DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: May 23, 2022

Labor Party leader Albanese elected Prime Minister of Australia

Tags: Person in news International News

Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese has been elected the new Prime Minister of Australia.

• Albanese, 59, will be the 31st Prime Minister of Australia.

• The country's incumbent Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his team's failure to deal with several issues such as climate and Kovid-19, besides women's rights, political integrity and natural disasters led to their defeat in the election.

• In Australia, voting was held for 151 seats in the Lower Chamber, in which 76 seats are needed to form a government.

• The Labor Party, which won 71 seats with a vote count of 67 percent, was declared the winner. The Liberal National Coalition got only 52 seats.

• Other facts

• Australia has two houses, the Upper House (Senate) and the Lower House.

• Here the tenure of the upper house is 6 years and that of the lower house is of three years, that is, elections are held after every three years.

• Voting in Australia always takes place on Saturdays.

• Voting is compulsory here, and those who do not vote have to pay a fine of up to $14.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe, in Tokyo, taking oath as the caretaker Prime Minister of Australia's elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Albanese. Biden and Japan's Prime Minister Fumiya Kishida may attend the Quad summit.

• About Australia -

• Australia is the only place that is considered to be a continent, a nation and an island at the same time.

• It is the smallest continent in the world and also the largest island in the world.

• Capital- Canberra

• Prime Minister- Anthony Albanese

• Currency- Australian Dollar

World's highest meteorological station installed on Mount Everest

Tags: Popular International News

The world's highest meteorological station has been established on Mount Everest to study various weather phenomena.

• According to Nepal's Department of Water and Meteorology, this meteorological station has been established at 8,830 metres just below the summit point of the mountain range (maximum height 8848.86 m).

• The centre was facing difficulty in setting up the summit point due to the snow.

• The solar-powered weather station will measure short- and long-distance radiation, along with changes in temperature, wind speed and direction, wind pressure and snow height.

• Important point -

• Nepal's Hydrology and Meteorological Department and National Geographic signed a Memorandum of Understanding to operate all five automated weather stations set up by NetGeo to provide real-time information about mountain conditions.

• Under this agreement, the National Geographic team will operate these centres till 2025. After which the technology will be transferred to the Government of Nepal in the year 2026.

• The NetGeo team, led by Baker Perry, a climate scientist at the US's Appalachian State University, included climbers and scientists, many of whom climbed the world's highest peak while setting up the weather station.

• According to Chinese media reports, Mount Everest in Beijing has eight stations from 5,200 metres to 8,800 metres, with four stations over 7,000 metres at 7,028 metres, 7,790 metres, 8,300 metres and 8,800 metres.

• About Mount Everest -

• Mount Everest is the highest peak of the Greater Himalaya mountain range located on the border of Nepal and China (Tibet) in Asia.

• Mount Everest is called Devagiri in Sanskrit, Chomolungma in Tibetan, Chu-mu-long-ma-feng in Chinese and Sagarmatha in Nepali.

• On 29 May 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tensingh Norgay Sherpa, an Indian citizen of Nepalese origin, climbed Mount Everest for the first time.

• Junko Tabei (Japan) is the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, as well as the first woman to climb the highest peaks on each of the 7 continents.

• Bachendri Pal is the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest in 1984.

• Santosh Yadav is the first Indian woman to climb Everest twice in a row.

• Kami Rita Sherpa, a 52-year-old mountaineer from Nepal, has completed the most number of climbs on the world's highest mountain peak, Mount Everest. She has managed to climb Mount Everest 25 times.

Supreme Court orders setting up of 25 special courts for check bounce cases

Tags: National News

In the wake of pending check bounce cases, the Supreme Court has given a green signal to a pilot study in which special courts, headed by retired judicial officers, will be set up to deal exclusively with cases.

• The pilot study will be conducted for a period of 1 year from September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2023.

• 25 special courts will be set up in five districts each of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, where a maximum number of check bounce cases are pending.

• After evaluating the performance of one year, these courts will be expanded across the country.

• Special courts set up for pilot studies shall follow the same procedure in respect of trial as mandated by the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

• These special courts will deal with these cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act.

• There are 44 lakh cases of check bounce pending in the whole country, out of which maximum cases are pending in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

• Supreme Court of India

• The Supreme Court of India came into existence on 28 January 1950.

• The Supreme Court of India was constituted in accordance with Chapter IV of Part V of the Constitution of India. The fourth chapter of the Indian Constitution is "Union Judiciary".

• The Chief Justice of India is the head of the Supreme Court, which has a maximum of 34 judges.

• Major Articles related to Supreme Court

• Article 124 - Constitution and establishment of the Supreme Court of India

• Article 129 - Supreme Court to be court of record

• Article 132, 133, 134 - Appellate jurisdiction of Supreme Court is empowered

• Article 135 - The power of the Federal Court is given to the Supreme Court

• Article 138 - Regarding extension of jurisdiction of Supreme Court

• Chief Justice of Supreme Court - Justice Nathalapati Venkata Ramana (48th)

Finland and Sweden apply to join NATO

Tags: Latest International News

Finland and Sweden have officially applied to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) amid heightened concerns over Russia's attack on Ukraine.

• Finland and Sweden have a non-aligned policy, but they have always been close to NATO. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted him to join NATO.

• NATO membership process

• First a country must formally apply for NATO membership.

• The joining country must meet the criteria set out in NATO's 1995 "Study on Expansion". These criteria include a functioning democratic political system based on a market economy, the ability to make a military contribution to NATO, etc.

• A country can join NATO only if all its 30 member countries support its membership.

• A country can become a member of NATO after ratification of accession protocols, which may take 8 to 12 months.

• At present, Turkey has not agreed to give NATO membership to Finland and Sweden.

• About North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) -

• NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance consisting of 30 member states belonging to Europe and North America (28 European states, the US and Canada).

• NATO aims to guarantee the security of its members through political and military means.

• According to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, an armed attack against any NATO member in Europe or North America shall be deemed an attack against all NATO members.

• Article 5 has been invoked only once so far after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the US.

• The last country to join NATO was North Macedonia in 2020.

• Headquarters- Brussels, Belgium

International Day of Biodiversity- 22 May

Tags: Important Days

International Day of Biodiversity is celebrated every year on 22 May to raise awareness about the significant reduction in biological diversity caused by human activities.

• Biodiversity - It refers to the variety of flora and fauna that make up an ecosystem. Conservation of ecosystems is important for natural balance and human survival.

• India is included in the 10 countries with the most biodiversity in the world.

• Purpose of the day

• (i) To increase understanding and awareness about the issues of biodiversity.

• (ii) To make people aware about the importance of biodiversity on the one hand and its unprecedented loss on the other.

• The theme of 2022 is "Building a shared Future for All Life".

• History of the day

• The idea was to celebrate this day at the Biodiversity Conference on December 29, 1992 in Nairobi, Kenya.

• Biodiversity Day was celebrated on 29th December till 2000, after that from the year 2001 it is celebrated on 22nd May.

Single National Portal For Biotech Researchers And Start-Ups Launched

Tags: National News

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launched a single national portal for biotech researchers and start-ups on 21st May.

• The name of the Portal is “BioRRAP” 

• It will help all those seeking regulatory approval for biological research and development activity in the country.

• This provides a huge relief to "ease of science as well as ease of business".

• India is poised to become a global bio-manufacturing hub and will be among the top 5 countries in the world by 2025.

• This unique portal of DBT is a step towards Ease of Doing Science and Scientific Research and Ease of Start-ups in India.

North East Research Conclave 2022 inaugurated

Tags: Summits National News

The North East Research Conclave (NERC) 2022 was inaugurated at IIT, Guwahati by the Union Minister of Education and Skill Development, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan.

• The conclave will strengthen linkages between industry, academia and policy makers and further strengthen the research, start-up and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the resource-rich North Eastern Region states and the country.

• Key points related to the Conclave -

• NERC 2022 will prove to be a global benchmark in meeting the R&D priorities of India and the world.

• On the occasion, an MoU “Assam Advanced Health Innovation Institute (AAHI)” was also signed between the Government of Assam and IIT, Guwahati.

• North East Research Conclave 2022 is being organised to showcase the best research and development activities of academic and research institutes from all the states of North East India.

• The North-East Research Conclave is a platform for entrepreneurs and research institutions to showcase their innovations.

• The North East Research Conclave will help the younger generation to fulfil their dreams in the near future.

Piyush Goyal to lead India at WEF's Davos meeting

Tags: Popular Summits

The Indian delegation will be led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos from May 22 to 26.

• During this meeting, many big issues affecting the whole world like the Ukraine crisis, climate change, and the Corona epidemic will be discussed.

• The meeting will be addressed by several world leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European Union President Ursala von der Leyen and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

• In this conference, more than 2500 leaders, officials and experts, including heads of 50 countries and states from around the world, will give their views on various issues.

• From India, a large team led by Union Minister Piyush Goyal is going there, including Union Health Minister Mansukh Lal Mandaviya and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, besides two Chief Ministers Basavaraj Bommai and Jaganmohan Reddy.

• Aaditya Thackeray from Maharashtra, KT Rama Rao from Telangana etc. Many big leaders and CEOs will also participate in this meeting.

• The theme of the conference will be 'History at a turning point'.

• Key points of discussion during the meeting -

• This conference will mainly focus on six issues

• These include promoting global and regional cooperation, restoring stability to a new era of geopolitical conflict and tension, as well as advancing trade, prosperity and partnership, achieving economic recovery and shaping a new era of development. 

• In the conference, it will also be discussed how to strengthen health services in view of future diseases, moving from the health emergency to the corona epidemic.

• During this time the focus will be on suggesting ways to accelerate the global economy, promoting the Fourth Industrial Revolution and finding ways to face the biggest challenge to humanity like climate change.

• About World Economic Forum (WEF) -

• The World Economic Forum is a non-profit organisation based in Switzerland.

• It aims to set a global, regional and industrial direction by bringing together leaders in the world's business, political, educational and other fields.

• Establishment- 1971

• Headquarters- Cologny, Switzerland

• CEO- Klaus M. Schwab