International Organizations, Defence, Books & Authors, World History

Notes:
The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between c. 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature. The poem’s imaginative and allegorical vision of the afterlife is a culmination of the medieval world-view as it had developed in the Western Church. It helped establish the Tuscan dialect, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language.

Notes:
The Indian Navy Day (IND) is observed every year on 4th December every year to remember the courage and determination that Indian Navy had shown during the 1971 war. During the India-Pakistan war of 1971, the Indian Navy played a significant role in the bombing of the Karachi harbor and sank Pakistan Naval Ship PNS Ghazi. The Navy Day celebrations not only display the nation’s technological progress but also the maritime achievements of India. The Indian Navy plays a great role in securing the marine borders of the country as well as enhancing the international relations of the country through foreign port callings, joint exercises, humanitarian missions and calamity relief.

Notes:
Bastille Day, which is the French National Day, is celebrated on July 14th each year. It commemorates the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison in Paris on July 14, 1789, which marked a pivotal moment in the French Revolution. The event is considered a symbol of the French people’s uprising against the monarchy and the beginning of the end of absolute monarchy in France.

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The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Agreement instructs governments on food safety and animal and plant health measures implementation, in addition to offering instructions on most-favoured-nation treatment and the general elimination of quantitative restrictions under the WTO framework. Commonly known as the SPS Agreement, it was established during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and came into force with the creation of the WTO in early 1995.

Notes:
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) developed the Transnationality Index (TNI). The TNI is used to rank multinational corporations. It is calculated as the average of three ratios:

1. The ratio of foreign assets to total assets
2. The ratio of foreign sales to total sales
3. The ratio of foreign employment to total employment

The TNI has been used since 1990 to rank the world’s 100 largest non-financial TNCs. It can be used for comparative analysis with similar surveys conducted in other countries.

The TNI has shown that the average index value for developing economies’ TNCs has increased over time.

Notes:
‘Subhadra kumari chauhan’ was an Indian poet famous for Hindi poems composed primarily in Veer Ras, one of the nine Ras.Her most famous composition is Jhansi Ki Rani, an emotionally charged poem describing the life of Rani Lakshmi Bai. The poem is one of the most recited and sung poems in Hindi literature.

Notes:
Author Keshava Guha has penned his debut novel which channels Harry Potter nostalgia and straddles multiple contexts and themes like fandom, identity, aspirations and relationships. Accidental Magic was launched at the Bangalore Literature Festival. Accidental Magic is the story of four very different people whose lives are brought together by Harry Potter.

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Ghulamgiri (Slavery) was written by Jyotiba Phule in the year 1872. He dedicated this book to the Caste and reforms, to the African American movement to end slavery and the movement for women empowerment.

Notes:
Andorra neither has an official military nor a ministry of defence. It has a ceremonial army made up of 12 male volunteers. Since the country is landlocked, it has no navy. Andorra maintained neutrality during World War II.

Notes:
China was associated with the Opium Wars. Opium Wars were the group of two wars between the Qing dynasty of China and the western powers. The First Opium War (1839-1842) was between the Qing dynasty and Great Britain. The Second Opium War (1856-1860) was between the Qing dynasty and western powers such as Great Britain and France. The Qing dynasty waged war against the opium trade of western powers in China. But these wars defeated the Qing dynasty and forced it to grant various favourable terms to western powers.