International Organizations, Defence, Books & Authors, World History

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“The New Courier” is published by UNESCO. It has largest and widest-ranging readership of all the journals published by the United Nations and its specialized institutions.

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The United Nations General Assembly established October 2nd as the International Day of Non-Violence in 2007 to honor Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday. Gandhi is renowned for his philosophy of non-violent resistance, which influenced civil rights movements worldwide. The day promotes the principles of non-violence through education and public awareness.

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The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by by Japan on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu on December 7, 1941. Till that date, United States was neutral but entered into Second World War after this.

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National Voters Day in India is celebrated on January 25th. This day is celebrated to promote participation of the citizens in the political process. It was first celebrated in the year 2011 to mark the commission’s foundation day. Prioritizing the participation of the youth in the electoral process is the main focus of this celebration as the Indian Election Commission was established on this day in 1950.

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BIMST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand Economic Cooperation)

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The famous Sufi poet, Amir khusro wrote a famous masnavi on the love story of Laila and Majnu, “Laila Majnu”. Excerpts of the works done by him are Tughluq Nama, Wast-ul-Hayat, Nuh Sipihr, Ashiqa, Khamsa, Baqia-Naqia, etc. He was the court poet of Alauddin Khilji and a spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya, Delhi.

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Rajatarangini (or River of Kings) wrote by Kashmiri Brahman Kalhaṇa in Sanskrit between 1148 and 1149. The book is an account of the history of Kashmir, particularly the kings of Kashmir.

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Commonwealth of Nations is a political organization with 56 member states. The Commonwealth was formed to maintain an association between countries that were once part of the British colonies. Although the Commonwealth has historical ties to the British Empire, any country can apply to be a member.
The Commonwealth is made up of independent countries from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and the Pacific. The Commonwealth’s members have a combined population of 2.4 billion people, almost a third of the world’s population. 94% of the Commonwealth’s population lives in either Asia or Africa.
The Commonwealth’s 55th and 56th members are Gabon and Togo, both former French colonies.

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The signatories to the treaty banning chemical weapons include USA, Russia, India, Iran and Israel Four UN states are not party: Egypt, Israel, North Korea and South Sudan. The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is an arms control treaty that outlaws the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons and their precursors. The treaty entered into force on 29 April 1997.

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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved issuance of two Open General Export Licences (OGELs) for export of certain parts and components and intra-company transfer of technology to select countries. This decision is expected to give a boost to defence exports and enhance Ease of doing Business (EDB). The transfer of technology to the countries is subject to the condition that the export is an intra-company transfer from an Indian subsidiary (applicant exporter) to its foreign parent company and or to subsidiaries of the foreign parent company. The OGEL is a one-time export licence to be granted to a company for a specific period which would initially be only two years.