Zinginfomedia.com June 2017 Current Affairs INTERNATIONAL British PM Theresa May narrowly wins Parliament confidence vote British Prime Minister Theresa May narrowly won the confidence vote in the parliament, winning her first major test as the Prime Minister of a minority government in the United Kingdom (UK). With this, May was finally confirmed as the British Prime Minister three weeks after the election, after winning the vote on her legislative program known as the Queen’s Speech was approved by 323 votes in favour and 309 against in the 650-seat parliament. UN Votes to Sharply Reduce Peacekeepers in Sudan’s Darfur The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution sharply reducing the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region. The British-drafted resolution will reduce the number of peacekeepers by 44 per cent and the number of international police by about 27 per cent in the Darfur mission, whose current budget is over USD 1 billion annually. The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when ethnic Africans in the vast western region rebelled, accusing the Arab- dominated Sudanese government of discrimination. The UN-AU force was established in 2007 with a mandate to help protect civilians in Darfur. Zinginfomedia.com Hizb chief Syed Salahuddin designated ‘Global Terrorist’ by US The USA designated Pakistan-based Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin as a specially designated global terrorist. The move by the US state department came before the first meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump at the White House. The move has been welcomed by India. The US designation of terrorist individuals and groups expose and isolate them and result in denial of access to the US financial system. China unveils World’s first track-less train that runs on virtual rails China has unveiled the world’s first train that operates on a virtual track using sensor technology instead of metal rails. China has unveiled world’s first train that runs on a virtual track making use of sensor technology instead of metal rails. The new trains are non-polluting as they are battery powered. The train is capable of reaching a top speed of 70 kmph and can travel a distance of 25 km by just charging for 10 minutes. The train which is only about 32 metres long can carry up to 307 passengers. The new trains are fitted with sensors which are capable of detecting the dimensions of the road permitting it to follow the routes without the need for metal rails. So it can run without the presence of tracks. The new trains will make use of rubber wheels on a plastic core and can be automatically guided without rails. This new technology has been Zinginfomedia.com copyrighted by the Chinese rail corporation. The train will be rolled out for public use in 2018. China to have second biggest International Yoga Day celebrations in the world after India In China, ahead of the third UN International Day of Yoga, thousands of Chinese would participate in scores of events organized across the country. It will be the second biggest yoga day celebration in the world after India. The Indian Embassy in Beijing besides Indian Consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou are also organizing dozens of events commemorating the events featuring Chinese officials. However, yoga has become immensely popular over the years in China vying with ancient indigenous physical fitness martial art form Tai Chi. China also backed India’s move in the UN to make June 21 as International Yoga Day, giving a fillip to hundreds of yoga clubs and organizations. AIIB approves Argentina, Madagascar and Tonga as new members The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved the membership of Argentina, Madagascar, and Tonga at its second annual meeting of Governors. The AIIB’s Board of Governors adopted resolutions approving the three applicants to join the bank at the second annual meeting, which kicked off earlier in the day in South Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju. The first meeting was held in Beijing in 2016. The approved Zinginfomedia.com applicants included one regional prospective member of Tonga and two non-regional members of Argentina and Madagascar. The three prospective members will officially join the AIIB once they complete the required domestic processes and deposit the first installment of capital with the bank. World’s largest floating Solar Farm launched in China China has launched world’s largest floating solar farm in Anhui province. The 40-megawatt power plant has 160,000 panels resting on a lake that emerged after the collapse of a coal mine in central Anhui province. As per the Reports, China has been the world’s largest investor in clean energy since 2012, spending $88 billion on the wind and solar power in 2016. The plant has been built in Huainan City, Anhui Province, bySungrow Power Supply, a Chinese company specialized in renewable energy. Montenegro becomes NATO’s 29th member Montenegro has officially joined North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and hence became the 29th member country of NATO. Montenegro Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanovic submitted the official accession papers in a ceremony at the US State Department. The move came in the face of bitter opposition from Russia, which says NATO’s steady expansion into the former communist states of Eastern Europe threatens its own security and cannot go unchallenged. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the alliance will benefit from Montenegro’s insight into the Balkans. Zinginfomedia.com Nepal signs MoU with China for construction of Budhigandaki Hydropower Project Nepal has signed a major deal with a China to develop a 1,200 MW Budhigandaki Hydroelectric Project, the biggest hydro project in the landlocked country that could resolve its perennial power crisis. Nepal’s Ministry of Energy has signed an MoU with China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) for the development of the 1,200 MW Budhigandaki Hydroelectric Project. The government has allocated a budget of Rs. 5.33 billion for the project’s development in the current fiscal year. The project will be developed in Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing (EPCF) model, as per which, the concerned construction company itself generates the required fund for the project, Minister for Women Children and Social Welfare Development Kumar Khadka told The Himalayan Times. “The EPCF is a new model to develop hydel projects in Nepal,” Minister Khadka said. “So far we have been developing projects in EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) model”. UN chief announces new talks on Cyprus reunification The agreement to resume negotiations on a historic deal was reached during a meeting between Greek Cypriot President, Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci and Guterres at UN headquarters on 5th June. UN Chief said all agreed that the chapter on security and guarantees is of vital Zinginfomedia.com importance to the two communities and agreed to reconvene the conference on Cyprus in the month of June. INDIA & WORLD India becomes 1st country to contribute $100000 to UN Tax Fund India has contributed $100,000 to a UN fund to help developing countries actively participate in the discussion of tax issues, becoming the first country to make the contribution. The UN Tax Trust Fund aims to support the work of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters. The UN Tax Committee, a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council (ESOSOC), has provided guidance on current issues such as double taxation treaties, transfer pricing (profit shifting) taxation of the extractive industries and taxation of services. The committee also provides a framework for dialogues with a view to enhancing and promoting international tax cooperation among national tax authorities, while making recommendations on capacity-building and the provision of technical assistance to developing counties and countries with economies in transition. India, Portugal sign 11 MoUs in various fields India and Portugal have signed eleven MOUs for cooperation in areas including double taxation avoidance, science and technology, trade and investment, nanotechnology, space research, administrative reforms and culture. 11 MoU’s were Zinginfomedia.com exchanged in the meeting and there was the announcement of the launch of a joint science fund for which both India and Portugal will contribute Euros two million each. 5 of the MoU’s were in the area of science and technology. One of the MoU’s was signed for the creation of an India Portugal Space Alliance and for advancing collaborative research. These agreements will promote India’s science and technology partnership with Portugal, towards the establishment of a unique Centre on the Azores Archipelago – the Atlantic International Research Centre. India, Russia Sign ‘Military Cooperation Roadmap’ India and Russia have agreed to a roadmap for the development of bilateral defense cooperation. The roadmap includes specific activities to be concluded by both sides, and aims to enhance cooperation in the field of political and military dialogue, exercises, exchange of visits, military cooperation and training of military personnel. The agreement was reached at the 17th meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation which was held in Moscow. The meeting took place was held under the Co-Chairmanship of the Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and the Defence Minister of Russia Sergei Shoigu. US approves sale of Predator Guardian drones to India The US has cleared the sale of 22 unmanned Guardian drones to India. This deal has been termed as a “game changer” ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington for his Zinginfomedia.com maiden meeting with President Donald Trump. The deal, estimated to be worth $2 to 3 billion, has been approved by the State Department.