1. Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy inaugurates 'Jyotirgamaya' festival in New Delhi
Tags: International News
Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy inaugurated 'Jyotirgamaya', a festival showcasing the talents of forgotten artists, in New Delhi on June 21.
About the festival
It was organised as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and on the occasion of World Music Day on 21 June.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi has organised this festival to showcase the talent of rare musical instruments from across the country, including street performers and train entertainers.
This is a unique effort of Sangeet Natak Akademi to revive the dying arts of India.
Aim of the festival
It aims to sensitise people about the need to protect the skills of playing rare musical instruments as well as the craft of making these instruments.
It also aims to give a voice to ‘unheard’ artists who hardly ever see the limelight.
Importance of the festival
Music plays in every street and corner of India.
It is not uncommon to find passersby playing flutes and other musical instruments under the open sky whether it is rain or sunshine.
We also have a plethora of rare musical instruments that are slowly falling out of the public domain due to their dwindling popularity and dwindling patronage.
The festival was organised through a call to action to recognize the 'unheard' talent.
Entrants were requested to send a short clip of their performance along with their details.
Leading music institutions, cultural centres, SNA awardees and eminent musicians were also requested to explore and identify such rare talents.
Artistes from all corners of the country participated in this festival.
2. Juneteenth festival was celebrated in the U.S.
Tags: International News
Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the U.S. commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans.
Juneteenth is the oldest national commemoration to mark the end of the end of slavery in America, held annually on June 19.
It is currently recognized as a holiday by 47 US states.
It is also known as Liberation Day or Juneteenth Independence Day.
History of Juneteenth
On January 1, 1863, then-President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all persons 'held as slaves' within the states during the rebellion would now be free.
However, many people continued to keep slaves even after this announcement. After this, on June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger Galveston announced the end of both the Civil War and slavery.
Since then it has become a symbolic date representing independence for African-Americans.
3. International literary festival 'Unmesh' organised in Himachal Pradesh
Tags: State News International News
An International Literature Festival, Unmesh, was organised in Shimla as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Sahitya Akademi, Department of Art and Culture, Government of Himachal Pradesh.
The festival was inaugurated by the Union Minister of State for Culture, Arjun Ram Meghwal.
UNMESHA is the country's largest literary festival representing over 60 languages and 64 events with over 425 writers, poets, translators, critics and distinguished personalities from different walks of life from 15 countries including India.
Unmesh, the festival of expression, is the largest international literary festival in the country so far.
Sahitya Akademi
Sahitya Akademi was formally inaugurated by the Government of India on 12 March 1954.
Sahitya Akademi functions as an autonomous organisation. It was registered as a society in January 1956 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is the central body for literary dialogue, publication and publicity in the country and the only organisation to conduct literary activities in 24 Indian languages, including English.
It also conducts literary exchange programs with various countries around the world to promote Indian literature.
The Sahitya Akademi Award is the second highest literary award given by the Government of India after the Jnanpith Award.
4. Qatar's Hamad International Airport named best airport in the world
Tags: International News
Qatar's Hamad International Airport has been named the best airport in the world for the second year in a row. This was announced at the Skytrax 2022 World Airport Awards held at the Passenger Terminal Expo in Paris, France.
Airports Winners in Other Major Categories
Category | Winner |
Best regional airport in India and South Asia | Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport) |
World's Best Airport Staff Service & World's Best Airport Food | Changi Airport, Singapore |
Best airport in the world Shopping and most family friendly airport | Istanbul Airport |
Cleanest airport in the world, Best domestic airport in the world, Best airport in Asia | Haneda airport, Tokyo |
World's best airport | King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh |
World's Best Regional Airport | Chubu Centrair International Airport, Nagoya |
World's Best Airport Immigration Processing | Copenhagen Airport |
World's Best Airport Security Processing | Zurich Airport |
Top 5 airports in the world in 2022
1. Hamad International Airport
2. Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)
3. Singapore Changi Airport
4. Narita International Airport
5. Incheon International Airport
5. West Seti power project
Tags: International News
India will take over the ambitious hydroelectric project in Nepal nearly four years after China pulled out of the West Seti project.
The Government of Nepal has decided to hand over the West Seti Hydropower Project and 308 MW SR6 Storage Hydroelectric Project to India's National Hydro Power Company Limited (NHPC).
West Seti hydropower project
West Seti is a 750MW hydro power project.
It is planned to start this project on Paschim Seti river/basin in Nepal.
Specifically, it is a storage project designed to produce and export large amounts of electrical energy to India.
The project is envisaged to provide 31.9% of electricity to Nepal free of cost.
No work has progressed on this for the last six decades.
The project was earlier awarded to a Chinese company.
China's Three Gorges Corporation informed the Nepal government in August 2018 that it would not be able to execute the 750 MW West Seti hydroelectric project.
India -Nepal Power Relations
Nepal is rich in power sources with approximately 6,000 rivers and an estimated capacity of 83,000 MW.
India has formally approached Nepal on several occasions.
India is seen as a viable market for Nepal, but there remains some uncertainty in Nepal over India's inability to complete projects on time.
India has expressed its intention to use the major rivers in the north.
An ambitious Mahakali treaty was signed in 1996 to generate 6,480 MW, but India is yet to submit a detailed project report.
West Seti has the potential to become a defining model for Nepal-India power relations in the future.
6. India, EU resume free trade talks after 9-year lull
Tags: International News
As per the Ministry of Commerce and Industry India and the European Union (EU) have resumed free talks for free trade agreement (FTA) after a nine years lull.
Negotiations were resumed on 17 June at an event held at the European Union Headquarters in Brussels.
India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, formally re-launched the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.
The first round of India-EU Free Trade Agreement talks is scheduled to begin in New Delhi on June 27.
In addition, negotiations for an Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) and a Geographical Indication (GI) agreement were also initiated.
This will be one of the most important FTAs for India as the EU is its second largest trading partner after the US.
India and the European Union (EU) trade
India-EU trade registered an all-time high of $116.36 billion in 2021-22, registering a year-on-year growth of 43.5%.
India's exports to the EU grew by 57% to $65 billion in FY 2021-22.
India has a surplus trade with the EU.
European Union (EU)
It is an international organisation made up of European countries, which was formed in 1993.
It is a group of 28 countries that act as a cohesive economic and political bloc.
19 of these countries use the euro as their official currency.
9 EU members -Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom do not use the euro.
Its goal is to promote peace and the well-being of all citizens of the EU.
7. Somalia's president appointed Hamza Abdi Barre as prime minister
Tags: Person in news International News
Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed has appointed Hamza Abdi Barre, former chairman of the Jubaland State Election Commission, as prime minister.
Hamza Abdi Barre, 48, of the semi-autonomous state of Jubaland, replaced Mohamed Hussein Roble.
Recently Hassan Sheikh Mohamed was elected the new President of Somalia.
About Somalia
Somalia is a country located on the eastern edge of Africa.
It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west.
Somalia is a semi-arid country with about 1.64% of the arable land.
Capital- Mogadishu
Currency - Somali shilling
8. China to host 14th BRICS Summit in Beijing on June 23
Tags: International News
Chinese President Xi Jinping will host the 14th BRICS Summit in Beijing on June 23.
The Summit will be held in virtual format under the theme of "Foster High-quality BRICS Partnership, Usher in a New Era for Global Development".
President Xi Jinping will host the High-level Dialogue on Global Development in Beijing on June 24.
Under the "BRICS Plus" format, the leaders of emerging countries invited to the upcoming summit are also expected to participate.
China introduced the "BRICS Plus" format last year by inviting some countries from different regions at the Xiaomi summit.
About BRICS
The full form of BRICS is Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill coined the term BRIC (without South Africa) in 2001.
He claimed that by 2050, the four BRIC economies would dominate the global economy by 2050.
South Africa was included in the list in 2010.
The presidency of the Forum is rotated annually among the members.
BRICS accounts for about 40% of the world’s population.
It accounts for 30% of the world's GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
For more information please visit 21 May 2022 news
9. Biden nominates Indian-American Radha Iyengar to top Pentagon position
Tags: International News
President Joe Biden has nominated Indian-American Radha Iyengar Plumb to the top post at the Pentagon.
She is currently serving as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Minister of Defence.
She has now been nominated for the post of Deputy Under Secretary, Defence for Acquisition and Sustainment.
Prior to her appointment as Chief of Staff, she was the Director of Research and Insights for Trust and Security at Google and led the team in business analytics, data science and technical research.
She has also served as the Global Head of Policy Analysis at Facebook.
She has also served in several senior positions on national security issues in the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Energy and the White House National Security Council.
Ms. Plumb was also a senior economist at the RAND Corporation, where she focused on improving the measurement and evaluation of preparedness and security efforts at the Department of Defence.
Early in her career, she was an assistant professor at the London School of Economics and did her postdoctoral work from Harvard.
She received her PhD in Economics from Princeton University.
10. Iraq's 'Pearl of the South' Lake Sawa dry due to water crisis
Tags: International News
Iraq's famous and prominent Lake Sawa has dried up for the first time in its centuries-old history.
Locals believe that the lake has dried up due to mismanagement by local investors, neglect of the government and climate change.
About Sawa Lake
It is a biodiversity-rich wetland located near the city of Samwa, south of Iraq's capital, Baghdad.
Sawa Lake is mentioned in some old Islamic texts.
It is said that the lake was created miraculously on the day Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 AD
Thousands of religious tourists come every year to take a dip in the holy waters of this lake.
In 2014, Lake Sawa was designated a Ramsar Site, an international designation for significant wetlands, recognized as a rare area in need of conservation.
This lake was known as the pearl of the south.
