International Organizations, Defence, Books & Authors, World History

Notes:
The headquarters of the African Standby Force is located in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. African Standby Force is the peacekeeping force of the African Union which includes military, police, and civilian contingents. The main purpose of this force is to provide an effective and efficient deployment of force in times of crisis in Africa.

Notes:
The headquarters of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures is located in Saint-Cloud, a western suburb of Paris, the capital city of France. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures is an intergovernmental organisation that was established by the Metre Convention, through which member states act together on matters related to measurement science and measurement standards (i.e. the International System of Units).

Notes:
France and Belgium were the countries that participated in the military attack “Occupation of the Ruhr”. The Occupation of the Ruhr happened as part of the Aftermath of World War I and political violence in Germany (1918–33), was a period of military occupation of the Ruhr region of Germany by France and Belgium between 11 January 1923 and 25 August 1925. France and Belgium occupied the heavily industrialized Ruhr Valley in response to Germany defaulting on reparation payments dictated by the victorious powers after World War I in the Treaty of Versailles. Occupation of the Ruhr worsened the economic crisis in Germany, and German civilians engaged in acts of passive resistance and civil disobedience, during which 130 were killed. France and Belgium, facing economic and international pressure, accepted the Dawes Plan to restructure Germany’s payment of war reparations in 1924 and withdrew their troops from the Ruhr by August 1925. The Occupation of the Ruhr contributed to German re-armament and the growth of radical right-wing movements in Germany.

Notes:
Germany’s political history is connected to “Schicksalstag” events. November 9 has been the date of several important events in German history. The term Schicksalstag or the Day of Fate has been occasionally used by historians and journalists since shortly after World War II, but its current widespread use started with the events of 1989 when virtually all German media picked up the term. There are six notable events in German history that are connected to 9 November: the execution of Robert Blum, the leader of the Vienna Revolts, in 1848; the end of the monarchies through the November Revolution in 1918; the naming of Albert Einstein as the winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics “for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect”; Hitler putsch attempt in 1923 which marked an early emergence and provisional downfall of the Nazi Party as an important player on Germany’s political landscape; the Nazi antisemitic pogroms in 1938 known in Germany as the Reichspogromnacht (Kristallnacht) and the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 which ended German separation and started a series of events that ultimately led to German reunification.

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Exercise Yudh Abhyas is a joint military exercise between India and USA. It is conducted annually. It is happening since 2005 under a joint agreement.

Notes:
Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) is an annual bilateral naval exercise. It is conducted India and Singapore navies. The exercise has been held annually since 1994.

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SSB is an armed border force formerly known as Special Service Bureau earlier and now as Shasastra Seema Bal. It was raised in 1963 to counter the Chinese invasion. SSB is the first border guarding force that decided to recruit women battalions. It guards the Indo Nepal border and Indo Bhutan border.

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The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) came into being in the year 2006. Its existence came out of the merge of the ICFTU and World Confederation of Labor.

Notes:
Indonesia is the country of origin of the armoured personnel carrier “Anoa”. The Anoa is a 6×6 armoured personnel carrier developed by PT Pindad, an Indonesian state-owned enterprise specialising in military and commercial products. The vehicle is named after the Anoa, which is a type of buffalo indigenous to Indonesia. The prototype was first unveiled at the 61st anniversary of the Indonesian National Armed Forces on October 5, 2006.