Just a week after its first images were shown to the world, the James Webb Space Telescope may have found a galaxy that existed 13.5 billion years ago, a scientist who analysed the data said on 20 July 2022. Known as GLASS-z13, the galaxy dates back to 300 million years after the Big Bang, about 100 million years earlier than anything previously identified, Rohan Naidu of the Harvard Center for Astrophysics said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Sweden and Finland of being havens for Kurdish militants — specifically from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers´ Party (PKK), which he has sought to crush — and for promoting “terrorism”. He has threatened to block the Nordic states´ bid to join Nato unless they extradite dozens of alleged “terrorists” under a deal the three signed last month.
T. Raja Kumar began a two-year term as President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on 1 July 2022. He succeeded Dr. Marcus Pleyer. The term of the President begins on 1 July and ends on 30 June two years after assuming office.
Dinesh Chandra Rupasinghe Gunawardena is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current Prime Minister of Sri Lanka since 22 July 2022. He has served as a member of parliament, cabinet minister, and Leader of the House of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
Iceland has once again been named the most gender equal country, topping the World Economic Forum’s
Global Gender Gap Report 2022. The Nordic country has closed more than 90% of its gender gap – and tops the ranking for the 12th year in a row, out of a total of 146 economies in the 2022 Global Gender Gap Index. Iceland’s near neighbors Finland, Norway, and Sweden dominate the top five, while only four countries in the top 10 are outside Europe: New Zealand (4th), Rwanda (6th), Nicaragua (7th), and Namibia (8th).
The 2021 edition, based on nationally representative surveys of over 125,000 adults in 123 economies during the COVID-19 pandemic, contains updated indicators on access to and use of formal and informal financial services and digital payments, and offers insights into the behaviors that enable financial resilience. The data also identify gaps in access to and usage of financial services by women and poor adults.
Asia Pacific Sustainability Index 2021 was recently launched by Knight Frank, which is a Global property consultant. In it, 36 cities were ranked on the basis of urbanisation pressure, carbon emissions, climate risk, and government initiatives. Index has been topped by Singapore. It is followed by Sydney, Wellington, Perth, and Melbourne.
The US Congress passed the National Defense Bill for 2023 this week that will effectively end the delivery of US humanitarian aid and currency to Afghanistan using Defence Department resources. It also closes the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and limits the use of US weapons in Yemen.
Taiwan kicked off its largest annual military exercises on July 25, 2022, with trench warfare and shoulder-launched Stinger missiles deployed against simulated Chinese attacks in drills informed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Economist Intelligence Unit has published the results of its annual Global Liveability Index, with European and Canadian cities mainly making up the top ten. The EIU has revealed that Vienna has once again been ranked the “world’s most liveable city”, scoring highly on all five metrics (education, healthcare, culture and environment, stability, and infrastructure) in its Global Liveability Index. Copenhagen, Calgary, Zurich and Vancouver round out the top five.
NDA Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmuon Thursday scripted history by becoming
the country’s first tribal President defeating Opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha. Murmu, former Governor of Jharkhand, trounced challenger and Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, securing 64.03 percent of the total votes polled.
The US and Israel signed a new security pact on July 14, 2022, reinforcing their common front against Iran, as President Joe Biden pledged to use all American power to stop the Islamic republic from acquiring nuclear weapons. The declaration was inked by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Biden, who was making his first trip to the Middle East as president.
