General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Feb 03, 2023

Erdogan Says Turkey Positive on Finland's NATO bid, Not Sweden's

Turkey looks positively on Finland's application for NATO membership, but does not support Sweden's bid, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said.
Sweden and Finland applied last year to join the trans-Atlantic defence pact after Russia invaded Ukraine, but faced unexpected objections from Turkey and have since sought to win its support.
Ankara wants Helsinki and Stockholm in particular to take a tougher line against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is considered a terror group by Turkey and the European Union, and another group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt.
The three nations reached an agreement on a way forward in Madrid last June, but Ankara suspended talks last month as tensions rose following protests in Stockholm in which a far-right Danish politician burned a copy of the Muslim holy book, the Koran.
Erdogan signalled that Ankara could agree to Finland joining NATO ahead of Sweden. But Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said his country was sticking to its plan to apply jointly with Sweden.
Of NATO's 30 members, only Turkey and Hungary are yet to ratify the Nordic countries' memberships.

India to be the Theme Country at 2025 Madrid International Book Fair

India will be invited as the focal country at the Madrid International Book Fair in 2025, the Ambassador of Spain to the country Jose Maria Ridao said.
Spain is the theme country at the 46th International Kolkata Book Fair.
We are inviting India as the theme country at the Madrid International Book Fair in 2025, said Ridao.

Feb 02, 2023

Launch of 'Innovation Bridge' to Connect US, Indian Defence Start-ups

The United States and India concluded their US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) meeting and decided to launch a new "Innovation Bridge", which will connect both countries' defence start-ups.
The U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) meeting was inaugurated by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan and was joined from the US side by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Director of the National Science Foundation, the Executive Secretary of the National Space Council, and senior officials from the Department of State, Department of Commerce, the Department of Defence, and the National Security Council.
iCET was announced in May 2022 by US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to elevate and expand our strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of both the countries.

IMF Rejects Pakistan's Revised Circular Debt Management Plan

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) review mission rejected Pakistan's revised Circular Debt Management Plan (CDMP). It called on the Pakistan government to increase the electricity tariff in the range of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 11-12.50 per unit to restrict the additional subsidy at PKR 335 billion for the current fiscal year.
The International Monetary Fund review mission led by Nathen Porter arrived in Islamabad and both sides will continue to hold talks to complete the pending ninth review under the USD 7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
Circular debt occurs when one entity facing problems with its cash inflows does not make payments to its suppliers and creditors.

Australia to Replace Queen Elizabeth's Image on A$5 Banknote

Australia will replace the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II from its A$5 currency note with a new design to reflect and honour the history of its indigenous culture.
The decision follows consultation with the federal government, which supported the change. The other side of the note will continue to feature the Australian Parliament.
Queen Elizabeth's death last year has reignited debates in Australia about its future as a constitutional monarchy. Voters narrowly chose to maintain the British monarch as its head of state in a 1999 referendum.
King Charles III, who became British monarch after his mother's death, is the head of state in Australia, New Zealand and 12 other Commonwealth realms outside the United Kingdom, although the role is largely ceremonial.
Australia in September 2022 had said that the image of King Charles would not automatically replace Queen Elizabeth on A$5 notes, and that she might be replaced by Australian figures.

Feb 01, 2023

IMF Approves USD 4.7 Billion Loan for Bangladesh

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board approved a total of USD 4.7 billion loan for Bangladesh. It includes USD 3.3 billion under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and USD 1.4 billion under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) for Bangladesh.
The fund will be disbursed to Bangladesh over a period of 42 months to support Bangladesh's economic policies. Bangladesh is the first country in Asia to receive financing under the RSF. The approval of ECF/ EFF enables immediate disbursement of USD 476 million to the country.

Queen of the Skies: Boeing's Iconic jumbo B747 Flies off into History

The iconic jumbo B747, also called the 'Queen of the Skies', flew off into history when Boeing delivered the last such plane to Atlas Air from its Everett manufacturing facility in Washington.
The US aircraft maker had rolled out the first B747-100 plane on September 30, 1968, while the first 747 entered service on launch customer Pan Am Airlines' New YorkLondon route on January 21, 1970.
Atlas Air was the final 747 customer with an order of four 747-8 freighters, according to Boeing.
The last B747 was rolled out from the production facility on December 6 last year.
In the 55-year period, Boeing built a total of 1,574 B747 aircraft with four engines for over 100 customers, including Air India.

Equatorial Guinea Appoints First Woman PM

Equatorial Guinea appointed Manuela Roka Botey as Prime Minister, becoming the first woman in the country to hold the position.
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who ruled the country since 1979, made the announcement.
For the first time in Equatorial Guinea, a woman is appointed Prime Minister.
This is further proof of the commitment to gender equality and opportunities in the country.
Ms Rotey was previously the Education Minister and joined the government in 2020.
She replaced former premier Francisco Pascual Obama Asue.

Jan 31, 2023

Nepal's Former Deputy PM Lamichhane Reacquires Nationality Certificate after SC Nullifies his Cit...

Nepal's former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane reacquired his citizenship certificate, two days after he had to resign following a decision by the country's Supreme Court to scrap his status as a member of the House of Representatives for not producing a valid nationality certificate.
Lamichhane tendered his resignation after the apex court's verdict.
After re-acquiring the citizenship certificate, Lamichhane was re-elected as the president of the Rastriya Swotantra Party.

Russia Says Nuclear Arms Treaty with US May End after 2026

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister said that it was quite possible the New START nuclear arms control treaty with the United States would end after 2026.
US-Russia talks on resuming inspections under the New START treaty, which expires in February 2026, were called off at the last minute in November 2022. Neither side agreed on a time frame for new talks.

Jan 30, 2023

Petr Pavel Becomes New President of Czech Republic

Petr Pavel, a former chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military committee, became the new President of the Czech Republic.
Pavel defeated billionaire Andrej Babis in a run-off vote and replaced controversial President Milos Zeman.
A former military general, Pavel got more than 58 per cent of the vote.

Indian-American Raja J. Chari Nominated as US Air Force Brigadier General

Indian-American astronaut Raja Chari was nominated by US President Joe Biden for the post of Air Force brigadier general. The nomination has yet to be confirmed by the US Senate. The senate approves all senior civilian and military appointments, according to the US Defense Department. Brigadier General (BG) is a one-star General Officer rank of the United States Air Force.
Raja Chari is a US Air Force Colonel, who is 45 years old and earned a master's degree in aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Chari is also graduated from the US Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland.

Italy, Libya Sign Gas Agreement

Italy's PM held talks in Libya with officials from the country's west-based government focusing on energy and migration.
During the visit, the two countries' oil companies signed a gas deal worth USD 8 billion, the largest single investment in Libya's energy sector in more than two decades.

South Africa to Host 15th BRICS Summit in August 2023

The 15th BRICS summit is all set to take place in South Africa's Durban in late August this year.
The Foreign Ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, and China met for the first time on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in 2006, kicking off BRIC cooperation. Later in April 2011, South Africa participated, for the first time, in the 3rd BRICS Summit held in Sanya, China.
The announcement was apparently made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Mali Defends Ties with Russia, Opposes Options for UN Force

Mali's Foreign Minister defended the military government's cooperation with Russia on Friday and rejected three options proposed by the United Nations' chief to reconfigure the UN peacekeeping force in the West African country where Al-Qaida and Islamic State extremist groups are driving insecurity.
Abdoulaye Diop told the UN Security Council that security was the country's top priority and Mali would not continue to justify its partnership with Russia, which was providing training and equipment to the military. He did not mention Russia's Wagner Group, the private military contractor with ties to the Kremlin.

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