Why In News

• Mattarella, 80, agrees to serve a second seven-year term after political parties fail to find an acceptable alternative.
• He had long ruled out remaining in office, but with the country’s political stability at risk, he changed his mind in the face of appeals from parliamentary leaders who met him at the presidential palace earlier in the day.

Why in News

• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has launched the official mobile application of the Parliament named ‘Digital Sansad App’.
• The digital sansad app was launched to make it easier for people to follow proceedings in Parliament and their lawmakers.
• IT offers a 360-degree view of legislative activities and services for members.
• The app will help people in accessing archival data related to all Lok Sabhas. People would also be able to access speeches, debates, etc.
• IT contains information on budget speeches since 1947 as well as House discussions from 12th Lok Sabha to 17th Lok Sabha.

Why In News

• North Korea conducted its longest-range missile test since 2017, after Japan and South Korea reported a suspected ballistic missile had been launched into the sea from the country’s east coast.
• The Japanese and South Korean militaries said the missile was launched on a lofted trajectory, apparently to avoid the territorial spaces of neighbours, and reached a maximum altitude of 2,000 km and travelled 800 km before landing in the sea.
• The flight details suggest the North tested its longest-range ballistic missile since 2017, when it twice flew intermediate-range ballistic missiles over Japan and, separately, three intercontinental ballistic missiles that demonstrated the potential to reach deep into the American homeland.

North Korea Statement

• North Korea confirmed it had tested two long range cruise missiles.

About Missile’s

Ballistic missile –

• Ballistic missile, a rocket-propelled self-guided strategic-weapons system that follows a ballistic  trajectory to deliver a payload from its launch site to a predetermined target.
• Ballistic missiles can carry conventional high explosives’  as well as chemical, biological or nuclear
• They can be launched from aircraft, ships, and submarines  in addition to land-based silos and mobile platforms.

Intercontinental ballistic missile

• ICBM, in full Intercontinental ballistic missile, Land-based, nuclear-armed ballistic missile with a range of more than 3,500 miles (5,600 km).
• Only the United States, Russia, and China field land-based missiles of this range.
• The first ICBMs were deployed by the Soviet Union in 1958; the United States followed the next year and China some 20 years later.

Why in news?

• Dutch King Willen-Alexander opened the largest lock in the world opened with the click of a mouse.
• The 500-meter (1,640-foot) long and 70-meter-wide lock in Ijmuiden, a small port town connecting the North Sea Canal to the port of Amsterdam.
• The huge infrastructure project began in 2016.

Benefits

• It was designed to allow large modern cargo ships to reach the port of Amsterdam.
• The structure is also deep enough that ships no longer have to wait for a favorable water level to enter the canal.
• The new lock will not only benefit the economy, but thanks to the technical expertise involved, sea level rise and salt water inflow have also been taken into account,”

Why In News

• Rafael Nadal (Spain) win a titanic five-set duel with Daniil Medvedev and claim a record 21st Grand Slam men’s title in the Australian Open final.
• Ashleigh Barty became the first Australian to win her home Grand Slam Women’s title in 44 years, beat American Danielle Collins in straight sets.

Other Winners

• Men’s doubles – Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis
• Women’s doubles – Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova
• Mixed doubles – Kristina Mladenovic and Ivan Dodig

About Australian Open

• The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in  Melbourne, 
• The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon  and the  US Open 
• It features men’s and women’s singles; men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles; junior’s championships; and wheelchair, legends, and exhibition events.
• Before 1988, it was played on grass courts,  but since then three types of hard – court  surfaces have been used: green-coloured Rebound Ace up to 2007, blue Plexicushion  from 2008 to 2019, and blue Green Set since 2020.
• First held in 1905 as the Australasian championships, the Australian Open has grown to become one of the biggest sporting events in the Southern Hemisphere.

Why In News

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his Punya Tithi on Martyrs’ Day.
• Martyr’s Day or Shaheed Diwasis observed every year on January 30 in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi.
• Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated at Birla House by Nathuram Godse on 30th January,1948.

Significance

• On this day, the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Defence Minister, and the three service chiefs (Army, Air Force, and Navy) come together to lay floral wreaths at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi in Raj Ghat, New Delhi.

Why in News

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed to the 30th National Commission for Women (NCW) Foundation Day
• The theme of the programme is ‘She The Change Maker’, aimed at celebrating the achievements of women in different fields.
• Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani will also be present on the occasion.

About the Event

• The State Commissions for Women, Department of Women and Child Development in State Governments, University and College teaching faculty and students, voluntary organisations, women entrepreneurs and business associations will be a part of the event.

About the National Commission for Women

• The National Commission for Women (NCW) is the statutory body of the Government of India established on 31 January 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990.
• The first head of the commission was Jayanti Patnaik.

Function of National Commission for Women

• Advising the government on all policy matters affecting women.
• Review the Constitutional and Legal safeguards for women.
• Recommend remedial legislative measures.
• Facilitate redressal of grievances.

Why in News

• The Andhra Pradesh government has given a green signal for the creation of 13 new districts in the state.

Key Facts

• With this the total number of districts in the state will go up to 26.
• Andhra government has formed the new districts based on Parliamentary constituencies.
• The reorganisation of the districts is being done under the Section 3 of the Andhra Pradesh Districts (Formation) Act, 1974.

Why in news?

• India defeated China 2-0 in the third-place play-off to return home with a bronze medal from the Women’s Hockey Asia Cup in Muscat (Oman).
• The Indians left behind the disappointment of their semifinal defeat to South Korea and controlled the proceedings in the first two quarters, scoring two goals in the process, to go into half time with a 2-0 lead against China.
• Sharmila Devi and Gurjit Kaur were the goal scorers.

Why In News

• The 2nd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting with India held on a virtual platform.
• Shri Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State for Communications (MoSC) and Admiral Tin Aung San, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Myanmar co-chaired the meeting.
• The ADGMIN is an annual meeting of Telecom Ministers of 10 ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) countries -Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam and dialogue partner countries – Australia, Canada, China, EU, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia, UK and US.
• The meeting discussed and deliberated various matters relevant to strengthening regional digital cooperation in the spirit of digital inclusion and integration.

Why it is Important

• Shri Devusinh Chauhan emphasized that Information and Communication Technologies enable and strengthen democratic systems and institutions through enhanced engagement between citizens and the state.
• Use of Information and communications technology (ICT) promote free speech, human rights and the free flow of information besides expanding citizens’ opportunities to participate in decision-making process and have potential to transform lives of people living in rural areas.
• The Digital Work Plan 2022 includes system for combating the use of stolen and counterfeit mobile handsets, Wi-Fi Access network interface for nationwide public internet, the capacity building and knowledge sharing in emerging areas in the field of Information and Communication Technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, Advanced Satellite Communication, Cyber Forensics, etc. The ongoing and proposed projects in ICTs, will strengthen collaboration between India and ASEAN by leveraging complementary strengths of each other.

About ASEAN

• Headquarter – Jakarta , Indonesia
• Founded – 8th august 1967, Bangkok , Thailand
• Founders – Narciso Ramos, Abdul Razak Hussein, S. Rajaratnam, Adam malik, Thanat khoman.