international-2017

5 jan

January 4: World Braille Day

The World Braille Day is observed every year across the world on 4 January to mark the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, inventor of Braille script or Braille code. Observance of the day helps people to spread the importance of Braille language and also help people to produce works in this language to allow visually impaired people to read the works. To commemorate this day several NGOs as well as other organizations come together to raise awareness about the apathy towards blind people and to help them be equal among rest of the people. About Louis Braille Louis Braille is credited for inventing the Braille script or Braille code which helps the visually impaired people to read as well as write. Braille was born in France on 4 January 1809 and became blind after an accident at the age of three. Braille script Braille script is a language based on the patterns of raised dots on paper that could be felt and one can read anything that is unable to see. For writing in Braille script, people use slates and stylus and the writing technique remains the same as writing in print on paper. Presently, almost every of language including Computer languages has Braille versions.

UN declares 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has declared the year 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. The declaration recalls the potential of tourism sector to advance the universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Key Facts The International Year aims to support a change in business practices, policies and consumer behaviour towards a more sustainable tourism sector that can contribute effectively to achieve targets of the SDGs. It will promote tourism sector’s role in five key areas: (i) Inclusive and sustainable economic growth (ii) Social inclusiveness, employment and poverty reduction (iii) Cultural values, diversity and heritage (iv) Resource efficiency, environmental protection and climate change (v) Mutual understanding, peace and security. Tourism is under three targets of the SDGs: They are (i) Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. (ii) Goal 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production and (iii) Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. The tourism sector accounts for 7% of worldwide exports, 10% of the world’s GDP and one in eleven jobs. If managed well, it can foster inclusive economic growth, social inclusiveness and protection of natural and cultural assets.

7 jan

Gen. Raheel Sharif to head Islamic Military Alliance

Pakistan’s former Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif (retired) was appointed head of Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT), a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition of 39 nations. The appointment was confirmed by Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif as both the government and the Army allowed Gen. Sharif take charge of the alliance. Raheel had retired as the Pakistan army chief in November 2016 and was succeeded by General Qamar Javed Bajwa. What is Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT)? IMAFT is military coalition comprising 39 nations. It was established by Saudi Arabia in December 2015 and its command centre, headquarters is based in Riyadh. The coalition calls for all member states to cooperate to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. It is envisaged to serve as a platform for security cooperation, including provision of training, troops and equipment, and involvement of religious scholars for dealing with extremism. It has been established in pursuance with objectives and principles of the charter of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Member countries of this alliance will coordinate and support military operations against terrorism in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan and Egypt. The coalition includes countries like United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Bahrain, Tunisia, Sudan, Egypt, Yemen, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia among others. Note: Saudi Arabia’s arch rival (for influence in the Arab world) Iran was not named as member of the IMAFT. Currently both regional powers are engaged proxy sectarian conflicts in Syria to Yemen. What is Pakistan’s position on IMAFT? Pakistan initially had taken aback for being part of IMAFT, after Saudi Arabia had announced Pakistan also part of the alliance. However, Pakistan later confirmed its participation in the alliance but has not committed itself to providing troops for any possible military operations.

India, Portugal sign six agreements

India and Portugal have signed six memorandum of understandings (MoUs) including in defence cooperation. These agreements were signed after delegation level talks Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Portugal counterpart António Costa who is chief Guest of 2017 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. Six agreements signed are MoU on Defence. MoU on Renewable Energy. MoU on Marine Research and Resources. MoU in the Agriculture and Allied Sectors. MoU in the field of Information Technology and Electronics. MoU on the establishment of an ICCR Chair of Indian Studies in University of Lisbon. Besides, an agreement on visa waiver for holders of diplomatic passports was also signed. It allows visa free travel for diplomatic passport holders of India and Portugal to each other’s countries for short term visits. The defence agreement between both countries aims to boost joint production and development of niche weapons systems. It was signed following Portugal’s support to India’s multilateral plans in various technology regimes including Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in which India secured membership in 2016.

9 jan

74th Golden Globe Awards

The 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony was organized at Beverly Hills, California, United States (US). The Golden Globe Awards are the annual awards that honour the best in Motion Pictures and American Television for the previous year. This year, La La Land, a romantic musical comedy-drama film won in all the seven categories including the top award of best musical or comedy. Veteran actress Meryl Streep was bestowed with the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. Winners of various awards are as follows: Best Motion Picture Drama: Moonlight. Best Motion Picture Musical/Comedy: La La Land. Best Director in Motion Picture-Drama: Damien Chazelle for La La Land. Best Actor in Motion Picture-Drama: Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea. Best Actress in Motion Picture-Drama: Isabelle Huppert for Elle. Best Actor in Motion Picture or Musical or Comedy: Ryan Gosling for La La Land. Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy: Emma Stone for La La Land. Best Actor in a Supporting role in Motion Picture: Aaron Taylor-Johnson for Nocturnal Animals. Best Actress in a Supporting role in Motion Picture: Viola Davis for Fences. Best Original Score Motion Picture: Justin Hurwitz for the La La Land. Best Original Song: “City of Stars” (Justin Hurwitz, Pasek & Paul) for the La La Land. Best Animated Feature Film: Zootopia. Best Foreign Language Film: Elle (France).

10 jan

January 10: World Hindi Day

The World Hindi Day is observed annually on 10 January. On this occasion, Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has conducted special events to spread the greatness of the language through its missions abroad. Besides, the Department of Official Language (Rajbhasha) also organises several events to mark this day. Background The World Hindi Day was first observed on 10 January 2006. It is in addition to present National Hindi Divas which is being observed annually on 14 September. It should be noted that World Hindi Day is the promotion of the language at the global stage. Whereas, National Hindi Divas is being observed across the country at national level. The National Hindi Divas is observed to mark adaptation of Hindi written in Devanagari script as the Official Language of the Union by the Constituent Assembly on 14 September 1949. About Hindi Hindi is the fourth most spoken language of the world. It is mother tongue of around 258 million people across the world. The provision of Hindi as official Language of the Union has been mentioned in Article 120, Article 210 and Article 343, 344 and from 348 to 351. The Pacific island country, Fiji also has adopted Hindi as an official language.

Pakistan test-fires first nuclear-capable submarine cruise missile Babur-3

Pakistan successfully test-fired its first Submarine-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM) Babur-3 capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. This launch gives Pakistan a “credible” second-strike capability. The Babur-3 missile was fired from an underwater mobile platform from an undisclosed location in the Indian Ocean and hit its target with precise accuracy. Key facts SLCM Babur-3 is a sea-based variant of Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) Babur-2. It has been named after the first Mughal Emperor Zahir-ud-Din Babur. It has a range of 450km. It incorporates state-of-the-art technologies including underwater controlled propulsion and advanced guidance and navigation features, augmented by Global Navigation, Terrain and Scene Matching Systems. It features terrain hugging and sea skimming flight capabilities to evade hostile radars and air defences. It also has certain stealth technologies, in an emerging regional Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) environment. Babur-3 SLCM in land-attack mode, is capable of delivering various types of payloads including conventional as well as nuclear warheads. Note: India for the first time had successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable, submarine-launched missile in 2008 and tested a submarine-launched cruise missile in 2013.

11 jan

New fault in Indian Ocean may trigger earthquakes in future: study

According to scientists, a new plate boundary may be forming on the floor of the Indian Ocean in Wharton Basin as a result of the 2012 earthquake that shook the Andaman-Sumatra region. The discovery was based on the study of seismic data recorded before, during and after the 2012 quakes and sea floor depth analysis by venturing into the ocean aboard a research vessel. Key Facts Scientists created a high-resolution imagery of the sea floor by using data which unveiled deformations that had occurred on the Indo-Australian Plate. It showed that the plate had broken along a 1,000 km fracture zone due to 2012 earthquakes, resulting in a new plate boundary and likely to be the site of future fault-slip earthquakes. The analysis showed a new fault system had developed in the area off the coast of Sumatra that was involved in the 2012 earthquakes. The new fault system can trigger more quakes in the future. Slip-strike earthquake occurs when two plates slide horizontally against one another. As a result, earthquake causes deformations that occur in plates distant from fault lines as pressure builds up across a plate. These earthquakes can lead to inter-plate earthquakes and cause a plate to break, resulting in a new boundary and this in turn can lead to even more quakes. This similar scenario is believed to happened in 2012 when two earthquakes struck the Andaman-Sumatran regio (north-west part) of the Indian Ocean which was the largest inter-plate earthquakes ever recorded.

14 jan

Unemployment in India to increase marginally in 2017-18: ILO

According to recently released World Employment and Social Outlook for 2017, the number of unemployed people in India is expected to rise by 1 lakh in 2017 and another 2 lakh in 2018. The report was released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) with projections based on econometric modelling carried out in November 2016. The report has clubbed India in the category of emerging nations. Key highlights of the report Number of jobless in India will increase from 17.7 million in 2016 to 18 million by 2018 even though the country’s unemployment rate is expected to go down from 3.5% to 3.4% in 2017. India performed slightly well in terms of job creation in 2016, as majority of the 13.4 million new employment were created. Globally, the number of jobless people will increase by 3.4 million in 2017. The global unemployment rate is expected to rise modestly from 5.7 to 5.8% in 2017 as pace of labour force growth outstrips job creation. The increase in unemployment levels and rates in 2017 will be driven by deteriorating labour market conditions in emerging countries. Vulnerable forms of employment, which include own account workers and contributing family workers are expected to stay above 42% of total employment. About 1.4 billion people are likely to be engaged in such employment in 2017, with the number rising by 11 million per year. Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia will be the most affected. In developing countries, the number of workers earning less than $3.10 per day is even expected to increase by more than 5 million over the next two years. Global uncertainty and the lack of decent jobs are, among some of the other factors, underpinning social unrest and migration in many parts of the world.

16 jan

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket successfully places 10 satellites into orbit

US based rocket manufacturing company SpaceX successfully launched constellation of 10 satellites into orbit on board of its two stage Falcon 9 Rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The satellites were deployed into the designated to low-Earth orbit about an hour after launch. Besides, rocket’s first stag also landed upright on a so-called droneship in the Pacific Ocean south of Vandenberg. Key Facts The constellation of 10 satellites was launched as part of McLean, Virginia-based Iridium’s project to replace its existing network of satellites that provide global voice and data communications. This was SpaceX’s first launch since September 2016 accident of similar rocket on a Florida launch pad which exploded after its launch along with $200 million Israeli communications satellites Amos-6. About SpaceX SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) is aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California, US. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors and former PayPal entrepreneur with the goal of creating the technologies to reduce space transportation costs and enable the colonization of Mars. SpaceX has developed the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles, both designed to be reusable. It also has developed Dragon spacecraft to supply cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). It is also developing a manned version of Dragon is in development. SpaceX’s achievements: First privately funded, liquid-propellant rocket Falcon 1 to reach orbit in 2008. First privately funded company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft (Dragon) in 2010. First private company to send a spacecraft (Dragon) to the ISS, in 2012. As of July 2016, it has flown nine missions to the ISS under a cargo resupply contract with NASA signed in 2006.

China hands over two ships to Pakistan Navy for Gwadar Port security

China has handed over two ships to the Pakistan to safeguard the strategic Gwadar port and trade routes under the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). These ships have been named as Hingol and Basol, after two rivers near Gwadar. They will be part of Pakistan Navy and are equipped with state-of-the-art guns. They will be used to protect the sea-lanes in the Arabian Sea. Besides, China will also provide two more ships to Pakistan Navy which have been named Zhob and Dasht after two districts in Balochistan. Background In recent times, China has actively started extending its help and cooperation to Pakistan for security along the $46 billion CPEC’s land and sea routes. As a follow up, Pakistan Army already has raised a new division of the army to ensure security along the CPEC route and around the strategic Gwadar port. The security of Gwadar city also has been handed over to the Pakistan Army’s new division raised during the tenure of former army chief Gen Raheel Sharif. In the past, China restrained itself from deploying its naval ships in Gwadar, as it could had raise alarm in US and India. Gwadar port The strategic Gwadar port is located in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province. It has been developed under CPEC which link western China through Pakistan with the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The revamped port became operational in November 2016 after two cargo ships laden with containers set off for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the UAE and European Union.

20 jan

Physicists create a new form of Hydrogen

Physicists from Austria have created new form of Hydrogen i.e. negatively charged hydrogen clusters. It is a previously unseen form of hydrogen. For the past forty years, existence of hydrogen in ion clusters was known and is positively-charged clusters have already exists. How negatively charged Hydrogen Clusters were created? Researchers first injected cold liquid helium droplets with hydrogen molecules to form clusters with a neutral charge. Then they exposed these hydrogen-infused droplets to an electron beam. This caused some hydrogen molecules to ionize and be flung out into the surrounding vacuum as negatively charged hydrogen ions. Soon, the nearby hydrogen molecules started clustering around the negatively charged ions to create negatively charged hydrogen clusters that could boast a few, or many molecules each. The newly created negatively charged hydrogen clusters existed only for microseconds (1 microsecond = 0.000001 seconds). But it was enough time for researchers to determine their geometric structures. Significance of Research: It will help researchers to easily identify the clusters in nature.

CEPI formally launched at WEF, Davos

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was officially launched at World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos after it received $460-million to develop vaccines against 3 emerging highly-contagious and fatal diseases. These three diseases are Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-coronavirus, Lassa fever, and Nipah virus. CEPI will use this fund to contain outbreaks these 3 diseases before they become global health emergencies. Key Facts Under it, CEPI will solicit proposals from academic researchers and industry to develop candidate vaccines for its three target viruses. In 5 years, it aims develop at least two vaccines for each virus through early human studies so that they are ready for a real-world test as soon as one of these viruses surfaces again. CEPI also intends to fund vaccine platforms—technologies like harmless viral vectors or messenger RNA that can serve as backbones for a variety of vaccines. It has has received $100 million commitments from Wellcome Trust and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the governments of Germany, Japan and Norway have pledged to contribute additional $260 million. About Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) CEPI is a public-private alliance to finance and coordinate the development of new vaccines to prevent and contain infectious disease epidemics. It plans to develop early phases of vaccines without knowing the details for the form in which the deadly infection will appear but to cut down the time to tailor the eventual vaccine to be effective to epidemic. CEPI’s plan includes preparations for possible outbreaks of Marburg fever, Lassa fever, MERS, SARS, Nipah virus, Rift Valley fever, chikungunya, and others. It is being funded by the Wellcome Trust, t Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, World Economic Forum (WEF), Governments of Norway, Japan, India (Department of Biotechnology) and Germany.

21 jan

India, UAE hold first strategic dialogue

India and the UAE held the first meeting of their strategic dialogue in New Delhi to elevate the bilateral relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The meeting was co-chaired by Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs M J Akbar and MoS in Ministry of Foreign Affairs of UAE Anwar Gargash. The first dialogue took place pursuant to the decision to elevate the relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE in August 2015 followed by crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visit to India in February 2016. Key Highlights of first India-UAE strategic dialogue Two sides discussed several issues ranging from cooperation in the areas of trade and investments to expanding the bilateral cooperation to new areas under the strategic partnership. The news areas include energy security, renewable energy, defence and security, electronics and information technology and space. Both sides also finalised the Strategic Cooperation Agreement aimed at expanding bilateral cooperation to new key areas including energy, defence and security between both countries. They also agreed on a number of new initiatives to further strengthen the bilateral cooperation and on signing of fresh instruments of cooperation. India-UAE Relations India-UAE Relations deeply rooted in history and strategic cooperation which is driven by mutual aspirations of both countries. UAE is lynch-pin of the economic, defence and strategic strands of the India’s coordinated strategy to outreach west Asia. UAE is India’s third largest trading partner after China and the United States. Bilateral trade between India and the UAE stood at about $50 billion in 2015-16. UAE is among the top investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments (FDI) and was the fifth largest supplier of crude oil to India in 2015-16. Besides, there are also more than 2.6 million Indians living in the UAE and their annual remittance is estimated to be around 14 billion dollars.

IORA finalises MoU for cooperation in SME sector

Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) member-states have finalised Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) for cooperation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector. The MoUs were finalised during the Workshop on MSME Cooperation amongst IORA member countries held in New Delhi. They will take effect for each party upon signature by 5 countries. Focus areas of MoUs Finalise linkages and alliances amongst MSMEs organizations, associations and various institutions engaged in MSME development in IORA countries. Exchange best practices, programs and policies for MSME development. Exchange greater involvement of MSMEs in the global supply chain and increase their market access. Promote women and youth’s economic empowerment. Encourage synergies with the IORA forum. IORA Secretariat at Mauritius will be the coordinating agency for the implementation of the MoU. Besides, for to carrying out activities envisaged under this MoU, IORA special fund will be created by member countries. Workshop on MSME Cooperation amongst IORA member countries: It was organised by Union Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and was attended by around 29 delegates from 14 IORA member-states. About Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) IORA is an international organisation consisting of coastal states bordering the Indian Ocean established in 1997 to promote cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. It was formerly known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative and Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC). Its coordinating Secretariat is located at Ebene, Mauritius. It is a regional forum, tripartite in nature that brings together representatives of Government, Business and Academia, for promoting co-operation and closer interaction among them. It is based on the principles of Open Regionalism for strengthening economic cooperation particularly on trade facilitation and investment, promotion as well as social development of the region. IORA comprises 21 member states and 7 dialogue partners, Indian Ocean Research Group and the Indian Ocean Tourism Organisation have observer status.

24 jan

India rejects attempts of EU, Canada for global investment agreement

India, along with Brazil, Argentina and some other nations rejected an informal attempt of European Union (EU) and Canada to work towards a global investment agreement at World Trade Organisation (WTO)-level. The EU and Canada proposed agreement incorporates a contentious Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism. They wanted their investment pact to be the template for a similar multilateral agreement. What is Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism? The ISDS mechanism permits companies to drag governments to international arbitration without exhausting the local remedies. It also allows them to claim huge amounts as compensation citing losses they suffered due to reasons, including policy changes. The contentious ISDS mechanism already has been incorporated by investment pact by the EU and Canada. What is India’s position? India has rejected such mechanism. It clearly held that only after all local options have been exhausted for settling disputes between a corporate and a government, then the issues can be taken up in international arbitration tribunals. It also held that such provisions could be a part of bilateral agreements but they can’t be allowed in a multilateral agreement.

20 jan