The Daily Brief – 9th September 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the High-Level Segment of the 14^th Conference of Parties (COP14) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, on 9^th September, 2019. Around 30 decisions with actions will be taken at the Conference that aims to strengthen land-use policies worldwide and address emerging threats. The deliberations would lead to a final set of commitments, the New Delhi Declaration which would be signed by all the member countries at the end of the session.

Anil Agarwal, Vedanta Resources Chairman, was conferred with the lifetime achievement award at the 19^th Annual Asian Achievers Awards in London, UK. The theme for the Annual Asian Achievers Awards 2019 was ‘Inclusivity’. The awards recognize the outstanding work from individuals from across all professions and businesses within Asian community as well as acknowledge the accomplishments of the finest in United Kingdom’s Asian community.

The 7^th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) ministerial meeting of 10 members of ASEAN countries and their six Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners is being held in Bangkok, Thailand from 8^th-10^th September 2019. Along with this, the 7^th East Asia Economic Ministers Summit and the 16^th ASEAN India Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting are also being conducted in Bangkok. The RCEP negotiations were formally launched in November 2012.

High Commissioner of India to Canada Vikas Swarup inaugurated the Indian Pavilion at the 44^th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) at Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on 6^th September, 2019. It will provide a platform to showcase Indian Cinema in overseas market and facilitate new business opportunities. Founded in 1976, TIFF’s mission is to transform the way people see the world through film.

Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu released the Books on President’s speeches titled ‘Loktantra Ke Swar (Khand 2)’ in Hindi and ‘The Republican Ethic (Volume 2)’ in English at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi. The second volume of books is a compilation of 95 speeches delivered by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind during his second year in office starting July 2018 to July 2019.

Senior Supreme Court lawyer Ram Jethmalani passed away on 8^th September, 2019 at the age of 95. He worked as the Minister for Law and Urban Development in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cabinet. He also served as the Chairman of the Bar Council of India. In 2011, he fought multi-crores 2G scam cases. He also fought some of the famous cases such as Hawala Scam, Arun Jaitely defamation case against Arvind Kejriwal, Fodder Scam case and Sahara-SEBI case.

Canadian Bianca Andreescu defeated Serena Williams by 6-3, 7-5 to win the US Open 2019 women’s singles title. The 19-year-old became the first Canadian singles player to win a Grand Slam event. Serena Williams has won 23 Gram Slam titles in singles. Andreescu is also the first woman to win the trophy at the Flushing Meadows in her tournament debut in the Open era. After open era, which began in 1968, professionals were allowed to participate in the majors.