Chile pulled out of hosting APEC and COP 25 due to protests

Chile pulled out of hosting APEC and COP 25 due to protests

Chile has pulled out of hosting two major international summits, including a UN climate change conference, as anti-government protests continue.

The decision was to call off the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) planned for November and U.N. global climate gatherings (COP25) in December


Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is an inter-governmental forum for 21 Pacific Rim member economies that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. 
Headquarters: Singapore
Founder: Bob Hawke
Founded: November 1989, Canberra, Australia
Chairperson: Sebastián Piñera

US Air Force space plane returned back on Earth after two-year mission

US Air Force space plane returned back on Earth after two-year mission

The US Air Force's space plane is back on Earth, after 780 days in orbit following a record-breaking two-year mission.

The X-37B landed at Kennedy Space Centre of National Aeronautics and Space Administration in Florida early Sunday.

 the plane was launched aboard a SpaceX rocket in 2017.

The mission sets a new endurance record for the reusable test vehicle.

This was the fifth spaceflight by a vehicle of this sort. No. 6 is planned next year with another launch from Cape Canaveral.

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage takes place every 27 October.

This commemorative day was chosen by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 2005 to raise awareness of the significance and preservation risks of recorded sound and audiovisual documents (films, sound and video recordings, radio and television programmes)

 Events are held in many countries, organised by national and regional sound and film archives, broadcasters, museums and libraries, and major audiovisual associations

theme for the year 2019 is “Engage the Past Through Sound and Images”.

Tiny beetle named after climate activist Greta Thunberg

Tiny beetle named after climate activist Greta Thunberg

A tiny species of beetle discovered more than 50 years ago has been named after environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg.

Scientists at the Natural History Museum in London have officially called the insect Nelloptodes gretae to honour the 16-year-old Swedish activist’s “outstanding contribution” in raising global awareness of climate change.

The arthropod, which has no eyes or wings, is less than 1mm long and belongs to the Ptiliidae family, which is made up of some of the world’s smallest beetles.

ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2020

ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2020

Holders India will begin their Under-19 World Cup defence with a clash against Sri Lanka on January 19th at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Four-time champions India have been grouped alongside New Zealand, Sri Lanka and first-timers Japan in Group A in the tournament, starting on January 17th next year.

India will take on Japan on January 21st and New Zealand and January 24th in the 16-team tournament, the final of which is scheduled for 9th February.

Last edition's runner-up and three-time champion Australia will take on West Indies in Group B opening encounter that also features England and debutants Nigeria.

Group C will see Pakistan battle alongside Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Scotland.

Hosts South Africa will play their opening match against Afghanistan on January 17th. The United Arab Emirates and Canada are the other teams in Group D.

The top 11 full Members in the last edition in New Zealand and the five regional champions, who have qualified for the event, will also play warm-up matches from 12-15 January in Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Current champion: India (4th title)
Number of teams: 16
Administrator: International Cricket Council
Most runs: Eoin Morgan (606)
Most successful: India (4 titles)

Hong Kong legislature formally withdrew extradition bill

Hong Kong legislature formally withdrew extradition bill 

Hong Kong authorities today withdrew an  extradition bill

extradition legislation put residents at risk of being sent into mainland China's judicial system.

Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is a special administrative region on the eastern side of the Pearl River estuary in southern China.

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo sworn in for final term

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo sworn in for final term

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has been sworn into office for his second and final five-year term

Widodo took oath at a ceremony in the capital, Jakarta

Re-elected in polls that took place in 17th April, he was sworn into office along with vice president Maruf Amin, who replaces Widodo's vice president in his first term, Jusuf Kalla.

Widodo clinched victory with 55.5 percent of the vote in the April presidential election.

World Statistics Day

World Statistics Day

World Statistics Day was celebrated for the first time on 20 October 2010 worldwide.

 World Statistics Day is celebrated every five years.

The United Nations Statistical Commission declared the day.

As of 2010, 103 countries celebrate a national Statistics Day, including 51 African countries that jointly celebrate African Statistics Day annually on 18 November.

India celebrates its statistics day on 29 June, the birthday of the legendary statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis

The next World Statistics Day will be celebrated on 20 October 2020

The Royal Statistical Society in the UK also launched its getstats statistical literacy campaign on the same day at 20:10 (on 20.10.2010)

The day was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) through the resolution 69/282 and was declared by the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNDS/StatCom).

Sri Lanka removed from FATF's Grey List

Sri Lanka removed from FATF's Grey List

Sri Lanka has been removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list of countries at risk for money laundering.

Minister of Finance Mangala Samaraweera said in a statement that FATF in Paris informed the removal of Sri Lanka's name from the blacklist commending the new measures taken by the country on financial security.

Sri Lanka was first included in the blacklist in 2011.

By 2012, Sri Lanka was listed in the list as a dangerous country with no commitment to the financial security plan.

The statement said the government together with the Central Bank and other financial institutions, has taken several measures since 2016 to ensure the financial security of the country.

As a result, Sri Lanka has declared a cooperating state in 2016 and the FATF put Sri Lanka on a grey list from November 2017.

Sri Lanka set out a sound framework to bring the commitment of all the stakeholders  in order to improve its compliance and the country rating.

It reported the progress achieved in the implementation of the action plan regularly to the FATF.

UK Parliament will vote for Brexit Deal today

UK Parliament will vote for Brexit Deal today

The Lower House of British Parliament, House of Commons will hold a special session today to debate and vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's fresh Brexit deal.

 Johnson had secured a new Brexit deal from the European Union earlier this week.

Johnson's Conservative Party holds only 288 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons, so he will have to rely on support from other parties and independent lawmakers to get over the line.

If lawmakers reject the deal - as they did three times with an earlier agreement presented by Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May - a law passed earlier this year compels the Prime Minister to ask the EU for a three-month delay to Britain's exit date.

Jhonson has pledged not to seek another extension of the October 31 deadline.

Next year's G7 summit to take place in US

Next year's G7 summit to take place in US

Next year's G7 summit will take place in one of US President Donald Trump's Florida golf clubs.

This was informed by the President's acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney

  climate change will not be on the agenda of next year's G7 summit.

World Food Day

World Food Day

World Food Day is an international day celebrated every year around the world on 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945.

The day is celebrated widely by many other organizations concerned with food security, including the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

the United Nations(UN) under the resolution (A/RES/35/70) adopted in the year 1981.

At the FAO’s 20th General Conference in 1979, the day was first decided to be celebrated to honour the founding date of FAO in 1945.

The theme for the year 2019 is “Our actions are our future. Healthy diets for a #zerohunger world”.

Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo jointly won Booker Prize

Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo jointly won Booker Prize

Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo have become the first authors to jointly win the Booker Prize for Fiction since 1992.

Atwood's The Testaments and Evaristo's novel Girl, Woman, Other earned each author an equal share of the £50,000 prize.

Atwood, 79, is the oldest ever Booker winner, while Evaristo is the first black woman to win.

The Booker Prize for Fiction, formerly known as the Booker–McConnell Prize (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original novel written in the English language and published in the United Kingdom.

WTO gave US final authorisation to impose tariffs on EU products

WTO gave US final authorisation to impose tariffs on EU products

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) gave the United States final authorisation to impose tariffs on EU products in retaliation for illegal subsidies given to Airbus.

 Earlier this month, a WTO arbitrator gave Washington the green light to slap tariffs on 7.5 billion US dollars worth of European Union imports.

The move comes as a landmark moment in the 15-year legal battle between Airbus and American plane-maker Boeing.

The arbitrator's award- the largest in the organisation's history- was rubber-stamped by the WTO's Dispute Settle Body (DSB) at a special DSB meeting.

 the tariffs, which may target a range of consumer products including French wine, could be in place by Friday.

EU officials have indicated that they are trying to reach a negotiated settlement with the US to avoid escalating trade tensions that risk battering economies across the globe.

If those negotiations fail to produce a deal, Brussels will get the chance to impose its own WTO-approved tariffs on US products, after convincing WTO judges that Boeing had benefited from illegal US government subsidies.

An arbitrators decision in that case is due in 2020.

China pledged Nepalese 56 billion rupees in aid to Nepal

China pledged Nepalese 56 billion rupees  in aid to Nepal

China has said that it will provide Nepalese 56 billion rupees assistance to Kathmandu over the next two years to help Nepal's development programmes as the two countries inked 20 agreements today to bolster their bilateral ties.

Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with his Nepalese counterpart Bidya Devi Bhandari on the first day of his two-day state visit , the first by a Chinese leader in 23 years.

The Chinese president  met Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and held delegation-level talks.

After the talks, the two sides signed 18 MoUs and two letters of exchange in different sectors such as transport, agriculture, industry, commerce and supply.

A joint statement issued after the talks, said that the two countries have agreed to develop relations, friendship and partnership that would help in development and prosperity for Nepal.

Eliud Kipchoge became first person to run marathon in under two hours

Eliud Kipchoge became  first person to run marathon in under two hours

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge has successfully completed the first-ever marathon under two hours in the Austrian capital of Vienna, two years since he fell 25 seconds short.

The 34-year-old ran forty-two kilometres in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds at Vienna's Prater-Hauptallee - an achievement once considered beyond human's reach.

Kipchoge was on target to break the record during the first half of Vienna's Prater Park , after completing 21 kilometers in 59.35 minutes.

International Day of the Girl Child

International Day of the Girl Child

International Day of the Girl Child is an international observance day declared by the United Nations; it is also called the Day of Girls and the International Day of the Girl.

October 11, 2012, was the first Day of the Girl Child

 The observation supports more opportunity for girls and increases awareness of inequality faced by girls worldwide based upon their gender.

This inequality includes areas such as access to education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care, and protection from discrimination, violence against women and forced child marriage.

International Day of Girls was formally proposed as a resolution by Canada in the United Nations General Assembly.

Canada sponsored the resolution; a delegation of women and girls made presentations in support of the initiative at the 55th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

On December 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly voted to pass a resolution adopting October 11, 2012 as the inaugural International Day of Girls.

Singapore will ban ads for sugary drinks in bid to tackle diabetes

Singapore will ban ads for sugary drinks in bid to tackle diabetes

Singapore will become the first country in the world to ban advertisements for the most unhealthy sugary drinks.

The health ministry called the ban its latest move to combat rising diabetes rates.

It said, products deemed "less healthy" must now display labels grading their nutritional and sugar content.

Additionally, those considered to be most unhealthy will be banned from appearing in ads across all media platforms, including broadcast, print and online channels.

The ministry stated that the move aims to reduce the influence of such advertisements on consumer preferences.

 It called the ban the first such in the world.

It added that the measures were only a start and it will continue to explore the possibility of a sugar tax or ban.

World Post Day

World Post Day

World Post Day is being celebrated today.

 Ninth of October was declared by the 1969 Universal Postal Congress in Tokyo as a means to mark the anniversary of the Universal Postal Union's creation in 1874.

The union aimed to create and maintain a structure for the free flow of international mail around the world.

The purpose of World Post Day is to bring awareness to the Post's role in the everyday lives of people and businesses, as well as its contribution to global social and economic development.

Israel unveils remains of 5,000-year-old city

Israel unveils remains of 5,000-year-old city

Israeli archaeologists unveiled the remains of a 5,000-year-old city they said was among the biggest from its era in the region, including fortifications, a ritual temple and a cemetery.

it is a major discovery in the region from the Bronze Age.

The archaeological site known as En Esur "is the largest site and the most important from that era" in the region

A ritual temple was found within the ancient city along with rare figurines with human and animal faces

It also included burnt animal bones in a stone basin that they called proof of sacrificial offerings.

The excavation allowed for an older settlement from some 7,000 years ago from the Chalcolithic period to be uncovered as well, though smaller than the other discovery.

Dina Shalem, another of the archaeologists, noted it included fortifications some 20 metres long and two metres high as well as a cemetery.

Around four million fragments were found at the site, including pieces of pottery, flint tools and vases of stone and basalt, said Elad.

Some of the tools came from Egypt

The excavations carried out over the course of two and a half years included the participation of 5,000 teenagers and volunteers.

The dig preceded the construction of a road in the area, a project whose plans were modified to preserve the site.

2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine

2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine 

The 2019 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to scientists William G Kaelin, Jr, Peter J Ratcliffe and Gregg L Semenza.

The 2019 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to scientists William G Kaelin, Jr, Peter J Ratcliffe and Gregg L Semenza.

 they received the award jointly for their discoveries of "how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.

they established the basis for our understanding of how oxygen levels affect cellular metabolism and physiological function.

their research has "paved the way for promising new strategies to fight anaemia, cancer and many other diseases." 

The three will share the Nobel prize sum of nine million Swedish kronor or about  9 Lakh 14 thousand US dollar.

They will receive their prize from King Carl XVI Gustaf at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10.

It is the 110th prize in the category that has been awarded since 1901.

Yalitza Aparicio named UNESCO goodwill ambassador for Indigenous People

Yalitza Aparicio named UNESCO goodwill ambassador for Indigenous People

The United Nations' cultural agency UNESCO has appointed Mexican actress Yalitza Aparicio as its goodwill ambassador for Indigenous Peoples.

The 25-year-old actress made history as the first Indigenous performer nominated for a best actress honour at the Academy Awards this year for her performance in the film Roma, in which she speaks in an Indigenous language and in Spanish.

The Paris-based organization said Friday that Aparicio, who was born in the poor Mexican state of Oaxaca, was chosen for her commitment to fight racism and advocate for gender equality and indigenous rights.

Greta Thunberg awarded children’s international peace prize

Greta Thunberg awarded children’s international peace prize

The international organisation for the defence of children’s rights KidsRights on Friday awarded its International Children’s Peace Prize to the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg (16) and Divina Maloum (14) from Cameroon.

The award ceremony will take place on November 20 near The Hague (Netherlands) on World Children’s Day.

Both winners were selected from among 137 candidates from 56 countries for the prize, celebrating its fifteenth birthday and involving 1.2 billion people last year, according to KidsRights.

Divina founded the association Children for Peace in Cameroon

As for Greta Thunberg, she is a role model in terms of international student climate activism, according to the organisation.

The International Children’s Peace Prize is awarded annually to a child who has made a significant contribution to advocating children's rights and improving the situation of vulnerable children

First awarded: 2005
Reward    €100,000 or $123,000

World Animal Day

World Animal Day

World Animal Day is an international day of action for animal rights and welfare celebrated annually on October 4

The mission of World Animal Day, is "To raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe.

Building the celebration of World Animal Day unites the animal welfare movement, mobilising it into a global force to make the world a better place for all animals.

in May 1931 at a congress of the International Animal Protection Congress in Florence Italy, proposal to make 4 October World Animal Day universal, was unanimously accepted and adopted as a resolution.

United States imposed tariffs on European union

United States imposed tariffs on European union

The United States has said it would enact 10% tariffs on European-made Airbus planes and 25% duties on French wine, Scotch ,Irish whiskies and cheese from across the continent as punishment for illegal EU aircraft subsidies.

The announcement came after the World Trade Organization gave Washington a green light to impose tariffs on 7.5 billion dollars worth of EU goods annually in the long-running case

after 15 years of litigation, the WTO has confirmed that the United States is entitled to impose countermeasures in response to the EU’s illegal subsidies.

 US expect to enter into negotiations with the European Union aimed at resolving this issue in a way that will benefit American workers

The US  target list for EU tariffs, set to take effect on Oct. 18, includes large Airbus planes made in France, Britain, Germany and Spain for 10% tariffs.

US stopped imports of goods from five countries for suspected forced labour

US stopped imports of goods from five countries for suspected forced labour

The United States has announced that it is stopping imports from five countries for suspected forced labour.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) department,   has ordered immediate detention of goods coming from companies based in Brazil, China, Malaysia, Congo, and Zimbabwe at US ports of entry for further investigation.

Clothing, gold, and diamonds produced, in whole or in part, using forced labour have been detained.

the companies can re-export the detained shipments or submit information to show they are legal.

Under US law, it is illegal to import goods into the US that are made by forced labour, which includes convict labour, indentured labour, and forced or indentured child labour

National Day of the People's Republic of China

 the National Day of the People's Republic of China, is celebrated annually on October 1 as a public holiday in the People's Republic of China commemorating the establishment of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949

Although it is observed on October 1, another six days are added to the official holiday, normally in lieu of the two weekend breaks around October 1, making it practically a public holiday comprising seven consecutive days also known as Golden Week  with specifics regulated by the State Council.

Festivals and concerts are usually held nationwide on this day, with a grand military parade and mass pageant event held on select years.

As of October 2019, the last parade was held on the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China in 2019.

Typhoon 'Mitag'

Typhoon 'Mitag'

Fast-moving Typhoon 'Mitag' is a typhoon near northern Taiwan

Warnings have been issued for parts of the island's east and north, including the capital, Taipei, with the worst of the weather expected to arrive  soon.

The storm's center is expected to pass just east of the island before heading toward Shanghai on mainland China, then weakening as it moves toward South Korea and Japan.

Taiwan's weather bureau said Mitag was strengthening gradually as it moved north at about 27 kilometers  per hour with winds gusting at up to 162 kilometers  per hour.