Turkish Parliamentary Committee Greenlights Sweden's NATO Bid
A key parliamentary committee of the Turkish parliament gave its seal of approval for Sweden's bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Association (NATO) following months of delays. This represents the clearing of another hurdle in the way Sweden's application to join the alliance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Inclusion of new members in the NATO requires approval of all existing members and Sweden's bid encountered significant delays due to opposition from Turkey and Hungary. The process faced further complications as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan linked Sweden's inclusion to Turkey's request for F-16 fighter jets from the United States.
Angola Announces Departure from OPEC
Angola, a significant oil-producing nation, declared its decision to exit the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with effect from January 1, 2024. This move follows the footsteps of Ecuador in 2020 and Qatar in 2019, reflecting a trend of nations with relatively small oil output distancing themselves from the influential oil-exporting organisation.
Angola became a member of OPEC in 2007, contributing approximately 1.1 million barrels per day to the global oil market. In comparison, the entire OPEC group, founded in 1960 by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Venezuela, Iran, and Iraq, produces around 28 million barrels per day. Since its entry into OPEC, Angola actively participated in the organization's efforts to manage the oil market, collaborating with other member nations and non-members within the OPEC+ group.
PM Narendra Modi Becomes First World Leader with 2 crore YouTube Subscribers
The number of subscribers on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal YouTube channel crossed two crore, with the Indian leader becoming the only world leader to have this distinction and leading his contemporaries by a long distance.
In fact, the global leader with the second-most followers is former Brazilian President Jair Bolsanora, who just has 64 lakh subscribers, which is a little less than one-third of the subscribers the Narendra Modi YouTube channel has.
In terms of views, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is second to the Indian prime minister with 22.4 crore, a small fraction of Modi's.
US President Joe Biden has 7.89 lakh subscribers while his Turkiye counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan has 3.16 lakh.
Dec 26, 2023
UN Announces 2024 as International Year of Camelids
The United Nations designated 2024 as the International Year of Camelids (IYC 2024). According to the official website of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), camelids influence the lives of millions of households in more than 90 countries. As a group Camelids include alpacas, Bactrian camels, dromedaries, guanacos, llamas, vicuñas which together help in ensuring food security, nutrition and economic growth especially for Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
The International Year of Camelids 2024 aims to build awareness of the untapped potential of camelids and to call for increased investment in the camelid sector, advocating for greater research, capacity development and the use of innovative practices and technologies.
Dec 23, 2023
UN Approves Watered-down Resolution on Aid to Gaza without Call for Suspension of Hostilities
The U.N. Security Council adopted a watered-down resolution calling for immediately speeding aid deliveries to hungry and desperate civilians in Gaza but without the original plea for an urgent suspension of hostilities between Israel and Hamas.
The long-delayed vote in the 15-member council was 13-0 with the United States and Russia abstaining.
"It was the Christmas miracle we were all hoping for," said United Arab Emirates Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh, who sponsored the resolution. She said it would send a signal to the people in Gaza that the Security Council was working to alleviate their suffering.
Dec 21, 2023
Minnesota Unveils New State Flag Design
After months of debate and thousands of submissions, Minnesota unveiled a new flag to replace a design many Native Americans considered offensive.
The proposed state flag, which features a white eight-pointed star against a dark blue background shaped like the state, was revealed.
The special commission that approved it said the design was an ode to Minnesota's motto, Star of the North.
It added that the light blue represented the state's waters.
Guinea-Bissau President Sacks Prime minister, Names Replacement
Guinea-Bissau's President Umaro Sissoco Embalo dismissed Geraldo Martins as Prime Minister just a week after his reappointment and appointed former Prime Minister Rui Duarte de Barros in his place.
De Barros previously worked as the West African country's Minister of Economy and Finance and as a commissioner at the West African Economic and Monetary Union, before serving as Prime Minister in a transitional government between 2012 and 2014.
Dec 20, 2023
Egypt's Abdel Fattah al-Sisi Sweeps to Third Term as President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi swept to a third term as Egypt's President in an election where he faced no serious challengers.
The election, in which he took 89.6% of the vote according to the National Election Authority, was held as Egypt struggles with a slow-burning economic crisis and tries to manage the risk of spill over from the war adjacent to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Sisi was elected to the presidency in 2014, and re-elected in 2018, both times with 97% of the vote. The constitution was amended in 2019, extending the presidential term to six years from four, and allowing Sisi to stand for a third term.
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