General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Jun 22, 2023

PM Modi's Yoga Day Event at UN HQ Creates Guinness World Record

The Yoga Day event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the United Nations headquarters in New York created a Guinness World Record for seeing the participation of most nationalities in a Yoga session.
PM Modi led the historic event at the UN headquarters to commemorate the 9th International Yoga Day. The PM was joined by the President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly Csaba Korisi, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The event also saw several other UN officials, diplomats, and prominent personalities.

Finland Parliament Elects Petteri Orpo as Country's New PM

Petteri Orpo, the leader of the conservative party in Finland, was elected as the country's Prime Minister by the parliament. Orpo will lead a coalition government comprising four parties, including the far-right Finns Party, which intends to implement strict measures on immigration. With 107 members in favour, 81 opposed, and 11 absent, the parliament expressed its support for Orpo, who emerged victorious in the elections.

Jun 21, 2023

Pakistan's Economic Crisis Deepens with Dollar Crunch Halting Food Imports

Pakistan is currently facing a severe economic crisis characterised by a shortage of dollars, leading to a complete halt in the import of essential food and beverages. The situation has resulted in thousands of stranded containers at ports, incurring fines and additional charges for traders. The lack of sufficient foreign exchange, which the Pakistan State Bank (PSB) has been unable to provide, has further exacerbated the country's economic challenges.
Pakistan's dollar crisis can be attributed primarily to the depletion of the country's foreign reserves over the past year. The economy suffered a significant setback due to devastating floods in north-western Pakistan, followed by disruptions in oil supplies during the Russia-Ukraine war. These events made it challenging to pay high tariffs on imported oil, contributing to the current crisis.

Oman Creates History as First Foreign Government to Promote Country through Yoga

In a pioneering initiative, the Indian Embassy in the Sultanate of Oman introduced an innovative video called 'Soulful Yoga, Serene Oman' on the eve of the International Day of Yoga 2023.
The video showcases yoga enthusiasts from different countries performing beautiful yoga poses against stunning backdrops such as mountains, beaches, and sand dunes in and around Muscat.
What makes this video unique is its collaboration with the Government of Oman.
The Indian Embassy partnered with 'Visit Oman,' a subsidiary of Oman's Ministry of Tourism, to produce the video. This marked the first instance of a foreign government using yoga to promote its own country.
The video not only demonstrates the increasing popularity and acceptance of yoga as a health practice worldwide but also highlights its growing prominence in Oman.

World Bank to Approve Aid Package worth 700 Million to Sri Lanka

The World Bank is likely to approve $700 million in budgetary and welfare support for Sri Lanka at its next board meeting in June, the biggest funding tranche for the crisis-hit island nation since an IMF deal in March 2023.
The economy of the country of 22 million is expected to shrink 2% this year before returning to growth next year.
The International Monetary Fund approved a bailout of nearly $3 billion in March 2023, which Sri Lanka expects will bring additional funding of up to $4 billion from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other multilateral agencies.
Of the proposed World Bank funding, $500 million will be for budgetary support and is likely to come in two tranches of $250 million each.
The remaining $200 million will be earmarked for programmes to assist the poor, whose numbers have doubled to 25% of the population since the onset of the Indian Ocean nation's worst economic crisis early in 2022.

Jun 20, 2023

Xi Jinping, Blinken Agree to Stabilise US-China Relations

China and the United States agreed to stabilise their intense rivalry so it doesn't veer into conflict but failed to produce any major breakthrough during a rare visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The top US diplomat and Xi both stressed the importance of having a more stable relationship, as any conflict between the world's two largest economies would create global disruption.
However, China refused to entertain Washington's bid to resume military-to-military communication channels and cited US sanctions as the obstacle. The two sides appeared entrenched in their positions over everything from Taiwan to trade, including US actions toward China's chip industry, human rights and Russia's war against Ukraine.

Jun 19, 2023

NITI Aayog and United Nations Join Hands to Accelerate Sustainable Development in India

The Government of India and the United Nations signed the Government of India – United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2023-2027 (GoI-UNSDCF). This collaboration between NITI Aayog, the government policy think tank, and the UN in India aims to advance India's sustainable development goals. The framework focuses on key areas such as gender equality, youth empowerment, human rights, and overall sustainable development, aligning with the 2030 Agenda.
The strategic roadmap aims to achieve India's sustainable development targets.
Four pillars of the framework are: People, Prosperity, Planet, and Participation.
The Six key outcome areas are: health and well-being, quality education, economic growth, environment and climate, and empowerment of individuals and communities.
The strategic roadmap aims to achieve India's sustainable development targets.
Four pillars of the framework: People, Prosperity, Planet, and Participation.
Six key outcome areas: health and well-being, quality education, economic growth, environment and climate, and empowerment of individuals and communities.

African Leaders in Russia to Discuss their Peace Plan with Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a group of African leaders who travelled to Russia on a self-styled "peace mission" after their trip to Ukraine.
Seven African leaders — Presidents of Comoros, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia, as well as Egypt's Prime Minister and top envoys from the Republic of Congo and Uganda — visited Ukraine to try to help end their nearly 16-month-old war.
The mission to Ukraine, the first of its kind by African leaders, comes in the wake of other peace initiatives — such as one by China — and carried particular importance for Africa that relies on food and fertiliser deliveries from Russia and Ukraine.

Suresh Srivastava Unanimously Elected as Vice-chairman of Global UN Advocacy Body

Suresh Srivastava, a senior Indian advocate was unanimously elected as the vice-chairman of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA), an international UN advocacy body. This appointment reflects the prominent role of the Indian Federation of United Nations Associations (IFUNA), an affiliate body of WFUNA. The election took place during the executive committee meeting of WFUNA, held at the United Nations premises in New York.
Suresh Srivastava in assuming the position of vice-chairman of WFUNA will have significant responsibility in shaping the organization's policies and priorities. He will also contribute to advancing WFUNA's mission on a global scale.
WFUNA is a global non-profit organization that represents and coordinates the membership of more than 100 national United Nations Associations (UNAs) and their constituents. It serves as a platform for collaboration and coordination among these associations, working towards the shared goal of supporting the United Nations and its mission.

Jun 18, 2023

General Decline in Consumption and Sharing of News in India

Overall consumption and sharing of news declined in India compared with last year, along with a sharp decrease in access to online news (-12 percentage points) while television, too, saw a 10pp decline as a news source, according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023.
The 12th edition of the report, produced in collaboration with the Asian College of Journalism, surveys the news consumption habits of consumers across 46 markets.
As per the report, India registered a small decrease of 3 pp (38%) in overall trust in news compared to last year, and was ranked 24th among 46 countries in this regard. Finland remained the country with the highest levels of overall trust in news (69%) while Greece had the lowest levels of trust (19%), globally.
Among individual news brands, public broadcasters like DD India, All India Radio, and BBC News retained high levels of trust among survey respondents in India, emphasising the importance of public service media," the report noted. YouTube was the most preferred social media platform for news with 56% of the respondents accessing it.

Australia Names Career Diplomat Philip Green as Next High Commissioner to India

Australia named career diplomat Philip Green as the next High Commissioner to India, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong describing the two countries as close partners working for a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region.
Green, a senior officer with the department of foreign affairs and trade, served as Australia's ambassador to Germany. He has also served as the High Commissioner to Singapore, South Africa and Kenya.
Green will replace Barry O'Farrell, who has played a crucial role in shaping and guiding Australia's defence, security, and trade relations with India over the past three years.
During O'Farrell's watch, the two countries signed the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA), which gives the armed forces reciprocal access to bases and logistics, and the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA).

Russia Plans to Hold Elections in Annexed Territories in September

Russia's central election commission set the date for regional elections in four Ukrainian provinces that Moscow claims to have annexed for September 10, coinciding with votes in other Russian regions.
As per reports, election chief Ella Pamfilova said that Russia's Defence Ministry and Federal Security Service (FSB) considered it possible to hold the votes in September.
Russia does not fully control the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in eastern and southern Ukraine and fighting is ongoing in all four regions. The regions are scheduled to elect local governors in September.
Russia declared the regions part of its own territory after conducting what it called referendums in occupied areas in September 2022.

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