The People’s Bank of China and the Saudi Central Bank recently signed a local currency swap agreement worth 50 billion yuan ($6.93 billion) or 26 billion Saudi riyals, both banks said on Monday, as bilateral relations continued to gather momentum. Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, and China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, have worked to take relations beyond hydrocarbon ties in recent years, expanding collaboration into areas such as security and technology.
Poppy cultivation and opium production have plunged 95 percent in Afghanistan since Taliban authorities banned the crop, according to a UN report published on 5 November 2023. Since returning to power in 2021, Taliban authorities have vowed to end illegal drug production in Afghanistan and in April 2022 banned the cultivation of the poppy plant, from which opium and heroin are made.
A temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip took effect from 24 November 2023 to 30 November 2023, during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. The initial agreement, mediated by Qatar, stipulated a four-day break in fighting during which 50 Israeli hostages held in Gaza and 150 Palestinian prisoners in Israel were to be released and more humanitarian aid would be allowed to enter Gaza, with the ceasefire subject to extension providing additional hostages are released.
Fifteen years after the tragic attacks in Mumbai, while war against Hamas in Gaza rages, Israel has officially designated Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as a terrorist organisation. Active in Kashmir, the Pakistan-base Islamist group was behind the attacks of 26 November 2008 that target 12 different locations in the heart of the Indian metropolis, including a Jewish centre, the local Chabad House. About 166 people died in the attacks, including two Israelis and four other Jews.
“Panda diplomacy” is a phrase commonly used in international relations to describe China’s strategy of loaning giant pandas to zoos in other countries as a gesture of goodwill and to strengthen diplomatic ties. Recently, three giant pandas that resided at the National Zoo in Washington DC have been sent back to China after a 23-year stay.
World Heritage Week is celebrate every year from the November 19 to November 25 with an aim to create awareness on the importance of our historical ethnicity and to uplift and preserve our cultural heritage and monuments.
There have been some media report alleging that an estimate 11 lakh children in India missed their first measles vaccine dose in 2022, according to a report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
European minister are meeting in the Spanish city of Seville on 6 November 2023 and 7 November 2023 to decide on the continent’s future in space, including potential exploration missions and an ongoing rocket launch crisis. The first day of the summit is devote to a meeting of ministers from the 22 ESA member states, which includes most European Union nations as well as the UK, Switzerland and Norway. Tuesday was dedicated to a joint EU-ESA meeting.
Microsoft Corp. complete its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc. after a nearly two-year fight with global regulators threatened to scuttle the deal. The biggest-ever acquisition in the video game industry gives the maker of Xbox consoles a more formidable position against rivals, vaulting it from fifth to third place globally, behind Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Sony Group Corp. The acquisition is a stunning turnaround after Microsoft executives underestimated the magnitude and longevity of antitrust objections, forcing the software giant to seek a three-month extension of the deal.
Tsunami waves measuring up to 30 cm in height were observe on at least one of the Izu islands following a 6.6 magnitude earthquake in the western Pacific Ocean late 05-October02023,Thursday morning. near Torishima in the Izu chain at a depth of 10 kilometers, with the Meteorological Agency issuing a tsunami advisory and originally forecasting waves of up to 1 meter for the remote chain of islands lying south of Tokyo.
Japan Becomes 1st Country Ever To Fire Electromagnetic Railgun From An Offshore Vessel on 17 October 2023. For the test, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) collaborate with the Acquisition Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA), a Japanese Ministry of Defense division. There is still little specific information regarding what this included and when it was conducted.
Australians have roundly rejected greater rights for Indigenous citizens, ending plans to amend the country’s 122-year-old constitution
after a divisive and racially tinged referendum campaign. With 88 of polling places reporting, around 59% of people had voted against a
proposal to acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders within the 1901 constitution for the first time.
A recent seismic event in western Afghanistan, marked by a potent 6.3 magnitude earthquake and subsequent strong aftershocks, has resulted in the loss of over 2,000 lives and left more than 9,000 individuals injured.
Afghanistan, situated amidst mountain ranges, has a rich history of experiencing powerful earthquakes, particularly in the rugged Hindu Kush region adjacent to Pakistan.
The United States sent multiple military ships and aircraft closer to Israel as a show of support, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, with Washington believing Hamas’ deadly attacks may have been motivate to disrupt a potential normalizing of Israel-Saudi Arabia ties. Hamas fighters rampaged through Israeli towns as the country suffered its bloodiest day in decades on Saturday. Israel battered Palestinians with air strikes in Gaza on Sunday, with hundreds reportedly killed on both sides. The spiraling violence threatens to start a major new war in the Middle East.
President Joe Biden order US ships and warplanes on 8 October 2023 to move closer to Israel in a show of support for Israel while sending fresh military aid after attacks by Hamas. The Pentagon said it was sending
the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its accompanying warships to the eastern Mediterranean while boosting fighter aircraft squadrons in the region
