General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

Jan 17, 2021

Biden Taps Former Deputy CIA Director Cohen for Spy Agency

President-elect Joe Biden named former Deputy CIA Director David Cohen to reprise his role at the US intelligence agency as he continued to fill out top roles for his administration.
Cohen previously served as the deputy director for the Central Intelligence Agency from 2015 to 2017 under Democratic then-President Barack Obama, when Biden served as vice president. Cohen would serve under longtime US diplomat William Burns, Biden's nominee for CIA director.
The former lawyer also previously served as Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the US Treasury Department, where he dealt with terrorism financing and oversaw sanctions against countries such as Iran, Russia and North Korea.
Biden also picked one of his closest confidants from his presidential campaign, Anita Dunn, to join the White House as a senior adviser.

Dutch Government Resigns

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his entire Cabinet resigned to take political responsibility for a scandal involving investigations into child welfare payments that wrongly labelled thousands of parents as fraudsters.
In a nationally televised speech, Rutte said that he had informed King Willem-Alexander of his decision and pledged that his government would continue work to compensate affected parents as quickly as possible to battle the coronavirus.
The move was seen as largely symbolic; Rutte's government will remain in office in a caretaker mode until a new coalition is formed after a March 17 election in the Netherlands.
The resignation brings to an end a decade in office for Rutte, although his party is expected to win the election, putting him first in line to begin talks to form the next government. If he succeeds in forming a new coalition, Rutte would most likely again become Prime Minister.

Jan 16, 2021

US Rejects UN Plea to Reverse Yemen Rebel Terror Designation

The UN chief and top officials urged the United States to reverse its decision to declare Yemen's Iran-backed rebels a terrorist group to prevent massive famine and death in the conflict-torn Arab nation — but the Trump administration in its final days stood by its action.
US deputy ambassador Richard Mills told the Security Council that the US had listened to the warnings of the terrorist designation's humanitarian impact and would take measures to reduce the impact on aid deliveries and commercial imports.
In 2014, the rebel Houthis overran the capital, Sanaa, and much of Yemen's north, driving the government into exile. A US-backed, Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year to try and restore the internationally recognised government but years of UN efforts to get both sides to agree to a cease-fire and start peace negotiations have not succeeded.

Sadyr Japarov Wins the Presidential Election in Kyrgyzstan

The frontrunner in Kyrgyzstan's presidential election, Sadyr Japarov, has won by a landslide. According to the Central Election Commission, Mr. Japarov had won 79% of votes cast. Mr. Japarov, who served time in jail for taking a rival hostage, will also have sweeping new presidential powers after voters by a similar margin opted to amend the Constitution in a referendum.
Kyrgyzstan has been in crisis since parliamentary elections last October. The results of those elections were disputed, leading to protests and the resignation of then-President Sooronbay Jeenbekov.

Jan 15, 2021

Trump Administration Takes Final Swipe at China

The Trump administration in its waning days took another swipe at China and its biggest firms, imposing sanctions on officials and companies for alleged misdeeds in the South China Sea and imposing an investment ban on nine more firms.
The moves will further increase tensions with China, Washington's strategic rival in Asia, days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office. The Biden transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Executives of state-owned enterprises, officials of the Chinese Communist Party and military, along with oil giant CNOOC will face new restrictions for allegedly using coercion against states with rival South China Sea claims.

Kuwait's Government Quits

Kuwait's Cabinet submitted its resignation, the latest development in a cycle of clashes between the government and lawmakers that long has convulsed the sheikhdom with the strongest parliament in the Gulf.
The move, while not a surprise after some 30 lawmakers backed a no-confidence motion against the government this month, reveals how the country's politicking has caused instability, diminished public confidence and aggravated the oil-rich state's worst economic crisis in decades.
The ministers quit after the recently elected members of parliament, more than 60 per cent of them new faces, grilled the prime minister to protest his new Cabinet appointments. The decision to reinstate the old parliament speaker who hails from an elite merchant family stirred anger among new lawmakers skeptical of corruption and the country's patronage system.
The Prime Minister must now submit the resignations to the country's ruling emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, who is widely expected to accept them.

In First, UN Rights Body to Vote on President after Standoff

The UN Human Rights Council will this week hold an unprecedented secret ballot to pick its President after China and others blocked a candidate from Fiji considered a rights champion.
The dispute could underscore growing jostling in the top UN rights body by countries intent on steering it away from criticising nations over alleged abuses of individual rights and towards focusing on advances in economic and social rights.
The council's presidency rotates each year between regions and is typically agreed by consensus within each regional group.
This year, though, the Asia-Pacific group (APG) due to take the helm failed to agree on a candidate -- or even on holding a vote within the group.
That means the council, which for the first time in its 15-year history began the year with no President, will hold an unprecedented vote among all 47 members.

Jan 14, 2021

Trump Impeached for Historic Second Time

Donald Trump became the first President in the history of the US to be impeached for a second time, as 10 of his fellow Republicans joined the Democrats in the House of Representatives to charge him with inciting an insurrection which led to the violent rampage at the Capitol last week.
The votes with 232-197 was in moved the motion for impeachment, though it is unlikely that the swift impeachment would lead to Trump`s removal before the end of his four-year term.
However, the Senate`s Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell, rejected calls from Democratic leaders for a quick impeachment trial, saying there was no way to conclude it before January 20 which is when Trump leaves office.
But a Senate conviction could lead to a vote on banning Donald Trump from running for office again in 2024.

WHO Team Probing Origin of Virus Arrives in China

A World Health Organization (WHO) team has arrived in the Chinese city of Wuhan to start its investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The long-awaited probe comes after months of negotiations between the WHO and Beijing.
A group of 10 scientists is set to interview people from research institutes, hospitals and the seafood market linked to the initial outbreak.
Covid-19 was first detected in Wuhan in late 2019.
The team's arrival coincides with a resurgence of new coronavirus cases in northern China, while life in Wuhan is relatively back to normal.
The probe, which aims to investigate the animal origin of the pandemic, looks set to begin after some initial hiccups.

US Scraps Top-level Diplomatic Trips to Taiwan, Europe

The United States cancelled two visits by senior envoys to allies in Europe and Taiwan, underlining a turbulent transition of power from President Donald Trump to President-elect Joe Biden.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had been set to make a final official visit to Europe while Washington's envoy to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, was on her way to Taiwan.
The diplomatic volte-face allows both Europe and Taiwan to avoid hosting potentially awkward trips by the outgoing administration.
Pompeo's two-day stay in Europe would have been his last foreign trip as secretary of state. However, the State Department announced he was staying in the US to ensure a "smooth and orderly" transition for the incoming Joe Biden administration.

Jan 13, 2021

China Prevents India from Heading UNSC Sanctions Committee

India has continued its focus on Afghanistan at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) even as China once again played games at the top UN body.
China, which is one of the Permanent Five or P5 members of the body, prevented India from heading the UNSC 1267 (ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida) Sanctions committee that lists international terrorists.
The same list, that has on its roll Pakistani terrorist nationals including Masood Azhar, Hafiz Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi. Many of them responsible for terror attacks in India, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks for which Islamabad has yet to take action.

World's most Powerful Passports in 2021

Even as the world continues to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan tops the list of being the most powerful passport in the world for the year 2021, according to the latest report by the Henley Passport Index.
Japanese citizens can travel to as many as 191 countries visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 191 destinations around the world.
Singapore is in on the second place (with a score of 190) and South Korea ties with Germany in third place (with a score of 189).
Countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Switzerland are tied at the seventh position on the most powerful passports in the world list with a visa-free score of 185. Australia stands at the 8th position with a visa score of 184.
India has been ranked 85th.

Turkey and Greece to Break Five-year Negotiations Impasse

Turkey and Greece will sit down to try to tackle differences over maritime boundaries and offshore energy resources for the first time since 2016.
Diplomats from the two countries will meet in Istanbul on Jan. 25 to begin exploratory talks. Greek officials have ruled out expanding the scope of the negotiations to other long-running disputes with Turkey.
The announcement comes just weeks after the European Union pledged to expand the number of Turkish officials sanctioned over the country's energy exploration in the disputed waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Cyprus, Greece and France this week proposed a list of potential new targets.

Trudeau Reshuffles Cabinet after Indian-origin Minister Quits

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau conducted an unexpected cabinet reshuffle following the sudden resignation of Indo-Canadian minister Navdeep Bains.
Bains was among the prominent Sikhs in Trudeau's cabinet along with minister for national defence Harjit Sajjan.
Bains's resignation precipitated a larger reshuffle in what was the first-ever virtual swearing-in ceremony for ministers in the history of Canada.
Foreign minister François-Philippe Champagne was placed in charge of Bains's portfolios as minister for innovation, science and industry while transport minister Marc Garneau assumed charge of foreign affairs. Omar Alghabra was promoted from parliamentary secretary to the cabinet and given charge of the transport department. Jim Carr was sworn in as a minister without portfolio and will be the government's special representative for the Prairies.

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