Subject: IR Context: Turkey’s highest court allowed for the conversion of the nearly 1,500 year-old Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque. Concept: The centuries-old structure is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was originally a cathedral in the Byzantine Empire before it was turned into a mosque in 1453, when Constantinople fell to Sultan […]
Subject: IR Context: The United Nations marks World Population Day every year on 11 July, with the aim of spreading awareness on overpopulation, under population, family planning and birth control. Concept: This day was first observed in 1989, after the United Nations Development Program found that the global population had already crossed the five billion mark. The UNDP […]
Subject: IR Context: As India planned to finalise jet fighter deal with Russia, U.S announced that sanctions for the purchase of Russian arms has not changed under CAATSA Concept: The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) aims at taking punitive measures against Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Title II of the Act primarily deals […]
Subject:IR Context: US State Department has announced that it would not issue visas to students enrolled in schools that are fully online in the upcoming semester. Concept: F1 visas are issued to students attending an academic program in the United States and M1 visas are for students enrolled in vocational studies. All students with active […]
Subject: IR/Economy Context: The World Bank and the Government of India has signed the $750 million agreement for the MSME Emergency Response Programme. Concept: The World Bank’s MSME Emergency Response Programme will address theimmediate liquidity and credit needs of some 1.5 million viable MSMEs to help them withstand the impact of the current shock and […]
Subject:IR/Environment Context: Beijing made new territorial claim on eastern Bhutan while objecting to a request to develop the Sakteng wildlife sanctuary in eastern Bhutan’s Trashigang district at an online meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Concept: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summitto help tackle […]
Subject: IR Context: Researchers in China have discovered a new strain of the influenza virus which they claim has the potential to turn into a pandemic. Concept: The scientists identified the virus through surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs that they carried out from 2011 to 2018 in ten provinces of China. They found that […]
Subject: IR Context: Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that India is entitled to get compensation in the Italian marines case but can’t prosecute them. Concept: The two Italian marines are accused of shooting down two Indian fishermen in Kerala in 2012. The tribunal ruled that the Italian marines enjoyed diplomatic immunity as Italian state officials […]
Subject: IR Context: Last month US government decided to temporarily stop issuing H-1B and H-4 visas along with a slew of restrictions on legal immigration Concept: In recent years, about 70 per cent of H1-1B visas have gone to Indian nationals. The burden of the suspension will fall mainly on US high-tech firms, and on […]
Subject:IR Context: India signed a concession agreement with Bhutan for the 600 MW Kholongchhu Hydroelectric Project in the virtual presence of external affairs minister. Concept: The 600 MW run-of-the-river project is located on the lower course of the Kholongchhu River in Eastern Bhutan. It will be implemented by Kholongchhu Hydro Energy Limited, a Joint Venture […]