 The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)has named the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro as the World Capital of Architecture for 2020. Rio will be the first city to receive the title under a programme launched together by UNESCO and the International Union of Architects (UIA) in November 2018. The city beat Paris and Melbourne to get the position. As the first World Capital of Architecture, Rio de Janeiro will hold a series of events under the theme “All the worlds. Just one world,” and promote the internationally agreed 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’s 11th Goal: “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.” |
| Source- AIR World Service |
 Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has launched Tokyo-based startup Star-ALE’s mini-satellite aimed to deliver the world’s first artificial meteor shower. The satellite carries 400 tiny balls, will be enough for 20-30 events, that will glow as they rush down the atmosphere on being released. ALE plans to deliver its first show in Hiroshima in early 2020. |
| Source: NDTV |
 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has pledged to protect the interests of all 134 countries in the UN’s Group of 77, as Palestine took the chairmanship of the groupfrom Egypt for 2019. The G77 group was originally founded by 77 members in 1964 but has expanded to 134 mainly developing nations. The decision to elect Palestine as the 2019 Chair of the G77 was taken in September 2018 by the foreign ministers of the Groups’ member states. |
| Source: UN News |
 The Parliament of Macedonia has passed the resolution to amend the constitution of the country to rename it as the Republic of Northern Macedonia. The name change will help resolve a decades-long dispute with neighboring Greeceopening the way for Skopje to join NATO and the European Union. |
| Source: The Guardian |
 Sri Lanka’s Central Bank announced that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has agreed to provide USD 400 million under a swap arrangement to boost the island nation’s reserves. It stated that a further request to the RBI for another SWAP arrangement of USD 1 billion is “under consideration”. These are to be made available under the SAARC SWAP facility.The RBI has agreed to provide the funds under its SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Swap Facility. |
| Source- AIR World Service |
 U.S. President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA), which passed the U.S. Senate earlier in December. According to the White House, the act establishes a multifaceted U.S. strategy to increase U.S. security, economic interests, and values in the Indo-Pacific region. Specifically, the ARIA will authorize $1.5 billion in spending for a range of U.S. programs in East and Southeast Asia and develop a long-term strategic vision and a comprehensive, multifaceted, and principled United States policy for the Indo-Pacific region, and for other purposes. |
| Source: The Diplomat |
 The finance minister of France Bruno Le Maire announced that France will introduce its own tax on large internet and technology companies from January 1. France has been pushing hard for a new so-called “GAFA tax” — named after Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon — to ensure the global giants pay a fair share of taxes on their massive business operations in Europe. |
| Source- The Livemint |
 The United States and Israel officially quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the close of 2018. The countries had announced their decisions in 2017 of withdrawing from the agency, accusing it of bias against Israel. America has demanded fundamental reform in UNESCO, which was co-founded by it after World War II to foster peace. Israel joined the agency in 1949. It is best known for its World Heritage program, which designates cultural sites and aims to preserve traditions. |
| Source- AIR World Service |
 Qatar has withdrawn its membership from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The country had sent an official notification to the OPEC expressing its wish to pull out and to focus on its liquefied natural gas production in December. Qatar has been in OPEC for 57 years. The decision came amid the ongoing diplomatic and economic blockade imposed on the country by its Persian Gulf neighbours and several Arab states. |
| Source: AIR World Service |
 Pakistan’s cabinet has approved the issuance of first-ever renminbi-denominated ‘Panda Bonds’ to raise loans from China’s capital markets, as the country moved a step forward to give the Chinese currency status at par with the US dollar. The Finance Ministry did not seek the Cabinet’s nod for the size of the bond, but it expects to raise $500 million to $1 billion in various tranches. The Philippines has also raised RMB1.46 billion through renminbi-denominated bonds. |
| Source: The Business Standard |
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