16 January 2018 Current Affairs
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India attends its first SCO military cooperation meeting
India, for the first time, took part in a meeting of the international military cooperation departments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Beijing, China, since joining the bloc last year. This is the first meeting attended by India in the field of defence cooperation under the SCO framework. The SCO comprises of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
Coast Guards of India, Japan undertake joint naval exercise
The biennial search and rescue exercise between Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Japan Coast Guard (JCG) was held near Chennai, Tamil Nadu in Bay of Bengal. This was eighth such in series of ‘National Maritime Search and Rescue Workshop and Exercise’. Ships and aircraft of Coast Guards from India and Japan, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force (IAF) and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) took part in it.
Romanian PM Mihai Tudose resigns after losing party support
Romania’s left-wing Prime Minister Mihai Tudose resigned after losing the backing of his party due to internal power struggles, barely seven months after his predecessor suffered the same fate. He handed in his resignation after senior members of the ruling Social Democrats (PSD) voted to withdraw their support at a leadership meeting.
Brazil bans buying cryptocurrencies
Brazil’s securities regulator prohibited local investment funds from buying cryptocurrencies. Brazil regulator bans funds from buying cryptocurrencies. The prohibition has been imposed, citing the reason that Cryptocurrencies cannot be considered financial assets. Owing to this decision, Brazilian funds cannot directly invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
Vice Admiral AB Singh assumes charge as new Chief of Staff
Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh took over as the new Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command from Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh. Vice Admiral Singh was the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command, prior to his current appointment.
Assange given Ecuadorian citizenship
Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Maria announced that the country has granted citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. In 2012, Assange, an Australian-Ecuadoran, had sought refuge at Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faced an investigation over rape allegations. He was granted asylum, and has been staying at Ecuadorian Embassy in London since then.
Indian peacekeepers rebuild Akoka bridge
Indian peacekeepers in UN Mission in South Sudan have re-built a key bridge in record time in strife-torn South Sudan’s Akoka village. In June 2017, heavy rains washed away a 300-metre-long road segment across a river in Akoka village. This bridge will enable people to cross the river and reach a town to access basic services.
PM inaugurates Rajasthan’s first oil refinery at Barmer
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the project commencement of the Rajasthan Refinery at Pachpadra in Barmer district. This is the first oil refinery in the state. The 43,000 crore rupee project is a joint venture between HPCL and the Rajasthan government. The refinery is expected to be operational in 4 years and the state will have an additional income of 34,000 crore rupees from it. The project is expected to generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs.