Notes:
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav launched “Prakriti”, mascot that spreads awareness about small changes in life that can curb plastic pollution.
It also highlights various green initiatives taken by Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to ensure effective Plastic Waste Management (PWM) in the country.

Notes:
The 2022 update of the World Health Organization’s air quality database highlights that 99 per cent of the world population breathes air that exceeds WHO air quality limits.
The update also introduces ground measurements of annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which is a common urban pollutant. As of now, over 6,000 cities in 117 countries are monitoring air quality.

Notes:
Sweden has launched a pilot project to reduce the carbon emissions involved in steel production by switching some of that process from burning coking coal to burning hydrogen.
HYBRIT or Hydrogen Breakthrough Iron-making Technology – is a joint venture between steel giant SSAB, mining company LKAB and Swedish state-owned power firm Vattenfall. As per World Steel Association, every metric ton of steel produced emitted twice that much carbon dioxide.

Notes:
The Blue Nile, a subsidiary of the Nile River originates at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and travels through Ethiopia and Sudan.
A shipwreck on the Blue Nile River happened in Sudan’s Sennar province has killed 23 people, all of them female. The Blue Nile is an important transport route for people and goods in the African nations.

Notes:
‘Wagner Group’, is a private military company of Russia. As per British military intelligence, 1,000 mercenaries from the ‘Wagner Group’ are being deployed to eastern Ukraine.
The group has been active over the past eight years in Ukraine, Syria and African countries. It has repeatedly been accused of war crimes and human rights abuses. The Wagner Group first went into operation during Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.