International Friendship Day

International Friendship Day

Friendship Day is a day in several countries for celebrating friendship.

It was first proposed in 1958 in Paraguay as the "International Friendship Day

on 20 May, General Assembly of the United Nations decided to designate 30 July as the International Day of Friendship; and to invite all Member States to observe the International Day of Friendship in accordance with the culture and customs of their local, national and regional communities, including through education and public awareness-raising activities

International Tiger Day

International Tiger Day

Global Tiger Day, often called International Tiger Day, is an annual celebration to raise awareness for tiger conservation, held annually on 29 July.

It was created in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit

The goal of the day is to promote a global system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers and to raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation issues

India is a habitat of 75% of total tigers on the earth

 Tigers are considered as an 'Umbrella Species' as their conservation saves many other animal species. India has doubled its tiger population ahead of the target year of 2022.

World Hepatitis Day

World Hepatitis Day

World Hepatitis Day, observed on July 28 every year, aims to raise global awareness of hepatitis  a group of infectious diseases known as Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E  and encourage prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

 Hepatitis affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, causing acute and chronic disease and killing close to 1.34 million people every year.

Hepatitis causes liver diseases and can also kill a person.

World Hepatitis Day is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO)

Tunisia’s Interior Minister Hichem Mechichi appointed as new PM

Tunisia’s Interior Minister Hichem Mechichi appointed as new PM

Tunisia's President Kais Saied appointed the Interior Minister, Hichem Mechichi, as the new Prime Minister for the North African country.

Mechichi, 47, has served as president's adviser and member of the National Commission of Investigation on Corruption founded in 2011.

Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa, covering 163,610 square kilometres.

Its northernmost point, Cape Angela, is also the northernmost point on the African continent.

Capital: Tunis
Currencies: Tunisian dinar, Dinar
Official language: Arabic

Karur Vysya Bank appoints Ramesh Babu Boddu as MD & CEO

Karur Vysya Bank appoints Ramesh Babu Boddu as MD & CEO

arur Vysya Bank (KVB) on Tuesday said its Board of Directors has co-opted Ramesh Babu Boddu as an Additional Director and appointed him Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer for three years.

Babu’s three-year appointment is effective from the date of taking charge, on the terms and conditions approved by the Reserve Bank of India

He retired as Deputy Managing Director in State Bank of India in April 2020.

International Chess Day

International Chess Day

The International Chess Day is celebrated annually on July 20, the day the International Chess Federation (FIDE) was founded, in 1924.

The idea to celebrate this day as the international chess day was proposed by UNESCO, and it has been celebrated as such since 1966,[1] after it was established by FIDE.

FIDE, which has 181 chess federations as its members  organizes chess events and competitions around the world on this day.

On December 12, 2019, the UN General Assembly unanimously approved a resolution recognizing the day

2020 Hungarian Grand Prix

2020 Hungarian Grand Prix

The 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix   was a Formula One motor race held on 19 July 2020 at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, Hungary.

 The race was the 3rd round of the 2020 Formula One World Championship, the 36th running of the Hungarian Grand Prix and the 35th time the race had been run as a World Championship event since the inaugural season in 1950.

 Lewis Hamilton was the defending race winner and the eventual winner of this Grand Prix, with this victory being Hamilton’s second successive win of the 2020 season and his eighth at the Hungaroring.

Ashwini Kumar Tewari appointed as the new SBI Cards MD & CEO

Ashwini Kumar Tewari appointed as the new SBI Cards MD & CEO

SBI cards and Payment Services has named Ashwini Kumar Tewari as its new Managing Director and chief executive officer.

He was nominated by parent State Bank of India for the position and his appointment will come into effect from August 1, 2020.

the new appointment will be valid for two years.

Tewari’s appointment is followed by the resignation of present MD&CEO, Hardayal Prasad

Indian Railways will start private train services by 2023

Indian Railways will start private train services by 2023

 The first set of 12 private trains will be introduced in 2023, followed by 45 more in the next fiscal, according to an initial timeline drawn by the railways which plans to roll out all 151 such train services by 2027,

In a formal kick-start to its plans to allow private entities to operate passenger trains on its network, the railways earlier this month invited proposals from companies to run 151 modern passenger trains on 109 pairs of routes across the country.

The project would entail a private sector investment of about Rs 30,000 crore.

As part of the plan for private trains, the railways has planned to introduce 12 trains in 2022-23, 45 in 2023-2024, 50 in 2025-26 and 44 more in the next fiscal, taking the total number of trains to 151 by the end of FY 2026-2027.

Former World Cup winner André Schürrle has retired at the age of 29

Former World Cup winner André Schürrle has retired at the age of 29

Schürrle,  was released from his contract with Borussia Dortmund

André Horst Schürrle is a German former professional footballer who played as a forward.

 He began his career at Mainz 05 in 2009, spending two years at the club before a   transfer to Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Schürrle was a full international for Germany from 2010 to 2017, gaining 57 caps and scoring 22 goals.

He was a member of the German squads which reached the semi-finals at UEFA Euro 2012 and won the 2014 FIFA World Cup

Indian warships conducted exercise with US Navy’s Nimitz, world’s largest aircraft carrier

Indian warships conducted exercise with US Navy’s Nimitz, world’s largest aircraft carrier

Indian warships are conducting an exercise with the US Navy’s nuclear-powered USS Nimitz  the world’s largest warship  off the coast of Andaman & Nicobar Islands Monday and Tuesday, a development that comes amid tensions with China at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh. 

The Navy’s exercise is on similar lines of another that it had carried out with the Japanese Navy last month. 

The USS Nimitz, named after the US World War II Pacific fleet commander Chester W. Nimitz, is manned by around 6,000 naval personnel and carries nearly 90 aircraft, which include F/A-18F Super Hornets, F/A-18E Super Hornets and MH 60 helicopters

2020 Global Manufacturing Risk Index

2020 Global Manufacturing Risk Index

Cushman & Wakefield’s 2020 Global Manufacturing Risk Index assesses the most suitable locations for global manufacturing among 48 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific.

In Baseline scenario, China topped and United States (US) ranked at 2nd Position.

In the risk scenario, Canada topped and United States (US) ranked at 2nd Position.

RBI approved reappointment of Shyam Srinivasan as Federal Bank CEO

RBI approved reappointment of Shyam Srinivasan as Federal Bank CEO

The Reserve Bank of India has approved the re-appointment of Shyam Srinivasan as the Managing Director and CEO of Federal Bank for another year, giving him a full decade as the head of the private sector lender.

His re-appointment is with effect from September 23 this year until September 22, 2020, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

The board   had, however, proposed a three-year term for Srinivasan’s re-appointment. Srinivasan, 57, took charge as the Managing Director and CEO of Federal Bank on September 23, 2010

IOC postponed 2022 Dakar Youth Olympics by four years

IOC postponed 2022 Dakar Youth Olympics by four years

nternational Olympics Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach announced on Wednesday that the 2022 Youth Olympic Games, to be held in the Senegalese city of Dakar, were being postponed by four years and will now be held in 2026.

 The move has been approved by the IOC Executive Board and will be submitted for ratification at the 136th IOC Session

The Dakar Youth Olympics will be the first Olympic event ever to be organised on the African continent.

Suriname elected Indian-origin Description Chandrikapersad Santokhi as President

  Suriname elected Indian-origin  Description Chandrikapersad  Santokhi as President


Chandrikapersad "Chan" Santokhi is a Surinamese politician and former chief of police who is the 9th and current President of Suriname.

After winning the 2020 elections, Santokhi was the sole nomination for President of Suriname.

In September, 2005, Santokhi was sworn in as Minister of Justice.

Suriname is a small country on the northeastern coast of South America

Capital: Paramaribo
Population: 5.76 lakhs (2018) 
Currency: Suriname Dollar
Official language: Dutch

15th Summit between India and the European Union

  The 15th Summit between India and the European Union (EU) was held in virtual format on 15th July 2020.

The EU was represented by Mr. Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

it was decided to strengthen the EU-India Strategic Partnership, based on shared principles and values of democracy, freedom, rule of law, and respect for human rights, aiming at delivering concrete benefits for the people in the EU and India.

World Youth Skills Day

World Youth Skills Day

World Youth Skills Day  celebration aimed to recognize the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship, and to highlight the crucial role of skilled youth in addressing current and future global challenges.

The importance of developing skilled youth is at the core of this year’s message for World Youth Skills Day

Anji Khad bridge

The Anji Khad bridge is an under construction cable-stayed bridge connecting Katra and Reasi Section of Jammu–Baramulla line.

The proposed bridge will connect tunnel T2 on Katra side and tunnel T3 on Reasi side. The ₹458 crore project consists of 290 metres span at a height of 196 metres

The cable-stayed railway bridge is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project

it is being developed by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), a Government of India undertaking

Total length: 473 m
Longest span: 290 m
No. of spans: 1
Design: cable-stayed
Height: (river bed to formation) 196 m (643 ft)
Crosses: Chenab River between Katra and Reasi

Jack Charlton

Jack Charlton

John Charlton OBE DL was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender.

He was part of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 1996 achieving two World Cup and one European Championship appearances

 He spent his entire club career with Leeds United from 1950 to 1973, helping the club to the Second Division title (1963–64), First Division title (1968–69), FA Cup (1972), League Cup (1968), Charity Shield (1969), Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1968 and 1971)

Indian battalion won UNIFIL environment award

Indian battalion won UNIFIL environment award

An Indian battalion stationed with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has won an environment award for a project that aims to decrease waste generation, reuse plastic, build green houses and compost pits.

UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col gave the annual environmental awards to seven Missions entities for initiating and implementing innovative projects to preserve environment.

The Mission's Sector West Headquarters and Irish-Polish Battalion (IRISHPOLBATT) won the award for second place.

The Sector West Infrastructure Management Centre (IMC) project aimed at turning food waste into compost and donating to the host communities.

The IMC mechanical organic composting machine has the capacity to produce 20 tons of compost every day

Germany to become first major economy to phase out coal, nuclear power

Germany to become first major economy to phase out coal, nuclear power

German lawmakers have finalized  phase-out of coal as an energy source

Bills approved by both houses of parliament Friday envision shutting down the last coal-fired power plant by 2038 and spending some 40 billion euros ($45 billion) to help affected regions cope with the transition.

The plan is part of Germany’s ‘energy transition’  an effort to wean Europe’s biggest economy off planet-warming fossil fuels and generate all of the country’s considerable energy needs from renewable sources.

Germany’s existing commitment is to also phase out nuclear power by the end of 2022.

New species of fan-throated lizard discovered in northern Karnataka

New species of fan-throated lizard discovered in northern Karnataka

A new species of fan-throated lizard has been described from the barren lands of northern Karnataka’s Bagalkot district.

The new species has been named 'Sitana dharwarensis' - derived from the Dharwar craton- a piece of the Earth’s crust that dates back to 2–3 billion years ago, according to a press statement released in Mumbai.

 The new species is quite similar to a species of fan-throated lizard called Sitana laticeps, however, the new species bears a much larger throat fan or dewlap.

The distinctness was new species was confirmed after comparing DNA sequences and micro-CT scans of the two species

 

Indian Coast Guard & Indonesia Coast Guard sign MoU to boost maritime relations

Indian Coast Guard & Indonesia Coast Guard sign MoU to boost maritime relations

In a significant step towards bolstering the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and Indonesia, a MoU has been signed between the Indian Coast Guard and Indonesia Coast Guard.

This will enhance collaborative and cooperative engagements in the domains of maritime law enforcement, maritime search and rescue and marine pollution response.

This is likely to entail exchange of information towards combating transnational maritime crimes, facilitation of coordinated search and rescue operations at sea and conduct of capacity and capability building activities.

Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone, OMRI was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpet player who wrote music in a wide range of styles.

Morricone composed over 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as over 100 classical works.

His score to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) is considered one of the most influential soundtracks in history  and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame

His filmography includes over 70 award-winning films

Israel Successfully Launched New Spy Satellite ‘Ofek 16’ into Space Using Shavit Rocket

Israel Successfully Launched New Spy Satellite ‘Ofek 16’ into Space Using Shavit Rocket

Israel has successfully launched a new reconnaissance satellite into orbit, the latest in a series of spy satellites for the country that date back to 1988.

The satellite reached orbit atop a Shavit 2 rocket that flew from the Palmachim air base in central Israel, according to a statement from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

Sustainable Development Report 2020

Sustainable Development Report 2020

The Sustainable Development Report 2020 presents the SDG Index and Dashboards for all UN member states and frames the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in terms of six broad transformations.

 It was prepared by teams of independent experts at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Bertelsmann Stiftung.

Sweden took first place, followed by Denmark and Finland in the rating, which was prepared by teams of independent experts at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Bertelsmann Stiftung.

International Co-operative Day

International Co-operative Day

 International Co-operative Day is an annual celebration of the co-operative movement observed on the first Saturday in July since 1923 by the International Co-operative Alliance

On December 16, 1992, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed in resolution 47/90 "the first Saturday of July 1995 to be International Day of Cooperatives, marking the centenary of the establishment of the International Cooperative Alliance.

 Since 1995 the United Nations' International Day of Co-operatives has been observed jointly alongside International Co-operative Day

Co-operatives around the world celebrate the day in various fashions and each year the organizing institutions agree on a theme for the celebrations.

The 2010 theme was Cooperative Enterprise Empowers Women, to coincide with the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action.

The theme for this year is Cooperatives For Climate Action.

US Independence Day

Independence Day is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States, on July 4, 1776

The Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain, King George III, and were now united, free, and independent states

 The Congress had voted to declare independence two days earlier, on July 2, but it was not declared until July 4

World Allergy Week

World Allergy Week 2020 will occur 28 June - 4 July 2020 and will focus on the theme of "Allergy care does not stop with COVID-19."

Each year, the World Allergy Organization (WAO) addresses a different topic that has a need for greater awareness.

To accomplish this, WAO provides physicians and the general public with a webinar, infographic, and additional information to educate and spread awareness on the topic.

India-Bangladesh form 50:50 Joint Venture Company for LPG business in Bangladesh

India-Bangladesh form 50:50 Joint Venture Company for LPG business in Bangladesh

India and Bangladesh today signed an agreement for the formation of a 50:50 Joint Venture Company (JVC) for LPG business in Bangladesh.

The agreement was signed between the  IOC Middle East FZE, Dubai, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and RR Holdings Ltd., Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, the holding company of Beximco LPG of Bangladesh

 The Joint Venture Company will help reduce the cost of imprt of LPG and make it more affordable for the consumers in Bangladesh.

The LPG market in Bangladesh is fast expanding and the new project will draw upon the strengths of the Indian oil and Beximco in their respective areas.

The company plans to diversify into LPG export to the north eastern states of India from Bangladesh which will prove to be a win win situation for both the countries.

Asteroid Day

Asteroid Day is an annual global event which is held on the anniversary of the Siberian Tunguska event that took place on June 30, 1908, the most harmful known asteroid-related event on Earth in recent history.

The United Nations has proclaimed it be observed globally on June 30 every year in its resolution.

Asteroid Day aims to raise awareness about asteroids and what can be done to protect the Earth, its families, communities, and future generations from a catastrophic event.

For example, 2014 HQ124, discovered April 23, 2014, went past 1,250,000 km from Earth the same year, June 8th, only 46 days after discovery, and 2015 TB145, went past at 490,000 km only 21 days after its discovery.

National Doctors' Day

National Doctors' Day

In India, the National Doctors' Day is celebrated on July 1 all across India to honour the legendary physician and the second Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy.

 He was born on July 1, 1882

Bidhan Chandra Roy MD, DSc, MRCP, FRCS; was an eminent Indian physician, educationist, philanthropist, freedom fighter and politician who served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1948 until his death in 1962.