• UN has said that people have been eating ‘grass and peanut shells’ in Darfur due to hunger crisis in Sudan.
• Since April 2023, civil war in Sudan has ensued with clashes between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF)

About Darfur:

• Darfur is a region of western Sudan, bordering Libya, Chad, and the Central African Republic.
• The latest surge in violence comes as the RSF encircles North Darfur’s capital, El Fasher
• It has halted aid convoys coming from Chad’s Tine border crossing – a humanitarian corridor that passes through El Fasher.

• BRO celebrated its 65th Raising Day

About BRO

• Apex Ministry: Ministry of Defence
• Establishment: Founded in 1960 to build and maintain roads in India's border regions and its initial project was Project Tusker (renamed as Vartak) in the east.
• Functions 
  • Beyond borders, BRO has expanded road infrastructure in various Indian states including Bihar, Maharashtra, and others, and in friendly neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Myanmar, and Afghanistan. 
  • Supports the Indian Army by maintaining roads in forward zones during national emergencies and the outbreak of hostilities.
  • Rehabilitating airfields for the Indian Air Force. 

• RBI has eased FEMA norms to facilitate foreign investment in derivatives.
  • Derivative is a financial instrument which derives its value/price from the underlying assets. 

About FEMA

• FEMA was enacted as a successor to Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) of 1973.
• Aim: Facilitating external trade and payments and for promoting the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange markets in India.
  • Two categories of foreign exchange transactions in: capital account and current account transactions.
• Liberalized Remittances Scheme allows residents to remit for any permissible current or capital account transactions.

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released draft guidelines regarding provisioning for lenders who undertake project finance.
  • As per RBI guidelines, lenders shall maintain 5% provisions on exposures to projects under implementation at various stages.

About Provisioning

• Banks in India have to set aside funds for a percentage of their assets. 
  • This means that the bank sets aside a prescribed amount of money from their profit to compensate for probable loss.

• Maharashtra plans to relocate tigers to the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur district.

About STR: 

• Located in the Sahyadri Ranges of Western Ghats in Maharashtra.
• Spread over Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli and Ratnagiri districts in western Maharashtra.
• Reserve was notified in 2010 amalgamating Koyana Sanctuary and Chandoli National Park.
• Habitat: Composed of woodlands, grasslands, and plateaus(Sadaa).
• Flora: Subtropical Hill Forests, Semi-evergreen Forests, Deciduous Forests. 
• Fauna: Tiger, Atlas Moth, Moon Moth, and other endangered Butterflies, Blue finned Mahasheer fish, also supports Hornbills.

• Cases of West Nile fever, caused by WNV, were reported in Kerala

About WNV

• Isolation: First isolated in 1937 in the West Nile district of Uganda, hence named so.
• Virus Family: a member of the flavivirus genus. 
• Vectors: Transmitted through the bites of infected mosquitoes, specifically from the genus Culex.
• Natural Hosts: Bird
• Health Risks: Can cause severe neurological diseases and death. However, approximately 80% of infected individuals do not exhibit any symptoms.
• Vaccination: Vaccines are available for horses but not for humans.

• Recently, the CEO of OpenAI, expressed his commitment to Develop AGI.

About AGI

• It refers to a hypothetical form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that possesses the ability to understand, learn, and apply knowledge in a manner that is comparable to human intelligence. 
• AGI (or strong AI) vs AI (or narrow AI)
  • AGI envisions a broader, more generalized form of intelligence, not confined to any particular task (like humans).
  • Narrow AI is designed to perform specific tasks such as image recognition, translation, playing games like chess, etc. 

• Delhi HC has said that the Minors must be taught about ‘virtual touch’ to recognise risks in cyberspace.

About Virtual touch:

• Educating 'Virtual Touch' involves teaching appropriate online behavior, recognizing predatory behavior warning signs, and understanding privacy settings and online boundaries.
  • It promotes critical thinking skills for assessing online contacts.
• Just as good and bad touch in the physical world, Virtual touch is an essential concept for minors in the digital age.
• Schools should include virtual touch, its danger, in their curriculum.