1. British PM Liz Truss sacks Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng, Jeremy Hunt appointed new Treasury chief
Tags: Person in news International News
British Prime Minister Liz Truss sacked Finance Minister Quasi Quarteng on October 14, 2022, ahead of the announcement of the economic package.
Important facts
In his place, former cabinet minister Jeremy Hunt has been appointed finance minister.
For the past several days, there was a demand to remove Quarteng from this post, he remained in this post for about a month.
Tax cuts were announced during his tenure, this caused a sharp drop in the pound's exchange rate.
Recently, the Mini Budget of the Liz Truss government was presented, which proved to be a failure in controlling inflation in the country.
After this, MPs gave an ultimatum to Truss that if Finance Minister Kwasi Quarteng is not removed, he may face a rebellion.
Quasi became the shortest-serving chancellor in Britain since 1970, a position he held for just 38 days.
2. Abdul Latif Rashid elected as new president of Iraq
Tags: Person in news International News
On 13 October 2022, lawmakers in Iraq elected Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid as the country's new president. He will replace Barham Saleh.
Important facts
After two rounds of voting, 160 votes were cast in favor of Rashid, while Saleh got 99 votes.
Rashid, 78, is an engineer and was Iraqi Water Resources Minister from 2003 to 2010.
He has 15 days to invite a nominee from the largest parliamentary bloc to form the government.
The country had seen months of political stalemate after powerful Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr emerged as the biggest winner in a parliamentary vote last year but failed to garner enough support to form a government.
Al-Sadr withdrew his lawmakers from the House and announced in August that he would quit politics, which was followed by violence in Baghdad.
3. India participated in the 6th East Asia Education Ministers' Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam
Tags: Summits International News
India participated at the 6th East Asia Summit Education Minister’s Meeting held on 14 October, 2022 in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Important facts
Ms. Neeta Prasad, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Education addressed the gathering through virtually.
She informed about the key initiatives of National Education Policy 2020 and India’s collaborative efforts in education and research with partner countries.
Ms. Neeta Prasad said that the National Education Policy - 2020 is a holistic, flexible and multi-disciplinary vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for education.
She said that this policy is based on the fundamental pillars of equity, quality, affordability and accountability.
She informed that the National Education Policy-2020 focuses on internationalisation of education and building cooperation with other countries.
About East Asia Summit (EAS)
It was initiated in 2005 with the convening of the 1st East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
At the time of its establishment, 16 countries had participated in the East Asia Summit.
The United States and the Russian Federation attended the East Asia Summit in Bali, Indonesia on 19 November 2011.
It refers to the meeting of the Heads of State/Government of the countries participating in the EAS which is held annually.
It has identified six priority areas of cooperation which include environment and energy, education, finance, global health issues and pandemic diseases, natural disaster management and ASEAN connectivity.
4. Living Planet Report 2022
Tags: International News
Recently the Living Planet Report 2022 has been jointly released by the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London.
Important facts
According to this report, the global wildlife population has declined by 69% between 1970 and 2018.
The report has been prepared by tracking about 32,000 organisms of more than 5,230 vertebrate species between 1970 and 2018 in the 'Living Planet Report'.
The Living Planet Index has been used to calculate the decline in vertebrate species in the Living Planet Report.
'Living Planet Index'
It assesses the state of biodiversity of the world based on population trends of vertebrate species in terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats.
It is issued by the Institute of Zoology (Zoological Society of London).
Other key findings of the report
According to this report, Latin America and the Caribbean region that hosts the Amazon rainforest saw the highest wildlife decline of 94 percent between 1970 and 2018.
Africa recorded the second biggest decline with 66 percent, followed by the Pacific (55 percent).
North America and Europe recorded declines of 20 percent and 18 percent, respectively.
The population of freshwater species has declined by 83 percent.
5. External Affairs minister S.Jaishankar to visit Egypt on his first official tour
Tags: International News
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, External Affairs Minister Dr S.Jaishankar will be on his first official visit to Egypt from 15-16 October 2022. He is going there on the invitation of Egypt's Foreign minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry. According to the ministry both the leaders will discuss a range of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.
India and Egypt traditionally enjoy warm and friendly relations underpinned by historical and cultural linkages. India is trying to deepen its relation with Egypt.
Recently in the month of September Defence minister Rajnath Singh was on a visit to Egypt to deepen defence ties.
Both countries are celebrating 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations this year.
Egypt has been invited as a ‘Guest Country’ during India’s Presidency of G-20 in 2022-23.
Economic relations
Egypt has been one of India’s largest trading partners in Africa and the promotion of bilateral trade, commerce and investments will be one of the focus areas during the visit.
India - Egypt bilateral trade touched a record high at US$ 7.26 billion during the financial year 2021-22.
Indian investment in Egypt exceeds US$ 3.15 billion. Over 50 Indian companies are actively present in Egypt in a range of sectors like manufacturing, chemicals, energy, infrastructure, retail etc.
Arab Republic of Egypt
It is an Arab country which is located on the African continent.
President: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
Capital: Cairo
Currency: Egyptian pound
6. Meenaskshi Lekhi leads Indian delegation at the 6th CICA Summit meeting at Astana
Tags: place in news Summits International News
Union Minister for External Affairs Meenaskshi Lekhi led the Indian delegation at the 6th Conference on Confidence Building Measures and Interaction in Asia (CICA) summit held on 12-13 October 2022 at the Kazakhstan capital, Astana.
Replying to the Statement of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif on Kashmir she said that Pakistan is misusing the CICA for propagating malicious propaganda against India. She said that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.
Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA)
The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is a multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.
The idea of convening CICA was first proposed by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, on 5 October 1992, at the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
27 countries including India, China, and Pakistan are members of CICA.
Summit meetings of CICA
The First summit meeting was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 4 June 2022. It was attended by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The second CICA summit was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on June 17, 2006
The third CICA Summit was held in Istanbul, Turkey on 8 June 2010
The Fourth CICA Summit, was held in Shanghai, China on 21 May 2014
The Fifth CICA Summit was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on 15 June 2019.
7. IAEA chief Rafael Gross calls for protecting Zaporizhzhia nuclear power in a meeting with President Putin in Russia
Tags: place in news Russia-Ukraine Person in news International News
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Gross met the Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg, amid concern over the safety of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
Rafael Gross met Putin after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv last week.
Rafael Gross called for setting up a protection zone around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear power plant and asserted that they cannot lose any more time. He emphasised that Russia and Ukraine must do everything to help in ensuring that a nuclear accident does not occur during the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Concern over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
The 6000 MW Zaporizhzhia nuclear power complex is the largest European nuclear power complex which has been occupied by the invading Russian forces since early March 2022.
The area has been heavily fortified by the Russian military and the Ukrainian forces are also launching a counter attack. This has led to the fear that the nuclear complex could be hit in an attack which could lead to a nuclear catastrophe in the area.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
The IAEA was set up in 1957 as an agency of the United Nations.
The IAEA was set up to work with the member countries and multiple partners worldwide to promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is the world's central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the nuclear field.
Member Countries: 175
The IAEA headquarters is at Vienna, Austria and it has two regional offices located in Toronto, Canada and Tokyo, Japan,
Director General: Rafael Gross
8. World’s first space tourist Dennis Tito to ride to moon again on SpaceX
Tags: Person in news International News
World’s first space tourist, Dennis Tito, has signed up with the Elon Musk Company SpaceX, to fly around the Moon aboard the Starship rocket.
The SpaceX Company on 12 October 2022 said that the rocket will take Tito and his wife, Akiko, within 200km (125 miles) of the far side of the Moon without landing on its surface. The date of the launch has yet to be announced as the Starship is yet to be tested.
Dennis Tito, an American engineer and entrepreneur became the first human space tourist to visit the International Space Station in 2001.
He was launched onboard a Russian rocket with the help of US-based Space Adventures in 2001.
Few companies in the world are striving to make space travel a reality. They are SpaceX , Richard Branson-founded Virgin Galactic SPCE.N, and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin which currently offers suborbital joyrides that hit an altitude of about 106km (66 miles) above the Earth.
90 year old American actor, William Shatner, who played the role of Captain James T Kirk on the TV series Star Trek, became the oldest person to ride a rocket into space when he travelled on a Blue Origin flight last year.
Human Space Flight
The first person to go into space was Yury Gagarin of the Soviet Union on 12 April 1961 onboard the Vostok Rocket.
The first woman to go into space was Valentina Tereshkova of the Soviet Union on 16 June 1963 onboard the Vostok 6 Rocket.
The first American to go into space was Alan Shepard in 1961.
Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma is the only Indian to go into space. He was part of the Soviet mission aboard Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984.
9. India improves its ranks to 123 on the Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index 2022
Tags: National International News
India has improved its ranking by 6 places in the recently released Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index (CRII) 2022. It has been ranked 123th in the world out of 161 countries. India was ranked 129 in the 2020 Index.
India’s rank has improved primarily due to improvement in indicators quantifying the impact of public spending and the impact of tax on reducing inequality.
The index ranks the countries on the policies made by the government and action taken to fight inequality in the first two years of covid pandemic.
Norway has been ranked as the top country followed by Germany and Australia. South Sudan has been ranked 161st at the bottom of the Index.
Composition of the Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index (CRII)
The Index which is prepared by Oxfam International and Development Finance International (DFI) measures governments policies and actions in three areas proven to have a major impact on reducing inequality.
The three areas are public services (health, education, and social protection), taxation and workers' rights.
India’s performance
Public service
India has been ranked 129th in the Public service spending. It was ranked 141 in the 2020 report.
According to the Index, India features among the lowest performers on health spending. It dropped to 157th rank, a drop of two places. The Indian government spends 3.64 % of all it’s spending on health which is lowest among all neighbouring countries. Pakistan spending is at 4.3%, Bangladesh is at 5.19%, Sri Lanka is at 5.88%, and Nepal is at 7.8%,
Progressive taxation
India was ranked 16 on progressive taxation in 2022 while it was ranked 19 in 2020.
Labour Ranking (workers’ rights and wages)
India was ranked 151 on labour ranking (which includes workers’ rights) while in 2020 also it was ranked 151.
South Asian country’s ranking
Country | Public service ranking | Tax ranking | Labour ranking | Regional ranking |
Maldives | 71 | 12 | 54 | 1 |
Bangladesh | 136 | 47 | 101 | 2 |
Sri Lanka | 128 | 85 | 93 | 3 |
Nepal | 116 | 36 | 126 | 4 |
Bhutan | 114 | 27 | 140 | 5 |
India | 129 | 16 | 151 | 6 |
Pakistan | 151 | 77 | 113 | 7 |
Afghanistan | 158 | 115 | 117 | 8 |
OXFAM International
Oxfam International was formed in 1995 by a group of independent non-governmental organizations. They joined together as a confederation to maximize efficiency and achieve greater impact to reduce global poverty and injustice.
The name “Oxfam” comes from the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, founded in Britain in 1942.
The Oxfam International Secretariat is based in Nairobi, Kenya
Oxfam India CEO : Amitabh Behar
10. INS Tarkash reaches South Africa to participate in 7th edition of IBSAMAR
Tags: Defence International News
INS Tarkash reached Port Gqeberha (also known as Port Elizabeth), South Africa to participate in the 7th edition of IBSAMAR, a joint multinational maritime exercise among Indian, Brazilian and South African Navies from 10 - 12 Oct 2022.
Important facts
The previous edition of IBSAMAR (IBSAMAR VI) was conducted at Simons Town, South Africa from 1 to 13 October 2018.
The Indian Navy is represented by a Teg class guided missile frigate, INS Tarkash, a Chetak helicopter and personnel from the Marine Commando Force (MARCOS).
The Harbor phase of IBSAMAR VII includes major exercises such as damage control and fire fighting exercises, VBSS/Cross boarding lectures and interactions between Special Forces.
This joint maritime exercise will strengthen inter-operability for maritime security, joint operational training, sharing of best practices and addressing common maritime threats.
INS Tarkash
INS Tarkash is a state-of-the-art stealth frigate of the Indian Navy.
It is built by Yantar Shipyard at Kaliningrad, Russia.
It is equipped with a versatile range of weapons and sensors capable of addressing threats in all three dimensions.
The ship incorporates the latest stealth features such as low radar, infra-red, acoustic and magnetic signatures, making it difficult to detect at sea.
The ship is part of the Western Fleet of the Indian Navy based at Mumbai under the Western Naval Command.
