India's GSAT-15 communication satellite launched successfully
Indigenously made communications satellite GSAT-15 was launched successfully on 11 November 2015 by the European Ariane 5 VA-227 launch vehicle at 3:04 am.
The launch took place from Kourou in French Guyana in South America.
The Ariane-5 rocket was hired at a cost of approximately 581 crores rupees.
The 3164 kilogram GSAT-15 carries communication transponders in Ku-band as well as a GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L1 and L5 bands. An Arabsat communications satellite also accompanied the GSAT-15 on the same launch.
The GSAT-15 was launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) after its co-passenger Arabsat-6B (BADR-7) was injected into space.
The Indian Space Research Organisation’s Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka took over the command and control of GSAT-15 immediately after its separation from the launch vehicle.
After the completion of orbit raising operations, the two solar arrays and both the antenna reflectors of GSAT-15 will be deployed. Afterwards, the satellite will be put in its final orbital configuration.
GSAT-15 will be positioned at 93.5 degrees East longitude in the geostationary orbit along with the operational INSAT-3A and INSAT-4B satellites. After the successful completion of all the in-orbit tests, GSAT-15 will be ready for operational use.
GSAT-15 is the 10th communication satellite and has an estimated lifespan of 12 years. It will augment telecommunication, Direct-To-Home and radio navigation services.
Russian President Putin ordered inquiry into allegations of major drug abuse in athletics
Russian President Vladimir Putin on 11 November 2015 ordered an inquiry into allegations of major drug abuse in athletics that have left the country facing a possible Olympic ban. The president also declared that a foreign specialist could take over its discredited testing laboratory.
The inquiry was ordered in the wake of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report that said Russian athletics were plagued by systematic doping. The allegations have raised the prospect of Russia’s track and field athletes being denied participation in 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Russia was given a deadline till 13 November 2015 to come up with answers to the allegation by the athletics world governing body, International Association of Athletics Federations. With the deadline looming, Putin met sports chiefs in Sochi, the Black Sea home of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The stakes could not be higher for Russia, which risks being excluded from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio over damning allegations of corruption and state-sponsored doping.
12th ASEM Foreign Ministers' meet held in Luxemburg
12th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers' Meeting (ASEM FMM12) took place in Luxembourg on 5-6 November 2015. The meeting hosted by Government of Luxembourg was chaired by Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The ASEM FMM 12 was held under the theme Working Together for a Sustainable and Secure Future. The meeting was held few weeks before the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) in Paris. The UN Conference is scheduled to be held from 30 November to 11 December 2015.
The two-day meeting saw participation of 51 Foreign Ministers from 30 European and 21 Asian countries as well as the Secretary General of ASEAN participated.
ASEM Foreign Ministers' Meetings, in addition to pursuing the ASEM dialogue under the first and third pillars (political dialogue, co-operation in other areas), are also responsible for the overall coordination of the ASEM process.
The Foreign Ministers' Meeting also prepared for the 20th anniversary of the 11th ASEM Summit (ASEM11) scheduled to be held at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in 2016.
Abraham M Keita from Liberia won the 2015 International Children's Peace Prize
Liberian teenager Abraham M Keita was on 10 November 2015 awarded with the prestigious International Children’s Peace Prize 2015. He was awarded for his extraordinary and peaceful fight for justice for child victims of physical or sexual violence, and for successfully campaigning for the Liberian parliament to adopt the Children’s Law.
Seventeen-year-old Keita received the prize from Nobel Peace Laureate and his countrywoman Leymah Gbowee in The Hague. Gbowee in 2011 became the first Liberian to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in Liberia’s peace-building process.
About International Children’s Peace Prize
International Children’s Peace Prize is awarded annually to child from across the world for his or her dedication to children’s rights. The prize is an initiative of Marc Dullaert, Chairman and Founder of the Dutch KidsRights Foundation.
The prize was launched by KidsRights during the 2005 Nobel Peace Laureates’ Summit chaired by Mikhail Gorbachev. Since then, the prize has been presented every year by a Nobel Peace Laureate.
Neha Gupta, an 18-year-old Indian American from Philadelphia, was awarded with the 2014 International Children’s Peace Prize for her work to help orphans in India and other vulnerable children. Neha was the first ever American to be awarded with the prize.
Opposition Croatian Democratic Union led by HDZ Party won Parliamentary Elections of Croatia
Opposition Croatian Democratic Union led by HDZ Party won the parliamentary elections of Croatia on 9 November 2015. The parliamentary elections were the first since the Balkan country Croatia joined the European Union (EU) in 2013.
On the basis of 99.5 percent of votes counted, the opposition conservatives HDZ party headed by former intelligence chief Tomislav Karamarko won 59 seats in the 151-seat parliament. On the other, the ruling Social Democrats (SDP) led by incumbent Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic got 56 seats.
However, no single party mustered enough votes to rule alone as they fell short of 76 seats needed for majority to form the government. The forming of government will depend upon several small parties that won the elections, especially the MOST or Bridge party.
The MOST is an alliance of independent candidates and it emerged as a powerful force in the election by winning 19 seats.
The Main issue in the Elections
The migration crisis was one of the main issues as the Balkan country in 2015 has become a transit hub for migrants, many from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. The cost of managing the arrivals has been close to 2 million kuna (284000 dollars) a day.
Besides, Croatia’s weak economy was also one of the main issues. The unemployment is at 15.4 percent, which is the third-highest in the EU, after Greece and Spain and the growth has been very little as the country has suffered six years of recession.
Croatian Constitution on Government Formation
According to the constitution, Croatia’s president must consult parliamentary parties and nominate a prime minister-designate who gains the support of the majority of lawmakers. If the prime minister-designate fails to form a new government within two months, new elections are called.
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