By: D.K Choudhary
Iran and Russia Agrees Roadmap to Jointly Produce Nuclear Fuel
i. Russia and Iran have agreed a roadmap to jointly produce nuclear fuel. The announcement was made by the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation (AEOI), Ali Akbar Salehi on February 25, 2017.
ii. A preliminary agreement with Russia on the joint production of nuclear fuel was reached during the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the major world powers in 2015.
iii.Besides, Iran also plans to buy 950 tonnes of uranium ore (yellow cake) from Kazakhstan over the next three years which is part of Iran’s international nuclear deal known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
iv. Nearly 650 tons of the yellow cake shipment will arrive in Tehran directly in two batches of shipment during two years. The remaining 300 tons of this shipment will arrive in Tehran over the third year.
v. The JCPOA is an international agreement reached in Vienna on July 14, 2015 between Iran with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: China, France, Russia, Britain, the US plus Germany and the European Union.
vi. Under the agreement Iran agreed to scale back its nuclear activities to a considerable degree in return for the lift of international sanctions.
Iran
♦ Capital: Tehran
♦ Currency: Iranian rial
♦ President: Hassan Rouhani
2017 Mobile World Congress (MWC) Begins in Barcelona
i. The 2017 Mobile World Congress (MWC) began in Mobile World Capital Barcelona on February 27, 2017 and will conclude on March 2, 2017.
ii. MWC is the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry, organised by the GSMA. The global tech industry gathers to get participate in new smartphone launches, VR and AR developments, chipsets and wearables.
iii. The GSMA Mobile World Congress is a combination of the world’s largest exhibition for the mobile industry and a conference featuring prominent executives representing mobile operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, vendors and content owners from across the world.
iv. Some of the leading industry participating in the event includes BlackBerry, Motorola, Google, Nokia, HTC, Huawei, LG, Samsung, Sony, ZTE among others.
v. During the event, Nokia re-introduced the iconic Nokia 3310 handset in a new design along with the Snake game at the Mobile World Congress (MWC). Besides, it also re-launched Nokia 5 and 3.
Australia and Indonesia Restore Full Military Ties
i. Australia and Indonesia restored their full military ties on February 26, 2017 during the visit of Indonesian President Joko Widodo to Australia to boost ties with the country.
ii. The announcement was made by Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Earlier in January 2017, Indonesia’s military suspended cooperation with Australia after insulting training material was found at a special force’s base in the west Australian city of Perth.
iii. The material allegedly ridiculed Indonesia’s founding principles known as Pancasila, and its military.
iv .The two nations agreed for full restoration of defense cooperation, training exchanges and activities. Both were also committed to concluding a free trade deal in 2017.
v. The two leaders also witnessed the signing of an agreement on maritime cooperation that includes strengthening maritime security and border protection as well as combating crime and improving efficiency of shipping.
Australia Indonesia
♦ Capital: Canberra ♦ Capital: Jakarta
♦ Currency: Australian dollar ♦ Currency: Indonesian rupiah
♦ Prime minister: Malcolm Turnbull ♦ President: Joko Widodo
