General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

Jul 02, 2021

Turkey Quits Violence-on-women Treaty

Thousands of people took to the streets of Turkey's largest cities to protest against the country's withdrawal from an international treaty to combat violence against women, a move that has drawn strong criticism from Western allies.
The protests came hours after President Tayyip Erdogan defended the withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, negotiated in Turkey's biggest city in 2011 and designed to prevent and prosecute violence against women and domestic abuse.
The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is a human rights treaty of the Council of Europe against violence against women and domestic violence which was opened for signature on 11 May 2011, in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Convention came into force on 1st August 2014.
In March 2012, Turkey became the first country to ratify the convention, followed by 34 other countries from 2013 to 2021.

Putin Signs Law Forcing Foreign Social Media Firms to Open Russian Offices

President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that obliges foreign social media giants to open offices in Russia, the latest move by Moscow to exert greater control over Big Tech.
The Russian authorities are keen to strengthen their control of the internet and to reduce their dependence on foreign companies and countries. In particular, they have objected in the past to political opponents of the Kremlin using foreign social media platforms to organise what they say are illegal protests and to publicise politically-tinged investigations into alleged corruption.
A foreign entity, carrying out activities on the internet in Russia, is obliged to create a branch, open an office or establish a Russian legal entity.

Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2021

India stands at the 20th spot among the top 100 countries that have been ranked in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2021 by Startup Blink. The country was in the 17th spot in 2019, after which it slid six spots down and stood at 23 in 2020. With this jump, India's start-up ecosystem makes a re-entry into the global top 20 countries again. Like last year, the US, the UK, Israel, Canada and Germany are in the top five spots this year too and continue their lead.
The report has a score for each location, which is calculated as the sum of three parameters: quantity, quality and business environment. The quantity parameter comprises elements such as number of start-ups, number of start-up related meet-ups, number of co-working spaces, number of accelerators, etc.

Maria Leptin New President of the European Research Council

The European Commission appointed German biologist Maria Leptin as the new president of the European Research Council (ERC), which as Europe's largest basic science funder hands out roughly €2 billion in grants per year. Leptin will be ERC's fifth president; her 4-year term begins on 1 October.
Leptin comes to ERC after 10 years leading the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), an intergovernmental research institute based in Heidelberg, Germany, that is funded by 30 countries.

Jul 01, 2021

UN Urges US to Remove Iran Sanctions

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed to US President Joe Biden's administration to lift or waive all sanctions on Iran as agreed under a 2015 deal aimed at stopping Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
In a report to the UN Security Council, Guterres also urged the United States to "extend the waivers with regard to the trade in oil with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and fully renew waivers for nuclear non-proliferation projects." The 15-member council will on Tuesday discuss the secretary-general's biannual report on the implementation of a 2015 resolution that enshrines the nuclear deal between Iran, the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China.
Guterres' appeal to Washington comes amid talks to revive the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, under which Iran accepted curbs on its nuclear programme in return for a lifting of many foreign sanctions against it.

G20 Adopts Matera Declaration

The G-20 Foreign Ministers have adopted the 'Matera Declaration', which asks the global community to step up efforts to contain the effects of the pandemic on lives and livelihoods, build inclusive and resilient food chains and ensure adequate nutrition for all.
Meeting for the first time in the format of "Joint meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Development Ministers" after the G20 Foreign Affairs Ministers' Meeting in Italy, the declaration concurred with the UN's 'Zero Hunger' goal set for 2030.
The G20 ministers recognised that poverty alleviation, food security, and sustainable food systems, are key to ending hunger, encouraging social cohesion and community development.

China Turns on World's Second Biggest Hydropower Dam

The Government of China officially turned on the first two generating units of the Baihetan Dam, the world's second-biggest hydroelectric dam, to start generating energy. The Baihetan Dam is set up on the Jinsha River, in southwestern China.
The dam is a 289-meter-tall (954-foot-tall) double-curvature arch dam, having 16 generating units.
Each unit will have to generate a capacity of 1 million kilowatts, making it the second biggest in size after the "Three Gorges Dam" opened in 2003 on the Yangtze, with 22.5 million kilowatts of generating capacity.
Through the Baihetan Dam, the Chinese government aims to curb surging fossil fuel demand by building more hydropower capacity.
Both the dams have been built by the state-owned Three Gorges Group Corp., the world's biggest investor in hydro, solar and wind generation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping Pledges Reunification with Taiwan

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to complete reunification with self-ruled Taiwan and vowed to smash any attempts at formal independence for the island, taking a tough line on the 100th birthday of the ruling Communist Party.
China considers democratically-ruled Taiwan its own territory, and under Mr. Xi has stepped up efforts to assert its sovereignty claims, including regularly sending fighter jets and bombers close to the island.
While China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, Mr. Xi called for a process of peaceful reunification.
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said that it was working on a response to Mr. Xi's comments.
Most Taiwanese have shown no interest in being ruled by China. Taiwan's government says only the island's people can decide their future, and has decried Chinese pressure.

Jun 30, 2021

Angela Merkel Pushes for European Union Talks with Russia

German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the idea of holding a European Union meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, arguing it would offer an opportunity to confront Putin with European concerns.
The idea was rejected last week by eastern EU members. At a summit on Friday, EU leaders agreed only to "explore formats and conditionalities of dialogue with Russia". There was no mention of any high-level meetings or plans for a summit with Putin, an idea that Germany and France had pushed. The outcome reflected deep divisions in the 27-nation EU's approach to Moscow.
The EU is concerned that Putin is turning increasingly authoritarian and wants to distance himself from the West. Both EU and the NATO military alliance are struggling to bring Russia back to the table.

Former S. African President Zuma Sentenced to Jail

The apex court in South Africa sentenced the country's former President Jacob Zuma to 15 months' imprisonment for contempt of court after he walked out of hearings of the Commission of Enquiry into State Capture in November last year and refused to return to it.
The court also said that the sentence could not be suspended. The Commission, which is investigation allegations of corruption and bribery at state and parastatal institutions, had asked that Zuma be sent to prison for two years.
Zuma has repeatedly said that he would rather go to jail than cooperate with the Commission.

India Jumps to 10th Place in Cybersecurity Index

India entered the top 10 of a global cybersecurity ranking of countries, ahead of China at No.33, and Pakistan at No.79. India improved its ranking from 47 to 10 in the United Nation's ITU Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA). The US is ranked first, followed by the UK.
The rankings come at a time when the government has been dealing with several instances of cross-border cyber attacks.
The International Telecommunications Union, or ITU, which is a specialised agency under the UN, said in the report that the ranking is based on four pillars: legal measures, technical measures, capacity building measures and organisational measures.

Atul Keshap to be US Chargé d'Affaires in India

Atul Keshap will be departing for New Delhi to serve as Chargé d'Affaires, ad interim, following the retirement of US ambassador to India, Daniel Smith.
Keshap served previously at the US embassy and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia. A career member of the US Foreign Service, he has also served as the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives
Keshap's appointment will reinforce the close US partnership with the Government and people of India, demonstrated by our collaboration to overcome global challenges like the Covid pandemic.

Jun 29, 2021

Iraq, Egypt and Jordan Hold Summit

Egypt, Jordan and Iraq agreed to bolster security and economic cooperation at a tripartite summit that saw an Egyptian head of state visit Iraq for the first time in three decades.
The visits by Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II came as Iraq seeks to move closer to Arab allies of the United States in the Middle East.
Iraq is also seeking to establish itself as a mediator between Arab countries and Iran, after reportedly hosting talks in April between Tehran and Riyadh.

Iran Not to Deliver Nuclear Activities' Record to IAEA

According to parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iran will not deliver records of its nuclear activities to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after a temporary understanding reached in January expired.
the Speaker added that the records are in possession of the Iranian authorities, and Tehran's Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions (SAPCS) law is being "thoroughly" implemented.
The SAPCS act was passed by Parliament in December 2020, requiring among other measures the Iranian executive branch to stop implementing the Additional Protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by February 23, in case the sanctions imposed on the country by the US were not lifted.
The IAEA and Iranian officials reached a temporary understanding in February to keep the Agency's monitoring cameras under Tehran's supervision for a period of three months up to May 24, and deliver the records to the agency only after sanctions on the country are lifted.

Jun 28, 2021

Sudan Agrees to Hand over Darfur War Crimes Accused

Sudan says it will surrender former officials who are wanted for alleged war crimes in the Darfur region to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
As yet, Sudan has not named the individuals being handed over.
The country's rulers had already promised to surrender ex-President Omar al-Bashir who was in power during the conflict but this has not yet happened.
Bashir was ousted by the military after mass protests in 2019 and is now serving a jail sentence for corruption.
The war in Darfur caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises of recent years.
Sudan's decision comes weeks after the ICC's outgoing chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, visited the country and urged its leaders to surrender all those wanted including Mr. Bashir.

Japan Ratifies World's Biggest Free Trade Agreement Involving China, ASEAN

Japan ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free trade agreement between China, Australia, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Tokyo becomes the third member to ratify the agreement, which was signed by 15 countries in November last year. Among the signatories, Singapore and China have completed ratification procedures.
The Cabinet approved the accord, completing Tokyo's necessary domestic procedures for the ratification.
It will be Japan's first trade deal involving both China and South Korea -- its largest and third-biggest trade partners.
The deal will strengthen the link between Japan and the (Asia-Pacific) region, which is the world's growth center, and will contribute to Japan's economic growth when it comes into force.

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