• National

First World Youth Conference on Kindness inaugurated by Indian President

• On August 23, 2019, the President of India, Shri Ram NathKovind inaugurated the first World Youth conference on kindness at VigyanBhawan in New Delhi.
• The president addressed the event celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on the theme ‘VasudhaivaKutumbakam: Gandhi for the Contemporary World’.

• International

FATF blacklisted Pakistan against terror financing and money laundering

• On August 16,2019, the Asia Pacific Group (APG) of the Financial Action Task Force(FATF) has blacklisted Pakistan for non-compliance and non-enforcement of safeguards against terror financing and money laundering.
• The action was taken in the FATF APG meeting held in Canberra, Australia.

Note:

About FATF

Founded: 1989

Headquarters: Paris, France

President: Xiangmin Liu

• International

Serbia officially joins AIIB

• Serbia became a non-regional member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
• Serbia adopted the Law on Confirmation of the Founding Act of the AIIB, deposited the instrument of accession & paid the 1st installment of its share in the bank’s capital.

Note:

About AIIB

Headquarters: Beijing, China

Membership: 72 Members

Region served: Asia and Oceania

• International

Saudi Arabia permits women to travel abroad without male guardian’s permission

• On August 21, 2019 the Government of Saudi Arabia made a reform in allowing women to travel abroad without the consent from male guardian.
• The law to get permission from male guardian was removed as many women made high-profile attempts to escape alleged guardianship abuse despite various reforms made by crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

• Economy and Business

Moody’s reduced India’s GDP growth forecast to 6.2% for 2019

• Moody’s Investors Service cut India’s GDP growth forecast for 2019 calendar year to 6.2 per cent from the previous estimation of 6.8 per cent.
• For 2020 calendar year, it reduced the estimate by a similar measure to 6.7 per cent.

Note:

About Moody’s Investors Service

Founded: 1909

Headquarters: New York

Founder: John Moody

• Awards

UAE confers highest civilian award 'Order of Zayed' on PM Modi

• The UAE on Saturday conferred its highest civilian award ‘Order of Zayed’ on PM Narendra Modi.
• PM Modi interacted with the NRI business community in UAE at a Business Roundtable in Abu Dhabi and urged them to look at the business opportunities available in India.

• Appointments

Abdalla Hamdok becomes the new prime minister of Sudan

• On August 20,2019 economist Abdalla Hamdok took charge as the new prime minister(15th) of Sudan embarking three year transition to civilian rule after military authoritarian Omar al-Bashir was forced to step down from president post by rage protests.
• The chief justice of Sudan administered the swearing in ceremony held at the Presidential Palace in Khartoum.

• Important Days

August 23 observed as International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

• The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is observed every year on August 23.
• This day is observed as rememberance of people involved in the tragedy of the transatlantic slave trade.
• The theme for the year 2019 is “Remember Slavery: The Power of the Arts for Justice“.

• Science and Tech

Russia successfully sent its First Humanoid Robot into space ‘Fedor’

• On August 22, 2019, Russia launched its first unmanned rocket carrying a life-size humanoid robot named ‘Fedor’ (Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research) in Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft from Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
• It will spend 10 days learning to assist astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).

• Defence

Iran unveils new missile defense system Bavar-373

• Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has inducted a locally built air-defence system into the country’s missile defence network named ‘Bavar-373’.
• It is the country’s first domestically produced long-range missile defence system.

• Obituaries

Veteran BJP leader Arun Jaitley passes away after prolonged illness

• Former Union minister Arun Jaitley died at AIIMS today, the hospital announced.
• Jaitley, 66, was undergoing treatment at the hospital for several weeks.

• Miscellaneous

Forbes ranks Akshay Kumar in the 4th spot in 2019 highest paid actors list

• Forbes magazine’s World’s Highest-Paid Actors Of 2019 list was released on August 23,2019.
• Bollywood actorAkshay Kumar ranked in the 4th position on the list with worth $65million.
• The list was topped by American actor, producer and former wrestler Dwayne Johnson (also known as The Rock) with worth $89.4 million followed by Chris Hemsworth and Robert Downey Jr in the second and third spot respectively.

• Agreements

Indian Army and Tata Realty signs MoU for quality housing

• On August 22, 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Army’s Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) and the Tata Realty housing to provide quality housing to army personnel.
• By this MoU the Indian army can now take over dwelling units in 13 ‘Ready to Move in’ projects of Tata Realty pan India.

Note:

About Indian Army

Founded: 1 April 1895

Motto: “Service Before Self”

Commander-in-Chief: President Ram Nath Kovind

• Agreements

India, France Sign Agreements on Maritime Awareness, Skill Development

• India and France released a joint statement on August 22, 2019 after detailed talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.
• During the talks, both the leaders discussed their bilateral relations and ways to open new areas of cooperation.