General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

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.

Nov 14, 2023

Sunak Cabinet Rejig

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sacked his Indian-origin Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, and replaced her with James Cleverly, while former Prime Minister David Cameron, in an unusual move, is back in the frontline government as the new Foreign Secretary.
Braverman was sacked as Sunak began a Cabinet reshuffle, days after it emerged that a controversial newspaper article attacking the Metropolitan Police was published without clearance from her boss.
Cameron, who is no longer an MP in the House of Commons, will have to be appointed to the House of Lords to meet the parliamentary protocol.
Cameron served as the UK Prime Minister from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016.

6th India-OPEC Energy Dialogue High-Level Meeting Held in Vienna, Austria

The 6th High-Level Meeting of the India-OPEC Energy Dialogue was held at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, Austria. The co-chairs of the meeting were HE Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary General of OPEC, and HE Hardeep Singh Puri, Honourable Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs of the Republic of India.

Nov 13, 2023

Russia Pulls Out of Treaty of Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

Russia formally withdrew from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), an agreement signed in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall that set limits on key categories of conventional military equipment in Europe and mandated the destruction of excess weaponry.
As per reports, two other legally binding agreements, the Budapest agreement of 1990 and the CFE's Flank Document, which were linked to the treaty, are also withdrawn.
According to Russian Foreign Ministry, the treaty was not catering to Russia's interests, claiming that NATO countries began to circumvent restrictions imposed as the alliance expanded.

Nov 12, 2023

Australia Signs Climate, Migration and Security Pact with Pacific's Tuvalu

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a bilateral agreement with Tuvalu, aimed at countering China's influence in the Pacific and protecting the tiny island nation from climate change.
The agreement, which made Australia Tuvalu's "partner of choice", covers climate change, security and human mobility.
Australia will create a special visa for up to 280 Tuvaluans annually, 2.5% of the 11,200 population. Funds will also be provided for land reclamation in Tuvalu to expand land in capital Funafuti by around 6%.

US Announces $553 Million Investment in Adani's Sri Lanka Port Terminal Project

The United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) revealed a substantial investment of $553 million in Adani Ports' container terminal project located in the Port of Colombo, Sri Lanka. This significant financial commitment aims to boost private-sector investments that support economic development and strategic partnerships in the region.
This move demonstrates the United States' commitment to enhancing economic growth and development in the region, positioning Sri Lanka strategically along major shipping routes to serve the growing economies.
Adani Ports initiated this project in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and John Keells Holdings. The consortium, named Colombo West International Terminal Pvt. Ltd., has adopted a Build-Operate-Transfer model with a 35-year duration, where Adani Ports holds a majority stake of 51%.

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