• The Bekaa Valley is a fertile region located in eastern Lebanon, nestled between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges. Renowned for its agricultural productivity, it is a major source of Lebanon’s wine, fruits, and vegetables.

• The Living Planet Report 2024 is a biennial assessment by conservation organisation the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
• The Living Planet Report 2024 revealed that the average size of monitored wildlife populations has decreased by 73 per cent since 1970.
• The Living Planet Index (LPI) tracks trends in nearly 35,000 populations of 5,495 species.
• Freshwater populations experienced the steepest decline at 85%, followed by terrestrial (69%) and marine (56%).
• Regions wise : It highlights significant declines in monitored wildlife populations across different regions:
  • Latin America and the Caribbean: 95% decline
  • Africa: 76% decline
  • Asia-Pacific: 60% decline
  • North America: 39% decline
  • Europe and Central Asia: 35% decline
• Some populations have stabilized or increased due to conservation efforts, such as:
  • Mountain gorillas increased by about 3% per year in East Africa (2010-2016).
  • Bison populations rose from 0 to 6,800 in central Europe (1970-2020).
• Primary Threats: The main threats to wildlife include:
  • Habitat loss and degradation
  • Overharvesting (mainly from the global food system)
  • Invasive species
  • Disease
  • Climate change

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon(UNIFIL)

• UNIFIL is a peacekeeping force in Lebanon, originally set up by the UN Security Council in March 1978 after Israel first invaded Lebanon in what became known as the South Lebanon Conflict.
• UNIFIL was established to oversee the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and to restore peace and security in the area.
• After a 34-day war in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, in which 1,100 Lebanese people were killed, UNIFIL’s mandate was expanded to monitor the cessation of hostilities and support Lebanese armed forces deployed throughout southern Lebanon.
• Funding: UNIFIL is funded through a separate account approved on an annual basis by the General Assembly. 
• It is a part of the UN Peacekeeping force.
• UNIFIL’s rules of engagement allow the use of force only if necessary for self-defense or to carry out its duties.

Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 2021 

• Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act was passed on December 20, 2021 to regulate the practice of ART clinics and ART banks in India.
• Objective: It deals with proper supervision, regulation, licensing, and ensuring good ethical practices in the rapidly evolving field of assisted reproduction.
• Significance: With the advent of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) technology, there has been a rise in ART clinics in the country necessitating the need for supervision and regulation to safeguard the rights of women seeking fertility treatment. 

Features of ART Act 2021

• Provision of ART services: ART services will be provided through ART clinics, which offer ART related treatments and procedures, and  ART banks, which collect, screen and store gametes.   
• Registration of ART clinics and banks: Under the act, a National Registry is to be maintained which acts as a central database with details of all ART clinics and banks in the country.  
  • The central and state governments have to appoint appropriate authorities to support registration related services.
• National and State Boards: The National and State Boards constituted under the Surrogacy Act 2021 will also act as the National and State Boards for the regulation of ART services.  
• Registration of Clinics: The central government will appoint authorities called the Appropriate Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Authority which will regulate the registration of clinics for both surrogacy and ART services. 
  • The Authorities will be constituted at national and state level.
• Eligibility Criteria for Commissioning Parties:  ART services may be commissioned by Single women or married couples where the woman is between 21 and 50 years of age, and the man is between 21 and 55 years and the married couples must be infertile.
  • Foreigners are not prohibited from availing ART services. 
• Eligibility Criteria for Donors:  A bank may obtain semen from males between 21 and 55 years of age, and eggs from females between 23 and 35 years of age.  
  • The woman may donate eggs only once in her life and not more than seven eggs may be retrieved from her.  
  • A bank must not supply gametes of a single donor to more than one commissioning party (i.e. couples or single women seeking services).
• Conditions for Offering Services: ART procedures must be conducted only with the written consent of the commissioning parties and the donor.  
  • Genetic disease screening:Clinics are required to check for genetic diseases before implantation and are prohibited from providing any sex-selective services (e.g. sex determination).
  • Insurance Coverage for donor: Parties seeking ART services have to provide insurance coverage in the favour of the oocyte donor (for any loss, damage, or death of the donor). 
• Rights of a child born through ART:  A child born through ART will be deemed to be a biological child of the commissioning couple and will be entitled to the rights and privileges available to a natural child of the commissioning couple.  
  • A donor will not have any parental rights over the child.
• Duties of ART Clinics and Banks:  ART clinics and banks have to share information related to enrolment of the commissioning parties and donors, procedures being undertaken, and outcome of the procedure, with the National Registry.  
  • The records of all donations have to be maintained for at least 10 years, after which the records must be transferred to the National Registry.   
• Regulating Surrogacy: The Act brings into its ambit the treatment of surrogacy and hence ensures protection of the rights of surrogate mothers

• Vat Phou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in Laos.
• The Vat Phou Temple Complex is an ancient Shiva temple whose earliest structures date back to the 5th and 6th Century AD.It is currently being renovated and restored by the Archaeological Survey of India.