UTTARAKHAND

Concrete policies would be made regarding children’s rights and their protection in the State, said Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat while addressing the gathering at a State consultation workshop on child protection in Uttarakhand. The workshop was organised jointly by Uttarakhand Commission for Protection of Child Rights (UCPCR) and Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Uttarakhand.

He said that Uttarakhand is the only State of the country where the student-teacher ratio is remarkable. In the State, one teacher teaches 12 students. Around Rs 26, 000 is being spent on each student in the State. The numbers of students in 2500 Government schools are less than 10. Around 1000 schools were shut down due to shortage of students there. In order to balance student-teacher ratio and provide quality education to the students, some schools are being clubbed in the state. Broad level awareness campaign should be launched in five districts- Dehradun, Haridwar, Pithoragarh, Chamoli and Champawat wherein the numbers of females are less than males. The CM also felicitated teachers and education officers who had evaluated students’ performance in essay, drawing and painting competitions held in a programme organised by the commission in the past.

INTERNATIONAL

Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen has declared a 15-day state of Emergency, his aide Azima Shukoor announced on state television.

The move gives sweeping powers to security forces to arrest and detain suspects as Yameen refuses to comply with a Supreme Court order to release political prisoners.

The latest crisis was triggered when the Maldivian Supreme Court ordered the release of some opposition leaders, including former president Mohammed Nasheed, after overturning their “terrorism” convictions.

Dubai International Airport says it has held on to its No 1 ranking as the world’s busiest airport for ‘international travel’, after seeing some 88.2 million passengers in 2017.

Dubai International Airport first surpassed London Heathrow as the world’s busiest airport for international traffic in 2014.

It has maintained the title ever since, with some 90 airlines flying into skyscraper-studded Dubai.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia remains the world’s busiest airport overall.

· Japan Launches Smallest Rocket Ever To Carry Tiny Satellite into Orbit

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)launched the world’s smallest rocket with the ability to put a tiny satellite into orbit.
The rocket lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center.
It carried a microsatellite TRICOM-1R, a three-unit CubeSat weighing about 3 kilograms.
This satellite launch was a re-flight of the TRICOM-1 mission, which was lost in SS-520’s failure in 2017.
The launch was aimed at testing the ability of JAXA to launch low-cost rockets that can put microsatellites into space at affordable rates.

NATIONAL

· India contributes $1 million to UN Development Partnership Fund

India contributed additional $1 million to India-UN Development Partnership Fund, earmarked for South-South cooperation.
The contribution aims to intensify its partnerships with other developing countries in the south.
India has pledged a multi-year contribution of $100 million to the fund establishment in June 2017.
The fund was set up on 9 June 2017 on occasion of the World Oceans Day as a partnership between India and United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation.

Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) spend up to 2643 crores on shares in India’s Bharti Telecom, lifting its stake slightly in the holding company for Bharti Airtel to just under half.
India’s telecommunications sector has been hit hard by a price war since the entry of carrier Reliance Jio, the telecoms arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, more than a year ago.
The purchase worth as much as 26.5 billion rupees could increase Singtel’s stake in Bharti Telecom by up to 1.7 percentage points to 48.9 percent and its holding in Bharti Airtel, the country’s biggest mobile carrier, by up to 0.9 percentage points to 39.5 percent.
The deal will be done via a preferential share allotment.

The Maharashtra government has approved Ghodazari in Chandrapur district as a new wildlife sanctuary in the state.

The decision was taken at the 13th meeting of the Maharashtra State Board for Wildlife, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The sanctuary, in the North East of Tadoba, will include 159 sq km of Brahmapuri forest.

India successfully test-fired the indigenously developed short-range nuclear capable Agni-I ballistic missile.
The missile was fired from the Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.
The test was conducted by the Strategic Force Command of the Indian Army.
The range of Missile is 700 km.
It was 18th version of Agni-I.

Prime Minister Narendra Modiwill have a packed schedule during his four days visit to Palestine, UAE, and Oman from ninth of this month.
This will be the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Palestine, and Prime Minister Modi’s second visit to UAE and first to Oman.
During the visit, the Prime Minister will hold discussions on matters of mutual interest with their leaders, apart from participating in many community events.
In Dubai, Prime Minister would be addressing the Sixth World Government Summit being at which India has been extended ‘Guest of Honour’ status. Joint Secretary (Gulf).

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)signed a project agreement with the World Bank for Jal Marg Vikas Project on river Ganga.
The World Bank entered into a USD 375 million loan agreement with the Department of Economic Affairs, Union Ministry of Finance for Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP).
Jal Marg Vikas Project, which is expected to be completed by March 2023, is being implemented with the financial and technical support of the World Bank.