General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

Jan 02, 2021

Tehran to Enrich Uranium to 20%, UN Says

Iran intends to start enriching uranium to 20% purity, the UN's atomic watchdog said that its most significant breach of an international nuclear deal so far.
This remains short of the 90% required to make a nuclear bomb. But under the 2015 agreement Iran was supposed to keep enrichment below 4%.
Iran began breaching the deal after President Trump took the US out of it and re-imposed crippling sanctions.
However, the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China all hope it can be revived.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran had informed it of its plans to enrich to a purity of up to 20% at its Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, a facility built deep inside a mountain.

Australia's National Anthem Sees a Change after 36 Years

The lyrics of Australia's national anthem have been changed by one word for the first time since 1984 to reflect what Prime Minister Scott Morrison calls "the spirit of unity".
The PM on the New Year's eve announced that the second line of the anthem has been changed from "For we are young and free" to "For we are one and free".
Governor-General David Hurley agreed to the Commonwealth's recommendation for the amendment.

Jan 01, 2021

CAR Opposition Call for Poll Repeat

Opposition parties in the Central African Republic (CAR) have called for a re-run of Sunday's election saying it was marred by insecurity and fraud.
Ten parties, known as the Democratic Opposition Coalition, say only about a-third of all voters were able to take part.
The country is still extremely fragile as a result of the civil war that broke out after a coup in 2013.
Militias still control about two-thirds of the country.
In the days before the election some of the militias launched an offensive and advanced towards the capital Bangui in what appeared to be an attempt to postpone the vote.

EU and China Seal Investment Deal

Top European Union officials and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a business investment deal that will open big opportunities to European companies, but has the potential to irk the new American administration.
Amid concerns about the human rights situation in China, the EU said that the seven-year-long negotiations were concluded in "principle" during a video-conference involving Xi, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council president Charles Michel.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU, and French President Emmanuel Macron also took part in the discussions with the Chinese President.

Dec 31, 2020

Argentina First Major Latin American Country to Legalise Abortion

Argentina became the first major country in Latin America to legalise abortion when the Senate voted to allow it through the 14th week of pregnancy, in the face of opposition from the influential Catholic Church.
The fiercely contentious vote, passed with 38 in favour, 29 against and one abstention, came after a marathon debate.
Across the region, abortions are available on demand only in Communist Cuba, comparatively tiny Uruguay and some parts of Mexico.

India to Open Three New Missions

The Union Cabinet approved the opening of three missions in Estonia, Paraguay and Dominican Republic in 2021.
The opening of the Indian Missions in these countries will help expand India's diplomatic footprint, deepen political relations, enable growth of bilateral trade, investment and economic engagements, facilitate stronger people-to-people contacts, and help garner support for India's foreign policy objectives.
Indian missions in these countries will also better assist the Indian community and protect their interests.
Enhancement of India's diplomatic presence will provide market access for Indian companies and bolster Indian exports of goods and services. This would have a direct impact in augmenting domestic production and employment in line with our goal of a self-reliant India or 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.

House of Commons Okays Brexit Deal

British lawmakers voted to approve legislation implementing the post-Brexit trade deal agreed with the European Union. The vote on the legislation to enact the trade agreement was passed by 521 to 73 votes in the parliament's Lower House. It now passes to the Upper House for approval, before becoming law.
Earlier, British PM Boris Johnson urged the Parliament to back his post-Brexit deal with the EU and open a new relationship as a friendly neighbour with the bloc, ending over four years of negotiation and safeguarding nearly a $1 trillion of annual trade with a day to spare.
The European Union has signed the deal, which is to get nod of UK's Upper House.

Iran to Resume Gas Exports to Iraq

Iran's Minister of Energy Reza Ardakanian confirmed that his country will resume full natural gas exports to Iraq after reducing the supplies due to unpaid bills, which caused an acute electricity shortage in Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi met Ardakanian, who's leading a delegation of high-ranking Iranian officials to Baghdad, to discuss the bilateral relations and means to boost cooperation.
Ardakanian conveyed the Iranian government's pledge to urgently resume pumping Iranian gas.
During the meetings, the two sides discussed financial cooperation, including Iraq's payment of dues for importing Iranian gas and electricity.
Due to the unpaid bills, Iran slashed its natural gas exports to Iraq from 50 million cubic metres to 5 million two weeks ago, causing an acute power shortage in Iraq.

Dec 30, 2020

Japan to Join 'Five Eyes' to Check China's Clampdown on Uyghurs

Amid calls within the Japanese government to join the 'Five Eyes' intelligence-sharing alliance, it provided key inputs to the US and the UK regarding Chinese clampdown on Uyghurs.
Five Eyes is a network of five nations -- Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the US who collaborated to better respond to increasing threats by North Korea and China. Japan is on its way to become the 'sixth eye'.
As per reports, Japan had provided intelligence to the US and the UK last year on China's forceful detainment of Muslim Uyghur minority people on condition of keeping the source confidential.
The US as well as the UK stepped up their criticism against the Chinese severe crackdown on Uyghurs in the Xinjiang autonomous region.

UK Signs Free Trade Agreement with Vietnam

The United Kingdom and Vietnam signed an agreement on free trade.
Earlier this month, the country's government announced signing a free trade deal with Singapore and concluded negotiations with Vietnam.
The ceremony took place in London and involved the ambassadors as the Vietnamese trade minister and high-level officials were unable to visit the UK over the situation with COVID-19.
The agreement will come into force on Friday and stipulates elimination of 99 per cent of tariffs within seven years.
After the UK officially left the EU on January 31, it has been working to secure various bilateral economy-related deals with various countries amid the transition period, which will end on 31-12-2020.

Britain and Turkey Reach Post-Brexit Agreement

Turkey and Britain signed a free-trade agreement as the UK prepares to leave the European Union's economic orbit at the start of the new year.
The deal, which will come into effect on Jan. 1, aims to support trade between the two countries which was worth more than $25 billion in 2019. It is one of many post-Brexit trade deals the British government is pursuing with nations around the world and came days after it finalized a trade agreement with the EU.
Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan and Dominick Chilcott, the British ambassador to Turkey, signed the British-Turkish agreement.
Pekcan hailed the deal as the most significant trade pact for Turkey since the signing of a customs union agreement with the EU in 1995.

Dec 29, 2020

Chinese Delegation Meets NCP's Prachanda

A high-level Chinese delegation led by a Vice Minister of the Communist Party of China met senior Nepal Communist Party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' and discussed the political situation in the country, amid intensified efforts by Beijing to patch up differences between the two warring factions of the party.
Vice Minister of the International Department of the CPC Guo Yezhou, who arrived in Nepal in what is believed to be China's desperate attempt to avert a vertical split in the NCP, met Prachanda, who claims control over the ruling party after removing Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli from the posts of the party's parliamentary leader and chair.

New US Act Message of Hope

Tibetans in exile have welcomed the US President Donald Trump signing the Tibetan Policy and Support Act (TPSA) into law.
This legislation sends a powerful message of hope and justice to the Tibetans inside Tibet and bolsters US support for the protection of Tibetan people's religious freedom, human rights, environmental rights and exile Tibetan democracy like never before.
The move strengthens US policy on Tibet and reaffirms its government's steadfast support for the Dalai Lama and the CTA.
Interestingly, the Bill called upon the US Secretary of State not to authorise any new Chinese consulate till a US Consulate is established in Lhasa. The signing came after days of delay though the US Congress had approved the omnibus spending bill, which had the TPSA attached earlier this month.

Economic Aggression of CCP Fails Miserably

In a new development, China is suffering from one of the worst blackouts in the past few decades. Though the Chinese economy is currently trying to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, but it appears that its attempts have come to a grinding halt. Power generation in China during the wintertime has not been able to keep up with demand. There are several factors why China is currently facing shortages in energy supply. One of the major factors is the fact that China has decided to ban coal imports from Australia after they asked for an independent inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 virus.
Australian coal was not the only thing that Beijing decided to ban. Back in May, China imposed an 80% tariff on Australian barley and added restrictions on the import of Australian beef.
Despite the crippling energy shortages, the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have not lifted the ban on Australian coal.

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