century, i.e., 6th century BCE.  “These results clearly ascertained that they attained literacy or learned the art of writing as early as 6th century BCE,” the 61-page report stated. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019 Tamil-Brahmi potsherds  Fifty-six Tamil-Brahmi inscribed potsherds were recovered from the site of excavation conducted by the TNAD alone, the report stated.  Pottery specimens from Keeladi sent to the Earth Science Department of Pisa University, Italy, through Vellore Institute of Technology for mineral analysis, confirmed that water containers and cooking vessels were shaped out of locally available raw materials.  “Recovery of 10 spindle whorls, 20 sharply pinpointed bone tip tools used for design creations, hanging stones of the yarn, terracotta spheres, copper needle and earthen vessels to hold liquid clearly attest to the various stages of weaving industry from spinning, yarning, looming and weaving and later for dyeing. GS-2 PoK issue Why in news? Last month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said that any talks with Pakistan, if they are held, would be over PoK and not J&K, and Home Minister Amit Shah had told Lok Sabha that "whenever I mention the State of Jammu and Kashmir, it means both Pak-Occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin are part of it". Background  A resolution unanimously adopted by Parliament on February 22, 1994 affirmed that "the State of Jammu & Kashmir has been, is and shall be an integral part of India", and demanded that "Pakistan must vacate the areas of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, which they have occupied through aggression". What lies across the LoC?  Pakistan Occupied Kashmir is an area of 13,297 sq km, which was under the control of the Pakistani forces when the ceasefire line came into effect on January 1, 1949. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019  That was after a 14-month period of hostilities between India and Pakistan, which began with an invasion of Kashmir by Pashtun tribesmen, and later its Army, to seize Kashmir.  PoK has a population of over 40 lakh, according to a census carried out in 2017.  It is divided into 10 districts: Neelum, Muzaffarabad, Hattian Bala, Bagh, and Haveli bordering areas in Kashmir, and Rawlakot, Kotli, Mirpur, and Bhimber bordering areas in Jammu.  The capital of PoK is Muzaffarabad, a town located in the valley of the Jhelum river and its tributary Neelum (which Indians call Kishanganga) to the west and slightly north of Srinagar.  In 1963, through an agreement, Pakistan ceded to China over 5,000 sq km of J&K land under its control, in the Shaksgam area, in northern Kashmir, beyond the Karakoram. And what is Gilgit Baltistan?  This is a picturesque, hilly region to the north of PoK and east of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The British sold it, along with the rest of Jammu and Kashmir, to the Dogra ruler of Jammu, Gulab Singh, after defeating the Sikh army in 1846, but retained controlled over the area through a lease extracted from the Maharaja.  This lease was last renewed in 1935. In 1947, a British army officer of the rank of Colonel imprisoned Maharaja Hari Singh's governor in the region, and handed over the area for accession to Pakistan.  Gilgit Baltistan (GB) is spread over 72,871 sq km, and is five-and-a-half times the size of PoK. But it is sparsely populated, with just under 20 lakh people.  GB is divided into three administrative divisions and 10 districts.  Gilgit, Hunza, Ghizer and Nagar are in the Gilgit administrative division; Ghanche, Shigar, Kharmang and Skardu are in the Baltistan division; and Diamer and Astore are in the Diamer division. What is the administrative status in GB?  Though both PoK and GB are ruled directly from Islamabad, neither is officially listed as the territory of Pakistan, which has just four provinces: Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (which now includes the Federally Administered Tribal areas or FATA), Balochistan, and Sindh. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019  PoK and GB are both "autonomous territories". Pakistan has kept this fiction going, as incorporating these areas into its map would damage its international position in the United Nations and elsewhere that the entire Jammu and Kashmir is "disputed".  For India, on the other hand, as per the resolution passed by Parliament in 1994, PoK and GB are both part of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India by virtue of its accession to India in 1947. GS-3 Climate Action Summit UN Secretary General António Guterres has convened a special Climate Action Summit on Monday, at the start of the annual General Assembly session, in a bid to nudge countries to do more to fight climate change. He has told world leaders to come with ‘concrete’ and ‘realistic’ proposals to enhance the actions that they are already taking. Why a special summit?  This is not the first time that a special meeting on climate change is taking place on the sidelines of the General Assembly session.  But what makes this meeting different from earlier efforts is the intention of the SecretaryGeneral not to let this become another talk shop.  Bring concrete plans, not speeches, Guterres is reported to have told the world leaders in a letter inviting them for the meeting.  More specifically, he has asked countries to bring their action plans in line with the objective of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent by 2030, and to “net zero” by 2050. In addition, he has also identified nine areas in which he would like the countries to do more. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019 What are the climate action plans he is talking about?  Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, every signatory nation is supposed to finalise and submit a set of time-bound actions that it would take to combat climate change.  The first set of action plans, called nationally determined contributions or NDCs, was submitted in 2015.  The Paris Agreement also says that the NDCs should be updated every five years, with each subsequent NDC being stronger and more ambitious than the previous one.  As per the five-year cycle, countries have to submit their second NDCs by next year.  But the Secretary-General is asking the countries to make specific additional commitments at Monday’s meeting.  In addition, he has also appealed to the countries to promise not to set up any new coal plants after 2020, stop subsidies on fossil fuels, and levy additional taxes on polluters. Importantly, he has asked all countries to commit to net zero emissions by 2050. Why has India refused?  India has said its NDC already represents its “best effort”, keeping in mind its development imperatives.  In a discussion paper released earlier this week, the government said the “new asks” from the Secretary-General, “in particular net zero emissions, mean a sweeping change across the entire economy”.  It has said this target should be kept only for developed countries.  “This can be a global aspirational goal and developed countries must be on track to take measures and legislate for net zero emissions by 2050.  But it cannot be a goal for developing countries as the technologies have not progressed and aren’t all available yet for developing countries.  And the past performance on both finance and technology front is just not reassuring for them,” it has said.  India has said while it will continue to “do its best” on climate actions, it would not commit to any long-term goal, like a net-zero emission target for 2050, at this stage. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019  Under the Paris Agreement, countries are supposed to undertake a stock-take of their actions in 2023 to see whether these were in line with the objective of keeping the global rise in temperature to below 2°C from the pre-industrial times.  “Given this, India will be better placed to consider a mid-term assessment of its actions and suitably recalibrate through re-examination and improvement when the global stocktake takes place in 2023. For the present, India may only be in a position to elaborate or clarify its post 2020 climate actions already pledged in its NDC,” it has said. So, what is expected to come out of Monday’s meeting then?  A new UN report just ahead of Monday’s meeting says at least 112 countries had expressed their intent to revise their NDCs, with 75 of them promising to enhance its ambition.  The other 37 have proposed to bring more data and information in their NDCs.  In addition, at least 53 countries had said they were working to finalise long-term strategies, like a net-zero goal by 2050.  Only 14 countries, together accounting for 26 per cent of global emissions, had categorically said they would not revise their NDCs. Many countries are likely to make these announcements at Monday’s meeting. Air-to-Air missile Astra successfully flight tested from Su-30 MKI Why in news? Air-to-Air missile, ASTRA, has been successfully flight tested on 16 September 2019 off the coast of Odisha. The missile was launched from Su-30 MKI as a part of User trials. The live aerial target was engaged accurately demonstrating the capability of first indigenous air-to-air missile. About the missile  Astra (Sanskrit: weapon[5]) is an all weather beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, India. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019  It is the first air-to-air missile developed by India. It features mid-course inertial guidance with terminal active radar homing.  Astra is designed to be capable of engaging targets at varying range and altitudes allowing for engagement of both short-range targets at a distance of 20 km (12 mi) and long-range targets up to a distance of 80 km (50 mi) .  Astra has been integrated with Indian Air Force's Sukhoi Su-30MKI and will be integrated with Dassault Mirage 2000 and Mikoyan MiG-29 in the future. Limited series production of Astra missiles began in 2017. National Centre for Clean Coal Research & Development Why in news? Union Minister of Science & Technology, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, today inaugurated the National Centre for Clean Coal Research and Development at Indian Institute of Science (IISc)-Bengaluru. Government of India through Department of Science & Technology, has set up the National Centre for Clean Coal Research and Development (NCCCR&D) as a national level consortium on clean coal R&D, led by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc)-Bengaluru. About the center  National Centre for Clean Coal Research and Development (NCCCR&D) is a national level consortium on clean coal R&D, led by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc)-Bengaluru.  The primary goal is to address several critical R&D challenges towards the development of clean coal technologies, in tandem with developing supercritical power plant technologies, both at the materials and system level.  In order to achieve international targets on climate change by minimizing anthropogenic emissions and also to address the ever-growing energy demand of India, development of clean coal technologies to reduce carbon emissions from coal-based power plants has become a prime necessity for India.  The pathways identified for lowering the carbon footprint of coal-based thermal power plants is by shifting towards high efficiency advanced ultra-supercritical (AUSC) steam power plants as well as supercritical carbon dioxide (s-CO2) based Brayton cycle power plants, along with exploration of new combustion and gasification technologies. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019 Corporate tax Why in news? In a major fiscal booster, the government on Friday slashed effective corporate tax to 25.17% inclusive of all cess and surcharges for domestic companies. Making the announcement, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the new tax rate will be applicable from the current fiscal which began on April 1. Major decisions  The revenue foregone on reduction in corporate tax and other relief measures will be ₹1.45 lakh crore annually.  In effect, the corporate tax rate will be 22% for domestic companies, if they do not avail any incentive or concession.  The changes in the Income Tax Act and Finance Act will be made effective through an ordinance.  The companies opting for 22% income tax slab would not have to pay minimum alternative tax (MAT).  Meaning, effective tax rate for new manufacturing companies will be 17.01% inclusive of all surcharge and cess.  The government has also decided to not levy enhanced surcharge introduced in Budget on capital gain arising from sale of equity shares in a company liable for securities transaction tax (STT).  Also, the super-rich tax will not to apply on capital gains arising from sale of any security including derivatives in hands of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).  The companies have now also been permitted to use their 2% CSR spend on incubation, IITs, NITs, and national laboratories.

[megalie]

Experience in Kendari part 2

Museum Negeri Sulawesi Tenggara. Special Guide by Pak Rustam. Thanking u a lot for sharing the knowledge.

1. Blue whale fossil. Menurut beliau ini merupakan fosil asli dr paus biru yg terdampar di Teluk Kendari. Yg lgsg dilindungi dan diproses menjadi bagian dari sejarah serta ditempatkan koleksinya pada halaman depan museum ini. Paus ini beberapa kali terdampar di sekitar Kendari karena kontur dasar laut yang tidak rata. Apabila paus yg trdampar masih hidup, masyarakat berbondong2 mendorongnya ke laut agar tetap hidup, namun apabila sudah mati, masyarakat menggunakan tulangnya untuk menangkal bala dan hewan2 pengganggu. Paus ini salah satu hewan yg dilindungi!

2. Rumah adat Tolaki. Ini merupakan rumah adat Kendari terutama Tolaki. Saat ini rumah adat ini sudah punah walau di pedalaman sekalipunkarena gaya masyarakat yang sudah memiliki gaya hidup modern sehingga mereka sudah tidak mau tinggal pada rumah panggung. Sayang sekali ya!

3. Rumah Perahu Suku Bajo. Ini dulunya merupakan rumah masyarakat suku Bajo. Mereka sangat senang tinggal di laut sehingga mereka lebih sering tinggal di laut dibandingkan di darat, namun saat ini sebagian masyarakat sudah tingfal di darat karena di beberapa tempat rumah laut ini kurang diijinkan.

4.Mobil Presiden pertama di Kendari. Ini merupakan mobil yg digunakan Mantan Presiden kita yaitu Bpk. Soeharto. Plat mobil ini bertuliskan Indonesia 1. Di sebelah mobil ini terdapat mobil Gubernur pertama kota Kendari.

5. Kendari tahun 1920. Cukup banyak perubahan dengan Kendari saat ini yang memiliki pelabuhan yang cukup luas dan tambang nikel dimana mana yang bs dibilang kurang ramah lingkungan. Hopefully kelestarian alam dan budayanya dpt terus terjaga.

6. Soronga. Merupakan batang kayu yang dipahat yang digunakan sebagai wadah kubur pada masa prasejarah. Dahulu umum digunakan oleh masyarakat Tolaki dan Buton.

In the end i want to tell u gaes, Indonesia itu kaya banget dan sangat beragam. Menjadi tugas kita semua untuk bisa menjaga dan melestarikan baik alam, budaya dan keberagamannya. Hidup Pancasila!

I thank God so much i can see and learn about all of His creatures. #amazing

[iasshikshalove]

Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019 GS-1 Sangam age: Why in news? In a major turning point in the cultural historiography of the ancient Sangam Age, the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department (TNAD) has stated that the cultural deposits unearthed during excavations at Keeladi in Sivaganga district could be safely dated to a period between 6th century BCE and 1st century CE. This is the first time the date has been officially announced by the TNAD. Findings of the report  The new findings in the report, released on Thursday by Minister for Tamil Culture and Archaeology K. Pandiarajan here, place Keeladi artefacts about 300 years earlier than previously believed — 3rd century BCE.  One of the six samples collected at the depth of 353 cm and sent for carbon dating test in the U.S. “goes back to 580 BCE,” Commissioner of Archaeology T. Udayachandran said.  The report titled, ‘Keeladi-An Urban Settlement of Sangam Age on the Banks of River Vaigai’, was published by the TNAD.  The results from the fourth excavations suggest that the “second urbanisation [the first being Indus] of Vaigai plains happened in Tamil Nadu around 6th century BCE as it happened in Gangetic plains.”  The report also spells the site as Keeladi as against the erstwhile widely used Keezhadi. ‘Tamil-Brahmi older’  The recent scientific dates obtained for Keeladi findings push back the date of Tamil-Brahmi script to another century, i.e., 6th century BCE.  “These results clearly ascertained that they attained literacy or learned the art of writing as early as 6th century BCE,” the 61-page report stated. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019 Tamil-Brahmi potsherds  Fifty-six Tamil-Brahmi inscribed potsherds were recovered from the site of excavation conducted by the TNAD alone, the report stated.  Pottery specimens from Keeladi sent to the Earth Science Department of Pisa University, Italy, through Vellore Institute of Technology for mineral analysis, confirmed that water containers and cooking vessels were shaped out of locally available raw materials.  “Recovery of 10 spindle whorls, 20 sharply pinpointed bone tip tools used for design creations, hanging stones of the yarn, terracotta spheres, copper needle and earthen vessels to hold liquid clearly attest to the various stages of weaving industry from spinning, yarning, looming and weaving and later for dyeing. GS-2 PoK issue Why in news? Last month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said that any talks with Pakistan, if they are held, would be over PoK and not J&K, and Home Minister Amit Shah had told Lok Sabha that "whenever I mention the State of Jammu and Kashmir, it means both Pak-Occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin are part of it". Background  A resolution unanimously adopted by Parliament on February 22, 1994 affirmed that "the State of Jammu & Kashmir has been, is and shall be an integral part of India", and demanded that "Pakistan must vacate the areas of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, which they have occupied through aggression". What lies across the LoC?  Pakistan Occupied Kashmir is an area of 13,297 sq km, which was under the control of the Pakistani forces when the ceasefire line came into effect on January 1, 1949. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019  That was after a 14-month period of hostilities between India and Pakistan, which began with an invasion of Kashmir by Pashtun tribesmen, and later its Army, to seize Kashmir.  PoK has a population of over 40 lakh, according to a census carried out in 2017.  It is divided into 10 districts: Neelum, Muzaffarabad, Hattian Bala, Bagh, and Haveli bordering areas in Kashmir, and Rawlakot, Kotli, Mirpur, and Bhimber bordering areas in Jammu.  The capital of PoK is Muzaffarabad, a town located in the valley of the Jhelum river and its tributary Neelum (which Indians call Kishanganga) to the west and slightly north of Srinagar.  In 1963, through an agreement, Pakistan ceded to China over 5,000 sq km of J&K land under its control, in the Shaksgam area, in northern Kashmir, beyond the Karakoram. And what is Gilgit Baltistan?  This is a picturesque, hilly region to the north of PoK and east of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The British sold it, along with the rest of Jammu and Kashmir, to the Dogra ruler of Jammu, Gulab Singh, after defeating the Sikh army in 1846, but retained controlled over the area through a lease extracted from the Maharaja.  This lease was last renewed in 1935. In 1947, a British army officer of the rank of Colonel imprisoned Maharaja Hari Singh's governor in the region, and handed over the area for accession to Pakistan.  Gilgit Baltistan (GB) is spread over 72,871 sq km, and is five-and-a-half times the size of PoK. But it is sparsely populated, with just under 20 lakh people.  GB is divided into three administrative divisions and 10 districts.  Gilgit, Hunza, Ghizer and Nagar are in the Gilgit administrative division; Ghanche, Shigar, Kharmang and Skardu are in the Baltistan division; and Diamer and Astore are in the Diamer division. What is the administrative status in GB?  Though both PoK and GB are ruled directly from Islamabad, neither is officially listed as the territory of Pakistan, which has just four provinces: Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (which now includes the Federally Administered Tribal areas or FATA), Balochistan, and Sindh. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019  PoK and GB are both "autonomous territories". Pakistan has kept this fiction going, as incorporating these areas into its map would damage its international position in the United Nations and elsewhere that the entire Jammu and Kashmir is "disputed".  For India, on the other hand, as per the resolution passed by Parliament in 1994, PoK and GB are both part of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India by virtue of its accession to India in 1947. GS-3 Climate Action Summit UN Secretary General António Guterres has convened a special Climate Action Summit on Monday, at the start of the annual General Assembly session, in a bid to nudge countries to do more to fight climate change. He has told world leaders to come with ‘concrete’ and ‘realistic’ proposals to enhance the actions that they are already taking. Why a special summit?  This is not the first time that a special meeting on climate change is taking place on the sidelines of the General Assembly session.  But what makes this meeting different from earlier efforts is the intention of the SecretaryGeneral not to let this become another talk shop.  Bring concrete plans, not speeches, Guterres is reported to have told the world leaders in a letter inviting them for the meeting.  More specifically, he has asked countries to bring their action plans in line with the objective of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent by 2030, and to “net zero” by 2050. In addition, he has also identified nine areas in which he would like the countries to do more. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019 What are the climate action plans he is talking about?  Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, every signatory nation is supposed to finalise and submit a set of time-bound actions that it would take to combat climate change.  The first set of action plans, called nationally determined contributions or NDCs, was submitted in 2015.  The Paris Agreement also says that the NDCs should be updated every five years, with each subsequent NDC being stronger and more ambitious than the previous one.  As per the five-year cycle, countries have to submit their second NDCs by next year.  But the Secretary-General is asking the countries to make specific additional commitments at Monday’s meeting.  In addition, he has also appealed to the countries to promise not to set up any new coal plants after 2020, stop subsidies on fossil fuels, and levy additional taxes on polluters. Importantly, he has asked all countries to commit to net zero emissions by 2050. Why has India refused?  India has said its NDC already represents its “best effort”, keeping in mind its development imperatives.  In a discussion paper released earlier this week, the government said the “new asks” from the Secretary-General, “in particular net zero emissions, mean a sweeping change across the entire economy”.  It has said this target should be kept only for developed countries.  “This can be a global aspirational goal and developed countries must be on track to take measures and legislate for net zero emissions by 2050.  But it cannot be a goal for developing countries as the technologies have not progressed and aren’t all available yet for developing countries.  And the past performance on both finance and technology front is just not reassuring for them,” it has said.  India has said while it will continue to “do its best” on climate actions, it would not commit to any long-term goal, like a net-zero emission target for 2050, at this stage. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019  Under the Paris Agreement, countries are supposed to undertake a stock-take of their actions in 2023 to see whether these were in line with the objective of keeping the global rise in temperature to below 2°C from the pre-industrial times.  “Given this, India will be better placed to consider a mid-term assessment of its actions and suitably recalibrate through re-examination and improvement when the global stocktake takes place in 2023. For the present, India may only be in a position to elaborate or clarify its post 2020 climate actions already pledged in its NDC,” it has said. So, what is expected to come out of Monday’s meeting then?  A new UN report just ahead of Monday’s meeting says at least 112 countries had expressed their intent to revise their NDCs, with 75 of them promising to enhance its ambition.  The other 37 have proposed to bring more data and information in their NDCs.  In addition, at least 53 countries had said they were working to finalise long-term strategies, like a net-zero goal by 2050.  Only 14 countries, together accounting for 26 per cent of global emissions, had categorically said they would not revise their NDCs. Many countries are likely to make these announcements at Monday’s meeting. Air-to-Air missile Astra successfully flight tested from Su-30 MKI Why in news? Air-to-Air missile, ASTRA, has been successfully flight tested on 16 September 2019 off the coast of Odisha. The missile was launched from Su-30 MKI as a part of User trials. The live aerial target was engaged accurately demonstrating the capability of first indigenous air-to-air missile. About the missile  Astra (Sanskrit: weapon[5]) is an all weather beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, India. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019  It is the first air-to-air missile developed by India. It features mid-course inertial guidance with terminal active radar homing.  Astra is designed to be capable of engaging targets at varying range and altitudes allowing for engagement of both short-range targets at a distance of 20 km (12 mi) and long-range targets up to a distance of 80 km (50 mi) .  Astra has been integrated with Indian Air Force's Sukhoi Su-30MKI and will be integrated with Dassault Mirage 2000 and Mikoyan MiG-29 in the future. Limited series production of Astra missiles began in 2017. National Centre for Clean Coal Research & Development Why in news? Union Minister of Science & Technology, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, today inaugurated the National Centre for Clean Coal Research and Development at Indian Institute of Science (IISc)-Bengaluru. Government of India through Department of Science & Technology, has set up the National Centre for Clean Coal Research and Development (NCCCR&D) as a national level consortium on clean coal R&D, led by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc)-Bengaluru. About the center  National Centre for Clean Coal Research and Development (NCCCR&D) is a national level consortium on clean coal R&D, led by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc)-Bengaluru.  The primary goal is to address several critical R&D challenges towards the development of clean coal technologies, in tandem with developing supercritical power plant technologies, both at the materials and system level.  In order to achieve international targets on climate change by minimizing anthropogenic emissions and also to address the ever-growing energy demand of India, development of clean coal technologies to reduce carbon emissions from coal-based power plants has become a prime necessity for India.  The pathways identified for lowering the carbon footprint of coal-based thermal power plants is by shifting towards high efficiency advanced ultra-supercritical (AUSC) steam power plants as well as supercritical carbon dioxide (s-CO2) based Brayton cycle power plants, along with exploration of new combustion and gasification technologies. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 20-Sep-2019 Corporate tax Why in news? In a major fiscal booster, the government on Friday slashed effective corporate tax to 25.17% inclusive of all cess and surcharges for domestic companies. Making the announcement, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the new tax rate will be applicable from the current fiscal which began on April 1. Major decisions  The revenue foregone on reduction in corporate tax and other relief measures will be ₹1.45 lakh crore annually.  In effect, the corporate tax rate will be 22% for domestic companies, if they do not avail any incentive or concession.  The changes in the Income Tax Act and Finance Act will be made effective through an ordinance.  The companies opting for 22% income tax slab would not have to pay minimum alternative tax (MAT).  Meaning, effective tax rate for new manufacturing companies will be 17.01% inclusive of all surcharge and cess.  The government has also decided to not levy enhanced surcharge introduced in Budget on capital gain arising from sale of equity shares in a company liable for securities transaction tax (STT).  Also, the super-rich tax will not to apply on capital gains arising from sale of any security including derivatives in hands of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).  The companies have now also been permitted to use their 2% CSR spend on incubation, IITs, NITs, and national laboratories.