#environment red sand boa; The species is endemic to Iran, Pakistan and India. Eryx johnii is found in dry, semi-desert scrub plains and rocky dry foothills. It prefers loose sand, or sandy soil that crumbles easily, into which it burrows, living underground. Eryx johnii is ovoviviparous, with females giving birth to up to 14 young at a time in late summer to monsoon. It is very calm snake species. Eryx johnii has many superstitious beliefs attributed to it. Such blind faith has resulted in illegal trade in India, despite being a protected species under Schedule IV of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, of India..
#environment Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the foothills of the Himalayas, between the Teesta and Mahananda rivers. Situated in Darjeeling, West Bengal. In 1959, it got the status of a sanctuary mainly to protect the Indian Bison and Royal Bengal Tiger, which were facing the threat of extinction.
#technology confirmation of presence of Sulphur on moon. Laser Pulse Technique: The LIBS is a scientific technique that analyses the composition of materials by exposing them to intense laser pulses.
#international The Baltic states; or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO. Sharing borders with Russia, Poland and Belarus.
#science Tidal Disruption Event; TDE is a phenomenon that occurs when a star passes too close to a supermassive black hole and intense gravitational forces from the black hole cause tidal forces that can tear the star apart.
#international Gabon: A member of OPEC, it is Africa’s 7th largest oil producer. French colony until 1960, Gabon is bordered by Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.
#mnemonic EG-C-RC. Atlantic Ocean on the West.
#mnemonic EG-C-RC. Atlantic Ocean on the West.
#international OCCRP; The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project is a global network of investigative journalists founded in 2006.
#international The Millennium Challenge Corporation is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by the U.S. Congress in 2004. It is an independent agency separate from the State Department and USAID.
#history Britishers levied Thimir Vari (tax) on residents of Coimbatore. K.S. Palaniyappan, was among the most important members of the team that set the aerodrome on fire. Freedom fighter K.V. Ramasamy, popularly called Sulur Netaji, presided over a meeting to chalk out strategies to set the aerodrome ablaze. Maniyakarar (Village Administrative Officers in the modern day).
#environment Dorekere Lake: Bangalore. Birds: Great Cormorant, Oriental Darter, Painted Snipe.
#history The battle in which Cholas ravaged a Chera town in Kanniyakumari. The discovery of a Chola period epigraphy a near Chengam proves without doubt that Salai was an army training centre run by the Cheras. Udagai is the present day Udayagiri, where stands a huge fort constructed in the 18th Century by Eustachius de Lannoy, a Portuguese soldier, who later became the chieftain of the Travancore army after his defeat in the battle of Colachel. Kalingathu Parani (a literary work) also makes a reference to Raja Raja’s role in the war and how he returned to his country with a lot of elephants from Udagai. Pazhuvettaraiyars were advisers of the Chola Kings.
#culture Yerukula Tribe: Andhra Pradesh. Stuartpuram derives it’s name from Its name from Harold Stuart, a British civil servant who served as Home Minister in the early 1900s.