International News Affairs
- PM Narendra Modi, during his recent visit to Portugal, launched the India-Portugal International Startup Hub with his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa.
- It will strengthen the connection between the startup ecosystem of the two countries and will be accessible through an app.
- It will also give information on subjects including government initiatives, policy, tax system and visa process.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi had One-on-One and delegation level talks with US President Donald Trump.
- Bilateral cooperation, counter-terrorism and defence partnership were the focused issues.
- In a joint statement issued after their meeting, both leaders “called on Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terror attacks on other countries.”
- They also called on Pakistan to “expeditiously” bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 and Pathankot attacks, among other cross-border attacks.
- Trump has accepted Modi’s invitation to visit India.
- Modi separately invited Trump’s daughter Ivanka to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in India.
- UK PM Theresa May has signed a ‘confidence and supply’ deal with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, allowing her to officially form a minority government.
- The deal, which came after over two weeks of talks, is worth over £1 billion.
- It will reportedly deliver tangible benefits for Northern Ireland in terms of jobs and investment in health and education.
- The United States is going to declare China as one among the world’s worst offenders on human trafficking in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report.
- The declaration would place China in the same category as North Korea, Zimbabwe and Syria.
People in News
- Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo has been released from prison on compassionate grounds after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer.
- He was arrested in 2008 for penning a pro-democracy manifesto calling for an end to one-party rule and improvements in human rights.
- Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump, the United States designated Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin as a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’.
- Threatening to turn the Kashmir Valley “into a graveyard for Indian forces”, Salahuddin had earlier vowed to block any peaceful resolution to the Kashmir conflict.
Banking, Business & Economic News
- India is going to shift to a January to December financial year from 2018, thereby ending the 150-year-old tradition of an April to March fiscal.
- Accordingly, the next Union Budget could be presented by the Narendra Modi-led government in November this year.
- The World Bank has cleared a USD 250-million loan to aid the Skill India mission.
- The loan amount would be used for making Indian youth more employable through reskilling.
Recent Committees in News
- The HRD ministry has constituted a 9-member panel to frame a new National Education Policy (NEP).
- This committee consists chosen experts and educationists from wide-ranging backgrounds.
- Head of this Committee : K Kasturirangan (space scientist)
New Appointments
- Canadian soldier Megan Couto has become the first female officer to captain troops guarding UK’s Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace in 180 years.
- Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has appointed outgoing economy minister Mihai Tudoseas Prime Minister.
Current Sports News
- Indian Men’s and Women’s throw ball teams won Gold at the World Games in Kathmandu.
- Note: This was the first time that the Indian teams had participated in World Games, which took place from June 15 to 18.
- Indian shooters Yashaswini Singh Deswal and Anish Bhanwala has bagged gold in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol and Men’s 25m Standard Pistol competition respectively in the ISSF Junior World Championship held in Germany.