General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Jun 29, 2024

António Costa New President of European Council

Portugal's former Socialist Prime Minister António Costa was elected as the next president of the European Council.
The decision was announced in Brussels, with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni being the only European leader who voted against.
Mr. Costa said in his acceptance speech that he will take up the post with a "great sense of mission", committed to promoting unity between the 27 member states and the Strategic Agenda for the next five years.
The post is being vacated by Mr. Costa's predecessor Charles Michel as of December 1, 2024.

Jaishankar to Lead Indian Delegation to Attend SCO Summit in Astana

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit this year (2024). External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegation to Kazakhstan capital Astana.
The summit will take place from July 3-4 in Astana. Kazakhstan took over the SCO presidency from India, which was the president last year (2023). India hosted the SCO summit virtually in July 2023.
The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is considered an influential economic and security bloc. The summit hosted by Kazakhstan is expected to see participation by Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif.

Jun 28, 2024

EU leaders Nominate Von der Leyen in the Bloc's Top Job

EU leaders nominated current European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen for a second five-year term in the bloc's top job at a summit in Brussels.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas was picked as the EU's next foreign affairs chief and former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa was chosen as the next chairman of EU summits.
All three candidates are from centrist, pro-EU factions.
The European Parliament is due to vote on the nominations next month.

Jun 27, 2024

Julian Assange Pleads Guilty in US Court, Walks out a Free Man

Assange entered the plea in a US District Court hearing in Saipan on the Northern Mariana Islands, a US-controlled territory chosen due to his refusal to travel to the mainland United States and its proximity to his native Australia.
A US judge freed Julian Assange in a plea deal culminating years of legal drama for the WikiLeaks founder, who was long wanted by Washington for revealing military secrets.
The judge sentenced Assange to five years and two months in prison — with credit for the same amount of time he spent behind bars in Britain while fighting extradition to the United States.
Julian Assange is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of leaks from Chelsea Manning, a former United States Army intelligence analyst.

Jun 26, 2024

NATO Appoints Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as its Next Secretary-general

NATO appointed Mark Rutte as its next secretary-general, putting the outgoing Dutch Prime Minister in charge of the world's biggest security organization at a critical time for European security as war rages in Ukraine.
The outgoing Dutch premier will take over from the current secretary general, Norway's Jens Stoltenberg, on Oct. 1. Stoltenberg spent more than a decade at the helm. His mandate was repeatedly extended, in part to provide continuity after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

European Union Launches Membership Negotiations with Ukraine

The European Union launched membership talks with Ukraine, a decade after Russian troops seized Crimean Peninsula to deter the country from moving closer to the West, part of a chain of events that set the two neighbours on the path to war.
Ukraine's accession negotiations were set in motion at an intergovernmental conference in Luxembourg.
In opening remarks presented via video-link, Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal described it as "a historic day" that marks "a new chapter" in his country's ties with the bloc. The talks could take years to conclude.

Jun 25, 2024

US Designates Kenya as Major Non-NATO Ally, Enhancing Defence & Security Cooperation

The United States of America designated Kenya as its major non-NATO ally, MNNA.
As per a memorandum published by the White House, the MNNA status is a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defence trade and security cooperation. President Biden had pledged to designate Kenya as a major non-NATO ally during Kenyan President William Ruto's three-day visit to the US in May 2024.
According to the US Department of State, the MNNA designation is a powerful symbol of the close relationship the United States shares with those countries. While the MNNA status provides military and economic privileges, it does not entail any security commitments to the designated country.

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