General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - August 2015

Aug 2015

Jul 23, 2022

Dinesh Gunawardena is Sri Lanka's New Prime Minister

Senior politician Dinesh Gunawardena took over as Sri Lanka's Prime Minister as President Ranil Wickremesinghe swore in his new Cabinet. A stalwart of Sri Lankan politics, Gunawardena earlier served as the Foreign Minister and Education Minister. He was appointed as Home Minister in April 2022 by then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The Prime Minister's post fell vacant after Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the country's eighth President after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and then resigned as President.

Ninth ASEAN-India Meet on Transnational Crimes Held Virtually

The ninth ASEAN-India Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crimes (SOMTC) was held in a virtual mode where both sides strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms while emphasising the need to boost international cooperation to combat terrorism and transnational crimes.
The Consultation was co-chaired by Mahaveer Singhvi, Joint Secretary (Counter Terrorism), Ministry of External Affairs, from the Indian side, and Puah Kok Keong, Deputy Secretary (Policy), Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore, from the ASEAN side.
During the consultation, both sides discussed ways to enhance cooperation interalia, in the areas of terrorism, illicit drug trafficking, trafficking in persons, international economic crime, and cybercrime under the framework of the ASEAN-India Work Plan to combat transnational crimes.
India began formal engagement with ASEAN in 1992 as a "Sectoral Dialogue Partner" (and subsequently as a "Dialogue Partner" in 1996.

Jul 22, 2022

Italian PM Mario Draghi Resigns

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi resigned after key coalition allies boycotted a confidence vote, signalling the likelihood of early elections and a renewed period of uncertainty for Italy and Europe at a critical time.
Mr. Draghi tendered his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella. Mr. Mattarella had taken note of the resignation and asked Mr. Draghi to remain as a caretaker Prime Minister.
Italy would hold a snap national election on September 25.
It would be the first autumn national election for more than a century in Italy, where the second half of the year is normally taken up with getting the budget law through parliament.

Jul 21, 2022

Ranil Wickremesinghe Elected Sri Lanka President

Six-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as crisis-wracked Sri Lanka's new President by the country's parliament, with the backing of the party of the ex-leader — who fled abroad after his palace was stormed by protesters. Official results showed Wickremesinghe polled 134 votes in a three-cornered parliamentary vote, with his main opponent Dullas Alahapperuma getting 82 and leftist Anura Dissanayake just 3, giving him an absolute majority.
Wickremesinghe took charge of a bankrupt nation that is in bailout talks with the IMF, with its 22 million people enduring severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine.

With $87 billion, India Top Remittance Recipient in 2021: UN Report

India received 87 billion dollars in remittances in 2021, the top remittance recipient, and way ahead of countries like China and Mexico, according to a World Health Organisation report.
The United States was the largest source country for remittances in 2020, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland. Remittances increase or maintain consumer spending and soften the blow of economic hardship, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jul 20, 2022

The World's Most and Least Powerful Passports

Japan, Singapore and South Korea have the most powerful passports as the world continues to recover from Covid-19, reversing pre-pandemic rankings that were dominated by European nations.
A Japanese passport provides hassle-free entry to 193 countries, one more than those from Singapore and South Korea, according to the latest Henley Passport Index from Henley & Partners, an immigration consultancy, released in July 2022.
Russian travel documents are ranked 50th, giving easy access to 119 nations. China placed 69th with access to 80 countries, India's passport ranked 87th and Afghanistan's passport is the least useful, getting the holder into only 27 countries.

Union Minister Bhupender Yadav Attends BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers' Meeting

Union Labour and Employment Minister Bhupender Yadav attended the BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers' Meeting held under the Chinese Presidency. The Ministers of the member countries Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa participated in the meeting. The discussions were held on three priority issues, namely - promoting green jobs for sustainable development, developing skills for resilient recovery, and protecting workers right in new forms of employment.
Mr. Yadav highlighted the steps taken by India to provide relief to workers during the pandemic. He also mentioned various initiatives taken towards providing free rations, enhancing the number of days of assured employment under MNREGA, and collateral-free loans provided to street vendors to help them resume their businesses under PM SVANidhi Yojana during the pandemic.

Outgoing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Narrowly Survives No-confidence Vote

Outgoing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a 'no-confidence' vote called by the opposition amid the ongoing campaign to pick his successor. Johnson won by 111 votes, with 349 for and 238 against, meaning the ruling Conservative Party will remain in office while it elects a new leader to replace Johnson after he quit earlier this month.
The Conservatives' win means the opposition - Labour - cannot force a general election, since the rules say another 'no confidence' vote can only be called 12 months later.
Britain avoided a general election, which would have been its third in the past five years.

Jul 19, 2022

Expat Insider Rankings for 2022: India Ranks 36th

Mexico topped the Expat Insider Rankings for 2022, which was released by the InterNations, while India was ranked on 36th position out of the 52 countries on the list, with a high affordability score. Kuwait was the worst country for expats in the ranking.
The top 10 countries were: Mexico, Indonesia, Taiwan, Portugal, Spain, UAE, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia and Singapore.
The Expat Insider survey is conducted every year by InterNations, a community for expatriates.
The survey takes a look at some of the best possible ex-pat destinations around the world, which offer the best quality of life to the people who move abroad to improve their quality of life.
The Expat Insider 2022 survey report surveyed 11,970 respondents to evaluate their life abroad. These respondents represented 177 nationalities and lived in 181 countries or territories worldwide.
A total of 52 countries have been ranked on the list.

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