The Tata group-owned Air India has been fined $1.4 million as a civil penalty over delay in refunds amounting to $121.5 million over late or cancelled flights, under an order by the US department of transportation.

The number of human beings inhabiting the earth is set to cross the 8-billion mark today, November 15, 2022. The population growth has been led by Asian countries, especially India and China, in recent years. However, China’s population growth is set to decelerate, while India’s numbers will continue to grow, taking it to the top of the list in less than one year’s time.

A G7-led plan dubbed "Global Shield" to provide funding to countries suffering climate disasters was launched at the U.N. COP27 summit, although some questioned the effectiveness of the planned scheme.

The United States Department of Treasury has removed India from its Currency Monitoring List. The move came hours after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen addressed US-India Businesses and investment opportunities event in New Delhi. India had been on the list for the last two years.

Switzerland Tourism has appointed Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra as its ‘Friendship Ambassador’ to showcase and promote locations in the country to Indian travellers.

Switzerland has created a world record by operating the longest passenger train on the planet! The world’s longest electric passenger train is designed to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the country’s first train system. The longest passenger train ran in the Swiss Alps with 100 coaches.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced fresh financial assistance totalling USD 1.27 billion to address poverty and social inequalities at the end of its two-day event that saw the participation of over 300 young change-makers from across the globe.

The 10th India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA) Trilateral Ministerial Commission meeting was held in New York. The meeting was chaired by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar. 

Over three million children in Bangladesh are trapped in child labour of which 1.3 million are in hazardous forms of Child Labour. One in five children do not complete primary school. Nearly half of children don’t have birth registration.

Union minister Jitendra Singh will lead an Indian delegation at Global Clean Energy Action Forum this week at Pittsburg in the US.Ministers from over 30 countries will participate in the event to discuss ways of accelerating clean energy innovation and deployment.

The city of Varanasi has been nominated as the first-ever SCO Tourism and Cultural Capital during the period 2022-2023 at the 22nd Meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had participated in the Summit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Samarkand in Uzbekistan from September 15 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit.

India will invite Bangladesh as a Guest Country to take part in the G 20 meeting during its Presidency. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that as part of the G 20 tradition of inviting some Guest Countries and International Organisations (IO) to its meetings and summit, India has decided to invited Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and UAE as Guest Countries.

Americans remembered 9/11 on 11 September with readings of victims' names, volunteer work and other tributes 21 years after the deadliest terror attack on US. On Sept. 11, 2001, the World Trade Center's twin towers were destroyed by the hijacked-plane. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and instigated the global war on terror.

India and Bangladesh signed a water-sharing agreement and six other pacts, including ones on space technology and scientific collaboration, aimed at boosting ties between the two countries.The decision was taken while Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was on four-day visit to India.

Warangal and two cities from Kerala have joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) in recognition of their outstanding efforts to make lifelong learning a reality for all at the local level.Warangal in Telangana, Thrissur and Nilambur are among the 77 cities from 44 countries which have joined this network of the world body.

Australian Parliament has passed government legislation in view of a pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 43 percent by 2030 and further bring it to zero by 2050.

With the view to drive India’s Space sector through Startup Ecosystem and inculcate scientific temper among the younger generation, the seventh edition of the biennial Bengaluru Space Expo (BSX-2022) was held at the BIEC (Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre).

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri will lead an official and business delegation to Milan, Italy to attend the Gastech Milan-2022.Gastech, the World’s largest gathering focussed on LNG will bring together leading Ministers and CEOs to discuss the evolving energy landscape, assess post-pandemic economic recovery and navigate a route to a just energy transition.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be on a five day visit to Mongolia and Japan. This will be the first ever visit by an Indian Defence Minister to Mongolia. It will further consolidate the defence cooperation and strategic partnership between the two countries. 

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will arrive in New Delhi on a four day state visit to India. During her visit, Ms Hasina will call on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and will hold bilateral consultations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

The United States announced hosting the first-ever US-Pacific Island Country Summit in the last week of this month amid the growing influence of China in the Indo-Pacific region.The Summit will be held in Washington from 28th to 29th September The US President Joe Biden will host the Summit. The Summit will demonstrate the United States deep and enduring partnership with Pacific Island countries and the Pacific region that is underpinned by shared history, values, and people-to-people ties.

Thousands of people from across Bangladesh and India congregated at Hemayetpur, Pabna in Bangladesh to celebrate the 135th birth anniversary of the spiritual leader Shri Anukulchandra Thakur.Anukulchandra Chakravarty popularly known as Sree Sree Thakur, was a spiritual leader and the founder of Satsang, in Deoghar. He was born in a Brahmin family.

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, in collaboration with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore successfully designed and conducted the Cyber Security Exercise “Synergy” for 13 Countries. The theme of the exercise was “Building Network Resiliency to counter Ransomware Attacks”.

India has approved an MoU with the Government of Nepal on biodiversity conservation, as proposed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The MoU aims to strengthen and enhance coordination and cooperation in the field of forests, biodiversity conservation, and climate change.

India and Tanzania decided to set up a task force to prepare a five-year roadmap to boost bilateral defence cooperation.The decision to boost the bilateral defence ties as well as military-to-military cooperation is in sync with India’s broader priority to deepen its strategic ties with Africa.

Indian nationals have been issued the largest number of study, work and visitor visas from the United Kingdom in the year ending June 2022. The latest UK Immigration Statistics published yesterday shows that nearly 1,18,000 Indian students received a Student visa in the year ending June 2022 - an 89 per cent increase from the previous year. With this, India has now overtaken China as the largest nationality being issued sponsored study visas in the UK.

In USA, the California state announced that it will ban the sale of new petrol vehicles by 2035. Under the rules, issued by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), 35 per cent of new vehicles sold in the state must be electric, hybrid and hydrogen powered by 2026. The regulations would apply to 68 per cent of vehicle sales by 2030, and 100 per cent by 2035, as the media reported.

India has denied that it had voted “against Russia”, at the U.N. Security Council during a procedural vote on whether to allow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to address the Council virtually during a debate on the Ukrainian situation on August 24.

In the wake of massive floods across Pakistan, the Prime Minister Mr.Shehbaz Sharif has launched an international appeal seeking funds for relief and rehabilitation of flood-hit people across the country.The decision to reach out to the world was made during an emergency meeting to reassess the damage caused by floods and to apprise donors of the magnitude of the crisis.

Japan's prime minister called for a push to revive the country's nuclear power industry in a bid to tackle soaring imported energy costs linked to the Ukraine war.

Greece has announced that it has exited the European Union's enhanced surveillance framework. The Prime Minister of Greece is Kyriakos Mitsotakis.Greece was hit with waves of pension cuts, spending constraint, tax increases and bank controls after it was forced to seek its first bailout in 2010. The economy shrank 25 per cent during the bailouts.

India has supplied the tenth tranche of medical assistance to Afghanistan as part of India’s ongoing humanitarian assistance. It was handed over to the Indira Gandhi Hospital, Kabul.

The United States government has announced additional military aid for Ukraine valued at up to 775 million dollars.Officials said that the package will include ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, 16 howitzers, along with 36,000 rounds for the artillery and high-speed, anti-radiation missiles that target radar systems.

The UK has become the first country to authorise a Covid-19 vaccine tailored to the Omicron variant. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority - which was the first in the world to approve an original Covid-19 jab - has granted conditional authorisation to the vaccine, which targets both the original strain of the virus and Omicron BA.1.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced new names for variants of the monkeypox virus that are currently in circulation. Experts will now refer to the former Congo Basin clade (group of variants) in Central Africa as Clade I, and the former West African clade as Clade II. The latter consists of two sub-clades, Clade IIa and Clade IIb, of which Clade IIb was the main group of variants circulating during the 2022 outbreak.

Latvia and Estonia have withdrawn from a cooperation group between China and over a dozen Central and Eastern European countries. The move comes amid Western criticism of China over escalating military pressure on Taiwan.

As the world is recovering from the novel coronavirus pandemic, a zoonotic virus has been discovered in two eastern provinces of China.The new type of Henipavirus is also called Langya Henipavirus or the LayV. As per media reports, it has infected thirty-five persons in Shandong and Henan provinces of China, so far. Many had symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and a cough.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to address the crisis at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear complex. Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of having bombed over the power plant.Bombings on 9th August night left at least 14 people dead in southeastern Ukraine near the power plant, the largest in Europe.

Latvia and Estonia have withdrawn from a cooperation group between China and over a dozen Central and Eastern European countries.The move comes amid Western criticism of China over escalating military pressure on Taiwan. Relations between Lithuania and China worsened after former allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy late last year.

Singapore declared its 200-year-old iconic green open space Padang, as its 75th national monument as the city-state celebrates its 57th National Day. Padang is a site of countless events in the country’s history and from where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose gave his ‘Delhi Chalo’ slogan in 1943.

The ASEAN regional grouping has said that Myanmar will not be allowed to participate in any of its meetings till it shows progress on the peace plan. ASEAN Chair Cambodia’s Foreign Minister and Special Envoy on Myanmar, Prak Sokhonn said that Myanmar must act in a way that shows progress is made in the peace plan.

The government of Bangladesh signed an agreement with the World Bank for USD 300 million financing. It will help the country strengthen its local urban institutions to respond and recover from the Covid 19 pandemic and improve preparedness for future shock.

International Telecommunication Union’s Regional Standardization Forum for Asia and Oceania region will begin in New Delhi from 9th August 2022. Communications Ministry will host the forum on the theme of- 'Regulatory and Policy aspects of Telecommunications'. 

The Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) signed an MoU with the Bangladesh Roads and Highways department in Dhaka for the emergency supply of petroleum goods via Bangladesh territory to India.This is an interim set up to facilitate urgent supply of petroleum products due to damage caused by the flood in Assam this year.

Russia's Supreme Court declared Ukraine's Azov Regiment a terrorist organization, a designation that could lead to terror charges against some of the captured fighters who made their last stand inside Mariupol's shattered steel plant.

In New Zealand, the borders are fully open for the first time since March 2020, when they were shut to curb COVID-19.According to media reports, immigration authorities will now begin accepting visitors with visas and those on student visas again.

The Military govt of Myanmar has extended the state of emergency by 6 months till February 2023. Head of the military government General Min Aung Hlaing said that elections could be held only when the country was ‘stable and peaceful’.

Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is on a four-day visit to India from August 1, which will provide an opportunity to review the progress made in the wide-ranging partnership.

Sakurajima volcano, located on the Japanese island of Kyushu, erupted in the wee hours of 31 July, spewing rocks and ash around. While there aren’t any casualties reported so far, the eruption has prompted evacuations in the region.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and the Indian Vegetable Oil Producers’ Association (IVPA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand their cooperation in promoting the usage of palm oil.

A rare pink diamond discovered in Angola is thought to be the largest of its kind to be found in 300 years. The 170-carat stone, which weighs just 34 grams, has been named the ‘Lulo Rose’, after the alluvial mine where it was discovered. Alluvial means that the stones are recovered from a river bed.

India contributed USD 2.5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).India is a dedicated donor to UNRWA, having given USD 20 million in support of core UNRWA services to Palestine refugees across the Middle East since 2018.

The European Union’s executive arm has approved a smallpox vaccine for use against monkeypox after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared its spread a global health emergency.The European Commission has extended the marketing authorisation for the company’s smallpox vaccine, Imvanex, to include protection from monkeypox” in line with a recommendation by the EU’s medicines watchdog.

India and Maldives on Wednesday signed MoU for judicial cooperation to accelerate court digitization and boost prospects for IT companies & start-ups in both countries. India was among the first to recognise the Maldives after its independence in 1965 and to establish diplomatic relations with the country.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications was signed between India and UK.In May 2021, during the Virtual Summit between Prime Ministers of India and UK, a comprehensive Roadmap to 2030 was adopted for an enhanced bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Both sides also agreed to a new Enhanced Trade Partnership. Education forms an important pillar of this roadmap. In light of India’s National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), the two sides agreed to expand educational by agreeing to a mutual recognition of academic qualifications.

The Modi government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Namibia to bring back cheetahs to India. The Asiatic cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952.The plan to bring African cheetahs to India has been decades in the making. India had approached Namibia and South Africa to source cheetahs for the introduction plan.

In the United Kingdom, a national emergency has been declared after a red extreme heat warning was issued for the first time, as temperatures could hit 40 degrees Celsius. The heatwave originating in north Africa is spreading across Europe and has fuelled wildfires in Portugal, France and Spain.

The TIME magazine has named Kerala and Ahmedabad among the 50 extraordinary destinations to explore in its list of the World’s Greatest Places of 2022. Other cities that made to the list include Seoul, Buahan in Bali, Mandeira in Spain and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the first-ever I2U2 Virtual Summit along with the heads of state of Israel, the UAE, and the US July 14. I2U2 stands for India, Israel, the UAE, and the US, and was also referred to as the ‘West Asian Quad’ by Ahmed Albanna, Ambassador of the UAE to India. Its stated aim is to discuss “common areas of mutual interest, to strengthen the economic partnership in trade and investment in our respective regions and beyond”.

Elon Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla and the world's richest person, said that he was terminating his 44 billion dollar deal to buy Twitter because the social media company had breached multiple provisions of the merger agreement.

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving leader of modern Japan, was gunned down while campaigning for a parliamentary election, shocking a country where guns are tightly controlled and political violence almost unthinkable.

Uganda, a country in Eastern Africa, has recently announced the discovery of a deposit of 31 million tonnes of gold ore, with extractable pure gold estimated to gross 320,000 tonnes worth over $12.8 trillion.

India and Armenia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on High Impact Community Development Projects in Armenia with financial and technical assistance from India.The MoU was signed at the 8th India-Armenia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological, Cultural and Educational Cooperation (IGC) held in Yerevan.

Ukraine and Russia carried out their largest prisoner exchange since the start of the conflict on February 24. 144 Ukrainians aged 19 and 65 years returned home as a result of the exchange. Under the swap, Russia released 59 soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine, including 43 from the Azov regiment which fought for Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant.

A five-day UN Ocean Conference kicked off with the Kenya and Portugal being the co-hosts. Leaders from over 130 countries from across the world will deliberate for five days to find an international agreement on protecting the world’s oceans, seas and marine resources.

Iran has submitted an application to become a member of the BRICS, an Iranian official said. Iran, which holds the world’s second-largest gas reserves, wants to join the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken today said that the US would provide nearly 55 million dollars in additional immediate humanitarian assistance in response to last week's Afghanistan earthquake. He said, the new funding brings total US humanitarian assistance to over 774 million dollars in the last year.

The European Parliament granted European Union candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova.European Council President Charles Michel made the announcement after discussions among leaders of the EU's 27 member states.

India has dispatched 27 tonnes of emergency relief assistance in two flights for the people of Afghanistan in the wake of the tragic earthquake. The relief assistance consists of essential items including family ridge tents, sleeping bags, blankets and sleeping mats.

US Supreme Court has overturned a 50-year-old ruling that recognised a woman's constitutional right to an abortion. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 majority ruling, upheld a Republican-backed Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks.

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) anounced a 600 billion dollar infrastructure initiative to help developing countries tackle climate change. The initiative is seen as the West's response to China's massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the world is facing the real risk of multiple famines this year. In video message to the Uniting for Global Food Security ministerial conference in Berlin, he said, 2023 could be even worse because of the growing shortage of food around the globe.

President Joe Biden signed the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades. The legislation will toughen background checks for the youngest gun buyers, keep firearms from more domestic violence offenders and help states put in place red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people adjudged to be dangerous.

Sri Lanka has decided to amend the Minimum Age for Migrant Domestic Workers to 21 years. In January 2011, the Cabinet of the Sri Lankan government approved a proposal to raise the minimum legal age of employment for migrant domestic workers from Sri Lanka, making it 21 rather than 18.

Australia announced that it will provide 50 million US dollars to support Sri Lanka to meet urgent food and health care needs.Sri Lanka currently faces its worst economic crisis in seventy years, leading to shortages of food, medicine and fuel. Australia will contribute an immediate 22 million dollars to the World Food Programme for emergency food assistance to help three million people in Sri Lanka meet their daily nutritional needs.

Mongolia’s Khuvsgul Lake National Park has been added to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves of UNESCO. Khuvsgul Lake is located in the northern Mongolian province of Khuvsgul near the Russian border, holding nearly 70 per cent of Mongolia’s fresh water, or 0.4 per cent of the world’s total.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that he plans to attend the NATO summit, which is due to take place from June 28 to June 30 in Madrid, Spain.

The WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) took place from 12 to 17 June 2022 at WTO headquarters in Geneva.

Egypt hosted the Eighth Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians in Sharm El Sheikh today. The two-day conference was jointly organized by the House of Representatives and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).