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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Aug 04, 2023

Indian-American Shohini Sinha Named Special Agent in Charge of FBI in Salt Lake City

Indian-American Shohini Sinha was appointed as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent in charge of the Salt Lake City Field Office.
Sinha was appointed to the post by FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Sinha served as executive special assistant to the Director at FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC. She joined the FBI as a special agent in 2001. She was first assigned to the Milwaukee Field Office, where she worked in counterterrorism investigations.
She also served in temporary assignments at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, the FBI Legal Attaché Office in London, and the Baghdad Operations Center.
Sinha was in 2009 promoted to supervisory special agent and transferred to the Counterterrorism Division in Washington, DC.

Aug 03, 2023

Russia Adds Norway to List of Countries 'Unfriendly' to its Diplomats

Russia added Norway to its list of unfriendly countries for allegedly targeting Russian diplomats abroad, further worsening its relations with the West.
The Russian government published the order, which restricts the number of local staff the Norwegian diplomatic mission can hire in Russia to 27 people.
In April 2023, Norway expelled 15 Russian diplomats after accusing them of carrying out intelligence activities under diplomatic cover. Russia retaliated by expelling 10 Norwegian diplomats in what Norway said was an act of revenge.
The United States and Czech Republic were added to Russia's list of unfriendly countries in May 2021 and Greece, Denmark, Slovenia, Croatia and Slovakia were added in July 2022.

Indonesia Buys Drones Worth USD 300 Million from Turkish Aerospace

The Indonesian government bought 12 drones worth USD 300 million from Turkish Aerospace as part of efforts to strengthen Indonesia's defence system.
The deal came after Indonesian President Joko Widodo in July warned his cabinet to maintain a healthy budget as he highlighted outsized spending by the country's security agencies, including the defence ministry.
The deal with Anakara-based Turkish Aerospace was finalised in February and the drones are expected to be delivered within 32 months. It also includes training and flight simulators.

Aug 02, 2023

Taiwan Amends Sexual Harassment Laws

Taiwan amended three laws governing sexual harassment in a special session of the legislature, after a wave of #MeToo accusations hit the island in June.
The changes approved include higher penalties and longer periods for victims to come forward and report an incident to authorities. The changes are an attempt to address the issues raised by the recent accusations of sexual violence in Taiwan.

Aug 01, 2023

UNESCO Recommends Adding Venice to Endangered List

As per the UN's cultural agency, Venice should be added to a list of world heritage sites in danger.The iconic Italian city is at risk of irreversible damage from overwhelming tourism, overdevelopment and rising sea levels due to climate change, according to a report from UNESCO.
The agency aims to encourage the better preservation of the site for future.
Venice is known as 'La Serenissima', which translates to 'very serene' - but that nickname no longer fits.
The UNESCO report blames the Italian authorities for a lack of strategic vision to solve the problems faced by one of Italy's most picturesque cities.

Indian-American Nisha Biswal Becomes Deputy Chief Executive Officer of US Finance Agency

Indian-American policy expert Nisha Biswal was confirmed by the Senate to serve as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a US finance agency. Ms. Biswal will serve as the Deputy CEO of the United States International Development Finance Corporation. US President Joe Biden announced had nominated Nisha Desai Biswal in March 2023 for the position of Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation. She has a high-profile career of over 30 years of experience in US foreign policy and international development programmes within the White House; US Congress and the private sector. Ms. Biswal currently holds the position of Senior Vice President for International Strategy and Global Initiatives at the US Chamber of Commerce, overseeing the US-India Business Council and US-Bangladesh Business Council.

Ukraine and Croatia Agree on Use of Croatian Ports for Grain Exports

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that after talks with his Croatian counterpart, Kyiv and Zagreb agreed on the use of Croatian ports to export Ukrainian grain.
Both nations agreed on the possibility of using Croatian ports on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea.
This came days after Russia suspended its participation in the Black Sea grain export deal, and said that it will only return to the deal if Moscow's conditions are met.

India among Invitees as Saudi Arabia to Host Ukraine Talks

India is expected to participate in yet another attempt to broker peace in Ukraine, this time in Saudi Arabia where for the second time since June, the West and the Global South will take part for two days on August 4 and 5.
Saudi Arabia would invite western nations, Ukraine and major developing countries to the talks, but exclude Russia.

Jul 31, 2023

ISRO Successfully Places Singapore's DS-SAR, 6 other Satellites into Intended Orbit

ISRO successfully launched its proven PSLV rocket carrying seven Singaporean satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre and placed them into intended orbits.
Around 23 minutes after lift-off, the primary satellite got separated and it was followed by six other co-passenger satellites, which were deployed into the intended orbits sequentially.
This ISRO mission, which came after the much-awaited Chandrayaan-3 launch earlier this month, was undertaken by its commercial arm NewSpace India Limited (NSIL).

Hirsh Vardhan Singh Enters US Presidential Race

Hirsh Vardhan Singh, an Indian-American engineer, announced his bid for the White House, becoming the third person of Indian descent after Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy to join the crowded Republican field of candidates vying to become US President in 2024.
He officially filed his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.

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