The global community recently celebrated the International Day of the Girl Child on October 11. An annual celebration, this day shines a spotlight on the importance of girls’ education, their rights, and promotes gender equality. 2023 marked a special year when a young woman from Chennai got to experience a day as a diplomat, a golden opportunity she won at a competition by the British High Commission.
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995 laid an action plan to amplify the rights of girls worldwide. To further this cause, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 in 2011, officially marking October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child. The theme for 2023 was “Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being.”
Tele MANAS Seva and World Mental Health Day
On World Mental Health Day, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare celebrated the success of Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele MANAS) Seva. Launched in 2022, Tele-MANAS Seva is a mental health counseling service providing universal access to equitable, accessible, affordable, and quality mental health care across all Indian states and union territories.
With assured linkages to the National Mental Health Programme, Tele-MANAS Seva offered 24×7 services via toll-free access with audio calling and auto-call back systems. By October 11, 2023, they had successfully provided counsel to over 350,000 people.
The Science Behind Rainbows
Rainbows, beautiful meteorological phenomena that fill the sky with radiant hues after rainfall, are caused via intricate processes of light refraction and reflection. Sunlight’s rays interact with raindrops, which act as prisms to bend and disperse the light into its constituent colors. The rainbow’s appearance and location depend on the sun’s height and the specific angles at which the colors reach an observer’s eye.
National Waterways 44: Ichamati River
India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways has announced a significant dredging project on National Waterways 44, which includes West Bengal’s Ichamati River. The project aims to increase the river’s navigational depth and enhance its ability to manage tidal influences.
National waterways like Ichamati play a crucial role in transportation, with India boasting a network of 111 such inland waterways. Overseen by the Inland Waterways Authority of India, these waterways facilitate the transportation of approximately 55 million tonnes of cargo annually.
Devastating Earthquake Rocks Northwestern Afghanistan
A severe earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 recently struck northwestern Afghanistan, causing extensive devastation. The sudden and violent shaking of the ground, characteristic of earthquakes, results from the release of seismic waves propelling through the earth. The epicenter refers to the point on the Earth’s surface directly above the earthquake’s origin, while the hypocenter signifies the location within the Earth where the quake’s energy is released. This disaster has left residents battling adversity, desperate to reconstruct their lives amid the ruins.