13 June 2016 – Daily Current Affairs

Noted Actor and playwright Achyut Lahkar dies

On 12^th June 2016, noted Actor and playwright Achyut Lahkar died after a long illness. Lahkar was 85 years old. He was a pioneer dramatist, noted producer and a veteran actor who stages multiple memorable and significant plays across mobile theatre.  Lahkar was born in the year 1931 and since childhood itself he was an acute theatre enthusiast. He founded the Nataraj Theater in 1963 which was Assam’s first Mobile-Theatre company. This theatre gave performances in Assam as well as other Indian states for almost 40 years. Before founding his mobile theatre, Lahkar edited and published ‘Deepawali’, an illustrated magazine in Assam during 1952.

WDACL (World Day against Child Labour) was globally observed

On 12^th June 2016, WDACL (World Day against Child Labour) was celebrated across the globe. The theme for this year was ‘End Child Labour in Supply chains it’s everyone’s business!’ This year, the focus is one supply chains and child labour. There are still more than 160 million children as child labour across the supply chain industry. This includes manufacturing, agriculture, construction and services. With the objective of removing child labour, the ILO (International Labour Organization) and IOE (International organization of Employees) have jointly formed a CLGT (Child Labour Guidance Tool). This tool is a resource for organizations to enhance their ability and knowledge about conducting their businesses in line along with the ILS (International Labour Standards) for child labour.

International ‘Albinism Awareness Day’ observed worldwide

On 13^th June 2016, Albinism Awareness Day’ was observed across the globe. This day is celebrated to promote the significance of increased understanding and awareness of Albinism. The bigger aim is to remove global stigma and discrimination against people with albinism. It is a non-contagious, rare and genetically inheritable condition that starts from birth and creates a difference in appearance. Both male and female are equally susceptible to this condition. This condition occurs due to absence of pigmentation in skin, eyes or hair. This also results in vulnerability to bright light and sun. The IAAD (International Albinism Awareness Day) was adopted on 18^th December 2014.

INTERPOL and UNEP releases report on Environmental Crime

On 4^th June 2016, INTERPOL and UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) released a report titled ‘The Rise of Environmental Crime’. This report reveals that the growth of environmental crime has increased to 26 % higher than what it was estimated previously in 2014. It is the fourth biggest criminal organization across the globe after human trafficking, drug smuggling and counterfeiting. Both INTERPOL and UNEP are working together to increase awareness across the globe about the various negative impact of Environmental Crime. It includes illegal wildlife trade, corporate crime in Forestry sector, illegal fisheries, carbon-credit fraud, hazardous waste trafficking and illegal sale and exploitation of minerals including gold. The report highlights that poorly funded police and security forces as well as weak laws enable the armed rebels as well as international criminal organisations to profit and destroy the ecosystem.