China and the U.S. have pledged to accelerate their efforts to address climate change ahead of a major U.N. meeting on the issue, making a commitment to take steps to reduce emissions of methane and other greenhouse gases besides carbon dioxide.

• The joint announcement came on the eve of a summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping held at the Filoli Historic House and Garden in Woodside, California, about 35 miles south of San Francisco.
• Cooperation between the world’s two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases is considered vital to the success of the U.N. climate talks opening in two weeks in Dubai.
• The 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be held at Expo City, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
• The breakthrough has been welcomed by climate experts who point out that little can be done to stem the unfolding climate crisis without strong action from both China and the US, which together are responsible for nearly 40% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

‘Amini’, an Arnala class of ship for Indian Navy, was launched on Thursday( 16 November ) at L&T Shipbuilding’s facility in Kattupalli, Tamil Nadu.

The 4th of 08 x ASW Shallow Water Craft (SWC) project being built by the state-owned Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Amini is designed to undertake anti-submarine operations in coastal waters and also low intensity maritime operations (LIMO) and mine laying operations, said a Navy spokesperson.

• The launch ceremony was presided over by Vice Admiral Sandeep Naithani, Chief of Materiel, and his wife Manju Naithani launched the ship to the invocation from Atharva Veda.
• The ship has been named Amini to signify the strategic maritime importance accorded to the island of Amini at Lakshadweep, located about 400 km west of Kochi, said the spokesperson.
• The contract for building eight ASW SWC ships was signed between Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Kolkata -based GRSE on April 29, 2019.
• As per the build strategy, four ships are being built at the GRSE and the balance sub-contracted to L&T Shipbuilding for hull and part outfitting. Arnala class of ships will replace the in-service Abhay class ASW Corvettes of Indian Navy.

The ninth edition of Joint Military exercise “Exercise MITRA SHAKTI-2023” commenced today(16 November) in Aundh (Pune). The exercise is being conducted from 16th to 29th November 2023.

• The Indian contingent, of 120 personnel, is being represented mainly by troops from the MARATHA LIGHT INFANTRY Regiment.
• The Sri Lankan side is being represented by personnel from 53 Infantry Division. 15 personnel from Indian Air Force and five personnel from Sri Lankan Air Force are also participating in the exercise.
• The aim of the exercise is to jointly rehearse conduct of Sub Conventional operations under Chapter VII of United Nations Charter. The Scope of the exercise includes synergising joint responses during counter-terrorist operations.
• Both sides will practice tactical actions such as raid, search and destroy missions, heliborne operations, etc. In addition, Army Martial Arts Routine (AMAR), combat reflex shooting and Yoga will also form part of the exercise curriculum.

37th Infantry Commanders' Conference was successfully conducted on November 14 and 15, 2023 at Infantry School, Mhow.

• This biennial conference was presided over by General Manoj Pande, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS).
• A large number of current and futuristic issues pertaining to Infantry in operations, training, capability development and infusion of technology were discussed.
• While assessing the capabilities of Infantry in conventional war scenario and in Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorism operations, necessary decisions were made to further enhance the capability of Infantry in sync with the future challenges.

NITI Aayog, the government think tank, recently announced the appointment of four distinguished fellows for a one-year term, according to an official statement.

The newly appointed members, namely Anoop Singh, OP Agarwal, Ajai Chowdhry, and V Lakshmikumaran, bring substantial work experience and a deep understanding of key social, economic, and technical issues to NITI Aayog.

Anoop Singh is a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission and has a notable background, having served as the director of the Asia Pacific department at the International Monetary Fund.

IAS officer OP Agarwal, from the 1979 batch IAS, boasts extensive experience and expertise in urban transport.

Ajai Chowdhry, one of the co-founders of HCL, has played a pivotal role in establishing the electronics industry in India.

V Lakshmikumaran, a legal expert, has 35 years of experience in the field of law to the think tank.

The 2023 Olympic Cup has been awarded to the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) in recognition of its long-term commitment to supporting refugee athletes and refugees worldwide through taekwondo.

• The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, presented the Cup in a ceremony at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.
• The organization is implementing a program to teach taekwondo to displaced refugees affected by war or natural disasters. The program aims to help refugees find new hope in life by learning the moves and spirit of taekwondo.
• In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of World Taekwondo and to express the hope for everlasting companionship between the Olympics and taekwondo, a taekwondo statue was also unveiled at the Olympic Museum.

The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) passed a resolution to strive for a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) utilisation target of 5 per cent by 2030.

• This was at AAPA’s 67th Assembly of Presidents held in Singapore on November 9 and 10. Currently, 14 airlines are members of the AAPA, including Air India and Singapore Airlines.
• As post-pandemic global traffic recovers, the air transport sector remains firmly committed to addressing its carbon footprint in the long term, by embracing the global aspirational goal of net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
• To fulfill this objective, AAPA calledon governments, fuel producers, airports, and other industry organisations to come together globally, to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and fuel the industry’s journey towards carbon neutrality,” AAPA said in a statement.

About AAPA

The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, formerly Orient Airlines Association, Inc., is a trade association of major scheduled international airlines based in the Asia-Pacific region. Established in 1966 with headquarters in Makati, Philippines, the association has moved to its present headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The primary purpose of the AAPA is to serve as a common forum for the articulation of members’ views on matters and issues of common interest, to foster close cooperation, and to bring about an atmosphere conducive to the stimulation of the travel and tourism industry.

The International Day for Tolerance is an annual observance day declared by UNESCO in 1995 to generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance. It is observed on 16 November.

Every year various conferences and festivals are organized in the occasion of International Day for Tolerance. Among them, "Universal Tolerance Cartoon Festival" in Drammen, Norway which organized an International Cartoon Festival in 2013.

The day is observed in Bangladesh with Peace Summit. Peace Summit is organized by Preneur Lab and the EMK Center. The conference is a platform to talk and share on country’s challenges on issues like peace, tolerance,fake news, online safety and hate.

Significance

Tolerance and acceptance help in creating the world a better place to live in. Tolerance helps us to become more patient in understanding and comprehending things that are new to us. It also creates a balance in the world. International Day for Tolerance is celebrated to raise awareness on the same.

National Press Day is observed on November 16, every year, in India to celebrate the importance of a free and responsible press in a democratic society.

The day is celebrated to commemorate the establishment of the Press Council of India, which acts as a regulatory body for the news media in the country.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on “Enhancing Innovation Ecosystems through an Innovation Handshake” under the framework of India – U.S. Commercial Dialogue was signed between the two countries on the 14th of November 2023 in San Francisco.

• The MoU was signed at the kick-off industry roundtable titled, “Decoding the “Innovation Handshake”: U.S. – India Entrepreneurship Partnership” in San Francisco.
• The MoU is signed with the objective to connect the two sides’ dynamic startup ecosystems, address specific regulatory hurdles to cooperation, share information and best practices for startup fundraising and promote innovation and job growth, particularly in critical and emerging technologies (CET) as identified under India -U.S. initiative for Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).
• The MoU signals a joint commitment to strengthen the startup ecosystem in deep tech sectors and promote cooperation in Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET).

The Indian Air Force (IAF) will organise an air show at the Air Force Station at Ambala Cantonment on November 23-24 where Surya Kiran acrobatics and Akash Ganga skydiving teams will showcase their skills alongside the IAF aircrafts.

• Ambala Cantonment is a cantonment town in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India. It is 200 km north of Delhi and 55 km southwest of Chandigarh.
• An official spokesperson said that necessary arrangements for the air show have been made by the IAF.
• Parking arrangements will be in the premises of Air Force Station School and near the domestic airport.
• The spokesperson said that orders have also been issued under section 144 to prohibit flying of drones near the Air Force station.

National Epilepsy Day is celebrated every year in India on November 17 to raise awareness around the brain disorder and bust myths surrounding the disease. 

History and significance of National Epilepsy Day

The day was first observed by the Epilepsy Foundation of India and was established by Dr Nirmal Surya.

The aim of this day was to help needy people who are not able to afford treatment for the disease and also to bust myths surrounding epilepsy, create awareness around symptoms and management of the disease.

According to WHO, around 50 million people worldwide are affected by epilepsy and India accounts for nearly 10-20 percent (5-10 million) of the global burden of epilepsy.

About 70 percent of people with epilepsy are able to successfully manage epilepsy seizures with medication and certain types of surgery.