Sharjah International Book Fair 2019

Sharjah International Book Fair 2019

The 38th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) 2019 was inaugurated

Nearly 1800 exhibitors from 77 countries are participating in the Fair.

The fair will showcase 987 activities presenting scientific, knowledge and literary themes.

this year's book fair will be carrying the theme of the Sharjah World Book Capital (SWBC), 'Open Books Open Minds', to promote books and reading across age groups and communities.

Republic of Mexico has been declared as the Guest of Honour at the  38th edition of SIBF.

Sharjah International Book Fair is an annual event and runs for 11 days.

Sri Lankan Cabinet approved MCC grant of 480 million from US

Sri Lankan Cabinet approved MCC grant of 480 million from US

Sri Lankan Cabinet has approved the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant of 480 million US dollars from the US Government.

MCC consists of grant funds for traffic management in Colombo, road construction island-wide and land administration improvements covering the whole country.

Sri Lanka is the 37th recipient of such grant funds from the people of the United States of America.

International Animation Day

International Animation Day

October 28, the International Animation Day (IAD) was an international observance proclaimed in 2002 by the ASIFA as the main global event to celebrate the art of animation.

This day commemorates the first public performance of Charles-Émile Reynaud's Théâtre Optique at the Grevin Museum in Paris, 1892.

 IAD was initiated by ASIFA

The 2019 IAD poster was  created by Giannis Koutsouris

Mokgweetsi eric keabetswe masisi elected as President of the Republic of Botswana

Mokgweetsi eric keabetswe masisi elected as President of the Republic of Botswana

The ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has won the general election after securing 29 national assembly seats, representing 51 percent of the vote

Botswana voted on Wednesday to elect 57 national assembly and 490 local government representatives, with the candidate of the winning party set to become president.

Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi is the fifth and current President of Botswana, serving since 2018. He has also served as Minister of Education since 2014, and previously he was Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration from 2011 to 2014. He was first elected to Parliament in 2009

Botswana, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, has a landscape defined by the Kalahari Desert and the Okavango Delta, which becomes a lush animal habitat during the seasonal floods.

Capital: Gaborone

Currency: Botswana pula

18th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement

18th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement

As many as two dozen heads of state and governments have arrived in Baku on Thursday, the capital of Azerbaijan, to attend a two-day Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit.

The 18th forum of the 120-member group covering 55% of the world's population is expected to discuss responses to contemporary challenges around the world,

Since becoming a NAM member in May 2011, Azerbaijan is hosting the summit for the first time.

NAM summit is held every three years since its inception in 1961 at Belgrade under the leadership of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru along with Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and Sukarno of Indonesia.

They were committed to keeping their foreign policy non-aligned and not participating in military and political blocs.

They also stressed the need for peaceful coexistence based on the principles of independence and equality.

China to host the inaugural edition of expanded 24-team Club World Cup

China to host the inaugural edition of expanded 24-team Club World Cup

China will host the inaugural edition of the expanded 24-team Club World Cup.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino made the announcement after a meeting in Shanghai of the FIFA Council, the decision-making unit of football's world governing body.

Calling it a historic decision, he said, the FIFA Council has decided, unanimously, to appoint China as the host of the new FIFA World Cup for Clubs.

current Club World Cup features seven teams including the holders of the UEFA Champions League. Qatar will host the competition this year and in 2020.

Lebanon Cabinet approved economic reforms

Lebanon Cabinet approved economic reforms

The Lebanon Cabinet approved economic reforms

Lebanon's 30-member Cabinet also approved halving of ministerial wages

 there is to be a 50 per cent decrease in salaries of all current and former presidents, lawmakers and ministers.

key measures bring in no new taxes or fees on citizens or public sector employees.

World Osteoporosis Day

World Osteoporosis Day

World Osteoporosis Day is observed annually on October 20th, and launches a year-long campaign dedicated to raising global awareness of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease.

Organized by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), the World Osteoporosis Day campaign is accompanied by community events and local campaigns by national osteoporosis patient societies from around the world with activities in over 90 countries

World Osteoporosis Day was launched on October 20th 1996 by the United Kingdom’s National Osteoporosis Society and supported by the European Commission.

Since 1997, the awareness day  has been organised by the International Osteoporosis Foundation.

In 1998 and 1999, the World Health Organization acted as co-sponsor of World Osteoporosis Day.

British Parliament voted against Brexit

British Parliament voted against Brexit

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson will now have to ask the European Union (EU) for an extension to that deadline after Member of Parliaments backed a motion designed to rule out a no-deal exit by 322 votes to 306.

 Prime Minister Boris Johnson  will bring in legislation tomorrow to implement the deal he struck with Brussels this week.

 MPs could also be given another vote on the deal tomorrow if Commons Speaker John Bercow allows it.

IMF Members agree to double pool of money to aid distressed countries

IMF Members agree to double pool of money to aid distressed countries

Global Finance Ministers agreed to double a key pool of money that the International Monetary Fund can use to aid distressed countries but again put off giving more votes to major emerging economies.

The IMF has been working to restructure its voting shares to give more weight to growing economies like China, India and Brazil but some traditional powers have resisted since they stand to lose influence in the institution.

The Washington-based lender, founded in the wake of World War II, has traditionally been controlled by the United States and western European countries.

 But major developing economies, which account for a growing share of global GDP, warn that without a shift of the power structure the IMF risks losing legitimacy and the ability to influence economic policies.

But the IMF's governing body did agree to a plan to shore up the crisis lender's resources, doubling to 500 billion dollars a temporary fund provided by 40 of the fund's 189 members.

The IMF gets most of its resources through member quotas but since the review was pushed back it will rely on the special fund, known as the New Arrangements to Borrow, NAB, to ensure it has sufficient resources to ward off a new crisis. The NAB was rolled back following the global financial crisis and the current iteration was approved for five years through November 2022.

EU and UK reach an agreement on Brexit deal

EU and UK reach an agreement on Brexit deal

Negotiators from the European Union and the UK have reached an agreement on a Brexit deal before a meeting of European leaders in Brussels.

British lawmakers voted narrowly in favour of holding the first Parliamentary Session on a Saturday in 37 years, to debate the government's new Brexit deal.

Members of the lower chamber House of Commons voted 287 to 275 in favour.

It would only be Parliament's fifth Saturday session since the eve of World War II.

The two sides have been working on the legal text of a deal, but it will still need the approval of both the UK and European Parliaments.

Britain is due to leave the European Union by 31st of October

Global Handwashing Day

Global Handwashing Day

Global Handwashing Day is an international handwashing promotion campaign to motivate and mobilize people around the world to improve their handwashing habits.

Washing hands at critical points during the day and washing with soap are both important.

 The theme for the year 2019 is “Clean Hands For All”.

Global Handwashing Day occurs on 15 October of each year.

 

ICC changed super over rule for all its major events

ICC changed super over rule for all its major events

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has changed the super over rule for all its major events following the uproar over the outcome of the men's World Cup final this year when England were declared winners against New Zealand on boundary count.

As per new rule, in case of a super over tie there will be a repeated super over until one team has more runs than the other.

In July this year, England won their first-ever World Cup title. In the final, winner was not decided after the 50-over and super over action, both of which were tied.

In the end, England were announced as the winner as they had hit more boundaries, 26, as compared to New Zealand's 17 boundaries in the match.

Nobel prize For Economics

Nobel prize For Economics

 Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Michael Kremer of Harvard University.

This is only the second time a woman has bagged the prestigious award, popularly called the Economics Nobel, and it is a first for a husband-wife duo to win in this discipline   Mr. Banerjee is married to Ms. Duflo

The 2019 Nobel Prize for Economics has been jointly won by Indian-American Abhijit Banerjee, his wife, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer of the United States for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.

 58-year-old Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee was educated at the University of Calcutta, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Harvard University, where he received his PhD in 1988. He is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2003 he founded the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), along with Esther Duflo and Sendhil Mullainathan, and he remains one of the lab’s directors.

Banerjee is a past president of the Bureau for the Research in the Economic Analysis of Development, a Research Associate of the NBER, a CEPR research fellow, International Research Fellow of the Kiel Institute, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Econometric Society, and has been a Guggenheim Fellow and an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow and a winner of the Infosys Prize.

Michael Robert Kremer is an American development economist who is the Gates Professor of Developing Societies at Harvard University

three day long Indo-Bangla Baul Music Festival concluded

three day long Indo-Bangla Baul Music Festival concluded

A three day long festival of Baul songs named Indo-Bangla Baul Music Festival ended last evening with performances by Bauls from India and Bangladesh.

The program was organised to observe the 129th death anniversary of Baul saint Fakir Lalon Shah.

More than 25 Bauls performed during the program.

the festival lays emphasis on the liberal and secular values of the region and the message of humanistic philosophy.

The programme organised by the Lalon Biswasangha was supported by the Indian High Commission.

Japan affected by biggest typhoon 'Hagibis ' in 60 years

Japan affected by biggest typhoon 'Hagibis ' in 60 years

Japan,  endures what could be its worst storm for 60 years.

The eye of Typhoon Hagibis made landfall shortly before 19:00 local time in Izu Peninsula, southwest of Tokyo.

More than seven million people have been urged to leave their homes amid severe flood and landslide warnings.

Train services have been halted, and more than a thousand flights grounded.

 Two Rugby World Cup games scheduled for Saturday have been cancelled.

 Formula 1 has also cancelled Saturday's Japanese Grand Prix.

Japan's Meteorological Agency has warned half a metre of rain could fall on the Tokyo area between midday on Saturday and Sunday.

It could be the strongest storm the country has faced since Kanogawa Typhoon in 1958, which left more than 1,200 people dead or missing.

World Obesity Day

World Obesity Day

World Obesity Day is observed globally on 11 October with the view of promoting practical solutions to end the global obesity crisis.

 It is organised by the World Obesity Federation, a non-profit body which is in official relations with the World Health Organization
and is a collaborating body on the Lancet Commission on Obesity.

World Obesity states that its aim is to lead and drive global efforts to reduce, prevent and treat obesity.

The first World Obesity Day took place in 2015.

Poland’s Olga Tokarczuk, Austria’s Peter Handke win Literature Nobels for 2018 and 2019

Poland’s Olga Tokarczuk, Austria’s Peter Handke win Literature Nobels for 2018 and 2019

Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk and Austrian author Peter Handke,  won the 2018 and 2019 Nobel Prizes for literature on Thursday.

The rare double announcement came after no literature prize was awarded last year

Both winners will receive a full cash prize, valued this year at 9-million kronor ($918,000), a gold medal and a diploma.

Ms. Tokarczuk won the Booker International Prize in 2018 for 'Flights'.

She is only the 15th woman to win the Nobel literature prize in more than a century. Of the 11 Nobels awarded so far this week, all the other laureates have been men.

World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day (10 October) is a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma.

It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization with members and contacts in more than 150 countries.

This day, each October, thousands of supporters come to celebrate this annual awareness program to bring attention to mental illness and its major effects on peoples' life worldwide.

 In some countries this day is part of an awareness week, such as Mental Health Week in Australia

Theme 2019     Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention

Nobel prize in physics awarded for discoveries in cosmology

Nobel prize in physics awarded for discoveries in cosmology

Nobel Prize 2019 for Physics has been announced. Three scientists, James Peebles, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz have won the Prize for their contribution to the understanding of the evolution of the universe and earth's place in the cosmos.

One half of the award was given to James Peebles for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology and the other half jointly to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.

They will share a 9-million kronor cash award, a gold medal and a diploma. The laureates will receive them at a ceremony in Stockholm on December 10.

World Habitat Day

World Habitat Day 

'The United Nations designated the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter.

 In 1985 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared the first Monday of October as World Habitat Day through Resolution 40/202. It was first celebrated in 1986.


The Day is also intended to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns.

Theme     2019     Frontier Technologies as an innovative Tool to Transform Waste into Wealth

Novak Djokovic won Japan Open title

Novak Djokovic won Japan Open title

World number one Novak Djokovic won the Japan Open tennis title today defeating Australian John Millman 6-3, 6-2 in straight sets.

Djokovic, played in his first Japanese competition at the Ariake Colosseum at Tokyo

The Japan Open is a men's tennis tournament held in Ariake Tennis Forest Park with its center court Ariake Coliseum, located in Koto, Tokyo, Japan

 Held since 1973, the championship includes men's singles and doubles competitions.

the Japan Open was known as the Tokyo Outdoor Grand Prix and was part of the Grand Prix tennis tour between 1973 and 1989.
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Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 1 in men's singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals 

World Teacher's Day

World Teacher's Day

World Teachers' Day, also known as International Teachers Day, is an international day held annually on October 5.

Established in 1994, it commemorates the signing of the 1966 UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers  which is a standard-setting instrument that addresses the status and situations of teachers around the world.

This recommendation outlines standards relating to education personnel policy, recruitment, and initial training as well as the continuing education of teachers, their employment, and working conditions

World Teachers' Day aims to focus on "appreciating, assessing and improving the educators of the world" and to provide an opportunity to consider issues related to teachers and teaching.

The theme of this day for 2019 is Young Teachers: The Future of the Profession.

World Space Week

World Space Week

World Space Week is an annual holiday observed from 4 to 10 October in various parts of the world, including Europe and Asia.

World Space Week is officially defined as "an international celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition".

 The week commemorates the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I on October 4, 1957, and its entry into force, on 10 October 1967.

The theme for the year 2019 is “The Moon: Gateway to the Stars”, celebrating the 50th anniversary of humankind’s first step on the Moon on 20 July 1969.

World Women's Boxing Championship

 World Women's Boxing Championship

The World Women's Boxing Championship will begin at Ulan Ude in Russia .

The best female boxers in the world will compete in the 11th edition of the championships, the most prestigious boxing titles in the word.

 India will play with a ten-member squad comprising experienced and young boxers.

Six-time champion M C Mary Kom will start as a strong medal contender for India yet again in 51 kilogram category.

Spotlight will also be on former champion and Mary Kom's contemporary L Sarita Devi in 60 kilogram category.

Japan’s Kento Momota won Korea Open

Japan’s Kento Momota won Korea Open

Top-ranked Kento Momota of Japan clinched the men’s singles title at the Korea Open badminton tournament with a win over No 2 Chou Tienchen of Taiwan.

The 25-year-old downed Chou 21-19, 21-17 in a final that lasted 53 minutes.

 In the women’s final, China’s He Bingjiao defeated Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand 18-21, 24-22, 21-17.

South Korea dominated the women’s doubles, with Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong beating compatriots Lee So-hee and Shin Seungchan 13-21, 21-19, 21-17.

Indonesian pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto defeated Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda of Japan 21-16, 21-17 to clinch the men’s doubles title.

International Day for Older Persons

International Day for Older Persons

The International Day of Older Persons is observed on October 1 each year.

On December 14, 1990 the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons as recorded in Resolution 45/106.

The holiday was observed for the first time on October 1, 1991.

The holiday is celebrated by raising awareness about issues affecting the elderly, such as senescence and elder abuse.

 It is also a day to appreciate the contributions that older people make to society.

Walk for peace has been organized to mark Gandhiji’s 150th anniversary in Dubai

Walk for peace has been organized to mark Gandhiji’s 150th anniversary in Dubai

Four-Kilometre walk for Peace and Tolerance by people of different nationalities will mark the Gandhi Jayanti celebrations in Dubai.

The programme organized by the Indian Consulate in Dubai along with the local community and the host government will be organized at the Zabeel Park in Dubai.

Gandhi Bhajan and a meditation session will be other activities to mark the 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi.

Painting and debate competitions are being organized by the Indian Consulate in various schools of the United Arab Emirates as well.

Later in the week , a cycle rally will be organized in Ajman to commemorate the occasion.

A special exhibition of photographs on, life and principles of Mahatma Gandhi is also being planned during the week in Dubai and other Emirates of the UAE.