General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

May 07, 2023

Britain to Start Free Trade with New Zealand and Australia

Britain's free trade agreements with New Zealand and Australia will come into force by the end of this month (May 2023), the leaders from the three nations said.
The announcement came while the Prime Ministers from the two Southern Hemisphere nations were in London for the coronation of King Charles III.
The deals are part of Britain's efforts to expand its economic ties after it left the European Union. Both deals were first agreed to in 2021.
New Zealand officials said that the deal will help boost sales of products like wine, butter, beef and honey, and will increase the size of its economy by up to 1 billion New Zealand dollars ($629 million).
For Australia the deal means more market access for its exporters.

May 06, 2023

UK Appoints Kang as Deputy Envoy to India

Harjinder Kang, Britain's Chief Negotiator for the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) was named as the country's new Trade Commissioner to South Asia and Deputy High Commissioner for Western India.
"I am delighted to welcome Harjinder to this role. He has been an integral part of our India trade deal team," said UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch. Kang will succeed Alan Gemmell as Deputy High Commissioner.
He was born in Jalandhar and moved to the United Kingdom with his parents when he was just 3 years old.

May 04, 2023

Ajay Banga Becomes First Indian-American to Head World Bank

Ajay Banga was appointed as the next President of the World Bank, becoming the first-ever Indian-American to head the global financial institution which looks forward to working with him at a time when it's tackling the toughest development challenges facing developing countries.
The Executive Directors of the World Bank selected Ajay Banga as President of the World Bank for a five-year term beginning June 2, 2023.
In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would be nominating Banga to lead the World Bank because he is "well equipped" to lead the global institution at "this critical moment in history".
He is the first-ever Indian-American and Sikh-American to head either of the two top international financial institutions: the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

India Ranks 161 in World Press Freedom Index

Media associations in the country voiced concern over India slipping 11 places to 161st rank in the World Press Freedom Index, 2023, published on May 2.
Global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which publishes a yearly report on press freedom in countries across the world, had last year ranked India at 150 in a survey of 180 countries.
As per the RSF report, the situation has gone from 'problematic' to 'very bad' in three other countries: Tajikistan (down 1 at 153rd), India (down 11 at 161st) and Turkey (down 16 at 165th).

May 03, 2023

Writers Guild of America Goes on Strike Bringing TV Shows to a Halt

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike, with more than 11,000 members halting the production of many popular television shows. This marked the first strike since 2007, which lasted for 100 days and cost the industry an estimated $2 billion in economic damage. The strike came as negotiations between the writers' union and the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP) failed to reach an agreement.
The primary sticking points in negotiations were the Guild proposals for "mandatory staffing" and "duration of employment." The studios were willing to improve their offer, but were not willing to meet some of the union's demands. This could be the start of a long strike, as the distance between the two sides suggests.

Santiago Pena Wins Paraguay Presidential Election

Paraguay's ruling candidate Santiago Pena scored a big win in the country's presidential election, tightening the conservative Colorado Party's political grip in the country and defusing fears about the end of diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Pena, who has pledged to maintain Paraguay's long-standing Taiwan relations, had 42.7% of the vote with over 99% of ballots counted, a more than 15-point lead over centre-left rival Efrain Alegre, who has argued for switching allegiance to China.
The election result leaves Pena facing a challenge to rev up Paraguay's farm-driven economy, shrink a major fiscal deficit and navigate rising pressures from soy and beef producers to ditch Taiwan in favour of China and its huge markets.

May 02, 2023

Devendra Fadnavis Unveils Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Statue in Mauritius

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis unveiled a statue of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Mauritius. It was his first visit to the island nation.
During his visit, Fadnavis also met representatives of Mauritian companies in an event organised by the Mauritius India Business Community.
He also attended an event with Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and signed agreements in the tourism sector, and an MoU to promote the trade between Maharashtra and Mauritius was also signed between Economic Development Board, Mauritius and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation.

Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims Feature on Royal Mail Stamp Marking King Charles's Coronation

A stamp depicting Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and their places of worship feature on one of the four stamps issued by the Royal Mail to mark the coronation of King Charles III.
Captioned "Diversity and Community", the stamp reflects a multi-faith community and the cultural diversity of contemporary British society.
The stamp features figures representing the Jewish, Islamic, Christian, Sikh, Hindu and Buddhist religions and is representative of all faiths and none.
This is only the third time in history that Royal Mail has issued stamps to mark a Coronation. The previous two occasions were for King George VI in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

Sitharaman in South Korea for ADB Annual Meeting

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is on a four-day visit to South Korea to attend Asian Development Bank's annual meeting. Besides attending the 56th annual general meeting of the board of governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), she will address investors and hold bilateral meetings.
During the visit, the Finance Minister will participate in the annual meeting focal events like the Governors' Business. She will also be on the panel during the ADB Governors' Seminar on 'Policies to Support Asia's Rebound'. The meetings will be attended by official delegations of ADB members, observers, non-governmental and civil society organisations, media, financial institutions and banks and other private sector companies.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

July GK, June GK, May GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26