International Current Affairs

World Cancer Day is observed every year on February 4. The theme for World Cancer Day 2022 is ‘Close the Care Gap’.

The state of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is a crime against humanity and is illegal under international law, Amnesty International said on Tuesday. The rights group says Israel’s “oppression and domination” of Palestinians amounts to apartheid. Amnesty said Israel has embraced laws and practices that “are intended to maintain a cruel system of control over Palestinians, have left them fragmented geographically and politically, frequently impoverished, and in a constant state of fear and insecurity.”

Bloody Sunday, or the Bogside Massacre, was a massacre on 30 January 1972 when British soldiers shot 26 unarmed civilians during a protest march in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is marking 50 years of Bloody Sunday, on which British soldiers fired upon a crowd of protesters, killing 14 people. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin also tweeted that the country is paying tribute to the families of the victims. The violence took place during a march organized by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association.

The 2022 Women’s Pan American Cup was the sixth edition of the Women’s Pan American Cup, the quadrennial international women’s field hockey championship of the Americas organized by the Pan American Hockey Federation. The cup would be held from 19 to 29 January 2022 in Santiago, Chile. Argentina was the defending champions, winning the 2017 edition. They defended their title after a final win over Chile.

The 2022 Women’s Hockey Asia Cup was the 10th edition of the Women’s Hockey Asia Cup, the quadrennial international women’s field hockey championship of Asia organized by the Asian Hockey Federation. It was held from 21 to 28 January 2022 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, Oman. Japan won its third title after a final win over South Korea.

1st: US, 2nd: Russia, 3rd: China, 4th India, 5th: Japan, 6th: South Korea, 7th: France, 8th: UK, 9th: Pakistan, 10: Brazil.

On January 18, 2020, Indonesia passed a bill to move its capital from Jakarta to East Kalimantan, situated in the east of Borneo island about 2,000 kilometers away. The new capital city of the country will be called Nusantara which translates to “archipelago”. Jakarta has been Indonesia’s capital since the country became independent in 1949. The reason behind Indonesia’s decision is simple. Jakarta is sinking. The northern part of Jakarta that meets the Java sea has been sinking 25 centimeters a year and it is affecting the 10 million people living in the city.

Chinese scientists have built an “artificial moon” research facility, to simulate low-gravity environments using magnetism. The facility, which is to be officially launched this year, will use powerful magnetic fields inside a vacuum chamber to make gravity disappear. This effect is called ‘Diamagnetic levitation’.

The newly constructed Infinity Bridge opened for traffic on January 16. The bridge fosters an arc structure shaped like the symbol of infinity, which represents the unlimited ambitions that Dubai incorporates on its road to development.