General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - October 2014

Oct 2014

Apr 21, 2021

Pakistan Gets Payment Relief as UAE Rolls over $2 Billion Loan

The United Arab Emirates has rolled over the pending payment of a $2 billion loan by Pakistan, amid a three-day visit of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to the nation.
The payment relief comes days after the South Asian nation reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a resumption of a $6 billion bailout program.
Having averted a financial crisis just two years ago, Pakistan finds itself with little room for policy errors due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The central bank expects the economy will expand by around 3% in the year to June, after a rare contraction in the previous 12 months.

World Press Freedom Index

India remained at the 142nd position among 180 countries in the World Press Freedom index, with the report saying that the country was among nations where reporting on the Covid-19 pandemic was blocked or seriously impeded.
India was ranked in the "bad" category, along with Brazil, Mexico and Russia. In south Asia, Nepal was placed 106, Sri Lanka 127, Myanmar 140, Pakistan 145 and Bangladesh at the 152nd spot. China was ranked 177, and the US 44.

China's Xi Launches Veiled Attack on US

Chinese President Xi Jinping hit out at the US, saying that there should be no bossing and meddling in the internal affairs of other countries as Beijing is increasingly coming under pressure from Washington and its allies over issues of human rights violations, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
"Bossing others around or meddling in others' internal affairs would not get one any support. We must advocate peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, which are common values of humanity, and encourage exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations to promote the progress of human civilization," Xi said, without directly referring to the US.
His snide remark against Washington came as US President Joe Biden vigorously pursued a strong China containment policy initiated by his predecessor by Donald Trump.
Biden united US allies like the UK, the EU and Japan over his China policy.
He also held the first quadrilateral summit of the emerging alliance called Quad which included US, Australia, Japan and India.
The US, the European Union, Britain and Canada have imposed coordinated sanctions on China over alleged human rights violations against Uygur Muslims in Xinjiang, a charge Beijing denied.

Finland World's Happiest Country

Finland has been named the happiest country in the world by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which publishes an annual report evaluating the happiness of people around the world.
The World Happiness Report uses data from interviews of more than 350,000 people in 95 countries, conducted by Gallup. The rankings are based on how people rate their own happiness on a 10-point scale.

Apr 20, 2021

EU Releases Indo-Pacific Strategy

The European Council approved and released the European Union (EU) strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific which aims for 'regional stability, security, prosperity, and sustainable development' at a time of rising challenges and tensions in the region.
The European Union has now joined blocks like ASEAN which has its own outlook on the Indo-Pacific vision, strongly backed by India and the US.
The EU intends to reinforce its role as a cooperative partner in the Indo-Pacific, bringing added-value to relations with all its partners in the region.
The EU intends to reinforce its role as a cooperative partner in the Indo-Pacific, bringing added-value to relations with all its partners in the region.

Britcoin Digital Currency Being Considered by UK

British authorities are exploring the possibility of creating a new digital currency that Treasury chief Rishi Sunak indicated could be known as Britcoin.
The Bank of England and the Treasury said that they will work together to assess the benefits of a central bank digital currency, at a time when cash payments are generally on the decline, partly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The bank said that the new currency, if it comes to pass, would be a new form of digital money for use by households and businesses and would exist alongside cash and bank deposits, rather than replacing them.

Tanzania Approves $3.5b Oil Pipeline Construction

Tanzania's government has given the green light for the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, a 1,445 km (897 miles) project stretching from the coastal region of Tanga to Uganda.
The country's Minister for Energy, Dr. Medard Kalemani, said that the negotiation process that had started in May 2017 was finally complete.
This paves the way for the start of the $3.55bn (£2.5bn) pipeline. Between 10,000 and 15,000 jobs are expected to be created once the project kicks off.
Last week, Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan made her first foreign trip to Uganda to oversee the signing of the agreement with her Ugandan counterpart.
Once completed, the project will be the longest heated crude oil pipeline in the world.

Apr 19, 2021

Woman Who Could be Germany's Next Chancellor

For the first time in their party's four-decade history, the German Greens have announced a candidate to run as chancellor.
Equally historic is the central role the Greens will play in September's general election.
The Green Party announced that Annalena Baerbock would be its choice to take over from Angela Merkel after September's election. Ms. Baerbock is likely to be the only woman in the race.
Once seen as a chaotic bunch of bearded hippies in sandals, the Greens are now likely to enter the next government.
With the conservatives in chaos amid rows over their candidate, the Green Party could even end up the largest in the new coalition. That would mean Annalena Baerbock would be Germany's next chancellor.
She's already being compared to young female leaders in New Zealand or Finland.

UN Suspends Operations in Northern Nigeria

The UN has suspended humanitarian operations in Dikwa and Damasak towns in Nigeria's north-eastern Borno State, after recent attacks by the Boko Haram jihadist group.
"We have temporarily suspended operations in these areas in order to safely relocate humanitarian staff and are closely monitoring the situation," said Edward Kallon, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria.
The UN intends to resume operations as soon as possible, so that civilians affected by the conflict are assisted.
Humanitarian aid facilities have in the past been targeted with the latest attack being on 10 April when three facilities were attacked and four people died.
The UN said that the attack would affect support to 8,800 internally displaced persons and 76,000 people in the host community receiving humanitarian assistance and protection.

China's Population to Enter Negative Growth after 2025

The demographics of the world's most populous country is set to change as China will experience a negative growth after 2025, which will result in shortage of consumer demand, a well-known Chinese economist has cautioned.
China's population is set to peak in just four years' time and the milestone will be marked by a significant downturn in consumer demand, said Cai Fang, a member of the monetary policy committee of the People's Bank of China, the central bank.
When the total population enters negative growth (after 2025), there will be a shortage of demand, Cai was quoted as saying by Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post on Sunday.
We need to pay attention to the impact of demographics on future consumption, he said.
Cai's comments came as China is due to release its latest census later this month.
According to a PBOC study released a few days ago, China should immediately liberalise its birth policies or face a scenario in which it has a lower share of workers and higher burden of elderly care than the United States by 2050.

Syria to Hold Election in May

Syria is to hold a presidential election next month, the country's parliament says - a move likely to maintain President Bashar al-Assad's grip on power.
Mr. Assad is not expected to face serious opposition despite continuing conflict and a growing economic crisis.
After 10 years of war the Syrian government controls most of the big population centres in the country.
About 400,000 people have been killed and over half of Syrians displaced.
As per Speaker Hamouda Sabbagh, the election for a President who will serve a seven-year-term will take place on 26 May. Prospective candidates for the election would be able to register from 19 April while Syrians abroad would be able to vote at embassies on 20 May.

Apr 18, 2021

Raúl Castro Steps Down as Cuban Communist Party Leader

Raúl Castro said that he is resigning as Cuban Communist Party leader, ending his family's six decades in power.
Mr. Castro is handing over the leadership to a younger generation "full of passion and anti-imperialist spirit".
His successor will be voted in at the end of the four-day congress.
The move, which was expected, ends the era of formal leadership by him and his brother Fidel Castro, which began with the 1959 revolution.
Although Mr. Castro has not endorsed a successor, it is widely believed the party leadership will pass to Miguel Díaz-Canel, who took over as the island's president in 2018.

Pakistan PM Appoints Shaukat Tareen as New Finance Minister

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan appointed Shaukat Tareen as the new Finance Minister of the country, the fourth to don the mantle, in another cabinet reshuffle.
A banker by profession, Tareen served in the same capacity in the government of Pakistan Peoples Party (2009-10) for a short period before he decided to step down to raise capital for his Silk Bank.
Tareen was facing corruption charges and had initially refused to accept the post until his name was cleared.
Shaukat Tareen is replacing Hammad Azhar, who was appointed towards the end of the last month after Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh was removed for failure to control raging inflation in the country.
Minister for Science Fawad Chaudhry was appointed Information Minister while his predecessor Shibli Faraz was appointed as Minister for Science.

Russia Bans Top Biden Officials as Tensions Soar

Russia banned top officials from US President Joe Biden's administration from entering the country and announced a wave of tit-for-tat sanctions and expulsions of diplomats, as tensions soar between the rivals.
The Russian action comes a day after Washington announced sanctions against Moscow and the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats, in retaliation for what it says was interference by the Kremlin in US elections, a massive cyber attack and other hostile activity.

Apr 17, 2021

Turkey Bans Cryptocurrency Payments

Turkey's central bank has banned the use of cryptocurrencies and crypto assets including Bitcoin to purchase goods and services, citing possible irreparable damage and significant transaction risks. The bank published a legislation, saying that cryptocurrencies and other such digital assets based on distributed ledger technology could not be used, directly or indirectly, as an instrument of payment.
In a statement, the central bank said that crypto assets were neither subject to any regulation and supervision mechanisms nor a central regulatory authority, among other security risks.
Payment service providers will not be able to develop business models in a way that crypto assets are used directly or indirectly in the provision of payment services and electronic money issuance, and will not provide any services.
Turkey's decision comes after Royal Motors, which distributes Rolls-Royce and Lotus cars in the country became the first to announce that it would accept payments in cryptocurrencies. Globally, giants such as Apple, Amazon and Expedia also accept such payments. In India, no company has officially announced that it will accept cryptocurrencies as payment.

Iran Starts Enriching Uranium to 60% Purity

Iran began enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity, its highest level ever, after an attack targeted its Natanz nuclear site.
However, it is likely to raise tensions even as Iran negotiates with world powers in Vienna over a way to allow the US back into the agreement and lift the crushing economic sanctions it faces.
The announcement also marks a significant escalation after the sabotage that damaged centrifuges, an attack this past weekend suspected of having been carried out by Israel.

European Union-UK Talks over Brexit Fail to Reach a Breakthrough

Top European Union and British officials failed to get a breakthrough at talks on Northern Ireland trade rules and said that contact would continue over the coming weeks.
The meeting between European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic and U.K. Brexit minister David Frost took place a month after the EU started legal action against its former member country, arguing that the UK had not respected the conditions of the Brexit agreement and violated international law.
The two sides are trying to find common ground on trade rules in Northern Ireland, where Britain's exit from the EU has unsettled a delicate political balance.
Northern Ireland is part of the U.K. but remained part of the EU's single market for goods after Brexit to avoid checks at the territory's border with EU member Ireland.

United Nations Population Fund's Flagship State of World Population Report 2021

Nearly half the women from 57 developing countries do not have the right to make decisions regarding their bodies, including using contraception, seeking healthcare or even on their sexuality, according to the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) flagship State of World Population Report 2021 titled 'My Body is My Own'.
This is the first time a United Nations report has focused on bodily autonomy, defined as the power and agency to make choices about your body without fear of violence or having someone else decide for you.
The report shows that in countries where data is available, only 55% of women are fully empowered to make choices over healthcare, contraception and the ability to say yes or no to sex. It also highlights that only 75% of countries legally ensure full and equal access to contraception.

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