The Daily Brief – 29th September 2019

Hazza Al Mansouri from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) became the first Emirati and the first Arab astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS). Accompanied by Oleg Skripochka of Russia and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir onboard a Soyuz MS-15 rocket from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, he blasted into space. He is only the third Arab in space after Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia (1985) and Mohammad Faris (1987) of Syria.

An 80-year old handwritten letter by Mahatma Gandhi on September 1, 1939 to Shohet, Indian Jewish leader, was unveiled by the National Library of Israel. The day marks the Jewish New Year and also the day when Germany invaded Poland and set the world at war. Gandhiji had wished the Jewish people an era of peace in his letter.

The United States (US) topped the IMD World Digital Competitiveness ranking 2019 followed by Singapore in the second place. India moved four places from 48^th to 44^th this year. Published by the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development since 2017, the ranking measures the readiness and capacity of 63 economies to adopt digital technologies.

India and Pakistan will be attending the SAARC Council of Ministers meeting in New York on 26^th September, 2019. The meeting is being chaired by Nepal. SAARC is South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation with member nations as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. SAARC comprises 21% of the world population and 3.8% of the world economy. Founded in Dhaka on 8^th December, 1985, it aims to promote welfare of the people of South Asia, accelerating their social and economic growth.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Central University of Jammu (CUJ) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish the Kalam Centre for Science and Technology (KCST) at the university. KCST will be a world-class centre that will be equipped with the state-of-the-art facilities and equipment leading to increase in research scholars in the area. Central University of Jammu (CUJ) is a central government-funded university and was established under the Central Universities Act, 2009.

China has launched its first amphibious assault ship in Shanghai that would enable the ground forces to carry out attacks on enemy territory from sea. Independently developed by China, it has a strong capacity in amphibious operations as well as performing a variety of tasks.

International Day for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons is observed every year on 26^th September to enhance public awareness about the threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons. The United Nations General Assembly declared the day in 2013 through a resolution 68/32. US, Russia, France, Britain, India, China, Pakistan and North Korea are the current nuclear powers in the world. The day was first celebrated in 2014.