Notes:
A new trend in China is becoming popular recently. It is being employed as full-time children to one’s own parents. Youth employment has been a national concern in China, parents hire their own kids full-time on a specific payment. In June 2023, the rate of employment among 16 to 24-year-old people was 21.3%.
As per reports these full time kids are paid closer to 8,000 Yuan a month which is the average salary in China.

Notes:
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said that 79 per cent of people in Afghanistan lack sufficient access to water for essential needs like drinking, cooking, bathing, and washing.
The water crisis in Afghanistan is further enhanced by various challenges, particularly the most severe drought in 30 years, a deepening economic turmoil, and the enduring effects of forty years of warfare.

Notes:
The five-member BRICS invited six more countries to join the alliance, to strengthen its claim of being a ‘voice of the Global South’, while raising concerns about China’s increasing dominance on the other.
BRICS consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. In its ongoing summit at Johannesburg, South Africa, it has invited Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Their membership will begin in January.

Notes:
The Zhen Hua 15, a project cargo vessel flying the Hong Kong flag, has commenced its maiden voyage from the East China Sea to the coast of Kerala.
This vessel carries one quay crane and two-yard cranes is destined for the Vizhinjam international seaport in Kerala. Port authorities in Kerala ordered eight quay cranes and 24-yard cranes from Zhenhua Port Machinery Company in Shanghai, China.

Notes:
Southeast Asian leaders decided that Myanmar won’t take over the rotating leadership of their regional bloc as scheduled in 2026.
The Philippines agreed to take over the regional bloc’s chairmanship in 2026 at an ASEAN summit hosted by Indonesia.

Notes:
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a landmark summit, marking the first meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council (SPC), which was established in 2019.
The council consists of two main pillars: the Committee on Political, Security, Social, and Cultural Cooperation, and the Committee on Economy and Investments, each with several levels of engagement. The two nations agreed to expedite the USD 50-billion West Coast refinery project.

Notes:
India and the UK have announced the launch of an infrastructure financing bridge to facilitate major infrastructure projects, as revealed by India’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman.
The two nations have also agreed to conduct investment negotiations concurrently with goods negotiations as part of their free trade agreement (FTA) discussions.

Notes:
The Hangzhou Asian Games Village was inaugurated at Hangzhou, China in the presence of acting director general of the Olympic Council of Asia, Vinod Kumar Tiwari.
The 19th edition of the mega event will commence on September 23. The village will accommodate 20,000 people in three communities: Athletes’ Village, Media Village and Technical Officials’ Village.

Notes:
Canada said that it was “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia in June.
This is seen as a further blow to diplomatic ties between the countries. Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in June, in Surrey with a large Sikh population. Nijjar supported a Sikh homeland in the form of an independent Khalistani state and was designated by India as a “terrorist” in July 2020.

Notes:
East African country Rwanda has a record with an impressive 61 percent of women in its Parliament, a contrast to many other countries.
After the tragic Rwandan genocide in 1994, there was a predominant female population as large number of men killed during the violence. To address the societal and gender imbalances, Rwanda implemented a transformative gender equality initiative in its 2003 constitution, introducing quotas, ensuring women held 30 percent of decision-making positions.