Current Affairs search results for tag: international-news
By admin: April 22, 2022

1. FATF Ministerial Meeting in Washington D.C.

Tags: Economics/Business International News

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman attended the FATF Ministerial Meeting in Washington D C on April 21, 2022.

  • The meeting was held simultaneously with the 2022 Spring Meeting of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

  • The meeting focused on providing direction to the ministers, by supporting the strategic priorities of the FATF for the year 2022-24.

  • This meeting focussed on the following points –

* to ensure suitable funding for the delivery of the strategic priorities which.

*FATF systems of Mutual Evaluations

*Enhancing International Beneficial Ownership Transparency,

*Increasing Capabilities to more effectively recover Criminal assets,

*Leveraging Digital Transformation

  • India extended support on these strategic priorities and reiterated India’s commitment to provide resources and support to FATF.

  • FATF Ministers will meet again in 2024.

About  FATF

  • The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the global money laundering and terrorist financing protector. 

  • This inter-governmental body sets international standards which aim to prevent these types of illegal activities and the harm they cause to society. 

  • It works to produce the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in these areas.

  • With more than 200 countries and jurisdictions it is committed to implementing them. 

  • It was established in July 1989 by the G-7 Summit in Paris.

  • the FATF expanded its mandate In October 2001 to incorporate efforts for combat terrorist financing as well as  money laundering.

  • It added efforts to counter the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in April 2012.

By admin: April 21, 2022

2. Russia test-fires ‘world’s most powerful' nuclear-capable missile

Tags: Science and Technology International News

Nearly two months after invading Ukraine, Russia tested the Sarmat missile, a new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile.

  • The test was conducted in Palestek, in the southwestern part of Russia.

  • After the test, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that this missile will make Russia's enemies stop and think.

  • The Sarmat missile is a new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile.

  • It was test-launched for the first time from Plesetsk in northwest Russia and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula, nearly 6,000 km (3,700 miles) away.

  • The missile weighs more than 200 tonnes and can transport more than ten warheads.

  • As per Russian media, Sarmat is a three-stage, liquid-fueled missile with a range of 18,000 km.

  • The missile is 35.3 metres long and 3 metres in diameter.

  • The long-range missile has been in the works since the 2000s.

  • Russia's nuclear forces will start taking delivery of the new missile "in the autumn of this year" once testing is complete. 

  • It is among Russia's next-generation missiles that Putin has called "invincible," and which also include the Kinzhal and Avangard hypersonic missiles.

  • It has the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is capable of overcoming all modern means of anti-missile defence.

  • The missile can hit any target on Earth.

By admin: April 18, 2022

3. Extreme poverty in India declined by 12.3 percentage points during 2011-2019

Tags: Economy/Finance International News

According to the World Bank Report Poverty in India is 12.3 percentage points lower in 2019 as compared to 2011. 

  • The poverty headcount rate has declined from 22.5 percent in 2011 to 10.2 percent in 2019. 

  • As per a policy research working paper of World Bank, Poverty reduction was higher in rural areas as compared to urban India. 

  • Rural poverty dropped by 14.7 percent while urban poverty declined by 7.9 percentage points during 2011 to 2019.

  • Study says that farmers with small landholding sizes have experienced higher income growth.

  • Real incomes for farmers with the smallest landholdings have grown by 10 percent in annualised terms between the two survey rounds in 2013 and 2019 compared to a 2 percent growth for farmers with the largest landholding.

  • Extreme poverty has been measured in terms of the number of people living on less than $1.90 a day (roughly Rs 145).

  • About World Bank

– The World Bank is a provider of financial and technical assistance to individual countries around the globe. 

–it comprises 189 countries and five constituent institutions that work towards eradicating poverty and creating prosperity. 

–Currently, the World Bank has two stated goals that it aims to achieve by 2030.

–The first is to end extreme poverty by decreasing the number of people living on less than $1.90 a day to below 3% of the world population. 

–The second is to increase overall prosperity by increasing income growth in the bottom 40% of every country in the world.

–HQ : Washington DC (USA)

By admin: April 16, 2022

4. Egypt approves India as wheat supplier

Tags: Economics/Business International News

Egypt, which is one of the largest importers of wheat from Ukraine and Russia, has approved India as a wheat supplier.

  • Egypt is likely to lift about one million tonnes of wheat from India, of which 240,000 tonnes will be shipped in April itself.

  • Export was approved after a rigorous process of field visits and checks in quarantine facilities in India by Egyptian authorities.

  • The teams visited wheat fields in Madhya Pradesh, UP and Punjab to check for themselves the quality of wheat produced in India.

  • India aims to export 10-11 million tonnes of wheat in FY23 due to the surge in global demand following the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

India’s wheat export

  • India's wheat exports rose to $1.74 billion in April-January 2021-22 as against $340.17 million in the same period last year.

  • In 2019-20, wheat exports were worth USD 61.84 million, which rose to USD 549.67 million in 2020-21.

  • India's wheat exports are mainly to neighbouring countries with Bangladesh having the largest share of more than 54 percent.

By admin: April 15, 2022

5. Musk set to buy Twitter with $43 billion offer

Tags: International News

Elon Musk, Tesla's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has offered to buy Twitter.

  • Twitter informed the stock market on April 14 that Musk sent it a letter on April 13, proposing to buy the rest of the company's shares.

  • Musk has offered $54.20 for each Twitter share. The offering comes in at over $43 billion.

  • Musk has described this price as his maximum and final offer.

  • It is noteworthy that Musk currently owns more than nine percent of Twitter's shares. He is the largest shareholder of the company.

By admin: April 15, 2022

6. Israel has developed the world's first laser missile defence system: Iron Beam

Tags: Defence International News

Israel has successfully test-fired a laser missile defence system for the first time in the world.

  • The name of this missile defence system has been given 'Iron Beam'. This laser-based missile defence system destroyed mortars, rockets and anti-tank missiles in a single blow.

  • Israel also has a missile defence system named Iron Dome, which has proved to be very useful for this. This is a very expensive defence system that costs thousands of dollars for repeated use.

  • But the best thing about this iron beam is that it will cost only Rs 267 in one blow.

By admin: April 14, 2022

7. Boris Johnson rejects calls to resign amid ‘partygate’ fine

Tags: International News

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to resign after being fined for breaking his government’s pandemic lockdown rules, saying he would instead redouble efforts to strengthen the economy and combat Russian aggression in Ukraine.

London police fined Mr. Johnson and other people on Tuesday for attending a birthday party thrown for the Prime Minister at his Downing Street offices on June 19, 2020.

The penalty made Mr Johnson the first British Prime Minister ever found to have broken the law while in office.

By admin: April 12, 2022

8. India US 2+2 ministerial dialogue

Tags: International News

India and the United States of America will hold the 4th 2+2 ministerial dialogue in the United States on 11 April 2022.

  • The dialogue will be held between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with  US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin respectively.

  • India and the United States decided to start  2+2 dialogue  during Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visit to the U.S in June 2017.

  • The first meeting was held in September 2018. 

  •  India holds 2+2 meeting with Australia and Japan also 

In the United States Foreign Minister is  called the Secretary of State  and the Defence Minister is called the Secretary of Defence.

By admin: April 12, 2022

9. Shehbaz Sharif elected as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan

Tags: Popular International News

The Pakistan Parliament has elected the 70 year old Shehbaz Sharif as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan on 11 April 2022. He secured 174 votes in a 342 lower house called the National Assembly. He is the leader of Pakistan Muslim League (N).

  • He was elected unopposed as the other candidate, former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmmod Qureshi boycotted the poll after his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, boycotted the voting and staged a walkout.

  • Sharif was administered the oath of office by the Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjarani after the Imran Khan supported President Arif Alvi went on a sick leave.

  • Sehbaz Sharif is the younger brother of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif. He has been three times the Chief Minister of the Pakistani province of Punjab.

  • The 100  members of Imran Khan’s PTI party later announced their resignation  from the National Assembly in protest against the removal of the PTI leader Imran Khan Government. Imran Khan has called for nationwide protests and called for early elections in the country.

  •  The Imran Khan Government  had to resign after a vote of no confidence was passed against the government in Pakistan's National Assembly on 10 April 2022. 

  • Imran Khan alleged that America wanted to remove him from the office due to his policy of  supporting China and Russia and  not acceding to the American demand for military bases for operations against Taliban in Afghanistan. America has denied such accusations.

  • The Imran Khan government was becoming increasingly unpopular in Pakistan due to the serious economic crisis in the country and rising prices of daily essential commodities.

  • No Prime Minister in Pakistan has completed its five year terms. Imran khan is the only Prime Minister who has to resign after the passage of a no confidence motion against his government.

Important for Exam 

Pakistan Parliament Name : It is called as Majlis e-Shoora

It consists of two Houses. The Upper House is called the Senate and the Lower House is called the National Assembly. 

President of Pakistan : Arif Alvi 

Capital : Islamabad

Currency : Pakistani Rupee 

By admin: April 11, 2022

10. Shahbaz Sharif elected next Prime Minister of Pakistan

Tags: Popular International News

The Parliament of Pakistan (National Assembly) has elected Shahbaz Sharif as the new Prime Minister of the country on 11 April. The political crisis that had been going on for the last few days came to an end after the vote on the no-confidence motion moved against Imran Khan on April 10, in which he was removed from the post of Prime Minister.

Nawaz Sharif's younger brother:

Shahbaz Sharif, nominated as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan, is the younger brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Nawaz Sharif was disqualified as prime minister in 2017.

There were many contenders for the post of Prime Minister:

The session of the Pakistan National Assembly has begun. Opposition candidate and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) president Shahbaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf vice-president and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi are in the race for the new prime minister's post.