General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2016

Feb 2016

Aug 12, 2021

Mohammad Mokhber is First Vice President of Iran

Iran's New President Ebrahim Raisi named the chairman of a powerful state-owned foundation sanctioned by the United States as his first vice-president. Mohammad Mokhber has for years headed the foundation known as Setad or the Execution of Imam Khomeini's order.
Mokhber was appointed to the position by the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2007. The Setad was originally founded in the late 1980s to manage confiscated properties following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

China Recalls Lithuania Ambassador in Row over Taiwan Office

China recalled its ambassador to Lithuania and expelled the Baltic nation's top representative to Beijing over the country's decision to allow self-governing Taiwan to open an office in Lithuania under its own name.
Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory without the right to diplomatic recognition, although the island maintains informal ties with all major nations through trade offices that act as de facto embassies, including in the United States and Japan. Chinese pressure has reduced Taiwan's formal diplomatic allies to just 15.
Taiwan and Lithuania agreed last month that the office in the capital Vilnius — set to open this fall — will bear the name Taiwan rather than "Chinese Taipei," the term used in other countries in order not to offend Beijing.

Hong Kong to Adopt China's Anti-sanctions Law

China's anti-sanctions law will be implemented in some form in Hong Kong, the city's leader confirmed, a move that will add fresh regulatory pressure on international companies in the finance hub.
Beijing's rubber-stamp legislature passed the law in June in response to Western penalties that were imposed following crackdowns in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
Its powers include denying visas, deportation, or seizing assets of those who formulate or comply with sanctions against Chinese businesses or officials.
Foreign companies can be sued in Chinese courts for applying sanctions and the law can also be wielded against family members.

Aug 11, 2021

Biden Rules Out Changes in Troop Withdrawal Plan from Afghanistan

U.S. President Joe Biden ruled out any change in the withdrawal of his troops from Afghanistan despite the Taliban increasingly gaining control over large parts of the country.
But told Afghan leaders that political, economic support will continue after U.S. troops leave.

India Ranks 122nd on New Global Youth Development Index

India is ranked 122nd on a new Global Youth Development Index measuring the condition of young people across 181 countries, released by the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.
The triennial rankings of youth development found India among the top five risers on the index between 2010 and 2018, alongside Afghanistan and Russia, advancing their score on average by 15.74 per cent across areas such as education and employment.
The top five risers from 2010 to 2018 were Afghanistan, India, Russia, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso, says the 2020 Global Youth Development Index'.
Singapore ranked topmost followed by Slovenia, Norway, Malta and Denmark. Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Niger came last respectively.

Aug 10, 2021

Germany Rejects Calls to Send Military Back to Afghanistan

Germany's Defence Minister has rejected calls for its soldiers to return to Afghanistan after Taliban fighters took Kunduz city where German troops were deployed for a decade.
The country had the second-largest military contingent in Afghanistan after the United States, losing more troops in combat in Kunduz than anywhere else since World War II.
The Taliban overran six provincial capitals, including Kunduz, during the last four days as it pressed an offensive since foreign troops began a withdrawal.
The German minister said that those now calling for renewed military intervention in Afghanistan must ask themselves what would be the goal and the strategy, as well who would be the partners.

Aug 09, 2021

US Passes Bill to Support Taiwan's Participation in WHO

The US senate-house passed a bill to strengthen support for Taiwan to participate in the World Health Organization (WHO).
The bill states that the COVID-19 pandemic transcends all borders and that Taiwan should not be excluded from the global health body and calls on the U.S. government to formulate strategies to assist the East Asian nation to regain WHO observer status.
"Taiwan is an important partner to the United States, and it is critical that the administration improve its strategy to help Taiwan obtain observer status.
Taiwan's efforts to join WHO begin in 1997 and with US support, the country had participated in World Health Assembly as an observer from 2009-2017 against Beijing's pressure.

Aug 08, 2021

Louis Vuitton Overtakes Jeff Bezos as World's Richest Person

Bernard Arnault, Chairman of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH), has become the richest person in the world after surpassing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The French businessman's net worth is estimated at $198.9 billion, as per the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List.
Arnault had earlier become the world's richest person in December 2019, January 2020 and May 2021.
As per the latest rankings, Bezos's net worth stood at $194.9 billion while Elon Musk is placed third. Tesla and SpaceX chief Musk's net worth is estimated at $185.5 billion.

Germany Becomes 5th Country to Sign ISA Framework Agreement

Germany became the 5th country to sign the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement after amendments to it entered into force on 8th January 2021, opening its Membership to all Member States of the United Nations. Ambassador of Germany to India Walter J. Lindner deposited signed copies of the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement with the Ministry of External Affairs, the depositary of the Agreement.
Membership to the ISA was earlier limited to 121 countries, which were partially or entirely located within the tropics. This didn't allow major solar energy economies such as Germany to join the alliance that is being increasingly seen as a foreign policy tool. The initiative was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India Africa Summit and a meeting of member countries ahead of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in November 2015. The framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance opened for signatures in Marrakech, Morocco in November 2016.

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