Ishaq Dar

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (73) was appointed as the country’s Deputy Prime Minister on 28 April 2024. He a chartered accountant. Ishaq belongs to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. 
 

Gary Kirsten

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed World Cup-winning Gary Kirsten as their head coach for ODIs and T20Is, while former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie will take over that role in Test cricket on 28 April 2024. Along with them, former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood was appointed as the assistant coach of the team across the formats.
 

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

♦ According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India was the fourth-largest military spender in the world in 2023. It spent $83.6 billion to modernize various weapons and combat systems. 

♦ The United States ($916 billion), China ($296 billion), and Russia ($109 billion) were the top three spenders in that order. India's military spending saw a 4.2 percent increase compared to 2022.

♦ India was the fourth-highest spender in 2022 too, its military spending then stood at $81.4 billion, which was 6% more than that in 2021, and up by 47% from 2013.

♦ Globally, total military expenditure reached $2443 billion in 2023, marking a 6.8 percent increase from 2022.

Prabowo Subianto

♦ Prabowo Subianto was elected as the new President of Indonesia.

♦ Indonesia's electoral commission formally declared this on 24 April 2024.

♦ Currently, Subianto is the Defence Minister of the country.

♦ He won the election with 58.6% of the votes. 

♦ Subianto will take office in October 2024. He succeeds Joko Widodo. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres

♦ UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Gita Sabharwal of India as the United Nations resident coordinator in Indonesia.

♦ Previously, Sabharwal served as the UN resident coordinator in Thailand and as peacebuilding and development adviser for the United Nations in Sri Lanka.

The World Health Organization (WHO)

♦ The World Health Organization (WHO) said Nigeria has rolled out the world's first vaccine against all strains of meningitis.

♦ This will help ease the burden of disease in Africa's “meningitis belt”. 

♦ Nigeria has become the first country in Africa's "meningitis belt" to introduce the new Men5CV or 'MenFive' meningitis vaccine. 

♦ It is the world's first vaccine to protect against all five strains of the meningococcal bacteria that cause meningitis.

♦ Around half of meningitis cases and deaths occur in children under 5 years old.

Dohas Hamad International Airport (HIA)

♦ Doha's Hamad International Airport (HIA) was named the world's best airport by Skytrax. Singapore's Changi Airport clinched the second rank.

♦ Every year, UK-based airline and airport review and ranking site Skytrax surveys travelers from around the globe to compile its list of the best airports in the world. 

♦ South Korea’s Incheon International Airport bagging third place. Japan’s Haneda Airport and Narita International Airport took the fourth and fifth places on the list, respectively.

♦ Delhi International Airport retained 36th rank in the list and clinched the title of 'best airport in India and South Asia once again.

♦ Meanwhile, its GMR parent, Hyderabad International Airport, was named 'best airport staff service in India and South Asia' and rose to 61th place from being the 65th best airport in 2023.

♦ Bangalore International Airport also excelled, winning the award for 'best regional airport in India and South Asia' and leaping 10 ranks to 59 from 69 last year. 

Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Ahmad al-Sabah

♦ Kuwait’s Emir has appointed Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Ahmad al-Sabah as the new Prime Minister of the country on 16 April 2024. This decision follows the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah on April 7.

♦ Sheikh Ahmad is a Kuwaiti economist and has served as Minister of Finance and Communications from 1999 to 2005, before serving as Minister of Health, Minister of oil and Minister of Information from 2006 to 2011.

Lee Hsien Loong

♦ Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (72) will step down on May 15 as part of a long-planned succession. Deputy Prime Minister Wong (51) will become the fourth PM of Singapore on the same day. 

♦ Lee, 72, was sworn in as Singapore's third Prime Minister on August 12, 2004. He is one of the longest-serving current political leaders in the world. His father, the late Lee Kuan Yew, served as Singapore’s first prime minister from 1959 to 1990. 
 

World Trade Organisation

♦ The World Trade Organisation (WTO) published the 2024 edition of the 'Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report'. According to this, India has become the world's fourth-largest exporter of digitally delivered services. India's exports of digitally delivered services reached $257 billion in 2023, marking a 17% increase compared to the previous year (2022). 

♦ The report highlights that globally, exports of digitally delivered services surged to $4.25 trillion in 2023, marking a 9% year-on-year increase. This accounted for 13.8% of world exports of goods and services.
 

World Cybercrime Index

♦ India ranked number 10 in the 'World Cybercrime Index'.

♦ An international team of researchers has compiled this index, which ranks roughly 100 countries worldwide.

♦ Russia topped the list and was followed by Ukraine, China, the US, Nigeria and Romania.

♦ North Korea was in the seventh position, while the UK and Brazil were in the eighth and ninth positions, respectively.

♦ Experts in cybercrime intelligence gathering and investigations participated in a global survey.

♦ The survey, involving 92 leading figures from around the world, focused on five major cybercrime categories.

Irelands new Prime Minister

Simon Harris (37) became Ireland's new Prime Minister on 9 April 2024. He replaced Leo Varadkar. Simon became Ireland's youngest PM. Ireland's parliament voted 88 to 69 in favour of Harris. Harris, formerly an education minister, ran unopposed to succeed Varadkar as leader of the center-right Fine Gael party. 
 

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

♦ The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) is set to host its first clean economy investor forum in Singapore on June 5-6, The department of commerce said on 9 April 2024. IPEF was launched in May 2022 and currently includes 14 partners – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, United States and Vietnam. 

♦ It provides a platform for countries in the region to collaborate on advancing resilient, sustainable, and inclusive economic growth, and aims to contribute to cooperation, stability and prosperity in the region. The IPEF comprises four pillars of cooperation namely: Trade, Supply Chain, Clean Economy and Fair Economy.
 

Egyptian President

♦ Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (69) was sworn in for his third term as President. Sisi had won the Presidential election with 89.6 percent of the vote in December 2023. He is set to remain president until 2030. 

♦ Since Sisi became president in 2014, Egypt has embarked on an infrastructure splurge spearheaded by the military, which he says is essential for economic development and to accommodate a population that has grown by 6 million since hitting the 100 million mark four years ago.