General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Jan 23, 2023

Polar Preet Sets New World Record for Longest Solo, Unsupported, Unassisted Polar Expedition by a...

A British Sikh Army officer and physiotherapist set a new world record for the longest solo, unsupported, and unassisted polar expedition by a woman.
Captain Harpreet Chandi, known as Polar Preet having already completed a trekking challenge to become the first Indian-origin woman to set the record of a solo unsupported trek to the South Pole, travelled 1,397 km across Antarctica in temperatures as cold as minus 50 degrees Celsius. The previous record was 1,381 km, set by Anja Blacha in 2020.

UNESCO Dedicates 2023 International Day of Education to Afghan Girls and Women

UNESCO decided to dedicate the International Day of Education 2023, which falls on January 24 to Afghan girls and women. Director General Audrey Azoulay said that no country in the world should bar women and girls from receiving an education and it is a universal human right that must be respected.
She further said that the international community has the responsibility to ensure that the rights of Afghan girls and women are restored without delay. According to UNESCO, currently, around 80 per cent of school-aged Afghan girls and young women are out of school under the Taliban rule, as they denied them access to secondary schools and universities.

Chris Hipkins Set to Replace Jacinda Ardern as New Zealand Prime Minister

Chris Hipkins, who played a significant role in New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to replace Jacinda Ardern as Prime Minister after emerging as the only candidate to lead the ruling Labour Party.
Hipkins is expected to be confirmed as leader at a meeting of Labour's 64 lawmakers, or Caucus, succeeding Ardern, who made a surprise announcement that she would step down.
First elected to parliament for the Labour Party in 2008, Hipkins became a household name fronting the government's response to the pandemic. He was appointed health minister in July 2020 before becoming the COVID response minister at the end of the year.

Jan 22, 2023

UN Approves Second Four-year Term for Environment Chief Inger Andersen

The UN General Assembly elected Inger Andersen of Denmark to a second four-year term as executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, after defeating a Russian-sponsored resolution that would have opened the job to other candidates.
The decision extends her leadership of the UN's environment agency, based in Nairobi, Kenya, from June 15, 2023, until June 14, 2027.
Before taking the helm of UNEP in June 2019, Andersen was director general of the International Union for Conservation of Nature for four years. Previously, she spent 15 years at the World Bank, including as vice president of the Middle East and North Africa region from 2011 to 2015.

Jan 21, 2023

US Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Remove Pakistan as Major Non-NATO Ally

A US lawmaker introduced a legislation in the US House of Representatives that seeks to terminate Pakistan's designation as a major non-NATO ally, and require annual certification from the president with certain conditions for Islamabad to be given such a designation.
The bill (HR 80) was introduced by Congressman Andy Biggs, who represents the fifth Congressional district of Arizona.
It needs to be passed by the House and the Senate before it can be signed into law by the US President, and has been sent to the House Foreign Affairs Committee for necessary actions.
Normally, such bills do not fructify, but the present bill reflects the sentiments of the lawmakers against Pakistan, which is known for harbouring terrorism and using it as a matter of State policy.

Jan 20, 2023

Aruna Miller Maryland's First Indian American Lieutenant Governor

Aruna Miller made history by becoming the first Indian-American politician to be elected as Maryland's Lieutenant Governor.
A daughter of an IBM engineer who migrated to the United States in the 60s, Miller is also an engineer. She came to the US aged 7 in 1972 and made upstate New York her home.
Miller contested the elections on a Democratic ticket and won the election. Maryland also elected its first Black governor, Wes Moore. He's the third Black person to be elected governor in US history.
Maryland also elected a Black American as its attorney general for the first and a female as comptroller in a first.
Miller also served two terms in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2010 to 2018.

Jan 19, 2023

New Zealand PM to Step Down Next Month

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that she will step down next month after being in power for six years.
Ardern had become the youngest female head of government in the world when she was elected Prime Minister in 2017 at the age of 37.

World Economic Forum Launches the Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) Initiative

The World Economic Forum, in partnership with over 45 organizations, launched the Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) initiative. The goal of GAEA is to fund and grow new and existing public, private, and philanthropic partnerships (PPPPs) to unlock the $3 trillion of financing needed each year to reach net zero, reverse nature loss, and restore biodiversity by 2050.
GAEA's growing body of philanthropic partners includes organizations such as the African Climate Foundation, Bezos Earth Fund, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Over the next 12 months, GAEA will work with these partners and McKinsey Sustainability as a knowledge partner, to build momentum around three clear objectives:
Convene leaders from the public, private, and philanthropic sectors to identify and target climate and nature solutions where they are best positioned to play a catalytic role.
Pilot and refine funding models that can support PPPP interventions.
Scale up funding for targeted climate and nature solutions, leveraging philanthropy as a catalyst for attracting and deploying other forms of financing.

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