August 2023

 The word “Asia” is a female name and means “sunrise”.

 Asia
o Largest City in Asia : Tokyo
o Largest Lake: Baikal Lake
o Time Zones: UTC+2 to UTC+12
o Located primarily in the Eastern and Northern Hemispheres.
o Separated from Africa by the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
o 14 of the tallest mountains in the world can be found in Asia.
o Separated from North America by Bering Strait.
Top 5 Populace Ctys
India 1.4286 billion
China 1.4257 billion
United Sates 340 million
Indonesia 275-280 million
Pakistan Over 240 million

 Arabian Peninsula is the largest Peninsula in the World.

 Deepest trench of world. Mariana Trench - Pacific Ocean near Philippines.
 Pamir plateau is known as ‘Roof of the World’ situated in the Central Asia.
 Gallium is a soft, silvery metallic element that has a similar structure to silicon
and is used in advanced microelectronics.
 Wagner Group, a Russian government funded paramilitary and mercenary
private security company whose ranks include thousands of former prisoners and
some of the most battle hardened fighters in Russia, staged an armed rebellion and
started its “March for Justice” toward Moscow.
 Yevgeny Prigozhin - Leader of Russian mercenary Wagner Group
 Wagner forces seized control of military headquarters in city of Rostov-on-Don
in southern Russia.
 Britain had promised Jews their separate homeland in Palestine, in the wake of
their nationalist demand, through the Balfour Declaration (1917).
 In 1948, the British left Palestine.
 Palestine and other Arab states rejected the Partition plan and declared war on
Israel. This war which was fought by Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iran
 against Israel is known as First Arab-Israel War. Israel won the war. To escape
the atrocities of Israeli forces, about one million Palestinians migrated to the
neigh-bouring Arab states. This mass exodus is known as “Nakba.”
 United States and United Kingdom have recently unveiled a groundbreaking
strategic pact known as the “Atlantic Declaration.”
 The ultimate goal of Special Investment Facilitation Council (SFIC) is to achieve
a $1 trillion GDP level by 2035.
 Pakistan passed a special order to allow barter trade with Afghanistan, Iran and
Russia.
 SCO
o Iran’s accession to membership accorded on July 4, 2023.
o Official Languages: Chinese and Russia
o It is also termed as ‘NATO of the East’.
o 23rd summit of the Heads of State - held virtually hosted by India in 2023.
 Permafrost. Any ground that stays frozen-0 degree Celsius or lower-for at least 2
years straight.
 Sahel region. Region in Africa that extends south of the Sahara from Senegal in
the west to Ethiopia in the east of Africa.
 Karman line. An imaginary line that marks the boundary of Earth’s atmosphere
and the start of space. It is at a distance of 100 km (62 miles) above sea level.
Karman line is mostly accepted by all, NASA and the American Air Force put the
limit at 50 miles.
 Laundromat’ countries. that buy Russian oil and sell processed products to
European ctys, thus sidestep-ping European sanctions against Russian Oil. The
five countries (India, China, Turkey, UAE and Singapore) are identified as
‘Laundromats’.
 Why is the US dollar used so widely? In 1944, the Bretton Woods Agreement
estb the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
 Reserve Currency. Reserve currencies are foreign currencies held by central
banks and other monetary authorities to facilitate international transactions,
stabilized exchange rates, and bolster financial confidence.

COMMON FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

 Democracy. “of the people, by the people, for the people,”.
 Communism. A centralized form of government led by a single party that is often
authoritarian in its rule. Inspired by German philosopher Karl Marx.
 Socialism. A political and economic system in which property and the means of
production are owned in common, typically controlled by the state or
government.
 Oligarchy. Govts in which a collection of individuals rules over a nation.
 Aristocracy. A government form in which a small, elite ruling class-the
aristocrats-have power over those in lower socioeconomic strata.
 Monarchy. Power system that appoints a person as head of state for life or until
abdication, authority traditionally passes down through a succession line related
to one’s bloodline and birth order within ruling royal family.
 Theocracy. Form of government in which a specific religious ideology
determines the leadership, laws and customs.
 Colonialism. Form of government in which a nation extends its sovereignty over
other territories.
 Totalitarianism. An authoritarian form of government in which the ruling party
recognizes no limitations whatsoever on its power, including in its citizens’ lives
or rights.
 Military Dictatorship. A nation ruled by a single authority with absolute power
and no democratic process.
 Pakistan Army secured second position in International Pace Sticking
Competition 2023 at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, United Kingdom.
 Zaheer Ahmed, a Pakistani law-enforcement officer, was presented with the
prestigious Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Hero award by US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken.
 British Pakistani charity worker Ehsan Shahid Choudhry was granted the
honour of British Empire Medal (BEM) for feeding the needy and homeless
people in West London through his “Open Kitchen” initiative.
 Pakistan entrepreneur Bilal Bin Saqib was granted the Honour of The Most
Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his humanitarian services
during Covid-19 in the UK for his initiative, One Million Meals.
 Pakistan and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a 1,200
MW Chashma-5 (C-5) nuclear power project woth $3.48 billion.
 Green Bond: A financial instrument whose proceeds are invested exclusively in
projects that generate climate or other environmental benefits.
 Blue Bond: A bond that is issued to finance the protection and conservation of
marine ecosystems.
 Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
(CPTPP) - A free trade agreement involving 11 countries.
 Ahsan Ramzan, Pakistan’s former world champion outclassed Iran’s Milad
Pourali Darehchi to win the Asian U-21 Snooker Championship.
 The government gave approval to eight special economic zones (SEZs).
 Pakistan’s Faiza Nasir and Naheen Khan won gold medal in badminton
women’s doubles in the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin while in the
men’s doubles, Nosherwan and Arif Raja took silver medal.
 Safeer Abid of Pakistan won gold medal in the 10 km time trial race of the
cycling event of the 16th Special Olympics World Games in Berlin.
 Pakistani contingent won a total of 80 medals in the Special Olympic World
Games played in Berlin, Germany.
 Bahawalpur Zoo was renamed back to its original name Sher Bagh.
 Pakistan ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi created history by becoming the first
bowler to take four wickets in the first over of a T20 match.
 Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in Hague rejected India’s six objections
challenging the ongoing court’s jurisdiction to hear the case about the controversial
designs of 330-MW Kishenganga and 850-MW Ratle hydropower projects that
India is building on Pakistan’s rivers Jhelum and Chenab.
 Iraq became the fifth country that initiated deal for purchasing JF-17 Thunder
fighter aircraft from Pakistan and concluded it successfully.
 Chitral trounced Gilgit-Baltistan in a thrilling contest to lift the Shandur title for the
seventh consecutive time.
 Operation Barbarossa
o Launched by German Dictator Adolf Hitler
o Invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany – WW II.
o Largest land offensive in human history.
o Opened the Eastern Front, the war’s largest theatre.
 Pakistan’s top sprinter Shajar Abbas created a new national record by clocking
10:37 secs in 100m race in 25th Asian Athletics Championship in Bangkok.
 1200MW Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 (C-5) - Mianwali.
 Battle of Chausa was fought between the Humayun (Mughal emperor) and Sher
Shah Suri at Chausa, in Bihar. Sher Shah Suri was victorious and crowned
himself Farid al-Din Sher Shah.
 International Boxing Association’s (IBA) recognition as the global body for the
sport was stripped by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
 Modi was bestowed with Egypt’s highest honour, “the Order of the Nile”.
 Shimla Agreement (1972) was signed by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (President of
Pakistan) and Indira Gandhi (Prime Minister of India) to “Settle differences
between India and Pakistan by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations”.
 World’s first 16-megawatt offshore wind turbine was successfully installed in
southeast China’s Fujian Province.
 Spain assumed presidency of the EU.
 After an ‘extraordinary’ meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the 57-state
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said that collective measures were
needed to prevent acts of desecration of the Holy Quran.
 India approved the purchase of 26 French marine Rafale jets and three Scorpene-
Class submarines from France.
 France’s president Emmanuel Macron awarded the country’s top honour, the
Legion d Honneur (Legion of Honour), to Narendra Modi.
 Indian launched a rocket carrying the unmanned Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft to land
on the moon, its second attempt to do so.
 NATO Plus 5 is a security arrangement that bring together NATO and five aligned
nations-Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel and: South Korea
 The Titan submersible, operated by OceanGate Expeditions imploded in the:
Atlantic Ocean
 WAM is the state news agency of: UAE
 Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland - World Economic Forum
 The only eagle solely native to North America is: American bald eagle
 Headquarter in Vienna (Austria), UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
 A tremendous explosion on the Sun that happens when energy stored in
‘twisted’ magnetic fields is suddenly released is called: Solar Flare
 The number of biosphere reserves Pakistan has is: Four
 Lal Suhanra designated as a biosphere reserve - Cholistan Desert
 The largest sand island in the world is: Fraser Island (now named K’gari)
 Durand Cup is Asia’s oldest and world’s third oldest tournament: Football
 The operator of the submersible that imploded near the wreck of the Titanic was:
Ocean Gate Expeditions.
 CEO of OceanGate Expeditions who aslo died in the implosion of the submersible
was: Stockton Rush
 The war-scarred Tigray region is in: Ethiopia
 Hiran Minar was constructed during the reign of Mughal Emperor: Jahangir
 The country that hosts the Arab world’s largest population is: Eqypt
 Architect of the reunification of Germany was: Otto Von Bismarck
 The mosque from where the Hajj sermon is delivered is: Masjid-e-Nimra
 Dhabeji Industrial Zone (DIZ) project is located in: Thatta
 The concentration of water vapour present in the air is called: Humidity
 Bard is a conversational generative AI chatbot developed by: Google
 Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands belonging to: Ecuador
 Canary Islands, an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, is owned by: Spain
 The famous Dal Lake is in: Srinagar (IIOJK)
 Gurdwara Dera Sahib is located in: Lahore
 Christopher Colombus’s fleet that launched the Spanish conquest of the
Americas was: Santa Maria
 Titanic sank in 1912 in its maiden voyage across: The Atlantic
 The current CEO of Twitter is: Linda Yaccarino
 Current CEO of Open AI (company that launched Chat GPT) is: Sam Altma
 The name of the Bill Gates’s futuristic city will be: Belmont
 The fist country to grant citizenship to a Robot was: Saudi Arabia
 Kohat tunnel project completed with the financial assistance of: Japan
 Country which opposed Pakistan’s membership in UN was: Afghanistan
 The company that built the Titanic was: The White Star Line
 The most populous city in the world is: Tokyo (Japan)
 The most densely populous city in the world is: Tokyo (Japan)
 The twelfth month of Islamic calendar is: Zul Hajja
 France’s Legion of Honour award was introduced by: Napoleon Bonaparte
 The current president of Iran is: Ebrahim Raisi
 The first female Shaheed (martyr) of Islam was: Hazrat Sumayyah (RA)
 The vitamin the deficiency of which causes rickets is: Vitamin D
 The main constituent of haemoglobin is: Iron
 The number of milk teeth in human beings is: 20