Rapid Fire Current Affairs | 29 Sep 2023

2018- Everyone is a Hero is a Malayalam survival drama that is India's official entry for the 96^th Academy Awards. The film is based on the devastating Kerala floods of 2018.
In August 2018, Kerala experienced its worst floods since 1924 due to torrential rainfall environmental factors like encroachment, sand mining, and deforestation in the Western Ghats contributed to the disaster.
The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
- The awards recognize and celebrate all aspects of the film industry and the diverse, talented people who make movies.
India won two Oscars at the 95^th Academy Awards in 2023. "Naatu Naatu" from RRR won Best Original Song, and "The Elephant Whisperers" secured Best Documentary Short.

The Gujarat government has banned the planting of Conocarpus trees, a non-indigenous species, in both forested and non-forested areas. The government cited the trees' adverse impacts on the environment and human health. Earlier, Telangana too had banned the plant species.
Conocarpus trees, a fast-growing mangrove shrub found in tropical and subtropical coastal areas globally, have been planted to boost green cover in certain regions.
- However, their small winter flowers produce pollen that can cause health issues like colds, coughs, asthma, and allergies. Moreover, their deep root systems can harm infrastructure, particularly drainage systems.

Recently, the first UrbanShift Forum (Asia) was held in New Delhi.

The primary objective was to provide training and capacity-building to regional cities for integrated and sustainable urban development.
UrbanShift is a Global Environment Facility(GEF)-funded program within Urban Development and the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. It is led by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and implemented in partnership with C40 Cities, International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), UNDP, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank.

The Pangolin, an elusive and highly endangered creature often touted as the world's most trafficked mammal, has unveiled a hidden secret.

Previously thought to consist of eight species—four Asian and four African varieties—research has revealed the existence of a ninth pangolin species, provisionally named Manis mysteria.
- This discovery was made through the analysis of scales confiscated from traffickers in China's Yunnan province in 2015 and 2019.
Despite a ban on international trade since 2016, the newly discovered pangolin species is already under pressure, showing signs of declining population, low genetic diversity, inbreeding, and genetic load.

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