Monthly Current Affairs Capsule & Quiz January 2019 The withdrawals will not greatly impact UNESCO financially since it has been dealing with a funding slash ever since 2011 when both Israel and the US stopped paying dues after Palestine was voted in as a member state. Pakistan to issue Panda Bonds to raise capital in China Pakistan, India exchange list of nuclear installations India and Pakistan exchanged the list of nuclear installations and facilities covered under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear installations between them. The government of Pakistan has decided to launch This is the 28th consecutive exchange of such Panda Bonds to raise loans from Chinese capital lists between the two nuclear-armed markets. Launching of Panda Bonds is part of neighbours since the first one on January 1, Pakistan’s plans to move towards giving the Chinese 199 The list was exchanged through currency, a status at par with that enjoyed by the US diplomatic channels simultaneously at New dollar. Delhi and Islamabad. Under the 1988 agreement, the two countries The interest rates and the size of the bonds inform each other of nuclear installations and would be decided at a later stage. facilities on the first of January every year. Panda bonds are Chinese renminbi- denominated bonds from a non-Chinese Qatar will cease to be a member of OPEC issuer, sold in the People’s Republic of China. The first two Panda bonds were issued Qatar will cease to be a member of the Organisation in October 2005 on the by the International of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The country Finance Corporation and the Asian had sent an official notification to the OPEC Development Bank on the same day. expressing its wish to pull out and to focus on its liquefied natural gas production in December. US, Israel quit UNESCO citing bias The decision came amid the ongoing The United States and Israel officially quit the United diplomatic and economic blockade imposed Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural on the country by its Persian Gulf neighbours Organization (UNESCO) with the close of 201 and several Arab states. These countries accuse Doha of supporting The countries had announced their decisions terrorism and interfering in their internal in 2017 of withdrawing from the agency, affairs. Qatar has strongly refuted these accusing it of bias against Israel. America has allegations. demanded fundamental reform in UNESCO, which was co-founded by it after World War Five nations assume charge as non-permanent II to foster peace. members of UN Security Council Israel joined the agency in 194 It is best known for its World Heritage program, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia which designates cultural sites and aims to and South Africa have begun to assume preserve traditions. UNESCO also works to responsibilities as non-permanent members of the improve education for girls, promote UN Security Council. understanding of the Holocaust's horrors, and to defend media freedom. The five countries hold a two-year term while Bolivia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Netherlands and Sweden have just left the Security Hindu religious site of Panj Tirath in Peshawar of Council. North Western Pakistan as national heritage. Points to Remember The Directorate of Archaeology and Museums of KP has issued a notification The 15-member Security Council has five under the KP Antiquities Act 2016 declaring permanent members -- Britain, China, the land in the Panj Tirath Park as a heritage France, Russia and the United States, and 10 site. non-permanent members elected for two- Panj Tirath derives its name from the five year terms by the UN General Assembly. pools of water in the site which also has a The council is the only UN body that makes temple. According to the epic of Mahabharat, decisions and has the power to impose the mythical king Pandu belonged to this area sanctions and authorize the use of force. and Hindus used to come to these pools for bathing during the auspicious month of First in history! China's spacecraft nears landing Karteek and worship for two days under the on the far side of moon trees. UN observes First-Ever World Braille Day on 4 January The United Nations observed the first official World Braille Day on 4th January to create awareness about the importance of Braille for approximately 3 billion people living with some form of distance or near vision impairment. China is trying to reach a milestone in space exploration: landing a vehicle on the far side of the moon for the first time in history. The proclamation for the celebration of World Braille Day was made by the United Nations General Assembly as a means for The mission is one in a series that underscore realising the human rights of visually- the country’s ambitions to join — and even impaired and partially-sighted people, and lead — the space race. The spacecraft, whose bringing written language to the forefront as landing could come on Thursday, is called a critical prerequisite for promoting Chang’e-4 after the moon goddess in Chinese fundamental freedoms. mythology. World Braille Day is celebrated on the January 4th to honour Louis Braille, who is Points to Remember credited for inventing the Braille script. Louis Braille was born in France on 4 January 180 China landed another rover on the moon in The World Braille Day is celebrated on his 2013, joining the United States and the Soviet Birth Anniversary. Union as the only nations to have carried out a “soft landing” there, but the Chang’e-4 Sheikh Hasina to take oath as Bangladesh PM would be the first to touch down on the side of the moon that perpetually faces away from Awami League President Sheikh Hasina to take oath the Earth. as Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the third consecutive term. A 47-member Council of Pakistan’s Provincial Government declares Panj Ministers including 31 new faces, will also be sworn Tirath Hindu religious site as national heritage in. President Mohammad Abdul Hamid will administer the oath of office to the Ministers at The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial Bangabhaban. government of Pakistan has declared the ancient Awami League and its allies secured 288 seats out of elections held for 299-member Parliament recently. This will be the fourth government under the seventy-one-year-old leader, and third in a row, since January 200 Earlier she was the Prime Minister from 1996 to 200 World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announced that he will step down from his position on February 1 - Points to Remember much before the end of his term in 202 Kim, 58, has been in this position for over six years now. In a Bangladesh, to the east of India on the Bay of statement, the World Bank said he will join a firm Bengal, is a South Asian country marked by and focus on increasing infrastructure investments in lush greenery and many waterways. Its developing countries. Padma (Ganges), Meghna and Jamuna rivers create fertile plains, and travel by boat is Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank CEO, will common. On the southern coast, the assume the role of interim President effective Sundarbans, an enormous mangrove forest 1st of next month. shared with Eastern India, is home to the The president of the Washington-based royal Bengal tiger. World Bank has always been an American citizen nominated by the United States, Norwegian PM on a state visit to India which is the largest shareholder of this multilateral financial institution. Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg has arrived in New Delhi on a three-day state visit to India. She Sino-Indian Digital Collaboration Plaza was accompanied by senior officials from her launched government and a large business delegation. She will participate in the Indo-Norwegian Business The Sino-Indian Digital Collaboration Plaza Conference. (SIDCOP), an initiative to bring Indian IT companies and Chinese enterprises closer to each other on a The Norwegian Prime Minister will deliver single AI enabled platform was launched on 10th the Inaugural address at the Raisina January 201 This is a partnership by National Dialogue. Association of Software and Services Companies More than 100 Norwegian companies have (NASSCOM) with Municipal Governments of invested in India in areas such as ship- Guiyang and Dalian. building, petroleum related services, hydropower, clean energy and IT services. Indian IT enterprises are world renowned for Several major Indian companies are also their expertise in business transformation and present in Norway. operational optimization by using IT tools in complex business environments. Indian IT Points to Remember enterprises have a long and distinguished pedigree of international clients, whom they The Raisina Dialogue is a multilateral have helped transform their businesses and conference held annually in New Delhi. globalize and revolutionize with changing Since its inception in 2016, the conference times. has emerged as India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics. Points to Remember World Bank President Jim Yong Kim to step SIDCOP, which is a boundary-less down on Feb 1 marketplace offers this opportunity for Chinese enterprises in order to assist them in operational optimization and adopting industry best practices in business solutions. no-confidence against May's government. It This platform could be useful to connect with will come up for discussion in the House. top providers from India and help Chinese According to the Britain's parliamentary enterprises source the right solution providers procedure, when a bill is rejected by the MPs, for their projects. the prime minister has three sitting days to return to Parliament with a Plan B. 9th International Conference on Micro Irrigation First human rights TV channel Launched in London The world’s first television channel dedicated to human rights was launched in London by the International Observatory of Human Rights (IOHR).