Dec 2019

INTERNATIONAL   ●       India provided USD 500 million Line of Credit to Bangladesh   India provided a $500 million Line of Credit (LoC) to Bangladesh on 5 December.   The funding is for defenCe-related procurement in Bangladesh.   RBI said that under the soft loan facility, financing of export of eligible goods and services from India would be allowed subject … Read more

INTERNATIONAL India, Japan hold first ‘two-plus-two’ dialogue   India and Japan held their inaugural ‘two-plus-two’ foreign and defence ministerial dialogue with an aim to give further momentum to their special strategic partnership, particularly in the maritime domain. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar led the Indian delegation while the Japanese side … Read more

    INTERNATIONAL International Astronomical Union names new star as ‘Sharjah’   The International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced the names of the newly discovered stars and planets, where the name “Sharjah” was chosen for a star with “Barjeel” being the name of one of its planets. The announcement was made during a press conference of … Read more

INTERNATIONAL   Ethiopia’s PM receives Nobel Peace Prize Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has received the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to achieve international peace and cooperation. This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was the 100th to be awarded.   The Nobel Peace Prize consists of a diploma, a gold medal and a cheque … Read more

  INTERNATIONAL World AIDS Day: 01 December World AIDS Day is being observed every year on 01 December to raise public awareness about Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS. This year, the theme is “Communities Make the Difference” It is a pandemic disease caused due to the infection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The day also … Read more

  INTERNATIONAL   Abu Dhabi selected as world’s leading sports tourism destination   Abu Dhabi has been selected as the world’s leading Sports tourism Destination at the 26th edition of the World Travel Awards (WTA) being held in Muscat. This is the seventh time in a row that Abu Dhabi has been selected for this … Read more

INTERNATIONAL International Tea Day 2019 The United Nations (UN) has declared May 21 as International Tea Day on the recommendations of India, however, this day is celebrated on December 15 Every Year. The proposal was made by India at the International Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Intergovernmental Group meeting held in Milan 4 years ago. … Read more

INTERNATIONAL Russia ‘only country in world’ with hypersonic weapons   Russia is the only country in the world that has hypersonic weapons- weapons that travel faster than Mach5 (~6174kmph) and have the capability to manoeuvre during the entire flight. The first unit equipped with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle is set to go on duty … Read more

INTERNATIONAL NASA select site Nightingale for observation   NASA has finally selected a sample collection site on asteroid Bennu after the arrival of OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in December 2018. The OSIRIS-Rex mission team has selected the site designated Nightingale, which is located in a crater high in Bennu’s northern hemisphere. The team has also selected site Osprey of Bennu as a backup sample collection site.   OSIRIS-REx spacecraft mapped … Read more