1) Delhi Metro Declared as World’s first Green Metro
•The Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) was recently declared as the world’s first green metro after it added a green certification for all its major buildings and installations. DMRC was also awarded the platinum rating for its 10 residential colonies for adherence to green building norms by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).
•The declaration was made during National Conference on Green Metro Systems by the IGBC. In 2008, DMRC became the first railway project in the world to be registered by the United Nations under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
2) Swachh Survekshan-2018 launched to assess sanitation in all 4,041 cities and towns of the country
•Central Government launched the third cleanliness survey ‘Swachh Survekshan-2018’ to rank all the 4,041 citiesand towns of the country based on infrastructure development for improved sanitation services and their sustainability, outcomes, citizen connect and visible impact on ground.
•Under the survey, launched by Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, 500 cities with more than 1 lakh populationand state and UT capitals will have all-India ranking. Also, 3,541 cities with less than 1 lakh population will have state and zonal rankings.
3) World's longest pedestrian suspension bridge opens in Switzerland
•Spanning an awesome 1621 feet and rising as high as 279 feet, the newly opened Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge in Switzerland has broken the record for the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge, according to Zermatt Tourism.
•The bridge, which has replaced an older bridge that was damaged by falling rocks, was named after its chief sponsor, a psychologist and co-owner of a Swiss winery. The span is impossibly narrow, at just 25.6 inches wide. Hikers can now cross the Europaweg (Europe Bridge) which connects Grächen and Zermatt and measures nearly 500m.
4) Trump Awarded First Medal of Honor to Vietnam Army Medic
•An Army medic from Michigan who risked his life multiple times to rescue Vietnam War comrades is the first person to receive the Medal of Honor from President Donald Trump in Washington.
•Trump presented America's highest military honor to James McCloughan at a White House ceremony.
5) Government enters into 9 Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (UAPAs) with Indian taxpayers in July
•The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) entered into nine Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (UAPAs) with Indian taxpayers in the month of July 2017. The APA Scheme endeavors to provide certainty to taxpayers in the domain of transfer pricing by specifying the methods of pricing and determining the Arm’s Length Price of international transactions in advance for a maximum period of five future years.
•CBDT has signed its first APA with a taxpayer engaged in supplying rigs used in Oil & Gas exploration. The international transactions covered in these nine APAs include provision of software development services, engineering design services, distribution, contract manufacturing, etc.
6) Summer Olympics: Los Angeles to host 2028 Games and Paris gets 2024
•Los Angeles reached an agreement with the leaders of the International Olympic Committee on plans to host the 2028 Summer Games. Los Angeles formally announced its bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics after agreeing on a deal that paves the way for Paris to host in 2024.
•The Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic bid committee in cooperation with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced it recently. The LA bid committee stated that Los Angeles will host the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games 2028.
