UPSC Must Read News Articles – November 25th, 2018

GS 2

FBI help proved crucial in tracing 26/11 attackers’ boat to Pak.

An intelligence official, since retired, who supervised the investigations in 2008-09, told The Hindu that the FBI sent one of its agents to the headquarters of Yamaha Motor in Japan to seek help in tracing the person who purchased the engine. The unique number engraved on the engine had been erased by the conspirators. The FBI asked Yamaha’s dealer in the U.S. for help, the official said. The dealer directed them to Yamaha’s office in Japan.

Odisha now has a lexicon for rare tribal languages

Move seen as a push to preserve vanishing native languages in State with largest tribal diversity

A dying disease, but leprosy colonies still face stigma, shortage of funds

Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is a bacterial disease which affects the skin and nerves which can lead to physical deformity and disability if left untreated. Despite a centuries-long stigma, it is not hereditary, it is completely curable, and is only mildly infectious – more than 85% of cases are non-infectious and over 95% of the population has a natural immunity to the disease.

Why is Facebook caught in a crisis?

Facebook has faced a set of festering and interconnected problems, many of which have come to a boil over the last two years, starting around the time of the U.S. presidential election.

GS 3

Water flow in Ganga ‘woefully inadequate’

While the government has promised to reduce pollution in the Ganga by 70% by March 2019, environmentalists say that this relies on setting up sewage plants rather than ensuring that the natural flow of the river isn’t blocked and thereby hobbling its propensity to clean itself.

The lowdown on tiger relocation

At a time when the killing of tigress Avni in Maharashtra has triggered massive outrage, the death of a tiger in Odisha has sparked fears among forest officials and experts over the fate of the first interState translocation of tigers in the country.

Assessing Gaja’s havoc in Tamil Nadu

At least 13 persons died and public infrastructure and private properties in seven districts were damaged as Cyclone Gaja wreaked havoc in Tamil Nadu on Friday. The severe cyclonic storm that made a midnight landfall near Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district left a trail of destruction over seven hours with wind speeds as high as 110 kmph.

NCCS: Mass bathing during Kumbh Mela alters bacterial load, diversity

Bacterial populations in the river undergo huge loss in diversity but a steep increase in bacterial load when millions of people bathe at designated bathing sites during Kumbh Mela, a team of researchers has found. The loss in microbial diversity was nearly 37.5% while the increase in bacterial load was about 130-fold during the event.