World-Historical Events of 9th September : Past & Present
World First Aid Day 2023: Anniversary Battle Of Solfernio
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) declared World First Aid Day in 2000 on the second Saturday of September because it was the anniversary of the Battle of Solferino between the French and Austrian empires in 1859, which resulted in thousands of casualties.
Since 2000 World First Aid has been observed annually on the second Saturday of September to raise awareness of the critical role that first aid plays in saving the lives of people during the golden hour of emergency. First aid is a life-saving step that can significantly preserve life, stabilise and ensure safe transportation to the hospital. The Theme of this year's World First Aid Day 2023 is "First Aid In The Digital World" to promote digital platforms such as mobile apps, online videos and online physician consultations which can be utilized in the golden hour of emergency before reaching the hospital.
International Sudoku Day: Celebration Logic-Based Puzzle
The name "Sudoku" comes from the Japanese words "suji" (number) and "doku" (single). International Sudoku Day was created by The World Puzzle Federation in 2013 to promote the game and to encourage people to learn how to play the Logic-Based Number-Placement Puzzle. This day also recognises the benefits of playing Sudoku, such as its ability to improve mental agility and problem-solving skills in our day-to-day life.
Battle of Bzura (1939) : Battle Of Kunto
The Battle of Bzura, which took place near Kutno and Buzra River, Poland, on September 9, 1939, during World War II, between Polish and German forces. It was a crucial turning point in the early stages of the war, as Polish forces, led by General Tadeusz Kutrzeba, attempted to mount a counteroffensive against the invading German Wehrmacht, commanded by General Johannes Blaskowitz. Despite the Polish force's determination, they were ultimately overwhelmed by superior German firepower and tactics, leading to a decisive German victory. The Battle demonstrated the effectiveness of German military strategy and set the stage for the occupation of Poland.
Sachin Tendulkar's First ODI Century: A Cricketing Legend
On September 9, 1994, Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar scored his first-ever century in One Day International (ODI) cricket against Australia. Tendulkar was just 21 years old at the time, and this century was a major milestone in his career. He is considered to be one of the greatest batsmen of all time, and his first ODI century was a major turning point in his career.
Foundation Day of North Korea: Aftermath of World War II
On this day, September 1948, North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), came into existence with Kim Il Sung serving as its inaugural Premier. The Korean Peninsula was fractioned after World War II and due to the persistent Cold War tussle between the USSR supporting the Northern and the USA patronaging the Southern part and natives of the Peninsula the line of the 38th parallel still exists and resulted in the formation of two nations with separate ideologies of communist and socialist.
Independence Day of Tajikistan: Dissolution of USSR 1991
Tajikistan is a landlocked Central Asia country (Capital-Dushanbe) that declared its independence from the Soviet Union on September 9, 1991, following the disintegration of the USSR. This country has been under Russian rule since the 19th century and was later established as the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union in 1929.
Bulgaria Coup d'État 1934: Kimon Georgiev's Rise to Power
On 9 September 1944 in Bulgaria, a coup d'état took place that ousted the government of Konstantin Muraviev just one week after it came to power. The coup successfully replaced Muraviev's government with one led by the Fatherland Front, under the leadership of Kimon Georgiev who became the Prime Minister. He initiated a series of reforms in the Agriculture and Industries sectors. The coup was backed by the USSR and resulted in the establishment of a communist government in Bulgaria. (A Balkan State Capital Sofia).
Attica Prison Riot: Violent Brutality & Prison Reform in US
Attica Prison Rebellion occurred on 9 September 1971, at the Attica Correctional Facility in New York—the Attica Prison Riot. During this incident, inmates seized control of the prison, setting off a four-day standoff with authorities from 9-12 September 1971. The prisoners were united in their demands for better living conditions such as proper food, medical care and educational facilities. On 13 September, State police violently suppressed the riot after a failed negotiation, in 43 persons were killed. It led to the comprehensive prison reform in the United States.
Unix Billennium: A Major Milestone in the History of Computing
The Unix Billennium was celebrated on September 9, 2001, marking the passage of one billion seconds since the Unix epoch, or the time at which the first Unix system was booted up. Unix is a computer operating system that was developed in the 1970s by a group of programmers at Bell Labs. It is a powerful and versatile operating system that is used on a wide variety of computers, from mainframes to personal computers. Unix is also the basis for many other operating systems, including Linux and macOS.
Top Headlines of 9 Sept 2023:
1. ED attaches Rs 3.4Cr. assets in cryptocurrency cheating case:
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 3,43,68,376 in the Morris Coin Crypto Currency Case (a cheating case) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The attached assets include the balance in the bank accounts of Flywithme Mobile LLP (a partnership firm of Nishad K and Hasif K) and the immovable property of Ansari P, an associate of Nishad K.
The ED initiated investigations on the basis of FIRs registered in various police stations against Nishad K and others for cheating people on the pretext of giving high returns of 2-3 percent per day to the investors. The PMLA probe revealed that Nishad K collected deposits from the investors through his various firms such as Long Rich Global, Long Rich Technologies and Morris Trading Solutions in the guise of Initial Coin Offer for the launch of Morris Coin Crypto Currency.
“The money was redistributed to the investors in the guise of profits under a ponzi scheme initially and later the payments to investors were stopped. The profits generated by the accused out of the illegal activity were identified as Rs 54 crore,” the ED said in a statement.
Earlier, the ED had conducted multiple searches across the country on the premises of Nishad K and his associates, and had seized Rs.21 lakh approximately along with various incriminating documents.
Abdul Gafoor, Managing Director of Stoxglobal Brokers Pvt. Ltd and an associate of Nishad K was arrested on March 24, 2022. Movable and immovable properties pertaining to the firms and associates of Nishad K to the tune of about Rs 50.72 crore were provisionally attached and subsequently confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority.
The ED had also filed a Prosecution Complaint or chargesheet against six accused persons in this case before the Special Court, PMLA, Kozhikode on May 21, 2022.
2. Big wild herbivores can protect nature:
Big wild herbivores like jumbos, bison and rhinos can protect local nature by eating and trampling on biodiversity-threatening invasive plant species, researchers from the Uttarakhand-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and Aarhus University in Denmark have concluded after assessing huge data gathered from the world's largest wildlife survey conducted in India.
Regarding native plants, they said, that these have evolved in such a way that they can withstand brutal treatment from species of herbivores they have co-existed with for millennia, while invasive plants usually cannot. Their study is published in the scientific journal, Nature Ecology & Evolution.
The researchers used a battery of 26,838 camera stations and 158,979 vegetation plots to assess the relationships between megaherbivores, native plants and alien plants across India sprawling over 121,330 km2 of area.
The study is based on what the researchers call mega-herbivores, i.e. animals weighing more than one ton. In India, these are elephants, rhinos, wild water buffalo and Indian bison (the largest and heaviest bovine in the world).
However, the researchers also pointed out that the results are also relevant for areas that do not have herbivores quite as large as those in India.
The study demonstrates a positive correlation between the number of mega-herbivores and the balance between native and invasive plant species: Where there are many mega-herbivores, there are also many native plants and fewer invasive plants. Because their large size means that they have to eat a lot. And they are used to eating many different plant species, even species with less nutritional value because they simple cannot afford to be picky. Therefore, they are more likely to include unfamiliar plants in their diet.
The study's lead author, Ninad Avinash Mungi from Aarhus University, however, stressed that "You can easily use a mixture of large, medium and small herbivores. Deer, buffalo, cattle and horses work well together in rewilding projects, and together they can also target different invasive plant species. This also makes efforts more flexible and resilient," he said.
“Megaherbivores, with broad dietary tolerances, could remove large biomass of established plants, facilitating new plant growth…This relationship was strongest in protected areas with midproductive ecosystem and high megaherbivore density but it was lost in areas where thicket-forming alien plants predominated (>40% cover),” said Qamar Qureshi, co-author and senior wildlife expert from the WII.
His colleague from WII and also co-author of the study, Yadvendradev V Jhala added, “by incorporating the role of ecosystem productivity, plants traits and densities of megaherbivores on megaherbivore–vegetation relationships, our study highlights a function of megaherbivores in controlling alien plant proliferation and facilitating diverse native plants in invaded ecosystems.”
The study holds importance for biodiversity-rich countries like India where unchecked growth of invasive plant species is threatening native flora and fauna. The United Nations has designated invasive species as one of the five most important threats to global biodiversity. Invasive species are animals, plants and fungi that are introduced to areas to which they cannot spread themselves, and that also harm native biodiversity.
3. American explorer trapped 3,000 feet deep in the cave:
Rescuers from across Europe rushed to a cave in Turkey on Thursday, launching an operation to save an American researcher who became trapped almost 1,000 metres below the cave’s entrance after suffering stomach bleeding. Experienced caver Mark Dickey, 40, suddenly became ill during an expedition with a handful of others, including three other Americans, in the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains, the European Association of Cave Rescuers said. While rescuers, including a Hungarian doctor, have reached and treated Dickey, it could be days and possibly weeks before they are able to get him out of the cave, which is too narrow in places for a stretcher to pass through. In a video message from inside the cave made available Thursday by Turkey’s communications directorate, Dickey thanked the caving community and the Turkish government for their efforts.
Doctors will decide whether he will need to leave the cave on a stretcher or if he can leave under his own power.
Dickey, who had been bleeding and losing fluid from his stomach, has stopped vomiting and has eaten for the first time in days, according to a New Jersey-based cave rescue group he’s affiliated with. It’s unclear what caused his medical issue.
The New Jersey Initial Response Team said the rescue will require many teams and constant medical care. The group says the cave is also quite cold — about 4 to 6 degrees Celsius.
Communication with Dickey takes about five to seven hours and is carried out by runners, who go from Dickey to the camp below the surface where a telephone line to speak with the surface has been set up.
Experts said it would be a challenge to successfully rescue Dickey.
Yusuf Ogrenecek of the Speleological Federation of Turkey said that one of the most difficult tasks of cave rescue operations is widening the narrow cave passages to allow stretcher lines to pass through at low depths.
Stretcher lines are labour intensive and require experienced cave rescuers working long hours, Ogrenecek said. He added that other difficult factors range from navigating through mud and water at low temperatures to the psychological toll of staying inside a cave for long periods of time.
Marton Kovacs of the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service said that the cave is being prepared for Dickey’s safe extraction. Passages are being widened and the danger of falling rocks is also being addressed.
Turkish disaster relief agency AFAD and rescue team UMKE are working with Turkish and international cavers on the plan to hoist Dickey out of the cave system, the European Cave Rescue Association said.
The rescue effort currently involves more than 170 people, including doctors, paramedics who are tending to Dickey and experienced cavers, Ogrenecek said, adding that the rescue operation could take up to two to three weeks.
The operation includes rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Turkey.
Dickey was described by the association as “a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself” who is well known as a cave researcher, or speleologist, from his participation in many international expeditions. He is secretary of the association’s medical committee.
Dickey was on an expedition mapping the 1,276-metre deep Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association (ASPEG) when he ran into trouble about 1,000 metres down, according to Ogrenecek. He initially became ill on September 2, but it took until the morning of Sept. 3 to notify others who were above ground.
4. Powerful earthquake causes damage across Morocco:
A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.8 has struck central Morocco, killing at least 1,000 people, and causing damage in several areas.
The epicentre was in the High Atlas Mountains, 71km (44 miles) southwest of Marrakesh, at a depth of 18.5km, the US Geological Survey said.
It struck at 23:11 local time, followed by a 4.9 aftershock 19 minutes later.
People died in Marrakesh and several areas to the south, the country's interior ministry said.
5. UK PM Rishi Sunak, and First Lady Akshata Murty to visit Delhi's Akshardham temple tomorrow:
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak and First Lady Akshata Murty are scheduled to visit the Akshardham temple in Delhi on Sunday.
6. Chandrababu Naidu Arrested in AP Skill Development Corruption Case:
Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu was arrested at around 6 a.m. from R K Function Hall at Gnanapuram in Nandyala town in an alleged Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation scam, the state police said on Saturday morning. Naidu has been arrested under relevant IPC sections, including Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), and 465 (forgery). In addition, AP CID has also invoked the Prevention of Corruption Act against him. The APSSDC was established in 2016 during the TDP government in Andhra Pradesh. The program focused on the empowerment of unemployed youth by providing skill training. The AP CID started an investigation into an alleged scam worth ₹3,300 crore in March which revealed that the project was initiated without following a proper tendering process, the investigation also uncovered several other irregularities in the program which include no project approval from the Andhra Pradesh cabinet, failure to invest resources of Siemens Industry Software India (a part of the consortium involved in the MoU signed by the TDP government), and funnelling of funds allocated for the project into shell companies.
7. FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 final: Germany vs Serbia:
Germany shocked the USA in the semis to make their maiden final. Serbia will be contesting their second men's final. German men made it into their maiden Basketball World Cup final after stunning five-time world champions USA 113-111 in the semi-finals. Serbia defeated Canada 95-86 in the other semis to make their second final appearance in the last three editions. The result also means that a new team will be crowned the basketball world champions on Sunday.
8. Russia holds elections in occupied Ukrainian areas:
Russian authorities are holding local elections this weekend in occupied parts of Ukraine in an effort to tighten their grip on territories Moscow illegally annexed a year ago and still does not fully control. The voting for Russian-installed legislatures in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions begins Friday and concludes Sunday. It has already been denounced by Kyiv and the West. “It constitutes a flagrant violation of international law, which Russia continues to disregard,” the Council of Europe, the continent’s foremost human rights body, said this week.
