UAE now has the most powerful passport in the world
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has overtaken Singapore and Germany as the country with the world’s most powerful passport. According to Passport Index, UAE passport holders are now able to gain entry to 167 countries without obtaining a prior visa - 113 countries visa-free, and another 54 using visas on arrival. The oil rich state jumped from third place last month into first after four more countries were added to its list of visa-free destinations on 1 December.Singaporean and German passports both allow entry without prior visas to 166 countries, according to the online index, while a host of western European nations, the US and South Korea come next with access to 165.

World Bank approves $1.49 billion in further aid to Ukraine 
The World Bank’s executive board has approved an additional fund of $1.49 billion for Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia. With this, the total monetary assistance it pledged to aid Ukraine crossed to over $4 billion. The latest funding was backed by countries including Britain, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia and Italy.

Sri Lanka falls into default for first time in its history
Sri Lanka has fallen into default for the first time in its history as the government struggles to halt an economic meltdown.Sri Lanka has been mired in turmoil amid surging inflation -- a plummeting currency and an economic crisis that has left the country short of the hard currency it needs to import food and fuel. Public anger has boiled over into violent protests and led the government to announce last month it would halt payments on its $12.6 billion pile of foreign debt to preserve cash for essential goods. This crisis marks the nation’s first sovereign debt default since it gained independence from Britain in 1948. Sri Lanka is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout and needs to negotiate a debt restructuring with creditors. The country has previously said it needs between $3 billion and $4 billion this year to pull itself out of crisis

Jio launches new JioFiber plans
Jio, India’s largest telecom and broadband service provider has announced the launch of a new JioFiber plan that comes at zero entry cost for postpaid customers. The new plan will be made available to all users from 22nd April 2022.Jio said it will offer unlimited entertainment starting at only Rs 100 extra for JioFiber customers.

Adani Green Energy overtakes SBI as India’s 7th most valuable company
Adani Green Energy has overtaken the State Bank of India (SBI) to become the country’s seventh most valuable company. The company’s shares have surged over 120% year-to-date and its market valuation currently stands at 4.64 lakh crore. Adani Green is the only non-Sensex company featuring in the list of top 10 companies on BSE in terms of market capitalization.

Oil prices drop below $100 mark
Oil prices dropped below the $100 mark on plans to release record volumes of crude and oil products and on continuing lockdowns in China. Brent crude slipped $3.93 to $98.85/barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell $4.19 to $94.07/barrel. The International Energy Agency member nations, along with the US, will release 240 million barrels within six months. In the oil industry, an oil barrel is defined as 42 US gallons, which is about 159 litres.

Elon Musk Joins Twitter’s Board
Elon Musk is joining Twitter’s board after buying a big stake in the company. The world’s richest person will soon help steer the social media platform where he has a huge following. The addition of one of Twitter’s most powerful users to its board has implications for a social network where world leaders, lawmakers, celebrities and more than 217 million users conduct their daily public discourse.

Could this be the most expensive 20th Century artwork ever?
A portrait of late actress Marilyn Monroe could become the most expensive piece of artwork from the 20th Century to be sold EVER! The picture, created by artist Andy Warhol in 1964, is estimated to fetch $200 million, when it goes up for auction in May. That would set a brand new record, according to the auction house Christie’s. The screen-print known as ‘Shot Sage Blue Marilyn’ shows the film star with bright yellow hair, a pink face and light blue eyeshadow. It’s one of five similar paintings of Marilyn Monroe created by Warhol.

US and UK ban Russian oil and gas imports 
President Joe Biden has banned imports of Russian oil and gas into the US as Washington steps up economic sanctions on Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine in an attempt to deprive it of revenue. The move was matched by a UK phase-out of Russian oil imports, but the EU did not follow suit and instead unveiled a plan to cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds within a year. The ban has come after days of debate within the Biden administration and between the US and western allies about the merits of banning Russian energy to punish President Vladimir Putin for the attack on Ukraine, as well as the risk that it could trigger a new shock to global energy markets. Russia, the world’s largest exporter of crude and petroleum products, had shipped almost 8mn barrels a day to global markets at the end of last year, according to the International Energy Agency. About 60 per cent of Russia’s oil exports go to Europe, including around 2 per cent to the UK, while 8 per cent go to the US. China accounts for about 20 per cent.

Air travel may get costlier as jet fuel prices hit record high
Air travel may get costlier as oil marketing companies raised the aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices by 5.2% hitting a record high. This is the fourth hike in ATF prices in less than two months following a spike in global oil prices. Currently, India has some of the world’s highest rates of taxation on the ATF. The hike is expected to impact aviation companies’ finances that are under huge stress amid high debt. Fuel retailers revise jet fuel prices on a fortnightly basis.

VS Pathania takes charge as new Indian Coast Guard chief
Virender Singh Pathania has taken charge as the new Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). Pathania is an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and National Defence College, New Delhi, according to an ICG statement. Pathania has replaced K Natarajan, who served as the ICG chief from July 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021.

Google Loses Most Popular Domain Spot To TikTok
Google has lost its position as the world’s most popular domain to TikTok, according to rankings provided by web security company Cloudflare. TikTok has surpassed Snapchat and Twitter in global user numbers, but the social media platform is well behind Facebook and Instagram. In other words, TikTok earned the position as the third-largest social media platform worldwide. In 2020, TikTok global users grew by 59.8% and an additional 40.8% in 2021.

Time Magazine names Elon Musk 2021 Person of the Year
Elon Musk has been named Time magazine’s 2021 Person of the Year. The Tesla CEO saw his company’s market value soar to more than $1 trillion this year. Mr Musk is also the founder and CEO of SpaceX and leads the brain-chip startup Neuralink and infrastructure firm The Boring Company. This year he has overseen his electric car company become the most valuable carmaker in the world and his rocket company send an all-civilian crew to the edge of space. The magazine named teenage pop star Olivia Rodrigo its Entertainer of the Year, American gymnast Simone Biles Athlete of the Year and vaccine scientists were named as the magazine’s Heroes of the Year.

A TRIBUTE TO GENERAL BIPIN RAWAT AND ALL THE BRAVEHEARTS
In one of the biggest air accidents in India in decades involving senior military officers, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, Brigadier Lakhwinder Singh Lidder, and 10 other armed forces personnel were killed in the ill-fated Mi-17V5 helicopter crash near Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor on December 8. It is a major setback for India. On December 30, 2019, Gen Bipin Rawat was appointed the first tri-service chief. The CDS is a one-point advisor to the government on matters related to the military and functions with the main aim of integrating the three services - the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force.He was awarded for his gallantry and distinguished service with the UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, COAS over the span of his 38 years of service. He was also a part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, and was twice awarded the Force Commander’s Commendation while serving with the United Nations. He was also awarded the Sword of Honor from IMA, Dehradun. During the 1987 Sino-Indian skirmish in the Sumdorong Chu valley, then Captain Rawat’s battalion was deployed against the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.The standoff was the first military confrontation along the disputed McMahon Line after the 1962 war.

CEO Parag Agrawa l becomes the youngest CEO in top 500 US firms
Twitter’s new Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal is now the youngest
CEO in the S&P 500. Agrawal is 37 years old, the same age as Meta
CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who held this youngest CEO tag earlier. He
succeeds co-founder Jack Dorsey after a four-year stint as CTO, a role
where he oversaw Twitter’s pursuit of blockchain and other decentralised
technologies.Twitter didn’t disclose Agrawal’s birthday due to security
reasons, but confirmed that he was born later in 1984 than Zuckerberg’s
May birthday. Agrawal’s appointment means Twitter will have a full-time
CEO for the first time in years.

Island nation Barbados removes Queen Elizabeth as head of state
The Caribbean island nation of Barbados, known to some as “Little England” will officially remove England’s Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state later this year nearly 400 years after the British first arrived on the island. Barbados is one of 16 nations that still recognize the Queen of England as head of state. It will become the world’s newest Republic, removing the queen as its nominal ruler. That will reduce the number of countries that the queen “rules” to 15.  Jamaica, another British Commonwealth, is also considering removing Queen Elizabeth as their head of state.

China overtakes US as the world’s richest nation 
China has surpassed the United States to become the world’s richest country, following a sharp rise in wealth over the past two decades. The report by McKinsey & Co. China  has been prepared after examining the national balance sheets of 10 countries, representing more than 60 per cent of world income. China’s wealth jumped to $120 trillion in 2020 from just $7 trillion in 2000. This marks a jump of $113 trillion in 20 years, helping the nation surpass the United States in terms of net worth. During the same period, the US saw its net worth more than double to $90 trillion. However, the nation could not beat China due to muted increases in property prices. According to the report, in both the US and China, more than two-thirds of the wealth is held by the richest 10 per cent of households, and their share has been increasing.

Indian Prime Minister Modi tops ‘Global Leader Approval’ ratings for the second time
For the second time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has topped the ‘Global Leader Approval’ ratings released by American research firm - Morning Consult, with the highest 70 per cent approval ratings. According to the data published by the American firm, PM Modi has been ranked as the most approved world leader, followed by Mexico President López Obrador at 66% and Italy Prime Minister Mario Draghi at 58%. Modi is also ahead of US President Joe Biden who ranks at sixth spot with 44 per cent approvals and UK PM Boris Johnson, who got only 40 per cent approval ratings and ranks 10th in the list. Among other world leaders, outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel has secured (54%) and Australian PM Scott Morrison got (47%) approvals, while Canada’s Justin Trudeau is at seventh rank with 43 per cent approval ratings.

Saudi Arabia commits to net zero emissions by 2060
The world’s biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, has pledged to cut its carbon emissions to net zero by 2060. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that he would invest more than $180bn  to reach the goal. The announcement comes days before the COP26 climate change summit, at which world leaders will be pressed on their plans to reduce global warming. Saudi Arabia now joins more than 100 countries that have committed to reaching net-zero emissions. Net zero means not adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

India crosses 1 billion Covid vaccination mark
India has scripted history by reaching the one billion COVID-19 vaccinations milestone mark. The milestone is a triumph of Indian science, enterprise and collective spirit of 130 crore Indians. China is the only nation to dish out more vaccine doses than India, having fully inoculated some 1.05 billion, or 75% of its citizens. India, according to the government, has administered five times more doses than Japan, nine times more than Germany, and ten times more than France. While it took 85 days to administer the first 10 crore doses, it completed the last 10 crore in just 19 days. India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched on January 16, 2021. Initially, the vaccination was opened for Health Care Workers (HCWs) only. From February 2, front-line workers were made eligible for vaccination. The vaccination drive was expanded from March 1 to include persons above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with associated specified 20 comorbidities. It was further expanded to all people above 45 years of age from April 1. From May 1 all persons above 18 years of age were made eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.

Maharaja heads back home to the Tatas after 68 years
The Maharaja has come a full circle. Come January, Air India will be piloted by the Tata Group, again after 68 years, with the government deciding to sell the national carrier to Talace Private Limited, a special purpose vehicle of Tata Sons. The government had set the reserve price at 12,906 crore. While Tata Sons’ SPV bid 18,000 crore enterprise value, the second bid was for 15,100 crore. Established by legendary industrialist and philanthropist JRD Tata, who was India’s first licensed pilot, the airline originally flew mail in the 1930s between Karachi in then-undivided, British-ruled India and Bombay, now known as Mumbai. Back then, it was known as Tata Airlines. Post world war II, the airline was taken over by the government of India, and named ‘Air India’. The government aims to complete the transaction by the end of 2021.

Fumio Kishida becomes Japan’s 100th Prime Minister 
Fumio Kishida has been officially elected as Japan’s 100th Prime Minister after winning a majority of votes in both houses of parliament on 4th October. Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) 64-year-old leader is succeeding Yoshihide Suga, who resigned after just one year in office. Kishida is reportedly expected to dissolve the parliament next week and call for a general election on October 31. Kishida has said that he wants to pursue policies that achieve “a new type of capitalism” that distributes more wealth to households and tackles Japan’s widening income gap.

California makes zero-emission self-driving vehicles mandatory by 2030 
California will require all light-duty self-driving vehicles to emit zero emissions starting in 2030. California’s Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law, a bill sponsored by environmental groups that would eventually prohibit gas and hybrid-powered autonomous vehicles from operating in the state. Last year, Newsom had signed an order requiring only the sale of zero-emission passenger vehicles by 2035.

PM Modi’s visit to the United States of America
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States comes from a position of strength at a time when the Indian economy has gained momentum.More than a hundred members from the Indian Community gathered at the airport to welcome the Indian leader. This is Prime Minister Modi’s first visit abroad beyond the neighbourhood since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The Prime Minister is on a three-day visit to U.S., that started on September 22, 2021, for a bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden and to attend the historic Quad summit. Biden will host PM Modi at the White House on September 24, this is going to be the first in-person meeting between the two leaders after Biden took over as the US President on January 20. PM Modi is extremely popular and liked not only in India but around the world.

PM Modi, Mamata Banerjee, Adar Poonawalla in TIME’s 100 Most Influential People list
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla have been listed among TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People 2021. US President Joe Biden, US Vice President Kamala Harris and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have also been included. Former US President Donald Trump also features on the list. The list also includes tennis player Naomi Osaka, Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, music icon Britney Spears, executive director of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council Manjusha P. Kulkarni, Apple CEO Tim Cook, actor Kate Winslet and the first African and first woman to lead the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

China developing megastructures in spaceACE
China is planning to build miles-wide ‘megastructures’ in orbit, including solar power
plants, tourism complexes, gas stations and even asteroid mining facilities. The
structures will require lightweight materials to allow larger objects to get into orbit
with existing rockets. Researchers will also need to adopt technology to allow for inorbit
assembly and control. The Chinese government said there is an ‘urgent need’ for
megaprojects in space that would require ultra-large spacecraft to keep them in orbit.
In terms of megastructures in space, the Voyager Station, expected to be operational in
coming years, will be the first hotel in space built by California based Orbital Assembly
Corporation. Decades after launching the first artificial satellite into orbit, Beijing is
strengthening its foothold in space.

UNITING THE WORLD TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE
A major conference on climate change - COP26 - is due to take place in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12, 2021. The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. While India is the third-largest emitter on a country basis, it is also the second-most populous. As a result, emissions per head are extremely low, ranking 134, according to the Global Carbon Atlas project. Under the 2015 agreement, world leaders had agreed to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius. Average global temperatures have increased by more than 1.1 degree Celsius since 1980, and this has been cited by experts as the cause of severe heat waves, droughts and storms.

Apple CEO receives shares worth $750 million
Apple’s Tim Cook has received 10th and final tranche of the pay deal he received a decade ago when he took over as CEO.  Cook has received 5 million Apple shares worth roughly $750 million. The 60-year-old, who currently has a net worth of $1.5 billion, plans to give most of his fortune away. The company’s revenue is forecast to increase to $425.7 billion in 2025. Meanwhile, company shares have increased about 12 percent this year alone.The future looks just as bright for Apple, which will be run by Cook for at least another five years. Apple was started by Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976, going public four years later in 1980.

Richest female musician with $1.7 bn wealth
Forbes has declared 33-year-old Barbadian singer Rihanna a “billionaire” and the “wealthiest female musician in the world” with a $1.7 billion fortune. Forbes said that an estimated $1.4 billion of Rihanna’s net worth comes from the value of her cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty. It added that Rihanna’s stake in her lingerie company Savage x Fenty is worth $270 million. The 33-year-old was born in Barbados and released her first studio album in 2005. She has since released seven more albums and won nine Grammys. She’s known on Instagram, where she has 103 million followers.

China unveils fastest ground vehicle available globally
China has unveiled its new high-speed maglev train capable of a top speed of 600 kmph and it’s the fastest ground vehicle available globally. At 600 kmph, it’d only take 2.5 hours to cover over 1,000-km distance from Beijing to Shanghai. The train uses electromagnetic force to “levitate” above the track with no contact between body and rail. China has been using the technology for almost two decades on a very limited scale. Countries from Japan to Germany are also looking to build maglev networks, although high costs and incompatibility with current track infrastructure remain hurdles to rapid development.

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Young Minds - December 7, 2018

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