✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. United Kingdom expresses willingness for collaborating with India on Green Hydrogen Energy.* India has already retired 16369 MW of inefficient thermal units till March, 2021. India’s ambitious target of having 450 MW of installed Renewable Capacity by 2030. Union Minister of Power and Renewable Energy, Shri RK Singh said.
2. COVID Cooperation : India handed over 31 life support ambulances to Bangladesh in Dhaka on 17 Aug (Tuesday).
3. India also handed over medical equipment and supplies like Pulse Oxymeter devices, Liquid Medical Oxygen cylinders, nasal cannulas, Oxygen nasal cannulas, oxygen concentrators. High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Vikram Doraiswami formally handed over these ambulances equipped with advanced life support systems to Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen at a programme held in Dhaka.
4. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar today discussed the evolving situation in Afghanistan with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.
5. External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar is on two day official visit to Georgia, he has reached New York where he will be presiding over two high-level signature events of the United Nations.
(a) 1st Event on ‘Protecting the Protectors: Technology and Peacekeeping’.
(b) 2nd event on 19 Aug, it will be a high-level briefing on ‘Threats to International Peace and Security caused by Terrorist Acts’.
His visit to New York comes during India’s Presidency of the United Nations Security Council.
6. Indian Air Force Aircraft C-17 brings back Indian envoy, officials from Kabul.150 people, including diplomats, officials, security personnel and some stranded Indians, landed at the Hindon airbase near Delhi.
7. The Centre has introduced a new category of electronic visa:The e-Emergency X-Misc Visa will expedite visa application process for those stuck in Afghanistan as the country witnesses mayhem amid takeover by Taliban.
8. PM Modi spoke with his Israeli counterpart Naftali Bennett on Monday with the two leaders agreeing on the potential to further expand cooperation and deciding that the foreign ministries of the two countries would work on preparing a roadmap for further enriching the India-Israel strategic partnership.
9. Afghan soldiers, military cadets undergoing training in India stare at an uncertain future
: A question mark now hangs over the fate of the over 150 Afghan soldiers and military cadets currently undergoing training in India, with the Taliban swiftly seizing control of the landlocked country after a virtual walkover against the Afghan army.
10. India blames Pak over vandalisation of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue in Lahore. saying Islamabad has completely failed in its duty to prevent such attacks which are creating a ‘climate of fear’ among the minority communities.
🌎WORLD NEWS🌍
1. Afghanistan Crisis: When the Taliban took over Afghanistan the first time in 1996, China refused to recognize their rule and left its embassy shut for years. This time around, Beijing has been among the first to embrace the Islamist terrorists next door. Reason here, Beijing’s fears about Islamist extremism among its own Uyghur minority in China.
2. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told that,
“China hopes the Afghan Taliban can unite with other political parties & with all ethnic groups and build a political framework in keeping with national conditions that is broadly inclusive and will lay the foundation for enduring peace,”
3. The head of Afghanistan’s central bank has fled Kabul, questioned the loyalty of Afghan security forces and blamed President Ashraf Ghani and his inexperienced advisors for the country’s swift and chaotic fall to the Taliban.
4. The govt of Bangladesh, Chinese vaccine maker Sinopharm & Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd signed an MoU in Dhaka on Monday for the co-production of the Sinopharm COVID 19 vaccine in the country.
5. Taliban’s Afghanistan Takeover, A Fresh Challenge For Social Media Platforms
Social media giant Facebook confirmed on 16 Aug that it designates the Taliban a terrorist group and bans it and content supporting it from its platforms.
6. Incepta Pharmaceuticals will bring the ingredients of the vaccine from China in bulk. The bottling, labelling and finishing will be done in Bangladesh which is likely to make the vaccine relatively cheap.
7. Militants in Gaza Strip fired rocket at Israel on 16 Aug. The rocket was however intercepted by Iron Dome anti-missile system of Israel.
It was the first such attack since 11-day war in May 2021.
8. A female news anchor was seen interviewing a Taliban spokesperson on ToloNews today. Women were absent from TV screens since August 15, the day Taliban took control over Kabul. It’s a shift from Taliban’s earlier regime in between 1996-2001 where women were not allowed to work.
9. Taliban promised security for women in press conference. They said Women would be allowed to work and study and “will be very active in society but within the framework of Islam.
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Ch Narmada Naveen Kumar |
