April 22-23rd, 2018
1. World Earth Day: 22 April.
- The World Earth Day (WED) is celebrated on 22nd April not only to spread awareness of the need for conservation but also to take action to protect the environment.
- The theme for World Earth Day 2018 is “End Plastic Pollution”.
- Earth Day 2018 is dedicated to providing the information and inspiration needed to fundamentally.
- The day was proposed at the UNESCO conference in 1969 and the first Earth Day celebrations took place in 22nd April 1970.
- Static Part: Union Environment Minister: Dr. Harsh Vardhan.
2. World Book and Copyright Day: 23 April
- World Book and Copyright Day is globally celebrated event that aims to promote the pure joy of books and cultivating the habit of reading.
- UNESCO declared 23rd April as the day of celebration of knowledge sharing through books. Its observed in over 100 countries.
- 23 April is a symbolic date for world literature. It is on this date in 1616 that Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors, such as Maurice Druon, Haldor K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.
- In 2018, World Book Day’s theme is “Reading, it’s my right”.
3. Home Minister Inaugurated Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) buildings in Bihar.
- Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 6th Battalion Headquarter of the ITBP at Kothaiya, Chapra in Saran district of Bihar.
- This is the maiden visit of any Union home minister to Chapra. The ITBP camp is located about 13km north of the town and is spread in the 70-acre area. The buildings have been constructed at the cost of over Rs100 crore.
- Static Part: Bihar:- Chief minister: Nitish Kumar|Deputy CM: Sushil Kumar Modi|Governor: Satya Pal Malik.
4. PM Modi to visit China on 27th of this month for an informal summit meeting with President Xi Jinping.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China on the 27th and 28th of this month for an informal summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the city of Wuhan.
- The informal summit will be an important occasion for the two sides to exchange views on bilateral and international matters with an objective to enhance mutual communication.
- Static Part: China:- Currency-Renminbi |Capital- Beijing|President- Xi Jinping|Prime minister-Li Keqiang.
5. Ola Co-Founder Bhavish Aggarwal, Deepika Padukone, Virat Kohli and Microsoft’s Indian-born CEO Satya Nadella Among TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the world this year.
- The TIME Magazine released the 100 Most Influential People List of 2018 designating individuals whose time is now.
- The list also features the US President Donald Trump. The list of 100 Most Influential People of 2018 includes the names of actress Nicole Kidman, ‘Wonder Women’ starring Gal Gadot, Prince Harry and his fiance Meghan Markle and singers Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez.
6. Noted Telugu poet-composer Balantrapu Rajanikantha Rao dies at 98.
- Noted Telugu poet-composer, musicologist, and artist Balantrapu Rajanikantha Rao died in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.
- Mr. Rao, who worked for decades in All India Radio (AIR) and headed its Vijayawada division as the Director.
- Static Part: Andhra Pradesh:- Chief Minister: N Chandrababu Naidu|Governor:
E. S. L. Narasimhan.
7. Mario Abdo Benitez wins Paraguay’s presidential election.
- Conservative former senator Mario Abdo Benitez has been elected president of Paraguay to replace incumbent Horacio Cartes.
- He beat his closest rival, Efrain Alegre from the liberal opposition alliance, by four percentage points.
- Static Part: Paraguay:- Capital: Asuncion|Currency: Paraguayan Guarani.
8. Shiv Sena leader Sachin Sawant shot dead in Mumbai’s Kandivali.
- A Shiv Sena deputy shakha pramukh, Sachin Sawant, was shot dead from close range by two motorbike-borne men in Kandivli, Mumbai.
- The 46-year-old was in the Sena for two decades and expected to be promoted to shakha pramukh soon.
9. Nitin Gadkari Inaugurates 29th Road Safety Week in New Delhi.
- Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated the 29th Road Safety Week at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. He released a book named “Have a Safe Journey”.
- The central government has increased the number of National Highways keeping in mind the traffic density and various other factors.
- Mr. Gadkari has announced that India will sign a pact with South Korea for enhancing road safety measures.
10. Ramsar tag likely for Sunderbans in West Bengal.
- The Sunderban Reserve Forest, a spread of 4,260 sq. km. with over 2,000 sq. km. of mangrove forests and creeks, is likely to be declared a Ramsar Site soon.
- Earlier this week, the West Bengal government gave its approval to the State Forest Department to apply for recognition under the Ramsar Convention.
- Once it is conferred Ramsar site status, Sundarbans Reserve Forest will be largest protected wetland in the country. There are currently 26 sites in India recognized as Ramsar wetland sites of international importance.
11. Canada, EU to Host World’s 1st Female Foreign Ministers Meeting.
- Canada and the European Union will host the world’s first 2-Day female foreign ministers’ meeting in September 2018 in Canada. The announcement was made by the Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.
- Female Foreign ministers from about 30 countries will be invited to the gathering, which is aimed at deepening global discussion on women’s empowerment.
- Static Part: Canada:- Capital- Ottawa|Currency- Canadian dollar|Prime minister- Justin Trudeau.
12. Rafael Nadal beats Kei Nishikori to win Monte Carlo Masters.
- Rafael Nadal won a record 31st Masters title after beating Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-2 in the Monte Carlo Masters final.
- Nadal also became the first man in the Open era to win the Monte Carlo title 11 times and moved one ahead of rival Novak Djokovic for career Masters titles.
- It gave him a 76th title overall and ensured the Spaniard keeps his top ranking ahead of Roger Federer.
13. World’s oldest person Nabi Tajima passes away at 117.
- The world’s oldest person, a 117-year-old Japanese woman, has died. Nabi Tajima died of old age in a hospital in southern Japan.
- Tajima, born on 4 August 1900, was the last known person born in the 19th century.
- She became the world’s oldest person seven months ago after the death of Violet Brown in Jamaica, also at the age of 117.
14. Nitish Kumar Launches 3 Books On Mahatma Gandhi’s Champaran Movement.
- Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar released three books based on Mahatma Gandhi’s Champaran movement of 1917.
- Nitish Kumar released the books titled- ‘Mister M K Gandhi Ki Champaran Diary’ written by Arvind Mohan, ‘Champaran Andolan 1917’ edited by Ashutosh Partheshwar and ‘Pir Muhammad Munis: Kalam Ka Satyagrahi’ collected and edited by Srikant.
- The Champaran movement is acknowledged as the first Satyagraha movement inspired by Mahatma Gandhi.
15. Egyptian photographer Mahmoud Abu Zeid wins UNESCO Press Freedom Prize.
- Jailed Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, popularly known as Shawkan, will be awarded United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Press Freedom Prize for the year 2018.
- Static Part: UNESCO:- Director-General- Audrey Azoulay, Headquarters- Paris, France.
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