480 million aid to Sri Lanka from US

480 million aid to Sri Lanka  from US

The United States (US) has asserted that the Millennium Challenge Corporation's 480 million US dollar aid to Sri Lanka was  not a loan.

the agreement has a five-year term and will not establish any permanent institution or agency.

development agreement consists of projects focused transportation and land management.

terms of the deal are still under discussion.

Max Verstappen won German Grand Prix

Max Verstappen won German Grand Prix

Red Bull's driver Max Verstappen won the rain-hit German Grand Prix at Hockenheim  .

Verstappen now has the second title of the Formula One season.

The 21-year-old Verstappen held himself calm and composed in a race littered with crashes and safety cars.

Four-time former champion Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel claimed the second spot after starting from the rear of the grind.

Russian Daniil Kvyat achieved the third spot for Toro Rosso followed by Canadian Lance Stroll in fourth for Racing Point.

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)

 July 28 was chosen to celebrate World Hepatitis Day as the birthday of scientist Dr Baruch Blumberg who discovered hepatitis B virus (HBV).

The theme of World Health Organization (WHO) for WHD 2019 is “Invest in Eliminating Hepatitis”.

US Supreme court allows Trump to use 2.5bn dollar of Pentagon funds for border wall

US Supreme court allows Trump to use 2.5bn dollar of Pentagon funds for border wall

The US Supreme Court has allowed to use 2.5 billion dollar of Pentagon funds for building sections of a border wall with Mexico.

The court ruled by five votes to four to block a ruling by a federal judge in California that barred from spending the money on the wall.

The decision by the Supreme Court means that the money will be used for wall projects in California, Arizona and New Mexico.

US needed 6.7 billion dollar to build the wall as a matter of national security.

US Senate confirmed General Mark Milley as next Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff

US Senate confirmed General Mark Milley as next Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff

The US Senate has confirmed four-star Army General Mark Milley as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Milley, is currently the head of the US Army.

He will replace General Joseph Dunford as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The United States Senate confirmed him by an overwhelming 89-1 votes.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff serves as the President's senior most uniformed military adviser.

British navy will escort UK-flagged ships through Strait of Hormuz

British navy will escort UK-flagged ships through Strait of Hormuz

Britain ordered its navy to escort UK-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz

the Royal Navy has been tasked to accompany British-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Britain proposed a European-led mission that could secure the passage of vessels through the world's busiest oil shipping lane but France said it was not willing to send extra military assets to the Gulf.

Britain currently has the HMS Montrose warship in the Gulf and a handful of smaller naval vessels.
 

Indian origin Priti Patel appointed as Britain's Home Secretary

Indian origin Priti Patel appointed as Britain's Home Secretary

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed Indian origin Priti Patel as the country Home Secretary.

The Prime Minister named former Home Secretary Sajid Javid to take over from Philip Hammond as the Finance Secretary or Chancellor.

Mr Johnson has also named  Dominic Raab as the country's Foreign Secretary.

She was first elected as a Conservative MP in 2010 

Bangladesh Scientists develop method to convert Jute fibre into low-cost biodegradable cellulose sheets

Bangladesh Scientists develop method to convert Jute fibre into low-cost biodegradable cellulose sheets

Scientists in Bangladesh have developed a method to convert Jute fibre into low-cost bio-degradable cellulose sheets named 'Sonali' which can be used as wrapping material and carrying bag.

 the physical qualities of the invented jute fibre and plastic are quite similar.

The Eco-friendly jute poly bags made up of Sonali can be used in garments and food packaging work and they are not harmful for human health.

The commercial production of these bags is likely to start by the year-end.

Government of Bangladesh has approved 9 lakh dollars in April this year from its climate change fund to help in large-scale production of these bags.

The main challenge in the large scale adoption of Sonali sheet is the relatively high cost of production which is almost double that of polythene.

However, production on a large scale is expected to bring down the cost.

IAEA chief Yukiya Amano

IAEA chief Yukiya Amano

Former Japanese diplomat and International Atomic Energy Agency was Chief Yukiya Amano 

Amano, who had wide experience in disarmament, non-proliferation diplomacy and nuclear energy, had been chief of the key U.N. agency that regulates nuclear issues worldwide since 2009. 

He was involved in the years long negotiations that led to the landmark Iran nuclear deal

As Head of the IAEA, Amano also dealt with the aftermath of the devastating 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organisation on 29 July 1957. 

Headquarters: Vienna, Austria

Founded: 1957

Membership: 171 Member States

Formation: 29 July 1957

P V Sindhu lost to Akane Yamaguchi in Indonesia Open final

P V Sindhu lost to Akane Yamaguchi in Indonesia Open final

P V Sindhu lost in straight games to Akane Yamaguchi in the finals of Indonesia Open BWF Tour Super 1000 tournament in Jakarta today.

She lost to the Japanese 15-21 16-21 in a lop-sided summit clash that lasted 51 minutes.

The Men's Singles title match between Taiwan's Tien Chen Chou and Denmark's Anders Antonsen is underway.

China allowed more foreign investment in financial sector

China allowed more foreign investment in financial sector

China has lifted some restrictions on foreign investment in the financial sector.

China will remove shareholding limits on foreign ownership of securities, insurance and fund management firms in 2020, a year earlier than originally planned.

foreign investors will also be encouraged to set up wealth management firms, currency brokerages and pension management companies.

foreign-owned credit rating agencies will also be allowed to evaluate a greater number of bond and debt types

Google India's 'Internet Saathi' programme to empower rural women

Google India's 'Internet Saathi' programme to empower rural women

Google India's 'Internet Saathi' programme aimed to empower rural women on how to use the Internet has now added two more states -- Punjab and Odisha.

With this, the programme has now reached 2.6 lakh villages in 20 states.

Launched as a pilot project in 2015, along with Tata Trusts, 'Internet Saathi' programme focuses on educating women on how to use the Internet.

These women, in turn, impart training to other women in their community and neighbouring villages.

Bulgarian lawmakers ratified US 1.3-bn deal to buy eight F-16 fighter jets from US

Bulgarian lawmakers ratified US 1.3-bn deal to buy eight F-16 fighter jets from US

Bulgarian lawmakers today ratified a hefty 1.3-billion US Dollar deal to buy eight F-16 fighter jets from the US in the country's biggest military equipment purchase since the fall of communism three decades ago.

Significantly the rate was higher than what other countries have paid for F-16s.

The deal with the US government, equivalent to 1.1 billion Euros, is for eight F-16 Block 70 multi-role fighters including six single-seaters and two double-seat jets.

These will replace the NATO country's Soviet-built MiG-29s. 

Lockheed Martin, the US manufacturer of the F-16s, said the US fighters have technology that features in more advanced jets such as the F-35 and F-22.

Bulgaria will be the first Balkan country to have this brand-new version of the aircraft.

G7 Finance Ministers agreed plan for taxing digital companies

G7 Finance Ministers agreed plan for taxing digital companies

G7 Finance Ministers meeting in France agreed a plan for taxing digital companies such as Facebook and Google that will set a minimum level of taxation for them.

A statement from France said that Ministers fully supported a two-pillar solution to be adopted by 2020.

France, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the group of world's most developed countries, said, new rules should be developed to address new business models allowing companies to do business in a territory without any physical presence.

Ministers agreed that a minimum level of effective taxation would contribute to ensuring that companies pay their fair share of tax.

It added the G7 looks forward to further progress in the context of the G20 and a global agreement on the outlines of the architecture by January 2020.

The French Parliament earlier this month passed a new law that will tax digital giants on revenue accrued inside the country, even if their European headquarters are elsewhere, in a move that will affect huge US groups Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.

The WHO made the declaration yesterday following a meeting of its emergency committee in the Geneva.

Ebola outbreak declared global health emergency in DR Congo

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo a public health emergency of international concern.

The WHO made the declaration yesterday following a meeting of its emergency committee in the Geneva.

The UN health agency made the announcement days after the virus was confirmed in Goma, a major regional crossroads in northeastern Congo on the Rwandan border.

A WHO expert committee declined on three previous occasions to advise the United Nations health agency to make the declaration for this outbreak, even though other experts say it has long met the conditions.

More than 1,600 people have died since August in the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, which is unfolding in a region described as a war zone.

This is the fifth such declaration in history.

Previous emergencies were declared for the devastating 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people, the emergence of Zika in the Americas, the swine flu pandemic and polio.

European Commission elected first female president

European Commission elected first female president

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has been elected as the European Commission's first female president.

Leyen's nomination was approved by 383 votes, a narrow margin of just nine votes over the required 374, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France yesterday.

There were 327 votes against her and 22 abstentions.

Von der Leyen was nominated to become the first woman in Brussels' top job last month by the leaders of the bloc's 28 member states

China GDP growth slowed to 6.2 per cent

China GDP growth slowed to 6.2 per cent

China's economic growth slowed to a record low of 6.2 per cent in the second quarter of this year.

This is the weakest growth rate in nearly three decades for the world's second-largest economy

Government data showed that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth slid from 6.4 per cent in the first quarter to 6.2 per cent.

China's GDP expanded 6.3 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2019 to about 6.56 trillion US Dollars.

The growth, however, was in line with the government's annual target range of 6.0-6.5 per cent for the whole year, down from the 6.6 per cent growth China put up in 2018.

England won ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

England won ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

England won their maiden ICC World Cup cricket trophy beating New Zealand in a final that was decided via a dramatic Super Over in London last night.

Opting to bat, New Zealand put up a score of 241 for eight.

In reply, England ended at the same score leading to the one-over eliminator at the Lord's.

In the Super Over, England batted first and the duo of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler made 15, and New Zealand also ended at the same score but for the loss of one wicket, paving the way for an English victory on boundary count. 

England's Ben Stokes is named player of the match for a score of 84 not out off 92 balls, while New Zealand's skipper Kane Williamson was adjudged player of the tournament 

2019 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles

2019 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles

Angelique Kerber was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Lauren Davis.

 Simona Halep won her second Grand Slam singles title, defeating Serena Williams in the final, 6–2, 6–2.

 It took just 56 minutes for Halep to secure victory and in the entire tournament

Williams was attempting to equal Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles for the third time.

Halep became the first Romanian female player to reach and win the Wimbledon final. Romanian players previously won 8 Open Era titles at Wimbledon, but none in senior singles.

Ilie Năstase lost two senior singles finals in 1972 and 1976.

The only other Romanian woman to have previously held a trophy here is Ioana Gașpar, back in 2000 when she was only a junior.

Ashleigh Barty retained the WTA no. 1 singles ranking.

Cori Gauff at 15 became the youngest player to win a main draw singles match at Wimbledon since Jennifer Capriati in 1991, defeating the oldest player in the main draw, Venus Williams in the first round. Gauff was also the youngest qualifier in Wimbledon history.

This was the first Wimbledon where a final set tie break rule was introduced.

Upon reaching 12–12 in the third set, a classic tie break would be played.

Turkey received first parts of Russian S-400 defence system

Turkey received first parts of Russian S-400 defence system

Turkey has received the first parts of a Russian S-400 missile defence system despite opposition from the US.

 the first shipment has arrived in air base near the capital Ankara.

 US, has warned that Turkey cannot have both the S-400 anti-aircraft defence system and US F-35 fighter jets.

 Turkey will face economic sanctions under the 'Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act' if it goes ahead with the purchase.

the Russian system is incompatible with NATO systems and the F-35.

World Population Day

World Population Day

World Population day is an annual event, observed on July 11 every year, which seeks to raise awareness of global population issues.

The event was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989

This year's World Population Day calls for global attention to the unfinished business of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development.

It was inspired by the public interest in Five Billion Day on July 11, 1987, the approximate date on which the world's population reached five billion people.

World Population Day aims to increase people's awareness on various population issues such as the importance of family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights.

US House of Representatives passed bill removing country cap Green Card

US House of Representatives passed bill removing country cap Green Card

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill aimed at lifting the present seven per cent country-cap on issuing Green Cards.

The move will benefit thousands of highly-skilled Indian IT professionals.

A Green Card allows a person to live and work permanently in the US.

The bill, however, has to be passed by the Senate,  before it can be signed into law

The bill, on being signed into law, will considerably shorten the agonising wait of talented professionals who have applied for permanent residency in the United States.

Bahrain recorded hottest June in more than 100 years

Bahrain recorded hottest June in more than 100 years

Bahrain has recorded temperatures that make the month of June the hottest ever experienced in the country in more than a century.

June had the highest average temperatures since 1902, with 20 days recording temperatures exceeding 40 Celsius.

Summers in the Arabian Peninsula are consistently hot and humid, with people bunkering indoors for the better part of at least five months.

Bahrain's Meteorological Directorate says the average temperature in June was 36.3 Celsius, about 3.9 degrees Celsius above the long-term normal for that month.

The hottest day recorded 45.3 Celsius.

Iran breached uranium enrichment cap set by 2015 nuclear deal

Iran breached uranium enrichment cap set by  2015 nuclear deal

Iran has breached a uranium enrichment cap set by a troubled 2015 nuclear deal and warned Europe against taking retaliatory measures.

Iran surpassing the cap and reaching 4.5 percent enrichment

this level of purity completely satisfies the power plant fuel requirements of the country.

The move came more than a year after Washington pulled out of the landmark accord between world powers and Tehran

The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), confirmed that Iran had enriched uranium to a level above the deal's cap.

The IAEA has scheduled a special meeting on Iran's nuclear programme for July 10.

Brazil won Copa America 2019 title

Brazil  won  Copa America  2019 title

The 2019 Copa América Final was a football match that took place on 7 July 2019 at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to determine the winner of the 2019 Copa América.

The match featured Brazil, the tournament hosts, and Peru, in their first final since 1975

Brazil won the final 3–1 for their ninth Copa América title, and their first since 2007

The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June to 7 July 2019 at 6 venues across the country.

 Chile were the two-time defending champions, having won the 2015 and 2016 editions of the tournament, but were eliminated by Peru in the semi-finals leading to the third place match against Argentina, which they lost.

Brazil won their ninth title by defeating Peru 3–1 in the finalArgentina took third place by beating Chile 2–1 in the third-place match

UNESCO names ancient Babylon city a World Heritage Site

UNESCO names ancient Babylon city a World Heritage Site

The ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site. Iraq has been lobbying since 1983 for the 4,000-year-old site to be added to the UN's prestigious list.

the seat of successive empires, under rulers such as Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon represents the expression of the creativity of the Neo-Babylonian Empire at its height.

The city's association with one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World the Hanging Gardens  has also inspired artistic, popular and religious culture on a global scale.

It also warns that the site is in an "extremely vulnerable condition" and in need of urgent conservation.

The city was famous for its Hanging Gardens, which were among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The site has suffered in recent years

The UN World Heritage Committee met in Azerbaijan to decide on the latest sites to be given the honourawarded to areas or landmark considered important for the whole of humanity and protected by international treaties.

Iraq has welcomed the designation, seeing it as a recognition of the significance of Babylon and Mesopotamian civilisation.

India will train 1800 Bangladeshi Civil Servants at Mussoorie

India will train 1800 Bangladeshi Civil Servants at Mussoorie

Eighteen hundred Bangladeshi mid-career civil servants will be trained at the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) in Mussoorie between 2019-2025.

The first batch of 30 civil servants leaving for a two-week long training programme in Mussoorie paid a visit to the  Indian High Commission in Dhaka .

The Bangladeshi civil servants are being trained at the National Centre for Good Governance based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed in February this year in the Fifth meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission (JCC).

such trainings provide an opportunity to share experiences of administration between civil servants of the two countries.

French lawmakers approve 3% tax on online companies

French lawmakers approve 3% tax on online companies

In France, the lower house of parliament today approved a small, pioneering tax on internet giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook.

The French government hopes that other countries will follow the suit.

The bill foresees a 3 per cent tax on the French revenues of digital companies with global revenue of more than 750 million Euros.

At present, the companies pay nearly no tax in countries where they have large sales like France.

The bill adopted by the National Assembly will be sent to the Senate next week, where it is expected to win final approval.

World Vitiligo Day

World Vitiligo Day

The World Vitiligo Day, observed on June 25, is an initiative aimed to build global awareness about vitiligo.

Vitiligo occurs in 1-2% of the population world wide; a loss of color in the skin creating a variety of patterns on the skin from loss of pigment.

Vitiligo is often called a disease instead of a disorder and that can have a significantly negative social and/or psychological impact on patients, in part because of numerous misconceptions still present in large parts of the world.

The first World Vitiligo Day was observed on June 25, 2011.

The choice of June 25 as World Vitiligo Day is a memorial to musical artist Michael Jackson, who suffered from vitiligo from the early 1980s until his death, which occurred on June 25, 2009.

 The International Conference on World Vitiligo Day for 2019 was held in Hanoi, Vietnam.

US Senate passed legislative provision to give India NATO ally-like status

US Senate passed legislative provision to give India NATO ally-like status

The United States Senate has passed a legislative provision that brings India at par with America's NATO allies and countries like Israel and South Korea for increasing defence cooperation.

The National Defense Authorisation Act or NDAA for the fiscal year 2020, was introduced by Senate India Caucus Co-Chair Senator John Cornyn with the support of Senate India Caucus Co-Chair Senator Mark Warner.

The proposal was passed by the Senate last week.                   
    
The amendment provides for increased US-India defence cooperation in the Indian Ocean in areas of humanitarian assistance, counter-terrorism, counter-piracy and maritime security.

Last week, House India Caucus Co-Chair Brad Sherman, along with other Congressmen including Raja Krishnamoorthi introduced a similar legislative proposal to the House, FY2020 NDAA that would greatly enhance the US-India relationship.

The bill would be signed into law after both chambers of the US Congress pass it.

The House is expected to take up its version of the NDAA this month before legislators adjourn for the August recess.

New Zealand banned single-use plastic shopping bags

New Zealand banned single-use plastic shopping bags

New Zealand has officially banned single-use plastic shopping bags today. Companies that break the ban will face heavy penalties, including fines of up to 100,000 New Zealand dollars (USD 67,000).

Under the new rules, thin plastic single-use shopping bags can no longer be supplied, but reusable carriers are allowed.

The legislation which was announced in August last year came into force today.

Major supermarkets in the country have already banned the bags voluntarily. 

More than 80 countries have already introduced similar bans, according to the UN Environment Programme.

Plastic pollution has become a growing global concern, with a million birds and more than 100,000 marine mammals injured or killed every year by becoming entangled in packaging or ingesting it through the food chain.

International Asteroid Day

International Asteroid Day

International 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.