1. 75th session of the World Health Assembly organised in Geneva
Tags: Summits International News
The 75th World Health Assembly is being organised in Geneva, Switzerland from 22 to 28 May 2022.
This is the first individual health gathering since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On behalf of India, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya addressed this 75th session.
He said that the figures released by WHO for India regarding covid deaths were quite disappointing and confusing.
Some time ago, a detailed report was released by WHO regarding corona deaths.
The report claimed that within two years, more than 47 lakh people died due to corona in India.
That report was rejected by the Indian government and questions were raised on the WHO model.
They called for strengthening the WHO to streamline the WHO approval process for vaccines and therapeutic devices and to create a more resilient global health security infrastructure.
He reiterated India's commitment to building a more resilient global health security infrastructure.
The theme of the year 2022: Health for peace, peace for health.
About 75th World Health Assembly
The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of the WHO.
The Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.
Functions of world health assembly
To determine the policies of the Organisation,
appoint the Director-General,
supervise financial policies, and review
approve the proposed programme budget.
About WHO
Founded - 7 April, 1948
World Health Day is celebrated Every year on 7 April.
It is the United Nations agency
It leads global efforts to extend universal health coverage.
It operates in 6 regions with 194 member states and over 150 locations.
Headquarters - Geneva, Switzerland
2. India joins Biden’s new trade initiative for Indo-Pacific
Tags: International Relations International News
US President Joe Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) along with 12 initial partners in Tokyo on May 23.
The initial partner countries are India, Australia, Japan, Brunei, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
These 13 countries together represent 40% of the world's GDP.
About IPEF initiative
It is expected to focus on four main pillars including trade, supply chain resilience, clean energy and decarbonisation, and taxes and anti-corruption measures.
The group includes seven of the 10 members of the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and all four Quad countries and New Zealand.
India will work closely with other IPEF countries to build an inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
The main roles of the IPEF in the Indo-Pacific will be to set and adhere to standards for the digital economy and cross-border data flows and data localization.
About Indo-Pacific
It covers half of the world's population and more than 60 percent of the global GDP.
It is a geopolitical region that spans two regions of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
Extending from the west coast of the United States of America to the west coast of India, the Indo-Pacific is a regional structure of 24 countries.
It includes the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, western and central Pacific Ocean.
3. Finland and Sweden apply to join NATO
Tags: Latest International News
Finland and Sweden have officially applied to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) amid heightened concerns over Russia's attack on Ukraine.
Finland and Sweden have a non-aligned policy, but they have always been close to NATO. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted him to join NATO.
NATO membership process
First a country must formally apply for NATO membership.
The joining country must meet the criteria set out in NATO's 1995 "Study on Expansion". These criteria include a functioning democratic political system based on a market economy, the ability to make a military contribution to NATO, etc.
A country can join NATO only if all its 30 member countries support its membership.
A country can become a member of NATO after ratification of accession protocols, which may take 8 to 12 months.
At present, Turkey has not agreed to give NATO membership to Finland and Sweden.
About North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) -
NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance consisting of 30 member states belonging to Europe and North America (28 European states, the US and Canada).
NATO aims to guarantee the security of its members through political and military means.
According to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, an armed attack against any NATO member in Europe or North America shall be deemed an attack against all NATO members.
Article 5 has been invoked only once so far after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the US.
The last country to join NATO was North Macedonia in 2020.
Headquarters- Brussels, Belgium
4. World's highest meteorological station installed on Mount Everest
Tags: Popular International News
The world's highest meteorological station has been established on Mount Everest to study various weather phenomena.
According to Nepal's Department of Water and Meteorology, this meteorological station has been established at 8,830 metres just below the summit point of the mountain range (maximum height 8848.86 m).
The centre was facing difficulty in setting up the summit point due to the snow.
The solar-powered weather station will measure short- and long-distance radiation, along with changes in temperature, wind speed and direction, wind pressure and snow height.
Important point -
Nepal's Hydrology and Meteorological Department and National Geographic signed a Memorandum of Understanding to operate all five automated weather stations set up by NetGeo to provide real-time information about mountain conditions.
Under this agreement, the National Geographic team will operate these centres till 2025. After which the technology will be transferred to the Government of Nepal in the year 2026.
The NetGeo team, led by Baker Perry, a climate scientist at the US's Appalachian State University, included climbers and scientists, many of whom climbed the world's highest peak while setting up the weather station.
According to Chinese media reports, Mount Everest in Beijing has eight stations from 5,200 metres to 8,800 metres, with four stations over 7,000 metres at 7,028 metres, 7,790 metres, 8,300 metres and 8,800 metres.
About Mount Everest -
Mount Everest is the highest peak of the Greater Himalaya mountain range located on the border of Nepal and China (Tibet) in Asia.
Mount Everest is called Devagiri in Sanskrit, Chomolungma in Tibetan, Chu-mu-long-ma-feng in Chinese and Sagarmatha in Nepali.
On 29 May 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tensingh Norgay Sherpa, an Indian citizen of Nepalese origin, climbed Mount Everest for the first time.
Junko Tabei (Japan) is the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, as well as the first woman to climb the highest peaks on each of the 7 continents.
Bachendri Pal is the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest in 1984.
Santosh Yadav is the first Indian woman to climb Everest twice in a row.
Kami Rita Sherpa, a 52-year-old mountaineer from Nepal, has completed the most number of climbs on the world's highest mountain peak, Mount Everest. She has managed to climb Mount Everest 25 times.
5. Labor Party leader Albanese elected Prime Minister of Australia
Tags: Person in news International News
Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese has been elected the new Prime Minister of Australia.
Albanese, 59, will be the 31st Prime Minister of Australia.
The country's incumbent Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his team's failure to deal with several issues such as climate and Kovid-19, besides women's rights, political integrity and natural disasters led to their defeat in the election.
In Australia, voting was held for 151 seats in the Lower Chamber, in which 76 seats are needed to form a government.
The Labor Party, which won 71 seats with a vote count of 67 percent, was declared the winner. The Liberal National Coalition got only 52 seats.
Other facts
Australia has two houses, the Upper House (Senate) and the Lower House.
Here the tenure of the upper house is 6 years and that of the lower house is of three years, that is, elections are held after every three years.
Voting in Australia always takes place on Saturdays.
Voting is compulsory here, and those who do not vote have to pay a fine of up to $14.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe, in Tokyo, taking oath as the caretaker Prime Minister of Australia's elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Albanese. Biden and Japan's Prime Minister Fumiya Kishida may attend the Quad summit.
About Australia -
Australia is the only place that is considered to be a continent, a nation and an island at the same time.
It is the smallest continent in the world and also the largest island in the world.
Capital- Canberra
Prime Minister- Anthony Albanese
Currency- Australian Dollar
6. 8th BRICS Environment Ministers Meeting
Tags: Summits International News
The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav participated in the 8th BRICS Environment Ministers' Meeting on 20 May.
The meeting was held virtually under the chairmanship of the People's Republic of China.
Ministers and representatives of Brazil, Russia and South Africa also participated in the meeting.
The theme of the meeting - 'Foster High-Quality BRICS Partnership, Usher in a New Era for Global Development'.
The Joint Statement of the 8th BRICS Environment Ministers' Meeting was also accepted in the meeting after extensive deliberations among the BRICS countries.
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).
7. Hassan Sheikh Mahmood appointed as the new President of Somalia
Tags: Person in news International News
After a long-pending election in the troubled Horn of Africa nation, Somali legislators have elected former leader Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud as the country's next president.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamed, who served as Somalia's president between 2012 and 2017, won in the capital Mogadishu amid a security lockdown imposed by authorities to prevent deadly rebel attacks.
He defeated Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed in this election.
Mahmoud secured 214 votes against 110 votes in favour of the incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo in the final third round.
Mahmood, 66, is the leader of the Union for Peace and Development party, which has a majority in both legislative chambers.
About somalia
Somalia is a country located on the eastern edge of Africa.
Capital- Mogadishu
Capital- Mogadishu
Prime Minister- Mohamed Hussein Roble
Currency- Somali Shilling (SOS)
8. India hosts SCO-RATS meeting
Tags: Summits International News
Counter-terrorism experts from India, Pakistan and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) discussed ways to enhance cooperation in tackling various regional security challenges in a meeting hosted in New Delhi on May 16.
The meeting is being held under the regional counter-terrorism framework of the SCO.
A major focus of the discussion was on the situation in Afghanistan where all countries are threatened by terrorist groups operating in the Taliban-ruled country.
Pakistan has sent a three-member team for the meeting.
The Afghan issue has figured prominently in almost all the major meetings of the SCO.
Council of Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of SCO (RATS SCO)
India assumed the presidency of the SCO (RATS SCO) on 28 October last year for a period of one year.
India has shown keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Framework (RATS).
This specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.
The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest inter-regional international organisations.
The member states of the SCO
Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
Afghanistan is among the observer states of the SCO.
9. Elisabeth Bourne appointed new Prime Minister of France
Tags: Person in news International News
French President Emmanuel Macron has named Elisabeth Born as the country's new prime minister.
She is the second woman to become prime minister in France. Prior to this, Edith Cresson took the responsibility of the post of Prime Minister in 1991-1992.
French Prime Minister Jean-Casteux resigned in a move expected after Emmanuel Macron was re-elected, with 61-year-old Elisabeth Born as the new prime minister.
Born was Labor Minister in Macron's previous government since 2020. Earlier she had also been the Transport Minister.
In France, Macron and Bourne are likely to appoint a full government in the coming days.
About France -
France is a country located in Western Europe
It is the largest country in the continent of Europe in terms of area.
Capital- Paris
President- Emmanuel Macron
currency - euro
10. 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.
