General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Apr 07, 2023

Subramaniam Appointed Warrant Officer of UK's RAF

British-Hindu Murugesvaran 'Subby' Subramaniam was appointed as Warrant Officer of the UK's Royal Air Force. The role involves advising the Chief of the Air Staff on matters related to RAF personnel. Subramaniam took over from Warrant Officer Jake Alpert.
Subramaniam is an Air and Space Operations Manager, whose service in the last 15 years has predominantly been in the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS), Missile Warning (MW), Space Domain Awareness (SDA), and Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) field. He has served in the Royal Engineers with 106 Field Squadron/12 Force (Air) Support Group, 36 Engineering Regiment prior to joining the Royal Air Force in 1998. In 2007 Subramaniam spent the next three years at Air Command Bunker dealing with pan-government resilience operations, and he also gained Missile Warning Operator and Data Links Network Manager qualifications. In 2021, he was appointed as the inaugural Command Warrant Officer to the United Kingdom Space Command.

Apr 06, 2023

Iran Appoints First UAE Ambassador Since 2016

Iran appointed an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates for the first time since 2016, amid a realignment of relations between Gulf States and Iran.
The move came after the UAE in August 2022 moved to upgrade ties and said it was returning its ambassador to Tehran.
The UAE downgraded relations with Iran after Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran in January 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran following Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric.
Iran's newly appointed ambassador Reza Ameri had served as the Director General of the Iranian expatriates office in the Foreign Ministry.

Apr 05, 2023

Donald Trump Arrested

Former US President Donald Trump was arrested and charged with 34 felony counts related to business fraud.
The man who spent four years in the White House was brought before a judge and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
These charges relate to a $130,000 (£105,000) payment made to buy the silence of an adult film actress, Stormy Daniels, who says she had sex with him.
The wire transfer came 12 days before the 2016 election that Trump won against Hillary Clinton.
He was released by the court and flew back to his Florida home where he slammed the case against him in a speech to supporters.
Ms Daniels says she had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006, which he has always denied.
In 2016 she tried to sell her account of what happened to the media. Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid her $130,000 to keep quiet.
Hush money is not illegal but what has got Trump into trouble is how Cohen's reimbursement was recorded in his accounts.
Trump is accused of falsifying his business records in the first degree by saying the payment was for legal fees.

Apr 04, 2023

Bahrain Launches Golden Licence to Attract Large-scale Investment Projects

Bahrain took a significant step towards incentivizing investments and job creation by launching a new initiative, the Golden Licence. The Golden Licence is designed to provide streamlined services and benefits to local and foreign businesses with large-scale investment projects in Bahrain.
This initiative was introduced by Bahrain's Cabinet, chaired by Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Bahrain's Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and aims to attract local and international investments to create job opportunities, in line with Bahrain's Economic Recovery Plan. Under the Licence, companies will enjoy integrated cooperation with different government departments and a designated account manager from Bahrain's Economic Development Board. There may also be a review of existing laws and regulations where necessary and applicable.

Malaysian Parliament Scraps Death Penalty

Malaysia's parliament passed sweeping legal reforms to remove the mandatory death penalty, trim the number of offences punishable by death, and abolish natural-life prison sentences, a move cautiously welcomed by rights groups.
Malaysia has had a moratorium on executions since 2018, when it first promised to abolish capital punishment entirely. The government, however, faced political pressure from some parties and rowed back on the pledge a year later, saying it would retain the death penalty but allow courts to replace it with other punishments at their discretion.
Under the amendments, alternatives to the death penalty include whipping and imprisonment of between 30 to 40 years.

Italy Seeks to Ban Using English Language for Formal Communication

Use of English or any other foreign language by citizens in Italy for formal communication would soon attract hefty penalties. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni`s Brothers of Italy party has introduced new legislation which proposes a fine of up to Euro 1,00,000 for using any foreign language, especially English, in official communication.
In the Italian Chamber of Deputies (Lower House), politician Fabio Rampelli introduced the legislation which was supported by the Prime Minister.

Apr 03, 2023

Russia Names India, China Main Allies in Foreign Policy

Russia said that it would expand relations with India and China on trade, policy, technology and strategic partnership. It offered "peaceful co-existence" to the US and asked it to shun its anti-Russia stance while justifying its actions in Ukraine.
Moscow released "The Concept of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation", its first change since 2016, signed as a decree by President Vladimir Putin.
As per the concept, Russia will continue to build a particularly privileged strategic partnership with India with a view to enhancing and expanding cooperation in all areas on a mutually beneficial basis.

Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin Ousted, Conservatives Win Tight Vote

Finland's main conservative party claimed victory in a parliamentary election in an extremely tight three-way race in which right-wing populists took second place, leaving Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democratic Party in third, dashing her hopes for re-election.
The centre-right National Coalition Party (NCP) claimed victory with all of the votes counted, coming out on top at 20.8%. They were followed by right-wing populist party. The Finns with 20.1%, while the Social Democrats garnered 19.9%.
With the top three parties each getting around 20% of the vote, no party is in position to form a government alone. Over 2,400 candidates from 22 parties were vying for the 200 seats in the Nordic country's parliament.
Based on this result, talks over forming a new government to Finland will be initiated under the leadership of the National Coalition Party.

Elon Musk Becomes most Followed Twitter User

Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, achieved the highest number of followers on the platform, exceeding former US President Barack Obama, who held the record since 2020. According to Guinness World Records, Twitter has around 450 million monthly active users, and Elon Musk accumulated more than 133 million followers, which accounts for about 30% of the platform's total users. Musk assumed the role of CEO of Twitter on October 27, 2022, with 110 million followers, and within five months, his followers increased to 133 million. Previously, he ranked third after Barack Obama and Justin Bieber in terms of the most followed Twitter users.

IMF Approves 15.6 Billion Dollar Support Package for Ukraine

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a 15.6 billion US dollar support package for Ukraine to assist with the conflict-hit country's economic recovery. The loan is part of a broader 115 billion US dollar international support package to help the country meet urgent funding needs. Of the total amount approved by the IMF, 2.7 billion dollar was made available to Ukraine immediately and the rest of the funds are due to be released over the next four years. Extended Fund Facility is the first major financing programme approved by the IMF for a country involved in a large-scale war.

Finland Becomes 31st NATO Member after Turkey's Approval

Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), announced that Finland became the 31st member of the alliance, thanks to Turkey's unanimous vote. Despite Russia's opposition to Finland's membership, Turkey's approval allowed the extension of NATO. Finland shares a long border of over 1,300 kilometres with Russia, and its decision to join NATO was prompted by security concerns following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, Sweden's application to join NATO was declined by Turkey and Hungary.

UK Signs Deal to Join Trade Pact with 11 Asia and Pacific Nations

The UK signed a deal to join a trade pact with 11 Asia and Pacific nations, three years after it officially left the European Union. The government said that joining the group will boost UK exports by cutting tariffs on goods such as cheese, cars, chocolate, machinery, gin and whisky.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was established in 2018, and includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Membership of the CPTPP loosens restrictions on trade between members and reduces tariffs, a form of border tax, on goods.

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