Today in History (May 24th, 2000)
Israel ended its 18-year occupation of Southern Lebanon, withdrawing its last troops from Lebanon on 24th May 2000. Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 and formally began the occupation of Southern Lebanon in 1985.
Summary of Today’s News
Clean Note Policy
The Clean Note Policy was announced by the Reserve Bank of India in 1999. It aims to provide citizens with high-quality currency notes and coins while removing worn-out notes from circulation. The policy goal is to keep the banknotes in circulation clean and usable. RBI has recently announced the withdrawal of Rs. 2000 notes from circulation, but it exists to be a legal tender.
India-Australia relation
India and Australia signed the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement in 2022 to provide India preferential market access on all of its tariff lines on labour-intensive export sectors such as gems and jewellery, leather, textiles, furniture, footwear, etc. Harris Park in Western Sydney has recently been renamed ‘Little India.’ Deakin University in Australia has become the first university in the world to open its off-shore campus in India.
Smart Cities Mission
The Smart Cities Mission was launched in 2015 to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, a decent quality of life, and a clean and sustainable environment through the application of ‘Smart’ solutions. An Apex Committee headed by the Secretary Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs implements the projects through the Real-Time Geographical Management Information System. A Smart City Advisory Forum at the local level facilitates collaboration among various stakeholders. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has been created for each city to plan, implement and monitor Smart City projects.
Neeraj Chopra becomes numero uno in the latest javelin rankings.
Olympic Champion Neeraj Chopra became the World no.1 for the first time in the latest javelin rankings issued by the World Athletics. He topped the ranking with 1455 points, 22 points ahead of Anderson Peters.
Evan Gershkovich’s detention has been extended.
Russia extended the detention of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal journalist, by three months till 30th August 2023. He was arrested in March 2023 on spying charges.
