Search your Topic HERE....
Showing posts with label
September 2015 Current Affairs updates.
Show all posts
Showing posts with label
September 2015 Current Affairs updates.
Show all posts
International Affairs
- The BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs held their regular meeting at New York.
- Ths meeting was chaired by India.
- In this meeting, the foreign ministers of Brics countries endorsed United Nations Security Council reforms saying it was necessary to make it "more representative and efficient" putting China and Russia publicly on the side for reorganisation.
- Participants in this Meeting :
- Indian External Affairs Minister : Sushma Swaraj
- Foreign Ministers of Russia : Sergey Lavrov of Russia
- Foreign Minister of China : Wang Yi
- Brazil's Minister of External Relations : Mauro Vieira
- (South Africa was represented by a deputy foreign minister)
- Important Note : India is going to host the Eighth Brics summit in the year 2016.
- Russia proposed a United Nations Security Council resolution on fighting terrorism.
- Deputy foreign minister : Mikhail Bogdanov
- The Russian military has launched airstrikes against Islamic State militant targets in Syria.
- This move was approved after a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad to Vladimir Putin, who has also expressed concern about the number of Russian extremists in the country.
Read More...
International Affairs
- 29th September is World Heart Day.
- The World Heart Day is an international campaign held on 29th September by the World Heart Foundation to inform people about cardiovascular diseases, which are the biggest cause of death.
- This day promotes preventative measures to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
- Themes of World Heart Day
- Theme of World Heart Day 2015 : Creating heart-healthy environments
- Theme of World Heart Day 2014 : Heart Choices NOT Hard Choices
- Theme of World Heart Day 2013 : Take the road to a healthy heart
- Theme of World Heart Day 2012 : One World, One Heart, One Home
- Theme of World Heart Day 2011 : One World, One Heart, One Home
Read More...
International Affairs
- Today (28th September) is World Rabies day.
- World Rabies Day is an international campaign coordinated by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, a non-profit organization with headquarters in the US and UK.
- Theme of World Rabies Day 2015 : End Rabies Together
- Nepal has imposed nationwide restrictions on vehicle use due to growing fears of a fuel shortage, as protesters seeking changes to a new constitution vowed to keep blocking a major border trade route.
- Drivers are allowed on the roads only on alternate days, depending on whether their licence plates end in odd or even numbers, to try to counter the effect of the blockade imposed on the India-Nepal border.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds bilateral meetings with World leaders including British counterpart and French President in New York on the last leg of his two nation visit.
- French President : François Hollande
- UK Prime Minister : David Cameron
- US President : Barack Obama
Read More...
International Affairs
- Today (27th September) is World Tourism Day.
- The purpose of this day is to raise awareness on the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide.
- The World Tourism Day celebration was started by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in the year 1980.
- This date was chosen as on that day in 1970, the Statutes of the UNWTO were adopted. The adoption of these Statutes is considered a milestone in global tourism.
Read More...
International Affairs
- G4 Summit Highlights
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hosted a special high-powered summit called G4 Summit in New York.
- This G-4 summit is very special to India because this summit was hosted by India for the first in more than 10 years (after 2004)
- The G4 nations comprising Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan are four countries which support each other’s bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.
- Leaders of G4 Countries :
- Indian PM Narendra Modi
- Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel
- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
- Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff
- In this summit, the G4 countries emphasized that they were "legitimate candidates for permanent membership" in an expanded and reformed UN security council and supported each other's candidature.
- India’s Permanent Representative to the UN : Asoke Mukerji
- PM Narendra Modi meets with top Fortune 500 CEOs. Some Important names are,
- Tesla CEO - Elon Musk
- APPLE CEO - Tim Cook
- Microsoft CEO - Satya Nadella
- Google CEO - Sundar Pichai
- CISCO CEO - Chuck Robbins
- Qualcomm CEO - Steven Mollenkopf
- Adobe CEO - Shantanu Narayen
- Aecom CEO - Mike Burke
- PepsiCo CEO - Indra Nooyi
Read More...
National Affairs
- The government today announced a Special assistance of Rs 1,000 crore during the current financial year for development of Andhra Pradesh.
- The funds will be utilised for the development of backward districts of Andhra Pradesh and creation of its new capital, including the Raj Bhawan, the High Court, the Secretariat, the Legislative Assembly, the Legislative Council, and other essential infrastructure.
- This will include Rs 350 crore for development of seven backward districts covering Rayalaseema and North Coastal region, Rs 350 crore for the new capital and Rs 300 crore for Polavaram irrigation project.
- The government had in Budget 2015-16 provided tax incentives to the state.
- The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, bifurcated the state, with the creation of Telangana taking effect from June 2, 2014.
- Important Points to Note :
- Capital : Amaravathi (as of now Hyderabad)
- Local Language : Telugu
- Governor : E. S. L. Narasimhan
- Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu (TDP)
- Nickname (s) : Rice Bowl of India, Egg bowl of Asia
- Nation pays homage to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya on his birth anniversary today.
Read More...
International Affairs
- Today (24th September) is World Maritime Day.
- 2015 World Maritime Day theme : Maritime education and training
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaches New York on a 5-day visit to the US
- He kicked off his engagements in New York with a financial sector roundtable with leading CEOs, including JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon and Peter Hancock of AIG Insurance.
- The others in the roundtable include Steve Schwarzman, CEO Blackstone, Charles Kaye of Warburg Pincus, Henry Kravis of KKR, Bill Ford of General Atlantic, Chase Coleman of Tiger Global and Vicki Fuller of NY State Common Retirement Fund.
- At least 717 people have been crushed to death in a stampede outside Mecca and more than 850 injured in the deadliest disaster on the annual Hajj pilgrimage in a quarter of a century.
Read More...
International Affairs
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for a week long visit to Ireland and the United States.
- This is the first Prime Ministerial visit to Ireland in 60 years [Jawaharlal Nehru visited Dublin in 1956].
- On his First leg of this visit, Modi reached Ireland and had a delegation level talks with his Irish counterpart Enda Kenny on a wide range of bilateral and multilateral issues including
information technology, pharmaceuticals and clean energy.
- Both countries
agree for direct air services to boost tourism.
- The focus of the PM's Ireland visit is strengthening economic ties and people to people contacts.
- In the United States, Mr Modi will address United Nations Summit for the adoption of post 2015 Development Agenda, Leaders’ summit on peace-keeping and G4 summit.
Read More...
International Affairs
- World Car Free Day is being observed today.
- This day encourages motorists to give up their cars for a day.
- Cow, which is sacred to Hindus, has been declared the National Animal of Nepal in the country's newly-unveiled secular constitution.
- Note : Nepal had adopted a new constitution on this Sunday after years of political wrangling.
Read More...
International Affairs
- Today (21st September) is International Day of Peace / World Peace Day.
- This day was first celebrated in 1982, and is kept by many nations, political groups, military groups, and peoples.
- In 2013, for the first time, the Day was dedicated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to peace education, the key preventive means to reduce war sustainably.
- Note : To inaugurate the day, the United Nations Peace Bell is rung at UN Headquarters (in New York City). This bell is cast from coins donated by children from all continents except Africa, and was a gift from the United Nations Association of Japan, as "a reminder of the human cost of war"; the inscription on its side reads, "Long live absolute world peace".
Read More...
International Affairs
- Nepal has adopted its First democratic Constitution, nearly a decade after the country ended a long-running civil war.
- Nepal’s 239-year old monarchy was abolished in 2008, seven years
after an unhinged crown prince killed the king and eight members of his
family at the height of a Maoist uprising.
- In 2008, the Maoists won elections to a constituent assembly. But amid squabbling, the assembly failed to draw up a new constitution.
- Important Points to Note :
- Capital : Kathmandu
- Official Language : Nepal
- President : Ram Baran Yadav
- Vice President : Parmanand Jha
- Prime Minister : Sushil Koirala
- Currency : Nepalese Rupee (NPR)
Read More...
International Affairs
- Today (3rd Saturday in September) is International Coastal Cleanup Day.
- In 1986 the American Centre for Marine Conservation held the first beach cleanup on the Texas coast with the aid of 2 800 volunteers.
- Since then, the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) has included inland lakes, rivers, streams and underwater sites in the cleanup and approximately half a million people in more than 100 countries have participated in the cleanup.
- Dates
- 2014 - September 20
- 2015 - September 19
- 2016 - September 17
- 2017 - September 16
- 2018 - September 15
Read More...
International Affairs
- Finance minister Arun Jaitley is on a Four-day visit to Asian financial hubs Singapore and Hong Kong to convince investors to invest in India’s infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.
- He is going to address investor meets and participate in the Singapore Summit.
- Note : In Singapore, he will give a talk on "India: A heaven of opportunity in globally challenging times" and meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and other leaders.
Read More...
International Affairs
- More than one million people were evacuated from their homes after a massive 8.3-magnitude earthquake hits central Chile.
- A tsunami alert was issued for the entire Chilean coast.
- Austria has imposed new restrictions at its borders, as the country on the main route for refugees crossing the European Union by land struggled to cope with a backlog of thousands trying to reach Germany.
- Note : Yesterday, Austria's next-door neighbour, Hungary, declared a state of emergency, and shut its border with Serbia leaving many desperate refugees stranded at the border.
Read More...
International Affairs
- Today is World Ozone Day / International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.
- This Day is celebrated every year on 16th September since 1995.
- This Day marks the importance of Ozone layer and its role in the environment.
- The United Nations General Assembly has designated this Day to reflect the adoption of Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone layer.
- This year's (2015) Theme : 30 Years of Healing the Ozone Together - "Ozone: All there is between you and UV.”
Read More...
International Affairs
- International Day of Democracy, an annual United Nations initiative, is being observed today
- 2015 Theme : Space for Civil Society
Read More...
International Affairs
- Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has begun his Three-Day official visit to India today at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
- The three day visit, from September 14 to 16, is Wickremesinghe's first official international visit after assuming office last month.
- Note : He was sworn in as Sri Lanka's prime minister for the fourth time last month following his party's victory in the parliamentary polls.
- He is expected to formally request for India's support
in Geneva at the 30th session of the United Nations Human Rights
Council.
Read More...
International Affairs
- The Egypt government has resigned amid corruption inquiry.
- Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb offered the resignations in a meeting with President today.
- Sharif Ismail, the country's oil minister has been asked to form a new cabinet within a week
- President : Abdul Fattah al-Sisi
Read More...
International Affairs
- Today (2nd Saturday of September) is World First Aid Day.
- This is an annual campaign to promote the importance of first aid training in preventing injuries and saving lives.
- The IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) introduced World First Aid Day in 2000.
- Each year, more than 100 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world organize events and ceremonies to raise public awareness of how first aid can save lives in everyday and crisis situations.
- Today (12th September) is United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation.
- India and Pakistan today agreed to jointly resolve sensitive issues like ceasefire violations and cross-border infiltration through timely exchange of information, including via email and over the telephone.
- At the conclusion of bilateral DG-level border talks in New Delhi, the two sides also inked some new CBMs (Confidence and security-building measures) and signed a joint record of discussions which emphasised the need to ensure security and well-being of their border populations.
- Singapore's governing People's Action Party (PAP) has won a decisive victory in the general election.
- Leader of People’s Action Party (PAP) : Lee Hsien Loong (Prime Minister)
Read More...
International Affairs
- The United Nations General Assembly today overwhelmingly approved a Palestinian resolution that will allow Palestine to fly its flag at U.N. headquarters, a move that infuriated Israel but which the Palestinians described as a step toward U.N. membership.
- There were 119 votes in favor (including India) out of 193 UN members.
- United States and Israel were among eight countries voted against the Palestinian-drafted resolution.
Read More...
English Vocabulary from
