INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Fumio Kishida to Become Japan’s Next Prime Minister
After Party Election Win Japan’s former Foreign Minister, Fumio Kishida has won the ruling party’s leadership election, virtually
ensuring that he will become the country’s next prime minister. Kishida won 257 votes in a runoff to
defeat Taro Kono, a popular vaccines minister who previously held the positions of defense and
foreign minister.
The 64-year-old replaces outgoing party leader Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is stepping down
after serving only one year since taking office last September. Kishida previously served as LDP policy
chief and was foreign minister between 2012-17, during which he negotiated accords with Russia and
South Korea, with whom Japan’s relations are often frosty.
North Korea claims successful test of a hypersonic missile
September 2021 Current Affaires
North Korea successfully tested a new hypersonic missile called Hwasong-8, in a bid to increase the
nation’s capabilities for self-defence. The missile was one of the five most important new weapons
systems laid out by North Korea in the five-year military development plan. This was the country’s
third missile test in a month. Earlier it tested a new type of cruise missile, as well as a new train launched ballistic missile system.
Hypersonic missiles fly at lower altitudes compared to ballistic weapon systems and can attain more
than five times the speed of sound, restricting the interception capabilities of adversaries.
WHO revises air quality guidelines for the first time
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced a tight revision in its air quality guidelines
(AQG). This is the first revision in the global air quality by WHO since 2005. In the new guidelines,
WHO has lowered the acceptable exposure levels to key pollutants, including ozone, nitrogen dioxide,
sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter (PM).
WHO has lowered acceptable thresholds for several pollutants, including PM 2.5. Now, PM 2.5
concentrations must remain below 15µg/m³.
According to the new limits, average annual PM2.5 concentrations should not be higher than 5
micrograms per cubic meter.
September 2021 Current Affaires
Hungary: Statue honoring mysterious Bitcoin founder unveiled
Hungary has unveiled the statue of Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto. The imposing bronze statue
was unveiled in Hungary’s capital, Budapest. This is the first such statue across the world to pay
homage to the creator of Bitcoin’s digital currency. It has been constructed in a business park near the
Danube River in Budapest. The bust sits atop a stone plinth and is also engraved with the name of
Satoshi Nakamoto, who is the pseudonym of the mysterious developer of Bitcoin whose true identity
is still unknown.
Statue has been created by Reka Gergely and Tamas Gilly. They have portrayed a human form and
have stayed true to the anonymity of Nakamoto, the person nobody knows how do they look like.
World’s highest electric vehicle charging station inaugurated in India’s northern Himachal state
The world’s highest electric vehicle charging station has been inaugurated in Kaza village of Lahaul
and Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh. The electric vehicle charging station is set up at a height of 500
ft. The aim of this initiative is to check vehicular pollution and promote electric vehicles for a clean
and green environment in the region. India is gaining good momentum in the electric vehicle (EV)
ecosystem.
There is a good response for battery-operated small electric vehicles like e-scooter, electric threewheelers, e-rickshaws, e-carts, and e-bikes in the country. Both battery electric vehicle and fuel cell
vehicle technologies are complementary to each other and are all set to overtake fossil-run
automotive by 2050 in the country.
September 2021 Current Affaires
Apple Co-Founder Is Launching A Space Startup
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the World of
Business Ideas forum in Bogota, Colombia, 06 June 2018. During the event Wozniak stated that digital
privacy must be a priority for big tech companies for the security of users. EPA/MAURICIO DUENAS
CASTANEDA
Apple’s co-creator Steve Wozniak has launched a new space start-up called Privateer Space, bringing
potential competition to a field dominated by billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson.
Privateer will be represented at the Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies
The conference, scheduled to run from September 14-17 in Hawaii.
The global space economy, which has attracted many top companies such as Tesla and Amazon,
involves various activities such as research and development, space tourism and the utilisation of
space. Bank of America predicts the space economy will have more than tripled in size by 2030, with a
$1.4 trillion market value.
September 2021 Current Affaires
Lunar Crater named after Matthew Henson by International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union has named a crater at the Moon’s south pole after the Arctic
explorer Matthew Henson, a Black man who in 1909 was one of the first people to stand at the very
top of the world. The proposal to name the crater after Henson was put forward by Jordan
Bretzfelder who is an Exploration Science summer intern with Lunar & Planetary Institute, in Houston.
Artemis Programme was launched by NASA which aims to land the next slate of lunar explorers on
the Henson Crater. They will be selected from NASA’s increasingly diverse astronaut pool. Henson
Crater is located between Sverdrup and de Gerlache craters at the south pole of the Moon. This
program provides a cornerstone to study planetary processes as well as to create the infrastructure to
advance human exploration at the Moon and on Mars.
September 2021 Current Affaires
107-Year-Old Japanese Sisters Are the World’s Oldest Identical Twins
Japanese Sisters, 107, are Officially World’s Oldest Identical Twins Umeno and Koume Guinness World
Records.
Guinness World Records has certified two Japanese sisters as the world’s oldest living identical twins
at 107. Umeno Sumiyama and Koume Kodama were born the third and fourth of 11 siblings on
Shodoshima island in western Japan on Nov. 5, 1913.
Sumiyama and Kodama were 107 years and 300 days old as of Sept 1, breaking the previous record
set by famous Japanese sisters Kin Narita and Gin Kanie at 107 years and 175 days.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wins 3rd term
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has won the third term to serve as the PM of the country, after
his party won the 2021 parliamentary elections on September 20, 2021. However, the Liberal Party of
the 49-year-old Justin Trudeau could only manage to win minority seats in the election. Justin
Trudeau is in power since 2015.
Trudeau’s Liberals were leading or elected in 157 seats exactly the same number they won in 2019, 13
short of the 170 needed for a majority in the House of Commons.
September 2021 Current Affaires
The Islamic Republic of Iran becomes 9th member of the SCO
Iran was officially admitted as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The
decision to admit Iran as a full member was declared in the 21st summit of the SCO leaders in
Dushanbe, Tajikistan. At the end of the 21st Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO),
the leaders of the eight main members of the organisation agreed to change the membership of the
Islamic Republic of Iran from an observer member to a full member and signed the relevant
documents.
Accordingly, the technical process of Iran becoming one of the main members of the organisation has
begun and Iran will henceforth cooperate and interact with member countries as the main member of
the important regional organisation.
September 2021 Current Affaires
The Netherlands unveils its first national Holocaust monument
A monument listing 102,163 Dutch victims of the Holocaust was unveiled by King Willem-Alexander in
Amsterdam on Sunday, the first national memorial to be built in the Netherlands.
The monument, designed by Daniel Libeskind, 75, who lost relatives in the Holocaust, lies in the
centre of the Dutch capital and is a labyrinth of brick walls that, when seen from above, form Hebrew
letters reading “in remembrance”.
September 2021 Current Affaires
Taliban removes Uzbek from official language status
Contrary to their pledges of forming an inclusive government and respecting all the ethnicities in its
Islamic Emirate, the Taliban removed Uzbek from official language status.
The law entitled “Fundamentals” indicates the official religion of Afghanistan Sunni Islam of the
Hanafi madhhab, as well as its official Languages-Pashto and Dari. Earlier in Afghanistan, along with
them, the Uzbek language had an official status, which is spoken by many residents of the northern
provinces. In addition, there is a sizable Shiite community in the country, consisting mainly of Hazaras.
September 2021 Current Affaires
India-Australia holds inaugural 2+2 ministerial dialogue September 10-12
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External AFfairs Minister S Jaishankar with their Australian
counterparts Peter Dutton and Marise Payne before the inaugural session of 2+2 ministerial dialogue
in New Delhi on Saturday. UNI PHOTO-3U
India and Australia are undertaking their first-ever 2+2 ministerial dialogue at the Hyderabad House in
New Delhi. The high-level foreign and defence ministerial-level dialogue will further ramp up the
overall defence and strategic cooperation between the two countries, including in the Indo-Pacific
El Salvador becomes Worlds1st country to adopt Bitcoin as National Currency
El Salvador has become the first country in the world to accept Bitcoin as legal tender. The
government of El Salvador claimed that the move will give many citizens of the country access to bank
services for the first time. In addition, trading in cryptocurrency will help the country save around
$400 million in fees that is levied by banks and financial institutions on the money sent home by
expats.
The acceptance of Bitcoin as a legal currency by El Salvador follows a law approved by the country’s
parliament in June. At the time, the country allowed Bitcoin to be accepted as tender for all goods
and services. The bill was approved within 24 hours of being presented to Congress by President
Nayib Bukele.
In world first, Cuba starts Covid jabs for toddlers
Cuba became the first country in the world to vaccinate children from the age of two against C-19,
using home-grown jabs not recognised by the World Health Organisation. The communist island of
11.2 million people aims to inoculate all its children before reopening schools that have been closed
for the most part since March 2020.
Countries such as China, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela have announced they plan to
vaccinate younger children, but Cuba is the first to do so. The Cuban vaccines, the first developed in
Latin America, have not undergone international, scientific peer review.
China launched Earth observation satellite that can obtain radioactive data
China successfully launched a new Earth observation satellite, Gaofen-5 02, into space, aboard a Long
March-4C rocket, from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in north China’s Shanxi Province. The
Gaofen-5 02 satellite is the 24th in the series of Gaofen Earth-observation satellites of China, to
monitor environmental protection efforts and boost its natural resources surveillance.
Gaofen-5 02 is a hyperspectral satellite that will be used for comprehensive environmental monitoring,
to improve the country’s hyperspectral observation capacity of the atmosphere, water and land.
World’s Largest Carbon Capture Plant Opens in Iceland
The world’s largest plant designed to capture carbon dioxide out of the air began its operations in
Iceland. The plant is named Orca, which means ‘Energy’ in Icelandic word. It will suck out up to 4,000
tons of CO2 per year.
The carbon dioxide captured directly from the air will be deposited underground at a depth of 1,000
metres, where it would be turned into rock.
The facility has been developed by Icelandic carbon storage firm Carbfix, in partnership with Swiss
start-up Climeworks AG, which specialises in capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air.
The technology launched may become a major tool in the fight against climate change.
India becomes third largest startup ecosystem in the world
Hurun Research Institute has released the Hurun India Future Unicorn List 2021, as per which India is
the third-largest Unicorn/startup ecosystem in the world. The USA is on top followed by China on second. India has 51 unicorns according to the list. The USA has 396 and China has 277 unicorns.
Zilingo is the top unicorn in the ranking in India with funding of USD 310. The headquarters of Zilingo
is in Singapore. Bengaluru is the top Indian city in terms of the number of Unicorns headquartered in
a city. Bengaluru has 31 unicorns followed by Mumbai which has 12 unicorns.
Sri Lanka declared food emergency
Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency as the food crisis worsened after private banks ran out of
foreign exchange to finance imports. With the country suffering a hard-hitting economic crisis,
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he ordered emergency regulations to counter the hoarding of
sugar, rice and other essential foods. The Sri Lankan rupee has fallen by 7.5% against the US dollar
this year.
Rajapaksa has named a top army officer as “Commissioner General of Essential Services to coordinate
the supply of paddy, rice, sugar and other consumer goods”. The move followed sharp price rises for
sugar, rice, onions and potatoes, while long queues have formed outside stores because of shortages
of milk powder, kerosene oil and cooking gas.
0 Comments