Geography 

Lonar Lake: The Hindu 

The Maharashtra government plans to submit a proposal to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to include the famous Lonar Lake in Buldhana district in the Unesco World Heritage Sites list, officials have said.

Lonar Lake

• Location: Lagoon lake in Buldhana district, Maharashtra.
• Formation: Created by a meteorite impact around 50,000 years ago & is the only known saline crater lake globally.
• Characteristics: Water is seven times saltier than seawater.
• Dimensions: Diameter: 1.2 km; Depth: 150 meters
• Unique Feature: Color changes from green to pink due to microorganisms thriving in its saline and alkaline water.

World Affairs 

India to chair 68th Session of UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs - The Hindu 

The Indian Embassy in Austria said recently that India has been chosen to Chair the 68th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND).

UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs

Economy 

On reforms in merchant shipping—The Hindu

The government is preparing to introduce several significant bills aimed at driving much-needed reforms in the shipping industry. Key among them are the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2024 and the Coastal Shipping Bill, 2024, both of which promise to bring transformative changes to boost the sector.

Union Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology to inaugurate Fourth Edition of India Internet Governance Forum (PIB) 

The India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF) 2024 is being held on December 9-10, 2024, at the Bharat Mandapam Convention Center, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

Science and Technology 

The antimatter idea offers scientists clue to cracking cosmic mystery - The Hindu

Theorised by the English physicist Paul A.M. Dirac in 1928 and observed in cosmic rays by American physicist Carl Anderson in 1932, an antiparticle is a ‘partner’ of a particle type that has the same mass but opposite charge. For example, the antielectron is the antiparticle of the electron; it has the same mass and is positively charged.

Antimatter

• Definition: Similar to matter but with opposite electric charges, often called "mirror matter."
• Examples: Positron (antimatter of electron), antiprotons, and antineutrons (antimatter of protons and neutrons).
• Origin: Formed during the Big Bang; a slight imbalance allowed matter to dominate.
• Interaction with Matter: Annihilates upon contact with matter, releasing energy as gamma rays or particles.
• Human-made: Created in particle accelerators like CERN's LHC.
• Natural Production: Occurs sporadically in the universe.

In a first, Indian Institute of Astrophysics astronomers spot ultraviolet emissions from novae in Andromeda galaxy—the Hindu 

Astronomers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have spotted far ultra violet (FUV) emissions from novae for the first time in the neighbouring Andromeda galaxy.

Significance of the Research

• Discovery: Ultraviolet emissions detected from 42 novae, a type of stellar explosion. Four novae observed during their outburst phase.
• Implications: Enables study of binary star systems in the nearest galaxy at different life phases like matter accumulation from companion stars & ejection of matter into space.