TITBITS:
1.Underlining those leaders of the Quad grouping -
India, the US, Japan and Australia - were meeting amid global "tensions
and conflicts", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that they "are not
against anyone", and all of them "support a rules-based international
order, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the peaceful
resolution of all issues".
2. India and the US have agreed to set up a
semiconductor fabrication plant to make chips for use in "national
security, next-generation telecommunications and green energy
applications", according to the Indo-US joint fact sheet. Both US
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the "watershed
arrangement", the first such project where the US Military has agreed to a
partnership on highly valued technology with India.
3. The rings of Saturn are perhaps the most stunning
features of the Solar System. Earth may once have boasted something similar, a
study published earlier this month in the journal Earth and Planetary Science
Letters found.
4. Azerbaijan, the
host of this year's climate change conference, COP29, has proposed to launch a
new climate fund for developing countries. The fund can be financed through
"voluntary" contributions from fossil-fuel-producing countries and
companies, according to Azerbaijan.
5. Nearly 97.7% of all cases of atrocities against
Scheduled Castes in 2022 were reported from 13 States, with Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh recording the highest number of such crimes,
according to a new government report.
According to the latest report under the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the Social
Justice and Empowerment Ministry, the majority of atrocities against Scheduled
Tribes (STs) were also concentrated in 13 states, which reported 98.91% of all
cases in 2022.
6. Sri Lanka's Leader
of Opposition Sajith Premadasa, who lost to leftist leader Anura Kumara
Dissanayake in Saturday's presidential election, garnered the highest share of
the Tamil minority's vote, data published by the Election Commission of Sri
Lanka showed.