1) International Day for Countering Hate Speech: 18 June
•International Day for Countering Hate Speech falls on June 18. According to the UN, hate speech is any kind of speech or writing that attacks or discriminates against a person or a group based on religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender, or any other identity factor. Speech should not be a weapon for creating more mayhem in this volatile world; thus, the International Day for Countering Hate Speech will help to stop hate-mongering.
2) Sustainable Gastronomy Day 2022 observed on 18 June
•Every year, the world observes Sustainable Gastronomy Day on 18 June. The objective of this day is to recognise the practices associated with sustainable food consumption, especially with the art of collecting and preparing the food we eat. To make this day a memorable one, the organisations work in collaboration with global and regional bodies to observe the day.
3) International Picnic Day 2022: 18th June
•International Picnic Day is celebrated annually on 18 June. On this day, people spend time with their loved ones and go for picnics to get a break from their monotonous everyday routine. A picnic is a very good way to not only spend some quality time but also explore new feast spots.
4) Japan to participate in NATO summit for the first time
•Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida will attend this month’s NATO summit in Madrid, becoming the country’s first leader to join a top meeting of the transatlantic alliance. The June 28-30 gathering is seen as a crunch moment for the 30 North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, four months into Russia’s war in Ukraine.
•Japan, a key U.S. ally and not a NATO member, has delivered defensive supplies to Ukraine and imposed tough sanctions on Russia in tandem with the other Group of Seven countries. Sweden and Finland, which have applied to join NATO, are sending delegations to the summit, and South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk-yeol will also be the first leader from his country to attend.
5) Govt establishes 10% quota for Agniveers, alters upper age limit
•Following widespread opposition to the Agnipath plan, the Centre announced a 10% reservation for Agniveers in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and Assam Rifles recruitment. The Ministry of Home Affairs also decided to grant a three-year age relaxation to Agniveers in the CAPFs and Assam Rifles who are between the ages of 17.5 and 21. Notably, the initial class of recruits will be given a five-year extension on the maximum age limit.
6) 47th meeting of GST Council to be held in Srinagar
•The 47th meeting of the GST Council will be held on June 28 and 29, 2022 in Srinagar. The GST Council is chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This is the second time that the GST Council meeting is being held in Srinagar. Before the launch of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1, 2017, the 14th meeting of the Coun cil was held on May 18 and 19 in the city.
•The Council had last year set up a seven-member panel of state ministers, headed by Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, to suggest ways to augment revenue by rationalising tax rates. The GoM had last met in November 2021.
7) Ministerial meeting on GST rationalisation fails to reach agreement
•According to insiders, a group of state ministers working on GST rate rationalisation was unable to achieve an agreement because some members were opposed to modifications to tax slabs and rates. They stated that the Group of Ministers will provide a status report to the GST Council on the consensus reached at the Group of Minister’s previous meeting on November 20, 2021.
8) Hamza Abdi Barre appointed as PM of Somalia
•Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has appointed a former chairman of the Jubbaland state election commission, Hamza Abdi Barre as the Prime Minister. The 48-year-old Hamza Abdi Barre from the semi-autonomous state of Jubaland replaced Mohamed Hussein Roble. Barre served in a number of public and political roles and from 2011 to 2017 was secretary-general of the Peace and Development Party (PDP), the precursor to the Union for Peace and Development (UDP) now led by Mohamud.
•Mohamud won the presidency for the second time in May, having previously served from 2012 to 2017, after a long-delayed election that took place against a backdrop of the worst drought in 40 years and a bloody armed rebellion.
9) China Becomes the Largest Importer of Indian Broken Rice
•China has emerged as the largest importer or buyer of broken rice from India. China takes over the largest importer of broken rice in India, which were the African countries. During the pandemic, China took the lead as the largest importer of broken rice in India. 7.7 percent has been imported to China which is 16.34 lakh metric tonnes, and India’s total export is 212.10 Lakh metric tonnes in the year 2021-2022.
•According to the analysis of the trade, out of 16.34 LMT, 96 percent of the rice exported to China was broken rice. China has become the top buyer of broken rice from India. The total export for basmati and non-basmati altogether was 212.10 LMT in 2021-2022, which is 19.30 percent higher than the earlier export in 2020-2021 which stood at 177.79 LMT. During this time export of broken rice to China from India increased from 3.31 LTM to 16.34 LMT.
10) Piyush Goyal: After several years, India able to win favourable WTO outcome
•Despite a strong global campaign against Indian farmers and fishermen, India was able to secure a favourable outcome at the WTO after many years, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal told the media after the conclusion of the 12th ministerial conference — the WTO (World Trade Organisation)‘s highest decision-making body .
11) World’s biggest plant discovered off Australian coast
•The world’s largest living plant has been identified in the shallow waters off the coast of Western Australia. The sprawling seagrass, a marine flowering plant known as Posidonia australis, stretches for more than 112 miles (180 kilometers) in Shark Bay, a wilderness area protected as a World Heritage site.
