General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - August 2015

Aug 2015

Nov 20, 2023

Bangladesh Top Court Upholds Ban on Largest Islamist Party

Bangladesh's highest court dismissed an appeal by the country's largest Islamist party seeking to overturn a 2013 ruling that barred it from participating in elections for violating the constitutional provision of secularism Bangladesh is set to hold its next national elections on January 7.
A five-member bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan handed out the ruling. Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami's main lawyer did not appear before the court due to personal problems and his petition, filed previously, seeking to postpone the hearing for six weeks was also rejected.
The High Court's decision 10 years ago cancelled the party's registration with the Election Commission, thus stopping it from participating in elections or using party symbols. But it did not ban it from political participation.

Finland Blocks Border Crossings to Stop Migrants it Says Were Sent by Russia

Finland closed four crossings on its border with Russia, in a bid to stem an increase in migrants that Helsinki says has been orchestrated by Moscow.
Finland has accused Russian authorities of funnelling migrants to the crossings in retaliation for its decision to increase defence cooperation with the United States, an assertion dismissed by the Kremlin.
Barriers will go up at four of the nine crossings with Russia, at Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala in its southeast, as per the Finnish Border Guard.

Javier Milei Wins Argentina's Presidency

Argentina elected right-wing libertarian Javier Milei as its new President, rolling the dice on an outsider with radical views to fix an economy battered by triple-digit inflation, a looming recession and rising poverty.
Milei won by a wider-than-expected margin. He landed some 56% of the vote versus just over 44% for his rival, Peronist Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who conceded.
Milei's victory marks an extraordinary rise for the former TV pundit, who entered the race as a political outsider on a promise to "break up with the status quo" – exemplified by Sergio Massa.

Nov 19, 2023

France Assures Support to India, Three Others for Permanent Seat at UN Security Council

France assured support to India, Brazil, Germany and Japan for the permanent membership at the UN Security Council, asserting its longstanding stance on reforming the Security Council.
India, Brazil, Germany and Japan are also the part of G4 political cooperative alliance that supports each other's bids for permanent seats in the UN Security Council.

Nov 18, 2023

Biden Appoints Indian American Shakuntla Bhaya to the Administrative Conference of US

US President Joe Biden announced several key appointments, including the notable selection of Indian American Shakuntla L Bhaya to serve in a crucial role. According to the White House, Bhaya has been appointed as a member of the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States.
Shakuntla L Bhaya, a co-owner of the Law Offices of Doroshow, Pasquale, Krawitz & Bhaya, a statewide Delaware law firm, brings a wealth of legal experience to her new role.
Her legal practice is dedicated to representing individuals who have suffered serious injuries due to unsafe decisions made by businesses and individuals.
Bhaya's commitment to justice and advocacy is reflected in her work over the years, earning her a reputation as a dedicated and accomplished legal professional.

US Signs Major Nuclear Deal with Philippines

The United States and the Philippines signed a landmark deal that would allow Washington to export nuclear technology and material to Manila, which is exploring the use of nuclear power to decarbonise and boost energy independence.
"The United States will be able to share equipment and material with the Philippines as they work to develop small modular reactors and other civilian nuclear energy infrastructure," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a signing ceremony on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in San Francisco.

Nov 17, 2023

US and China Agree to Resume Military-to-military Communications

US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to resume high-level military-to-military communication and counter-narcotics cooperation as they met in a bid to establish a working relationship amidst Beijing's aggressive actions in the Indo-Pacific region.
The two leaders also affirmed the need to address the risks of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems and improve AI safety through US-China government talks during their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.

Spain's Pedro Sánchez Re-elected Prime Minister

Spain's acting Socialist Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, was chosen by a majority of legislators to form a new government in a parliamentary vote.
Sánchez was backed by 179 lawmakers in the 350-seat Lower House of parliament. Only right-wing opposition deputies voted against him.
The vote came after nearly two days of debate among party leaders that centered almost entirely on a highly controversial amnesty deal for Catalonia's separatists that Mr. Sánchez agreed to in return for vital support to get elected prime minister again.
Sánchez won the vote after clinching the support of six smaller parties, allowing him to achieve the majority lawmakers needed to be re-elected and form another minority coalition government with the left-wing Sumar (Joining Forces) party.

Nov 15, 2023

US, South Korea sign agreement aimed at deterring North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threat

United States and South Korea have revised a bilateral security agreement aimed at deterring North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threat. South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin signed the updated agreement at the security talks held in the capital, Seoul today.
South Korean Defence Ministry said, the Tailored Deterrence Strategy (TDS) aims to counter the threat of nuclear weapons and other armaments by North Korea. The revisions made to the agreement have not been made public yet.
Earlier, South Korea's Defence Ministry had said Shin and Austin would discuss jointly countering threats by North Korea, including through executing an extended deterrence strategy. The strategy, which holds that the United states will use strategic military assets, including nuclear forces, to defend its allies, has taken on a greater significance as North Korea pushes ahead with its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.

Airgun Surrender Abhiyan initiative selected to present in UNESCO's International Conference

The Airgun Surrender Abhiyan initiative of Arunachal Pradesh Government has been selected as India's best success story on wildlife conservation to present in the UNESCO's International Conference on Biosphere Reserves held at Sabah, Malaysia yesterday. Dr. Damodhar A.T. represented India on the occasion and presented India's country report along with the success story in this UNESCO's International Conference and meeting on Biosphere Reserves.
The Airgun Surrender Abhiyan is an initiative of the Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the state Government. Under the scheme people were invited to voluntarily surrender their Airguns and licensed guns to stop the use of these guns to kill birds and other wild animals.
The programme was officially launched on March 17, 2021 at Lumdung in East Kameng District where in 46 air guns were surrendered and Lumdung was declared first Airgun free village of Arunachal Pradesh.

India ranked 117th among 129 nations in inclusiveness index by US varsity.

India is ranked 117th in the list of 129 countries in the world in the inclusiveness index published by the Othering and Belonging Institute (OBI) at California University, United States. Smaller countries like Bangladesh (106) and Israel (115) were placed better than India.
The index examines inclusivity in terms of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and the general population using several measures.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

July GK, June GK, May GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26