General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - June 2015

Jun 2015

Nov 01, 2023

Bid to Corner India at FATF for 'Targeting' Non-profit Outfits

Coinciding with India's strained ties with Canada, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is trying to corner New Delhi on the issue of targeting non-profit organisations (NPOs) for prosecution. The issue will come up during the FATF's special country review of India, known as 'mutual review', which will most likely be initiated in November.
The ball was set rolling at the FATF Plenary Committee meeting in October when it agreed to clarify measures applying to NPOs.
India had been trying to stave off a concerted bid by overseas-based human rights organisations to encourage the FATF to amplify its Recommendation 8 of 2001, which aims to protect NPOs from potential terrorist financing abuse while also ensuring that focused risk-based measures do not unduly disrupt or discourage legitimate charitable activities.

Oct 29, 2023

Malaysia Names Sultan Ibrahim as Next King

Malaysia's royal families elected the powerful and outspoken Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar from the southern state of Johor to be the country's next king.
Malaysia has a unique system in which the heads of its nine royal families take turns to be monarch for a five-year term. The Southeast Asian country is a parliamentary democracy, with the monarch serving as head of state.
Sultan Ibrahim will take over from current King Al-Sultan Abdullah on January 31, 2024.
King Al-Sultan played an unusually active role in Malaysian politics, picking the country's last three Prime Ministers.
The federal constitution grants the monarch only a few discretionary powers, with the king largely required to act upon the advice of the Prime Minister and cabinet.

India Abstains from UN Vote on Israel

India abstained in the UN General Assembly on a resolution that called for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict leading to a cessation of hostilities. It also called for unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza strip.
The 193 members of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), which met in a resumed 10th Emergency Special Session, voted on the draft resolution submitted by Jordan and co-sponsored by more than 40 nations including Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, Russia and South Africa.
The resolution titled 'Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations' was adopted with 120 nations voting in its favour, 14 against it and 45 abstaining.
Besides India, countries that abstained included Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Ukraine and the UK.
The Jordanian-drafted resolution did not make any mention of the militant group Hamas, with the US expressing outrage at the omission of evil.

Oct 28, 2023

CCI Becomes Member of International Competition Network's Steering Group

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) became a part of the prestigious 18-member steering committee of the International Competition Network (ICN) after consistent efforts.
The Competition Commission of India was established on October 14, 2003 and became fully functional in May 2009 with Dhanendra Kumar as its first chairman.
The steering committee is the ICN's apex body. The ICN, comprising 140 competition agencies, typically provides antitrust authorities with a specialised, yet informal, venue for maintaining regular contacts and addressing practical competition concerns.
The ICN is the only global body devoted exclusively to competition law enforcement and its members represent national and multinational competition authorities. Members produce work through their involvement in flexible project-oriented and results-based working groups.

US House of Representative Elects its New Speaker

Republican Congressman from Louisiana Mike Johnson was elected as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, bringing an end to three weeks of uncertainty in US politics. The position of Speaker of the House of Representatives is one of the most powerful political chairs in the country and is third in the line of succession after the US President.
Johnson was elected by 220 to 209 votes in a bitterly divided Congress, three weeks after his predecessor Kevin McCarthy was unceremoniously voted out of the seat for the first time in US history. In the 435-member House, the Republicans hold a slender majority with 221 seats against 212 of the Democrats.

Oct 27, 2023

Slovakia's Fico Appointed Prime Minister for Fourth Time

Leftist leader Robert Fico was appointed Slovakia's Prime Minister for the fourth time, after pledging in his election campaign to end military support for Ukraine and criticising sanctions on Russia.
President Zuzana Caputova appointed Fico and his cabinet after his SMER-SSD party won the September election and formed a coalition with the centre-left HLAS and nationalist SNS parties.
Fico quit as Prime Minister in 2018 amid mass public protests against corruption after a journalist was murdered.

UN Chief Appoints 39-member Panel to Advise on International AI Governance

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of a 39-member global advisory panel to report on international governance of artificial intelligence and its risks, challenges and key opportunities.
The U.N. chief said that the gender-balanced, geographically diverse group which spans generations will issue preliminary recommendations by the end of the year and final recommendations by the summer of 2024. The recommendations will feed into the U.N. Summit of the Future, which world leaders will attend in September 2024.
Among the members of the advisory body are the Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology Amandeep Singh Gill; co-founder of iSPIRT Foundation, a non-profit technology think-tank that has conceptualised India Stack, Health Stack, and other digital public goods, Sharad Sharma; and Lead Researcher at Hugging Face, India, Nazneen Rajani.

India Ranks Third in Fintech Unicorns

According to global research firm Statista, India secured the third position worldwide in the number of financial technology (fintech) unicorns. The United States and the United Kingdom continued to dominate the field, holding the first and second positions, respectively, both in terms of quantity and overall value.
In 2023, India has secured the third position in the global fintech landscape with 17 fintech unicorns. This significant achievement underscores the country's growing influence in the world of finance and technology. India's top profitable companies include Zerodha, Billdesk, Paytm, and others. Fintech giants like Paytm have exhibited impressive financial growth, with Paytm recording a 32 percent growth in revenue during the second quarter of fiscal year 2023-24.
The US is home to an impressive 134 fintech unicorns, producing the highest value in the industry. Visa, Paypal, and Mastercard are among the dominant players, collectively contributing to a market capitalization of $1.2 trillion. Meanwhile, the UK ranks second with 27 fintech unicorns, making a substantial mark on the global fintech stage.

Oct 26, 2023

Piyush Goyal Attends 7th Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, attended the 7th Edition of Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The theme for the 7th Edition of FII, 'The New Compass', focused on the new global order. The event witnessed participation from the world's leading investors, business leaders, policymakers, inventors and explorers.
FII Institute is a global non-profit foundation launched by Saudi Arabia, which aims to gather global government and business leaders to discuss new pathways for investment with the goal to create a global impact on humanity, with the following four areas of focus: Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Robotics, education, healthcare and sustainability.

Ireland Looks to Refresh Age-old cultural, Political Ties with India

As Ireland prepares to ramp up its diplomatic footprint in Asia and the Pacific, the leadership in Dublin is looking to build on age-old cultural and political ties with India by forging closer cooperation in trade, investment and the digital transition.
At the same time, Ireland is clear-eyed about its relationship with China, with plans to cooperate on global challenges such as climate change while not hesitating to raise issues on which there are differences, as well as challenges posed by Beijing's border disputes across the region.
India figures prominently in an updated Asia-Pacific strategy unveiled by deputy Prime Minister Micheál Martin at the Global Ireland Summit, a conclave of ambassadors and top foreign policy officials. The strategy, originally finalised in 2020, was refreshed in view of geopolitical challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war.

WHO Appoints ISB Faculty Prof. Sarang Deo to its TB Advisory Group

World Health Organisation (WHO) appointed Prof. Sarang Deo, Professor of Operations Management, Deputy Dean of Faculty and Research; and Executive Director of Max Institute of Healthcare Management at the Indian School of Business (ISB) as a member of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group (STAG) for Tuberculosis.
Known for his pioneering research in private sector engagement models for TB control and eradication in addition to effective management of healthcare delivery systems, Prof. Deo's appointment will boost India's fight against the disease. He works closely with global organisations and partners to understand some of the critical gaps in tuberculosis care and management in India and how they can be plugged.
Prof. Deo will be part of a 15-member group of global experts who will provide WHO's Director-General with an independent evaluation of the strategic, scientific, and technical aspects of the organisation's work on eradicating TB.

Russian House Rescinds Ratification of Nuclear-test Ban

The Upper House of the Russian Parliament revoked the ratification of a global nuclear test ban in what Moscow described as a move to establish parity with the US. The Federation Council voted to endorse a bill rescinding the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, also known as the CTBT. The Lower House approved the bill. It was now sent to President Vladimir Putin for final approval.
The vote follows a statement from Putin, who warned earlier this month that Moscow could revoke its 2000 decision to ratify the bill to mirror the stand taken by the US, which has signed but not ratified the nuclear test ban.
The CTBT, adopted in 1996, bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world but the treaty was never fully implemented.

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