International instituitions

May Day 2023 marks a hundred years since it was first commemorated in India on May 1, 1923, in the city of Madras. M Singaravelu Chettiar, a nationalist figure, and an early cobmmunist associated with the anti-caste movement introduced May Day in India. By introducing May Day in India, Singaravelu …

India is now the most populous country in the world, having overtaken China in population, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said in its State of World Population (SOWP) report, ‘8 Billion Lives, Infinite Possibilities’, released recently. Highlights of the report Demographics: The population of the world is 8,045 million, of …

Finland joins NATO. NATO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It’s a military and political alliance that was founded in 1949 in response to the actions of the Soviet Union. In 1955, the Warsaw Pact was formed by the Soviet Union and seven Eastern bloc nations as a collective defense treaty in response to NATO. Members: There were 12 founding members of the alliance …

The United Nations 2023 Water Conference held recently was the first such meeting in 46 years. What is the Water Conference? The UN 2023 Water Conference is formally known as the 2023 Conference for the Midterm Comprehensive Review of Implementation of the UN Decade for Action on Water and Sanitation (2018-2028). It was held …

Nothing lasts forever, neither the good times nor the bad times. Therefore, over centuries, numerous ancient texts and philosophers have advised people to prepare for the inevitable downturn, while enjoying the present upturn. For instance, Christine Lagarde, the former chief and managing director of the IMF and current president of the European Central …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed a $3 billion bailout plan for Sri Lanka’s struggling economy. What is a bailout? Bailout is a general term for extending financial support to a company or a country facing a potential bankruptcy threat. It can take the form of loans, cash, bonds, or stock purchases. A bailout may or may not …

Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has been unanimously elected as the head of New Development Bank (NDB). The New Development Bank (NDB) was formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank. It is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The Agreement on the New Development …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week confirmed a $3 billion bailout plan for Sri Lanka’s struggling economy. IMF officials are also in negotiations with Pakistan for a $1.1 billion bailout plan as the country faces a severe economic crisis marked by a falling currency and price rise. Why do …

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for war crimes for Russian  President. The court says Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. Russia has defended the transfers on humanitarian grounds. What is the International Criminal Court? The International Criminal Court is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal. It is the first and only permanent international …

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has begun hearing two pivotal lawsuits that will for the first time ask it to interpret Section 230 of the U.S. Communications Decency Act of 1996, the law that has shielded tech companies from liabilities over decades. The lawsuits pose a long-standing …