PIB Notes
WORLD :
Operation Matterhorn
- It was the largest peacetime repatriation of British Govt. after travel company Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy, stranding hundreds of thousands of holiday-makers.
- The effort was to fly 150,000 travelers who were booked on Thomas Cook flights back home to Britain.
Taiwan: Losing Diplomatic Allies
- Kiribati is the seventh country to sever its diplomatic ties with Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen came to office in 2016, following Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, Sao Tome and Principe, Panama, El Salvador and the Solomon Islands.
- China claims Taiwan as its territory, and says the democratic island has no right to formal ties with any country.
- Taiwan now has formal relations with only 15 countries worldwide.
- India has no official diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Chilahati- Haldibari Rail Link
- The foundation stone was laid at Chilahati in Bangladesh for undertaking the work of up-gradation and laying of missing tracks from Chilahati to the border with India near Haldibari.
- The 7.5-kilometre long railway track will help in providing connectivity from West Bengal into Assam via Bangladesh.
- The Haldibari-Chilahati railway track was part of the broad gauge main route from Kolkata to Siliguri during British undivided India. Trains from Bangladesh to Darjeeling via Siliguri operated till 1965 which stopped functioning after the 1965 Indo-Pak war.
Motihari-Amlekhgunj Pipeline
- The recently launched Motihari (Bihar)-Amlekhgunj (Nepal) pipeline is the first cross-border petroleum products pipeline in South Asia.
- The 69km pipeline will transport fuel from Barauni in Bihar to Amlekhgunj in Nepal.
- Construction of the pipeline was undertaken by Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOCL), India’s largest refiner, in collaboration with Nepal Oil Corp. Ltd (NOCL).
SpaceCom: A New Pentagon Command
- SpaceCom is a new command of Pentagon (United States’ Department of Defense), dedicated to warfare in space.
- Air Force General John Raymond, will lead the new command.
