Friday, January 11, 2019



Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has appointed Su Tseng-chang as Prime Minister on Thursday, during a Cabinet reshuffle following the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's heavy losses in local elections.


Su is a former premier appointed in 2006 by then-President Chen Shui-bian and was a chairman of Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party for two terms.


His appointment follows the widely-expected resignation of William Lai, the second premier to quit since Tsai took office in 2016.

Measles-Rubella Vaccination Campaign-Delhi

Measles-Rubella Vaccination Campaign-Delhi
Delhi, 10 January 2019: Directorate of Family Welfare, Government of Delhi with support from UNICEF, WHO and partners today organized a National Media Engagement Workshop on Measles Rubella Vaccination campaign in Delhi. The objective of the workshop was to sensitize media about the ongoing Measles Rubella Vaccination campaign in India and State’s preparedness for introducing the Measles Rubella Vaccination (MRV) campaign.
In Delhi, the campaign will be launched on 16 January 2019. The five-week MR campaign aims to cover nearly 55 lakh children in the age group of 9 months to less than 15 years in eleven districts of Delhi covering all preschool children, school children (Government and Private) and out-of-school children.
The participants at the media engagement session included Dr. Pradeep Haldar, Deputy Commissioner, Immunization, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Dr. Nutan Mundeja, Director, Directorate of Family Welfare, Government of Delhi, Dr. Reena Yadav, PO-Immunisation, Directorate of Family Welfare, Government of Delhi, Dr. Suresh Seth, SEPIO-Directorate of Family Welfare, Government of Delhi, Dr. Bhrigu Kapuria, UNICEF, Dr.Pankaj Bhatnagar, WHO and members of National and State media from print, online and television.
India is committed to eliminate measles and control rubella/congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) by 2020. The largest ever vaccination campaign worldwide aims to cover approximately 40 crore children in the age group of 9 months to less than 15 years of age. Children will be given a single shot of Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination during the campaign. Since the launch in 2017, the MRV campaign has covered nearly 20 crore* children in 30 States and Union Territories. 
Opening the workshop, Dr. Pradeep Haldar, Deputy Commissioner, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said, “Immunization is one of the most effective and cost-effective way to protect children lives and futures. The recently introduced measles-rubella vaccine, which will be provided for free in schools, during the campaign, in health facilities and at outreach session sites, is another such step to achieve our goals.”
UNICEF, LIONS Club, Rotary Club, IMA, DMA and IAP have extended their support towards MR campaign in Delhi.

New Delhi World Book Fair brings Youth Closer to Books


New Delhi World Book Fair brings Youth Closer to Books
New Delhi World Book Fair is witnessing the participation of a large number of young readers. They are browsing through their favourite books and interacting with the authors. Their interest in books shows that India has a bright future ahead.
10 January is celebrated as World Hindi Day every year which aims at promoting Hindi language across the world. New Delhi World Book Fair is also playing a significant role in promoting the language. Over 240 Hindi publishers from across the country are exhibiting their books at Hall 12 (A) for the readers. Besides National Book Trust, India, the other publishers include Bhartiya Jnanpith, Sahitya Akademi, Hindi Academy Delhi, Central Hindi Directorate, Kabir Gyan Prakashan Kendra, Geeta Press, Vani Prakashan,  Rajkamal Prakashan, Raja Pocket Books, etc.
Theme Pavilion
"Reading textbooks only, does not inculcate the habit of reading," said Prof. N K Jangira, NCERT at a discussion held on the topic 'Inculcating Reading Habit among Children with Special Needs' at Theme Pavilion. It is the  supplementary reading material which indeed helps in developing the habit among children, he added. The other panelists included Prof. Anupam Ahuja, Department of Education, NCERT and Ms Shantha Rangarajan, Principal, National Association for the Blind. During the session, the speakers discussed about the different ways through which children with special needs can be encouraged to read books. They were of the opinion that more reading material for children needs to be developed and more efforts are required to create an environment of inclusive learning. The session was moderated by Shri Satish Kapoor, Founder Director, We Care and Brotherhood.
Author's Corner
A conversation with authors, Geeta Shree and Himanshu Bajpai was organised by Storytel at Author's Corner, Hall no. 8. The session was moderated  by Giri Raj Kiradu. During the session Geeta Shree, read some stories from her newly launched book, Haseenabaad. She announced that her book is being converted into an audio book as well. Later, Himanshu Bajpai, Urdu author, read one of his famous stories. Giri Raj Kiradu was of the view that Himanshu is playing a major role in reviving the Urdu writing culture in our country.
A discussion on the book, Birds in Delhi, was held at Author's Corner. The session was organised by Penguin Random House India, in collaboration with D.K. Publishers. Sanjay Tiwari noted photographer and member of Delhi Trust Foundation interacted with the author Nikhil Devasar. He said that the book contains five hundred species of birds; the most common to rarest of the rare. The book is perfect for any bird lover. It includes every information one might require - the months in which the birds are available and migrate, their types and habits, etc. "If you love them, let them fly" - quoted the writer whole talking about his admiration towards nature.
At Authors' Corner, Publications Division organised a discussion on 'Bal Sahitya aur Gadgets Mein Uljhe Bal Pathak' (Children's Literature and Children's Dependence on Gadgets). The speakers on the occasion were  Dr. Sachidanand Joshi, Member Secretary of Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts (IGNCA); Ms. Sadhna Raut, Director General, Publications Division; Dr Akhilesh Jha and Ms Shamima Siddique. On this occasion, several books published by Publications Division including Bapu Ki Vani, Ved-Gatha, Hamare Samay Mein Upnishad, Shekhawati Ki Lok Sanskriti, Haar Ki Khushi, Maa Ka Janmdin, Bal Mahabharat, Children's Vivekanand were launched.
Children's Pavilion
A storytelling session  was held at the Children's Pavilion in which Sujata Suri interacted with children and narrated stories on cleanliness and recycling. The session was organised by SNS Foundation, Pratham, Deep Foundation and Koshish.
Jaishree Sethi, Storyghar, told the nuances of creating jingles for radio to the children. They were then asked to create their own jingles. The children came up with a jingle on the book fair based on a popular Bollywood song, Suno zor se duniya walon, sabse aage hoga apna Book Fair.
During the day, children also presented skits on 'Jangal Ka Maharaja Kaun,' and  'Paryavaran Sanrakshan.' These skits were performed by the children from Koshish Special School and Mata Daan Kaur School, respectively. 

German DM:European joint force is ‘already taking shape’

Germany's defence minister "Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen" said and reveals, joint military force is ALREADY taking shape - 'We’re working very quickly to work together'

Germany's Merkel said last year June, she supports 's Macron idea of a joint European defense force, and initiative could be open to UK post Brexit. “My goal for next 5 years is that the world knows: in foreign policy, Europe speaks with 1 voice.” #EU 
German defence minister has said how a European joint force is 'already taking shape'.
 
Ursula von der Leyen said Germany and France are 'driving forces' in European defence and said the two countries would assist each other in the event of an armed territorial attack.
 
She also hit back at those skeptical at the European Union's PESCO defence scheme activated in 2017, where national armies will co-operate on military projects.
 
The PESCO scheme, an acronym for Permanent Structured Cooperation, involves 25 armies working with one another.
 
One such project, adopted in late November, involves France, Belgium and Cyprus developing a Beyond Line of Sight Land Battlefield missile systems family.
 
Another project, adopted in March last year, involves Greece, Italy and Slovakia developing and building a prototype European Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
 German government agreed on the text for an extended Elysèe Treaty.
 
The original treaty was signed in 1963 as a friendship pact between West Germany and France.
 
The extended treaty will be signed later this month by Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.
 
 Media agencies report

President Nicolas Maduro take over second term

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in to the second term.
The oath-taking ceremony was held in the capital Caracas and over representatives of ninety countries attended the ceremony.
U.S. & Canada has rejected the legitimacy of Maduro’s next term. Most countries and Latin American didn’t send representatives to the swearing-in.

Competitiveness, climate, security Finn’s priorities Ministry of Finance release Finnish road map of EU presidency. Finland i...