1. PEGASUS
- It has been reported that the popular messaging platform WhatsApp was used to spy on journalists and human rights activists in India earlier this year.
- The surveillance was carried out using an Israeli spyware tool called Pegasus.
- Most of those targeted in India were journalists, Dalit and human rights activists and lawyers.
- It has been developed by the Israeli cyberarms firm, NSO Group. The NSO Group is a Tel Aviv-based cyber-security company that specializes in “surveillance technology” and claims to help governments and law enforcement agencies across the world fight crime and terrorism.
2. UNESCO Creative City
- Two Indian cities has now been officially designated as a Unesco Creative City– Hyderabad in Gastronomy category, Mumbai in Film category.
- It is among the 66 new cities named by the Unesco in the list of new Creative Cities, which aims at pushing the Sustainable Development Goals through innovative thinking and action.
- The designation of Hyderabad in the creative cities’ list would bring new opportunities and turn the focus on the city’s rich culinary heritage and tradition.
- The industry employs 12% of the Hyderabad city’s population either directly or indirectly.
- UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).
- UCCN was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
3. Dharma Guardian-2019
- The second edition of the bilateral annual military exercise ‘Dharma Guardian-2019’ between Indian and Japanese Army culminated on October 31 at the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) at Vairengte in Mizoram.
- The primary focus of the exercise was to train and equip the contingents in counter-insurgency and counter- terrorism operations in mountainous terrain
- As part of the exercise, lectures, demonstrations and drills related to counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations were conducted
- Besides fostering mutual understanding and trust, the joint exercise marks reaffirmation of India and Japan to further bolster bilateral security and defence cooperation.
4. BAMBOO TECHNOLOGY PARKS
- Union Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) announced that Bamboo Technology Parks would be set up in the two new Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
- The Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) under North Eastern Council (NEC) will implement the project.
- The model for bamboo cultivation, harvesting and utilization currently existing in the North Eastern Region shall be replicated in the two new Union Territories to give a fillip to the sector.
- The project for setting up three new Bamboo Technology Parks in Jammu, Srinagar and Leh would be in consonance with the National Bamboo Mission (NBM).
- A Bamboo Industrial Park has already been approved to be set up in the Dima Hasao district of Assam.