Monthly Current AffairsTitle Capsule & Quiz OctoberTitle 2020 China will send out the world’s first mining robot into space by November this year. A private Beijing company, Origin Space, will send out the world’s first mining robot, termed as an ‘asteroid mining robot’ into International Day of Older Persons: 01 October space by November 2020. The robot will, however, not do any actual mining. The mission will be a preliminary assessment of the asteroid mining robot’s capabilities of identifying and extracting valuable resources, aimed at the eventual mining of asteroids. The 30-gram spacecraft, NEO-1, is likely to be launched as a secondary payload on a Chinese Long March rocket, which will enter at an orbit around the earth at 500-kilometre altitude. The actual progress that can be made by the International Day of Older Persons is observed NEO-1 mission is subject to speculations, as globally on 1st October every year. it has never been attempted before. The year 2020 marks the 75th Anniversary of Donald Trump, US First Lady test COVID-19 the United Nations and the 30th Anniversary positive of the International Day of Older Persons. The day is an opportunity to highlight the important contributions that older people make to society and raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges of ageing in today’s world. 2020 theme: Pandemics: Do They Change How We Address Age and Ageing? China to send world's first asteroid mining robot into space in November United States President Donald Trump announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wished for quick recovery and good health of United States President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. Donald John Trump is the 45th and current president of the United States. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality. US issues fresh sanctions against Syria on 24 March 1925 at the Sport Palace in Berlin, Germany. India, Bangladesh hold second edition of naval exercise in Northern Bay of Bengal The United States announced over a dozen sanctions against Syrian individuals and entities to further The second edition of the bilateral naval exercise pressure the Syrian government. ‘Bongosagar’ between India and Bangladesh was held in Northern Bay of Bengal. The sanctions designated the head of the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate, the Ships from both navies participated in governor of the Central Bank of Syria, and a surface warfare drills, seamanship evolutions business network that allegedly "generate and helicopter operations. revenue for the regime and its supporters,". Indian Navy ships Kiltan, Khukri & The State Department on the same day Bangladesh Navy ships Abu Bakr, Prottoy, blacklisted other three Syrian persons for helo and MPA undertook manoeuvres, their roles in the Syria conflict. surface drills, helo operations and According to the statement, all property and seamanship evolutions. interests of the property of the designated Bongosagar will be followed by the third entities and the individuals in the United edition of India Bangladesh Coordinated States have been blocked, and US persons are Patrol (CORPAT) on 4-5 October. generally prohibited from engaging in any The first edition of the Exercise Bongosagar, transactions with them. was held in 2019. Capital: Damascus President: Bashar al-Assad World Teachers’ Day: 05 October Currency: Syrian pound World Teachers’ Day is celebrated every year on World Animal Day: 04 October October 5 globally. World Animal Day is observed every year on It aims to focus on appreciating, assessing October 4 since 1929. and improving the educators of the world and to provide an opportunity to consider issues The day aims to raise the status of animals in related to teachers and teaching. order to improve welfare standards around International Teachers Day is celebrated by the globe. the United Nations Educational, Scientific It was originated by Heinrich Zimmermann and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in and he organized the first World Animal Day partnership with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Education of deceased NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla, International. arrived at the International Space Station. The theme for World Teachers’ Day 2020 is “Teachers: Leading in Crisis, Reimagining Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-born the Future”. woman to enter space, has had the spacecraft named after her for her key contributions to World Habitat Day 2020: 5 October human spaceflight. The SS Kalpana Chawla, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus, was launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. On the NG-14 mission, the SS Kalpana Chawla will deliver approximately 3,630 kilograms of cargo to the station. World Cotton Day: 07 October The United Nations designated the first Monday of October as World Habitat Day. In 2020, the World Habitat Day is being celebrated on 5th October. The day is commemorated every year worldwide to throw light on the condition of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter. 2020 theme: “Housing For All — A Better The WHO-recognised World Cotton Day (WCD) is Urban Future” as a proper place to live has observed on 7th October since 2019 to celebrate the become important more than ever. international cotton industry and its contribution to communities and the global economy. Cargo spacecraft SS Kalpana Chawla arrives at ISS The day was inaugurated by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva on October 7, 2019. WCD Day was initiated by the Group of Cotton-4 countries namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali to reflect the importance of cotton as a global commodity. QUAD Foreign Ministers of India, USA, Japan, Australia meet in Tokyo A commercial cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station (ISS), carrying the name Russia says it has successfully tested a new hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile in TSIRKON (Zircon) Hypersonic Cruise missile. The Tsirkon test comes amid tensions over arms control between Russia and the United States. The strike was carried out from the Admiral Gorshkov vessel which was located in the White Sea in northern Russia. The missile hit its target at a distance of 450 kilometres (280 miles) in four and a half minutes after reaching hypersonic speeds of Quad Countries’ Foreign Minister meet held in more than Mach 8. Tokyo, Japan. World Post Day: 9 October All four Quad countries the United States, Japan, India and Australia to hold bilateral discussions over “Free and Open Indo- Pacific” (FOIP) initiative amid the coronavirus pandemic. This is the second Quad FM meeting. The first was held in 2019. The Quad FM meeting was represented by External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. World Post Day is observed on 9th October every They discussed the post-COVID-19 year. international order and the need for a coordinated response to the various The main aim of World Post Day is to create challenges emerging from the pandemic. awareness of the role of the postal sector in people’s and businesses’ everyday lives and Russia successfully tests new hypersonic its contribution to the social and economic TSIRKON missile development of countries. 09 October marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern. Oil prices rise as Hurricane Delta approaches US Gulf of Mexico death of his brother Emir Sheikh Sabah al- Ahmed. Kuwait Capital: Kuwait City. Currency: Kuwaiti dinar. World Mental Health Day: 10 October Oil prices rose as oil workers evacuated rigs in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico ahead of Hurricane Delta. Energy operators in the Gulf of Mexico have shut 80% of oil output in preparation for Hurricane Delta. The storm, packing winds of up to 115 miles per hour (185 kph), ranked as a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane October 10 is the second Saturday of 2020 and is Wind Scale and forecasters expect it to celebrated as the World Mental Health Day. strengthen before making landfall. The objective of this day is to spread Kuwait's cabinet hands in resignation, emir asks awareness about mental health issues and PM to prepare for election taking efforts in supporting those. It also emphasizes what more needs to be done to make sure that talking about mental health does not remain a taboo in society. This day is organised by the World Federation for Mental Health. It is also supported by WHO, the International Association for Suicide Prevention, and United for Global Mental Health. China formally joins WHO led COVAX initiative on COVID-19 vaccine The Kuwaiti government, headed by Prime Minister Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah, reportedly submitted its resignation to Emir Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah. Kuwait's new emir has asked the Gulf state's cabinet to carry on its duties and prepare for parliamentary elections. Sheikh Nawaf, 83, took the helm of the U.S.- allied OPEC member state following the China has formally joined COVAX, the global International Day of the Girl Child: 11 October initiative for COVID-19 vaccine by signing an agreement with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The statement did not give details on the level of support Beijing will provide to the initiative. The COVAX facility, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), aims to deliver at least 2 billion doses of vaccines by the end of 2021. The WHO had said it had been negotiating with China for its participation in the initiative, with Russia and the United States so far choosing not to join.