• The first tri-Service exercise between India and the US, named 'Tiger Triumph' which will largely focus on amphibious HADR (humanitarian relief and disaster relief) operations, will kick off along the eastern coast in the Bay of Bengal.
• It was announced by US President Donald Trump during the “Howdy Modi Event” at Houston.

• Thousands of migratory birds of about ten species were found dead around Sambhar Lake near Jaipur.
• Sambhar Lake is India’s largest inland salt lake.
• It is a recognised wetland of international importance, and hosts thousands of migratory birds during winters.
• The dead birds included plovers, common coots, black winged stilts, northern shovelers, ruddy shelducks and pied avocets.

• Ultima Thule, the farthest cosmic body ever visited by a spacecraft, has been renamed Arrokoth, or 'sky' in the Native American Powhatan language.
• The icy rock, which orbits in the dark and frigid Kuiper Belt about a billion miles beyond Pluto, was surveyed by the NASA spaceship New Horizons in January, with images showing it consisted of two spheres stuck together in the shape of a snowman.
• Its technical designation is 2014 MU69.

National Emergency (Article 352)

• It can be proclaimed only when the security of India or a part of it is threatened by war, external aggression or armed rebellion.
• During its operation, the state executive and legislature continue to function and exercise the powers assigned to them under the Constitution. Its effect is that the Centre gets concurrent powers of administration and legislation in the state.
• There is no maximum period prescribed for its operation. It can be continued indefinitely with the approval of Parliament for every six months.

President’s Rule (Article 356)

• It can be proclaimed when the government of a state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution due to reasons which may not have any connection with war, external aggression or armed rebellion.
• During its operation, the state executive is dismissed and the state legislature is either suspended or dissolved. The president administers the state through the governor and the Parliament makes laws for the state. In brief, the executive and legislative powers of the state are assumed by the Centre.
• There is a maximum period prescribed for its operation, that is, three years. Thereafter, it must come to an end and the normal constitutional machinery must be restored in the state.
• President's rule has been recently imposed in Maharashtra.
• The state legislative assembly has been kept under suspended animation. 

• A small deer-like creature that conservationists feared was extinct has been photographed recently, in Vietnam, for the first time in almost three decades.
• Scientists had last spotted the Silver-Backed Chevrotain, also called the Vietnamese mouse-deer, in 1990 in central Vietnam.
• The rabbit-size chevrotain lives in a tropical forest-covered part of the Asian nation, is often targeted by poachers.
• Mouse-deer aren’t actually deer (or mice, as it happens) but ungulates, a group that includes deer along with other herbivorous, hoofed animals.

• Recently Kerala government launched K-Fon (Kerala-Fiber Optic Network) project.
• It will provide free high speed internet connection to over 20 Lakh Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.
•  The program is aimed at giving a push to the digitization of government services.
• Kerala was the first in India to announce right to access the Internet as a basic human right.

• Since 2009, November 12 has been observed as ‘World Pneumonia Day’ to raise awareness about the infection.
• It is a form of acute respiratory infection that affects the lungs.
• WHO identifies pneumonia is the single largest cause of death in children worldwide.
• Every year, it kills an estimated 1.4 million children under the age of five years.
• According to the WHO’s factsheet on pneumonia, infectious agents may include bacteria, viruses and fungi.
• Pneumonia caused by bacteria can be treated with antibiotics, but only one third of children with pneumonia receive the antibiotics they need.

• It is the India-Russia Military Exercise.
• This year’s iteration of the bilateral exercise will include air, ground, and naval components making it the tri-service exercise.

• It is a small, experimental airplane powered by electricity.
• All-electric technology will make flying cleaner, quieter, and more sustainable.
• It is a project of NASA.
• Located in NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, the experimental aircraft is in the first of three configurations, called Modification II or Mod II.
• This version replaces a traditional combustion engine with electric cruise motors that are potentially quieter and more efficient, as well as being better for the environment.

• The National Sustainable Spice Programme (NSSP) is an join initiative of,

1. The World Spice Organisation (an arm of the All-India Spices Exporters Forum),
2. Spices Board of India,
3. IDH (the Sustainable Trade Initiative) and
4. GIZ Global Project of Germany

• The NSSP targets to convert a quarter of all the spices grown in the country sustainable by 2025. 
• The multi-stakeholder programme will help farmers reduce the use of pesticides and contaminants.
• It will address issues such as high dependency on chemical fertilisers and exploitation of natural resources, which contribute to climate change and outbreak of new diseases