1. Mehran Karimi Nasseri who lived in Paris airport for 18 years dies
Tags: place in news Person in news International News
The 77-year-old Iranian refugee Mehran Karimi Nasseri, whose ordeal inspired the 2004 movie “The Terminal” starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones died on 13 November 2022, inside the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, where he had previously lived for 18 years.
Mehran Karimi Nasseri died around noon local time of a heart attack, a spokesperson for the Paris airport authority said on 14 November 2022.IR
Nasseri was born in 1945 in the Iranian province of Khuzestan. He left Iran in 1970’s to search for his British mothers. He was expelled from many European countries including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany for not having the correct immigration documents.
In 1988, French authorities stopped him at the Paris airport as he tried to pass through without identity papers. Caught in an immigration trap, he soon set up a makeshift home of his own in the airport and lived for many years in Terminal 1 of Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport.
He was offered a residence permit by France but was unable to adjust to life outside the airport. He eventually came back to the Airport’s Terminal 2F and died later.
2. The Pandemic Fund sponsored by World Bank and WHO officially launched at the G20 meeting
Tags: place in news International News
The Pandemic Fund sponsored by the World Bank and World Health Organisation was officially launched at Bali, Indonesia on 13 November 2022 at the sidelines of the G-20 Joint Finance and Health Ministers’ Meeting.
The high-level speakers included Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, World Bank Group President David Malpass, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen among others.
Pandemic Fund
The Pandemic Fund has been established by the World Bank in association with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in September 2022.
The fund has been set up to provide assistance to the low and middle income countries to strengthen their preparedness and response (PPR) to the future epidemics and pandemics.
The fund will be used to build and strengthen infrastructure in these countries so that they are better prepared to face the risks of future epidemics and pandemics like covid.
Till date according to the World Bank the fund has received a commitment of $1.4 billion from 24 donor countries including India.
Structure of the Fund
The World Bank will serve as the Pandemic Fund’s trustee and host the Secretariat, which will include technical staff seconded from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Governing Board of the Pandemic Fund will be advised by A Technical Advisory Panel headed by WHO. It will comprise leading experts to assess and make recommendations on the technical merits of proposals for funding, ensuring linkages to the International Health Regulations, as part of the broader global PPR architecture.
3. Kerala Governor inaugurates the IBSA Blind Football Women’s Asian/Oceania Championship 2022
Tags: place in news Sports Person in news
Kerala Governor Arif Muhammad Khan on 12 November 2022 inaugurated the IBSA Blind Football Women’s Asian/Oceania Championship 2022 at Kochi, Kerala.
The IBSA Blind Football Women’s Asian/Oceania Championship 2022 is being held at Kochi from 9 -20 November 2022.
International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA)
The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) was set up in 1981 in Paris, France.
It is the governing body for the Paralympic sports of goalball, judo and blind football.
Headquarters: Bonn, Germany
Sandro Di Girolamo of Italy is the current IBSA President.
4. Vice President Dhankhar calls for free and open Indo-Pacific region at the 17th East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh
Tags: place in news Summits Person in news
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar speaking at the 17th East Asia Summit meeting being held in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on 13 November 2022 highlighted India’s concern on food and security and emphasized the role of the East Asia Summit (EAS) in promoting free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific with freedom of navigation and overflight.
The 17th EAS is being hosted by the current ASEAN (Association of SouthEast Asian Nations) chairman Cambodia.
Earlier speaking in the summit the American President Joe Biden and the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also highlighted the aggressive behaviour of China in the South China Sea and called for peace in the Taiwan Strait and ensuring freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar also called upon the EAS members’ full contribution to the International Year of Millets in 2023.
Vice President visit to Cambodia
The Vice President was on a three day (11-13 November) visit to Cambodia to attend the 19th India-ASEAN summit meeting which has been designated as the commemorative summit, to mark the 30 years of Indian ASEAN relationship.
This year is also being celebrated as ASEAN-India Friendship Year.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is accompanying Vice-President Dhankhar on this visit.
Observer Research Foundation signs Mou with AVI
On the sideline of the summit meeting Observer Research Foundation (ORF) of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a leading Cambodian think tank AVI.
The two institutions engaged in the realm of public policy will endeavour to cooperate more closely to enhance their mutual understanding on a range of issues from geopolitics and international relations to sustainable development and cultural engagement.
East Asia Summit
- The East Asia summit group consists of 18 countries.
- The concept of an East Asia Grouping was first promoted in 1991 by the then Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad.
- It was set up in 2005 as a forum to promote strategic dialogue and cooperation on political, security and economic issues of common regional concern in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Initially it consisted of ASEAN members (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam) and China, Japan ,South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
- The United States of America and Russia were included in 2011.
5. World’s highest polling station situated in Himachal Pradesh records over 98% polling
Tags: place in news State News
World’s highest polling station located in the Tashigang village of the Lahaul Spiti constituency recorded a turnout of 98.08% on 12 November 2022. The Tashigang village at an altitude of 15,256 feet, has 52 registered voters and 51 voted.
In an area where temperatures can dip to minus 16 degrees Celsius, a 100 percent turnout had been recorded during the 2019 Mandi Lok Sabha bye-election.
The voting to elect the 14th Himachal Pradesh legislative Assembly was held on 12 November 2022. The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly has 68 seats.
The counting of votes will be taken up on 8 December along with the Gujarat Legislative Assembly and the process will be completed by 10 December 2022.
The election to constitute 15th Gujarat Legislative Assembly will be held on 1st and 5th of December 2022.
6. Cochin Shipyard to build India's first hydrogen fuel cell catamaran vessel in Varanasi
Tags: place in news National National News
The Cochin Shipyard on November 11 signed an MoU with the Inland Waterways Authority of India to build the country's first hydrogen fuel cell catamaran ship for Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
Important facts
The shipyard also signed another MoU for construction of six electric catamaran ships for Uttar Pradesh and two ships for Guwahati.
The MoU was signed in Varanasi in the presence of Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and several other dignitaries.
The air-conditioned hydrogen fuel cell catamaran vessel will have a seating capacity of 100 passengers. It will be deployed in Varanasi after trial in Kochi.
The air-conditioned electric hybrid vessels, designed for short-distance travel in riverine waters, will have a seating capacity of 50 passengers.
These vessels will contribute significantly in reducing the pollution level in the national waterways.
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways -Sarbananda Sonowal
Union Minister for Heavy Industries - Mahendra Nath Pandey
UP Chief Minister - Yogi Adityanath
7. Lovlina, Parveen, Saweety and Alifiya win Asian Boxing Championship titles at Amman
Tags: place in news Sports Person in news
It was a gold medal day for India as Lovlina Borgohain(75kg), Parveen Hooda (63kg), Saweety (81kg) and Alfiya Khan (81+kg) won gold and were crowned Asian champion at the ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan on 11 November 2022.
World championships bronze medallist Parveen Hooda (63kg) defeated Japan's Kito Mai to win the first gold for India in the current Asian Boxing championship.
Tokyo Olympic 2020 bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain, won the gold medal in the 75kg category by defeating Ruzmetova Sokhiba of Uzbekistan. It is Lovlina's third Asian Championship medal, she had won the bronze in 2017 and 2021 in the welterweight division.
Saweety and Alifiya then added to the gold rush, defeating Gulsaya Yerzhan of Kazakhstan and Islam Husaili of Jordan respectively.
Minakshi (women’s 52kg) had to settle for Silver medal as she lost to Kinoshita Rinka of Japan in the final.
The ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan is being held from 30 October -13 November 2022.
8. PM to inaugurate the RFCL fertilizer plant at Ramagundam in Telangana
Tags: place in news Economy/Finance State News
In an effort to boost local production of fertilizer in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on 12 November 2022 inaugurate the RFCL fertilizer plant at Ramagundam in Peddapalli district of Telangana. The plant which started commercial production in 2021 has been revived at a cost of Rs 6,338 crore.
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate 54.1 km of railway line from Bhadrachalam Road to Sattupalli built with a budget of Rs 990 crore.
Government effort to become self-sufficient in Urea by 2024
India is a big importer of Urea and meets around 30% of its 35 million tonnes of annual urea requirement from imports. China, Oman, UAE, Egypt and Ukraine were the main source of Urea in 2021-22.
India aims to end imports of urea from 2025 by boosting its local production capacity with the commissioning of new plants.
According to the Union Fertilizers and Chemical ministry, the government plans to commission and revive five new plants at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Ramagundam in Telangana, Talcher in Odisha, Barauni in Bihar and Sindri in Jharkhand. These plants are expected to add an additional capacity of 6.5 million tonnes of urea every year.
RFCL fertilizer plant
The Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemical limited (RFCL) was set up in 2015 to set up a natural gas based ammonia urea complex along at Ramagundam, Telangana with design capacity of 2,200 MTPD(metric tonnes per day ) Ammonia Unit and 3,850 MTPD Urea Plant.
RFCL is a joint venture of National Fertilizers Limited (NFL), Engineers India Limited (EIL), Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited (FCIL) and Telangana government.
Gas Authority of India (GAIL) and HTAS Consortium (consisting of HT Ramagundam A/S, IFU and Danish Agribusiness Fund, Denmark) have also invested in the project.
9. Kochi to host 18th International Telemedicine Conference
Tags: place in news Summits National News
The 18th International Telemedicine Conference organised by Telemedicine Society of India (TSI) in association with TSI Kerala Chapter will be held in Kochi, Kerala from 10-12 November.
Important facts
More than 200 scientists and academic scholars from India and around the world are expected to come together in this three-day event.
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman S Somnath will participate in this conference as the chief guest and deliberate on how the latest technologies in our country will improve telemedicine facilities.
The conference will be held at Amrita Hospital, Kochi.
“The core theme of the event ‘Strengthening Health Systems Through Sustainable Telemedicine and Digital Health’.
The conference aims to build a platform involving health regulators, health funding authorities, service providers and international experts.
The conference will examine emerging telehealth models, explore breakthrough technologies and entrepreneurship.
The conference will also highlight the socioeconomic impact of telehealth on healthcare and equity.
About International Telemedicine Conference
Telemedicine-2022 is an annual global conference for healthcare professionals, providers, health insurance providers, online pharmacy chains, industrialists, academic scientists, research scholars and scientists.
The conference is organised in collaboration with government agencies, private organisations and national and international professional societies.
10. India has 2.49 lakh voter aged above 100 years: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar
Tags: place in news National Person in news
According to the Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar there are 2.49 lakh voters aged above 100 in India and 1.80 crore voters are over 80 years of age.
He was speaking after flagging off a bicycle rally in Maharashtra's Pune city on 9 November 2022 to create an awareness about voter registration as part of the national level launch of a special summary revision of the voters' list.
He also mentioned the first voter of Independent India Shyam Saran Negi who died at the age of 106 years after casting his postal ballot for the forthcoming Himachal Legislative Assembly election.
What is Special summary revision of voters list?
Election commission of India prepares the voters list of eligible Indian citizens who are 18 years or above of age.
Any eligible citizen who has attained the age of 18 years on 1 January of that year (for this year it will be 1 January 2022) can enrol himself/herself as General Voter by filling form number 6.
To include anyone who has been left and not included as a voter, are included through the Special Summary Revision initiative.
The Election Commission of India conducts Special Summary Revision to enrol unenrolled eligible citizens during the month of Oct-Nov every year.
This year the Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls with reference to January 01, 2022 as qualifying date, will start from 01.11.2021.
Important points to Know
Whenever an election takes place, a public holiday is announced by the government on the polling day to encourage people to vote. The holiday is given under the Negotiable Instrument Act 1881.
National Voters day is observed in India on 25 January. It was on this day in 1950 the Election Commission of India came into being.
