General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Feb 08, 2023

Indian-Origin Banker Appointed Chair of Centre for Australia-India Relations

A veteran Indian-origin senior banking executive, Swati Dave, was named the inaugural Chair of the Advisory Board to the Centre for Australia-India Relations, a national platform to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, announcing Dave's appointment, said that the Centre, to be launched this year, will promote a stronger business and cultural understanding between Australia and India.
Dave brings valuable strategic, leadership and business experience to the role from her extensive senior executive and non-executive director roles across the public and private sectors.
Dave currently serves as Deputy Chair of Asia Society Australia and as a member of the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations Advisory Board.

Myanmar and Russia Sign Pact on Developing Nuclear Power

Myanmar's military-led government, working with Russia's state atomic energy company, inaugurated a nuclear power information centre as a step toward developing atomic power to fill energy shortages in the strife-torn Southeast Asian nation.
The head of the military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, met with Alexey Evgenievich Likhachev, director general of the Russian State Atomic Energy Corp., or Rosatom.
Myanmar hopes to build and operate a reactor under a preliminary agreement between Myanmar and Rosatom that was signed in 2015. The two sides signed memorandums of understanding in Moscow in July (2023) on nuclear energy, training and promotion of public understanding of atomic power.
The development is likely to ignite concerns that Myanmar's military would like to develop a nuclear weapons capability.

Apsara Iyer First Indian-American Student to be Elected President of Harvard Law Review

A second year Indian-American student at Harvard Law School was elected president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review, becoming the first woman from the community to be named to the position in the prestigious publication's 136-year history.
Apsara Iyer was elected the 137th president of the Harvard Law Review, which was founded in 1887 and is among the oldest student-run legal scholarship publications.
Iyer's distinguished predecessors in the role include Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and former president Barack Obama.

Feb 07, 2023

China and Australia Trade Ministers Hold their First Meeting since 2019

Australian and Chinese trade ministers held their first bilateral meeting in three years as Australia urged China to lift official and unofficial barriers that are costing exporters 20 billion Australian dollars ($14 billion) a year.
China thawed its diplomatic freeze on Australia since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's center-left Labor Party was elected in May for the first time in nine years.
Trade Minister Don Farrell said that he and his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao had agreed to enhance dialogue at all levels as a pathway "towards the timely and full resumption of trade."

Turkey Earthquake: Historical ''Gaziantep Castle'' in South-eastern Turkey Collapses

The partial destruction of a Roman-era castle 'Gaziantep Castle' in the Turkish city of Gaziantep led to fears that two earthquakes that struck may have damaged other priceless monuments in Turkey and Syria, areas rich in cultural heritage.
Photos of Gaziantep Castle, considered one of the best-preserved citadels in Turkey, showed parts of its stone walls had cascaded down the side of the fort.
Syria and Turkey are considered cradles of human civilisation and home to some of the world's most precious relics of antiquity, boasting several UNESCO world heritage sites, including the ancient city of Aleppo, already ravaged by the Syrian civil war.

Feb 06, 2023

India, France, UAE Establish Trilateral Cooperation Initiative

India, France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced the creation of a formal trilateral cooperation initiative for projects in solar and nuclear energy, the fight against climate change and joint production of military hardware.
The initiative will also act as a platform to bolster cooperation on sustainable projects between the development agencies of the three countries, which will also work to align their economic, technological and social policies with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
The initiative follows the first meeting of the foreign ministers of India, France and the UAE on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 19, 2022. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his counterparts from France and the UAE – Catherine Colonna and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan – adopted a roadmap for implementing the initiative.
The three Foreign Ministers had agreed at their meeting last year to establish the trilateral cooperation initiative in line with the shared desire to promote international stability and prosperity and to build on constructive and collaborative ties between the three countries.

U.S. Shoots Down Chinese Balloon over the Atlantic

The United States downed a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast on orders from President Joe Biden after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America, becoming the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing.
This is not the first time Chinese spy balloons have crossed into U.S. airspace in recent years. At least three times during the Trump administration and at least one other time during Biden's time as President they've seen balloons cross, but not for this long.
China denied any claims of spying and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorology research. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the balloon's journey was out of its control and urged the U.S. not to "smear" it because of the balloon.

PM Modi Emerges most Popular Global Leader

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was pegged as the world's most popular leader with an approval rating of 78 per cent as per a survey by a US-based consulting firm 'Morning Consult.'
As per the rating PM Modi's ratings trumped those of other leaders including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The poll surveyed 22 global leaders for the ratings.
The "Global Leader Approval" survey was based on data collected from January 26-31 this year (2023).
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador came in second with 68 per cent ratings and Swiss President Alain Berset occupied the third position with 62 per cent approval rating.

Feb 05, 2023

Muraleedharan Attendd Lanka's Independence Day Celebrations

State Minister for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan represented India at Sri Lanka's 75th Independence Day celebrations held on February 4 and hold bilateral interactions with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Ali Sabry.
Along with Muraleedharan, several other foreign dignitaries, including the head of the Commonwealth Patricia Scotland attended the main event in the capital, Colombo.

Feb 04, 2023

Four Indian-Americans Appointed to US House Panels

Four prominent Indian-American lawmakers, Pramila Jayapal, Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Ro Khanna, were appointed members of three key House panels, reflecting the growing influence of the community in US politics.
Congresswoman Jayapal was named Ranking Member of the powerful House Judiciary Committee's panel on Immigration, making her the first immigrant to serve in a leadership role for the subcommittee.
Jayapal representing the 7th Congressional District of Washington State succeeded Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren to serve on the subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement.
Bera was appointed as a member of the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which is charged with providing oversight of the country's intelligence activities.
Krishnamoorthi was made Ranking Member of a newly created House committee on China that will look into various aspects of Chinese behaviour.
Congressman Ro Khanna was also made a member of this new committee. Krishnamoorthi is the four-term Congressman representing the eight Congressional districts of Illinois, while Khanna is the four-term lawmaker representing the 17th Congressional district of California.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

August GK, July GK, June 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