International Organizations, Defence, Books & Authors, World History

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The book “Welcome to Nowhere” has been authored by acclaimed children’s writer Elizabeth Laird. This is a book about war and its consequences. Through book, author tells the story of 12-year-old Omar, his parents and four siblings, all of who are caught in the crossfire as civil war rages over Syria. Laird references real-life events and gives you great characters, heartwarming moments and even occasional humour.

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Mercosur is a sub-regional bloc of South American countries. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people, and currency. It was established in 1991 and its headquarters are located at Montevideo (Uruguay). It calls itself the common market of the South America At present, it is a full customs union and a trading bloc. Its full members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay

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Apart from the 23 postal circles in which India has been divided, India Post also has a Base Circle to cater to the postal communication needs of the Armed Forces. The Base Circle is headed by an Additional Director General, Army Postal Service in the rank of a Major General.

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Flexible Credit Line (FCL) is a lending scheme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The FCL was created in 2009 after the 2007 Financial Crisis. It was designed to meet the demand for crisis prevention and crisis mitigation lending for countries with strong policy frameworks and track records in economic performance. The FCL is useful for both crisis prevention and crisis resolution.
The FCL is a precautionary credit line that lasts one or two years. The repayment period is the same as for the Stand by Arrangement (SBA). Only Mexico, Colombia, and Poland have subscribed to the FCL.

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In the year 2011 the Election Commission of India launched the National Voters Day to be celebrated on 25 January every year as a part of the Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) Programme.

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he Akash missile is considered the Indian Patriot. The Akash is India’s first indigenously produced medium-range surface-to-air missile. It can target aircraft up to 30 km (19 mi) away. The Akash can neutralize aerial targets such as fighter jets, cruise missiles, air-to-surface missiles, and ballistic missiles. It is in operational service with the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force.
The Akash was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The Akash’s technology is close to the system of American patriot missiles.
The Patriot is an American missile system that was used successfully in neutralising the Iraqi Skud missiles during the first Gulf War in the 90s.

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The Tuluva dynasty ruler, Krishna Dev Raya (1509-1529 AD) composed a drama “Jambavati Kalyanam” (in Sanskrit) i.e based on the Jambavati, one of the eight principal queen-consorts of Lord Krishna. She was the only daughter of Jambavan, the bear king who assisted Lord Ram in the battle against Ravana.

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The Telugu princess and poet of the Vijayanagar empire, Gangadevi wrote a Sanskrit epic poem, “Madura Vijayam” (the  Conquest of Madurai). The poem describes in detail, the victory of her husband, Kumara Kampana ( son of Bukka Raya I) over  the Madurai Sultanate.

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The United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction is awarded to an individual or institutions that have taken active efforts in reducing disaster risk in their communities and advocates for disaster risk reduction.

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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.