General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Aug 18, 2023

India, Trinidad & Tobago Sign MoU for Sharing India Stack Collaboration

India and Trinidad and Tobago signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on sharing India Stack — a collection of open APIs and digital public goods that aim to facilitate identity, data, and payment services on a large scale, the Ministry of Electronics and IT informed.
As per the statement, both sides agreed to cooperate in the areas of digital transformation by means of capacity building, training programmes, exchange of best practices, exchange of public officials and experts, development of pilot or demo solutions, among others.
This collaboration comes after Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT, met with Trinidad and Tobago's Minister of Digital Transformation, Senator Hassel Bacchus.

Aug 16, 2023

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin Acquitted of Four Graft Charges

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was acquitted by the High Court of four corruption charges, just days after his opposition bloc expanded its influence in local elections.
Muhyiddin said that the High Court ruled in favour of his application to overturn four charges of abusing his power to obtain 232.5 million ringgit ($50 million) in bribes for his Bersatu party.
He was charged in March 2023 and still faces three charges of money laundering involving 200 million ringgit ($43 million).

Morocco Enters Race to Join BRICS, Officially Submits Application

Morocco officially submitted its bid to join the BRICS grouping, or Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. This came ahead of next week's much-anticipated summit in South Africa.
With this, the Kingdom of Morocco joins other nations like Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Egypt, which are also vying for a spot in the economic alliance.
Previously, in July 2023, Algeria applied for a spot in the bloc and also submitted a request to become a shareholder member of the BRICS Bank. The North African nation, as per a Reuters report, seeks to join the economic alliance to open up new economic opportunities.

Aug 14, 2023

Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar Elected as Pakistan's Caretaker Prime Minister

Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar was picked as Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister to govern the cash-strapped country and oversee general elections later this year.
Outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz finalised his name after two rounds of deliberations over the matter.
Kakar, a lawmaker belonging to the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), will lead a caretaker government until a new election later this year.
Prime Minister Sharif recommended the dissolution of the National Assembly on August 9, three days before the mandated term, therefore, according to the Constitution, the next general elections will be held in 90 days.

Aug 13, 2023

Protean eGov partners PayNearby to democratise credit through ONDC

Protean eGov Technologies Limited (Protean) has joined hands with PayNearby, a branchless banking and digital network, to make credit services more accessible and affordable for Indians across the country leveraging the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
This marketplace will be launched soon for last-mile borrowers and MSMEs. Once launched the marketplace will also allow for easy discovery of various lending products at affordable pricing to its borrowers.
This initiative is expected to facilitate both individuals and businesses at the last mile with viable credit options.
In this partnership, Protean (previously NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure) will serve as an ONDC technology service provider that facilitates availability of credit for last-mile borrowers across the country through PayNearby's Distribution-as-a-Service (DaaS) network.
By making this service available through 12+ lakh active PayNearby outlets, the partnership aims to broad-base credit access for India and Bharat both and lay the foundation of a more inclusive society.

Brazil's Amazon Summit ends with a plan to protect the world's rainforests, but no measurable goals

Brazil's Amazon Summit closed on August 9 with a roadmap to protect tropical rainforests that was welcomed as an important step in countering climate change, but without the concrete commitments sought by some environmentalists to end deforestation.Leaders and Ministers from eight Amazon nations signed a declaration on August 8 in Belem, Brazil, that laid out plans to drive economic development in their countries while preventing the Amazon's ongoing demise "from reaching a point of no return."
"It is significant that the leaders of the countries of the region have listened to the science and understood the call of society: the Amazon is in danger, and we do not have much time to act," the international group WWF said in a statement. "However, WWF regrets that the eight Amazonian countries, as one front, have not reached a common point to end deforestation in the region."
Noining the summit on August 9 were the Presidents of the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, an emissary from Indonesia's President, and France's Ambassador to Brazil, representing the Amazonian territory of French Guiana. An emissary of Norway, the largest contributor to Brazil's Amazon Fund for sustainable development,

Aug 11, 2023

Pakistan President Alvi dissolves Parliament at PM Shehbaz Sharif's advice

Pakistan President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on August 9 at outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's advice, marking an end to the current government's tenure and paving the way for next general elections.
The notification for the dissolution of the Parliament was issued by the Aiwan-i-Sadr, which said the National Assembly was dissolved under Article 58 of the Constitution.
Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif on Wednesday wrote to President Alvi and sought dissolution of the National Assembly three days before the end of its five-year constitutional term.
President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly at midnight on Wednesday at outgoing Prime Minister Sharif's advice, the Dawn newspaper reported.
With the dissolution of the Lower House, the current government's tenure will also end prematurely.

What is ECOWAS, the West African bloc that could intervene in Niger's coup?

In a July 26 coup, soldiers in the West African nation of Niger installed Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani as head of state after ousting President Mohamed Bazoum, who said he was held "hostage". Along with the difficult economic conditions already prevailing in the country, what has added to the concern for some in the West are the Nigerien calls for assistance from Russia's Wagner Group.
A mercenary organisation that was also active in the Ukraine war and maintained a footprint in Africa, the Group has fallen out of favour with Russian President Vladimir Putin after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin attempted a coup in Moscow in late June this year. However, its presence in Africa pre-dates its involvement in Ukraine.
Apart from the expected international players, such as Russia and the United States, the regional bloc ECOWAS or the Economic Community of West African States has been playing an active role. Its heads of state will meet on Thursday (August 10) to discuss their next steps, after Niger's military junta defied their August 6 deadline to reinstate the country's ousted president and the soldiers closed the country's airspace. There is also apprehension that ECOWAS may choose to intervene militarily.

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