1. Foundation stone of India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage at Lumbini
Tags: International News
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi along with the Prime Minister of Nepal, Shri Sher Bahadur Deoba, laid the foundation stone for the construction of the India International Center for Buddhist Culture and Heritage at Lumbini Monastery Area, Lumbini, Nepal.
The centre will be constructed by International Buddhist Association (IBC), New Delhi on a plot of Lumbini Development Trust (LDT), which was allotted to IBC under an agreement signed between IBC and LDT in March, 2022.
The two prime ministers also unveiled a model of the centre after the foundation stone was laid by monks from three major Buddhist traditions, Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.
It will be a modern building that will meet NetZero standards in terms of energy, water and waste management and will also house a prayer hall, meditation centre, library, exhibition hall, cafeteria, offices and other facilities.
About Lumbini -
Lumbini is the birth place of Lord Buddha.
It is located in Nepal.
In the Ashoka Pillar established by Emperor Ashoka at this place, there is an inscription describing the birth place of Buddha in Brahmi scripted Prakrit language.
This place is one of the four major Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
2. Bengaluru based startup Pravaig to supply batteries to European armed forces
Tags: International News
Bengaluru-based energy and technology startup Pravaig Dynamics has announced that it has received an order to supply compact energy storage to the European Armed Forces.
The startup said the made-in-India tactical batteries will power equipment used by European combat forces.
About Pravaig
It is a heavy-duty power bank that is portable and weighs 14 kilograms.
It is of great utility to the digitally connected modern military and Special Forces personnel who have to operate in high-risk zones.
They require constant power back-up while using gadgets.
These batteries are designed, engineered and manufactured in India.
Significance
This supply marks a major shift in the defence landscape of India.
It marks a turning point in the reversal of India's high technology defence industry, from users to developers, from importers to exporters.
The field pack can be used to energise a military person’s duties and it can be used to deploy remote sensors.
A powerful tactical battery can be used even to operate larger military equipment such as drones.
It can also help coordinate tactical operations that involve multiple weapon systems.
3. Sheikh Mohammed named UAE President
Tags: Person in news International News
On May 14, the rulers of the United Arab Emirates unanimously appointed Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the nation's president.
The country's seven sheikhs, who are the rulers of the UAE, took the decision at a meeting held at the Al Mushrif Palace in Abu Dhabi.
The post fell vacant after the country's president and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 73, died on 13 May.
The transition of power marks only the third time this U.S.-allied nation of seven sheikhdoms has selected a President since becoming an independent nation in 1971.
The UAE has had a presidential system since it emerged as an independent nation in 1971.
Important facts about UAE
There are no rivers in the UAE
The UAE was the first country in the world to appoint a minister for artificial intelligence
The Arabian Oryx is the national animal of the UAE
Six of the world’s tallest hotels are in the UAE
It is located on the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula.
The country's form of government is an absolute monarchy.
Each emirate of the UAE is ruled by a separate royal family.
The falcon is the UAE's national symbol
Capital city - Abu Dhabi
7 Emirates of the UAE - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain.
Religion - Muslims 76%, Christians 19%
Language - Arabic
Currency - Dirhams
National Day - 2 December
4. UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed passes away
Tags: Person in news International News
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (73 years), the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, passed away on May 13, 2022.
Expressing his deepest condolences on the passing away of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Indian Prime Minister said that India-UAE relations have prospered under his guidance.
The Government of India has declared a day of national mourning on his death. During this time no public festival will be celebrated in any government offices.
The UAE government has declared 40 days of national mourning in the country on the death of Sheikh Khalifa. During this, the national flag will remain at half-mast. All government offices and private institutions including ministries will also remain closed for three days.
The world's tallest building 'Dubai's Burj Khalifa' was also named after the late President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum to be Acting President :
According to the UAE's constitution, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the ruling Vice President and Premier of Dubai, will take over as acting president until the country's Federal Council meets within 30 days to elect a new president.
Born in 1948, Sheikh Khalifa became the President of the UAE in 2004 after the death of his father. He was the country's second president and the 16th leader of Abu Dhabi.
About UAE -
Capital- Abu Dhabi
Prime Minister- Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Currency- UAE Dirham
5. El Salvador released the design of the bitcoin city
Tags: International News
Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, the smallest country in Central America, released the design of a bitcoin city under construction.
The city of Crypto will be built near the Conchagua volcano on the Gulf of Fonseca in the southeast of the Central American country.
Bitcoin City was first announced during the Latin American Bitcoin and Blockchain Conference.
Releasing the layout of the bitcoin city, an investment of 30 thousand dollars has been made by the government.
Countries adopting bitcoin
El Salvador is the first country in the world to recognize bitcoin as an official currency last year.
Recently, the Central African Republic became the second country in the world and the first in Africa to recognize bitcoin.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
About El Salvador -
El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America.
Capital - San Salvador
President- Nayib Bukele
currency - bitcoin
6. Saudi Aramco overtakes Apple as world’s most valuable company
Tags: International News
Recently, Saudi petro company Aramco overtook Apple and received the status of the world's most valuable company.
Apple shares fell due to a slowdown in the technology sector, while the Saudi company's shares rose due to the continuous rise in oil prices.
Due to the fall in stocks, Apple's market cap has dropped 20 per cent to 2.37 lakh crore, while Aramco's market cap has climbed 28 per cent to 2.42 lakh crore.
Aramco's profits have soared 124 per cent after the sharp rise in worldwide oil prices following the Russo-Ukraine war.
Important facts
Establishment of Saudi Aramco- 1933;
Saudi Aramco Headquarters- Dhahran, Saudi Arabia;
Saudi Aramco CEO- Amin H. Nasser
7. US President Joe Biden to host ASEAN summit
Tags: Summits International News
US President Joe Biden will host leaders and top officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Washington DC.
Washington has focused on the Russo-Ukraine war as well as battling Chinese influence in the Indo Pacific.
The ASEAN "special summit" was postponed from late March just days before Biden's first visit to Asia as president.
ASEAN member state Myanmar, whose government was toppled on 1 February last year, will not participate in the summit.
The US wanted an 'apolitical' representative from Myanmar to attend the meeting.
ASEAN's 'five-point Consensus' to end the turmoil in Myanmar has not progressed since its release in April last year.
About ASEAN
Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN is an international organisation formed in Bangkok,Thailand in 1967.
It promotes economic development, peace, security, social progress and cultural development in the Southeast Asian region.
ASEAN Secretariat – Indonesia, Jakarta.
General Secretary of ASEAN - Lim Jock Hoi, Brunei
Official Languages - Burmese, Filipino, Indonesian, Khmer, Lao, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, Thai and Vietnamese
Working Language - English
ASEAN Summit is the supreme policy making body of ASEAN.
ASEAN is third largest market in the world
It is the sixth largest economy in the world, third in Asia.
ASEAN has Free-trade agreements (FTAs) with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
ASEAN Member Countries
Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Brunei
Vietnam
Laos
Myanmar
Cambodia
8. Gotabaya appoints Ranil as Sri Lanka Prime Minister
Tags: Person in news International News
Ranil Wickremesinghe, a veteran opposition MP, was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for the sixth time in an effort to end the current political crisis in the country.
Gotabaya's elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as prime minister on May 9.
Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) was wiped out in the 2020 general elections, with Rajapaksa winning a two-thirds majority.
Wickremesinghe is currently the only MP from his party.
Reason of crisis in Sri Lanka
Mahendra Rajapaksa announced huge tax cuts in his manifesto in the 2019 election, leading to a huge drop in revenue.
Sri Lanka is primarily a tourism-based economy. The Easter bombings in 2019 resulted in a sharp drop in tourist arrivals, which was further exacerbated by the COVID crisis.
Huge infrastructural debt.
Misguided policies of the authoritative regime
Due to Covid, there was a further decline in the export of tea, rubber and the tourism sector came to a standstill.
Remittances also dropped significantly
9. India elected as Chair of the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) for 2022-24
Tags: International News
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India has been unanimously elected as the new Chair of the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) for 2022-2024 at the recently held meeting of the Executive board and General Assembly at Manila, Philippines.
The Election Commission, Manila was the current chairman of the AAEA.
The new members in the Executive Board now include Russia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Taiwan and Philippines.
The Election Commission of India's three-member delegation headed by deputy election commissioner Nitesh Vyas, along with CEO Manipur Rajesh Agrawal and CEO Rajasthan Praveen Gupta, attended the executive board meeting in Manila.
62 officials from 12 AAEA members participated in the 3rd International Virtual Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) hosted by ECI during Assembly Elections in 2022.
About AAEA
The AAEA provides a non-partisan forum in the Asian region for sharing experiences and best practices among election authorities.
It discusses and acts upon ways to promote open and transparent elections.
The objective to do so is to support good governance and democracy.
AAEA is also an Associate Member of the 118 member Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB).
It was established in pursuance of the resolution passed by participants of the Symposium on Asian Elections in the Twenty First Century held from January 26-29, 1997 in Manila, Philippines.
It was established in 1998.
Currently 20 Asian EMBs are members of AAEA.
10. State of the World’s Birds Report
Tags: International News
According to the State of the World's Birds report, populations of 48% of all bird species are declining globally, mainly due to man-made factors such as loss or degradation of habitats, changes in land use, overexploitation and climate change.
The report is published by Manchester Metropolitan University.
It is a study of changes in the biodiversity of birds and describes the risk to birds around the world.
The study draws from BirdLife International’s latest assessment of all birds for the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
Key findings of the study
The study found that 5,245 of the extant bird species worldwide, or about 48%, are in decline or are suspected to be in decline.
4,295 or 39% of the species have stable trends.
About 7% or 778 species have increasing population trends.
The study indicates that 1,481 or 13.5% of species are currently threatened with extinction globally.
More threatened bird species (86.4%) have been found in tropical regions than in temperate latitudes (31.7%).
The main hotspots are tropical Andes, southeast Brazil, eastern Himalayas, eastern Madagascar, and Southeast Asian islands.
