General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Aug 02, 2022

Taiwan Prepares for War with China, Ahead of US Official's Visit

Taiwan put its military on high alert and cancelled the leave of some officials and soldiers as it 'prepares for war' with China over US senator Nancy Pelosi's visit.
As per report, the military mobilised the air defence forces to immediately prepare for war after a high-level briefing.
This comes amid US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's tour of four Asian countries. Pelosi would arrive on August 2, becoming the highest-ranking elected US official to visit in more than 25 years.
Taiwan and China split in 1949 after the Communists won a civil war on the mainland. Both sides say they are one country but disagree over which government is entitled to national leadership. They have no official relations but are linked by billions of dollars of trade and investment.

Aug 01, 2022

President Ranil Wickremesinghe Invites Sri Lankan Parties to form National Govt.

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe wrote to members of Parliament, inviting them to form an all-party national government to help the bankrupt country to recover from the worst economic crisis.
The government is currently engaged in great efforts to gradually restore normalcy to the political and social unrest created by the economic crisis that the country is facing.
As per Wickremesinghe, a programme could be implemented only with the participation of all political parties represented in Parliament, expert groups and civil society.
He also proposed to start a dialogue with parties on the reintroduction of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.

SCO Poised for Major Expansion; Nepal, Maldives to Join from Subcontinent

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is poised for a major expansion five years after India and Pakistan became its full members in 2017.
Iran will get full member status, becoming the ninth member of SCO and the process has also started for giving Belarus's full membership. Afghanistan and Mongolia are also pushing for an upgrade from Observer status to full membership.
None of the other countries on the list will get full member status, they are poised to get observer status and dialogue partner status, Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdul Aziz Kamilov said on the sidelines of the ongoing SCO Foreign Ministers Ministerial in Samarkand.
Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will sign pacts to get dialogue partner status and the process of giving Bahrain and Maldives the same status will begin at the Samarkand SCO Summit to be held in September, Kamilov added. Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal will get Observer status.
From the Indian subcontinent, this will mean four countries in SCO – India, Pakistan, Nepal and the Maldives.

World Bank Names Auguste Tano Kouamé New India Head

The World Bank appointed Auguste Tano Kouamé from Côte d'Ivoire as its Country Director for India, its largest borrower in the world.
Auguste replaced Junaid Kamal Ahmad who completed a five-year term.
Auguste has been part of the World Bank's scheme of things for over 25 years, having served his first Country Director post in Turkiye before taking up this assignment.
He also has experience in dealing from the World Bank's side with countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa.

UK Braces for Biggest Hike in Interest Rates in 27 Years

The Bank of England is expected to step up its fight against inflation in the coming week, joining some 70 other institutions around the world in delivering a half-point increase in borrowing costs.
The move anticipated by most analysts and investors would mark the UK's biggest increase in interest rates in 27 years and accelerate a historic pivot away from the era of cheap money. Governor Andrew Bailey suggested the hike won't be the last, saying policy makers are prepared to act forcefully, if necessary, to rein in inflation.
The BOE was first among major-economy central banks to raise rates after the pandemic, but is struggling to keep up with the US Federal Reserve, which has delivered back-to-back 75 basis-point hikes.

Jul 31, 2022

Former Republicans and Democrats to Form New Third US Political Party

Dozens of former Republican and Democratic officials will announce a new national political third party to appeal to millions of voters they say are dismayed with what they see as America's dysfunctional two-party system.
The new party, called Forward, will initially be co-chaired by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and Christine Todd Whitman, the former Republican Governor of New Jersey. They hope the party will become a viable alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties that dominate US politics.
The new party is being formed by a merger of three political groups that have emerged in recent years as a reaction to America's increasingly polarized and gridlocked political system. The leaders cited a Gallup poll last year showing a record two-thirds of Americans believe a third party is needed.
The merger involves the Renew America Movement, formed in 2021 by dozens of former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W.
Bush and Donald Trump; the Forward Party, founded by Yang, who left the Democratic Party in 2021 and became an independent; and the Serve America Movement, a group of Democrats, Republicans and independents founded by former Republican congressman David Jolly.

Jul 30, 2022

Manisha Ropeta is Pakistan's First Hindu Woman DSP

Manisha Ropeta is making heads turn not only because she is among the few female officers in authoritative positions in Sindh Police but also for the fact that she is the first woman from the minority Hindu community in Pakistan to become a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
In Pakistan's male dominated society and culture, it is difficult for women to join professions considered as "manly" such as the police force.

UAE, France, and India Conduct Bilateral Discussions to Improve Maritime Security

A trilateral meeting of the Focal Points of India, France and the United Arab Emirates was held where three sides exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific region and explored the prospects of maritime security among other areas of cooperation.
The Indian side was led by Sandeep Chakravorty, Joint Secretary (Europe West) and Vipul, Joint Secretary (Gulf), the French side was led by Bertrand Lortholary, Director (Asia and Oceania) and Emmanuel Suquet, Deputy Director (Middle East and North Africa) of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and the Emirati side was led by Ahmed Burhaima, Deputy Director of the Economic and Trade Affairs Department of the UAE Foreign Ministry.
The three sides exchanged perspectives on the Indo-Pacific region and explored the potential areas of trilateral cooperation including Maritime Security, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), Blue Economy, Regional Connectivity, Cooperation in Multilateral Fora, Energy and Food Security, Innovation and Startups, Supply Chain Resilience and Cultural and People-to-People Cooperation.
The next measures for enhancing trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific area were also discussed.

Jul 29, 2022

India got Highest Aid for Trade from Developed Countries in 2020

India received the highest aid for trade in 2020 at $2.7 billion from developed countries even as the receipts declined during the pandemic year compared to $3.9 billion received in 2019.
The World Trade Organisation-led aid for trade flows is particularly meant for the least developed economies. It consists of official development support to build supply-side capacity and trade-related infrastructure to enable such countries to participate in international trade.
Bangladesh was the second largest recipient of the aid, followed by Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Vietnam, Pakistan, Morocco, Myanmar and Indonesia, among others. Institutions such as the World Bank, European Union Institutions, Asian Development Bank, and developed countries such as Japan, United States, Germany, France were among the top donors for the aid.

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