General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

Dec 28, 2020

Brexit Trade Deal Published

Britain published the text of its narrow trade agreement with the European Union just five days before it exits one of the world's biggest trading blocs in its most momentous global shift since the loss of empire.
The text includes a 1,246-page trade document, as well as accords on nuclear energy, exchanging classified information, civil nuclear energy and a series of joint declarations.
The "Draft EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement" means that from 2300 GMT on December 31, when Britain finally leaves the European Union's single market and customs union, there will be no tariffs or quotas on the movement of goods originating in either place between the United Kingdom and the EU.

Trump Signs Relief and Spending Package into Law

US President Donald Trump has signed into law a coronavirus relief and spending package bill, averting a partial government shutdown.
Mr. Trump had initially refused to sign the bill, saying he wanted to give people bigger one-off payments.
The delay meant that millions of Americans temporarily lost unemployment benefits.
The relief package worth $900bn (£665bn) was approved by Congress after months of negotiation.
It is part of a $2.3tn spending package that includes $1.4tn for normal federal government spending.
Had Mr. Trump not signed the bill into law by midnight on Monday, a partial government shutdown would have begun unless legislators passed a stopgap bill.
About 14 million Americans faced a lapse in unemployment benefit payments and new stimulus cheques. Unemployment benefits will now be restored.

Dec 27, 2020

Nepal SC Notice to Oli Govt. over Parliament Dissolution

Nepal's Supreme Court issued a show-cause notice to the KP Sharma Oli-led government, asking it to submit a written clarification over its decision to abruptly dissolve parliament.
The notice was issued after a preliminary hearing at the five-member Constitutional Bench, headed by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana, on the writ petitions filed against the government's decision to dissolve the 275-member House of Representatives. The Bench sought the written clarification from the office of the Prime Minister, Council of Ministers and the President as they are made defendants in all writ petitions.
The court has also asked the government to submit an original copy of the recommendations made by the government to dissolve the House and the decision made by President Bidya Devi Bhandari to authenticate the government's recommendations within 10 days.

Dec 26, 2020

UK clinch Narrow Brexit Accord from European Union

Britain clinched a narrow Brexit trade deal with the European Union, just seven days before it exits one of the world`s biggest trading blocs in its most significant global shift since the loss of empire.
The deal, agreed more than four years after Britain voted by a slim margin to leave the bloc, offers a way out of a chaotic finale to a divorce that has shaken the 70-year project to forge European unity from the ruins of World War Two.
It will preserve Britain`s zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the bloc`s single market of 450 million consumers, but will not prevent economic pain and disruption for the United Kingdom or for EU member states.

Dec 25, 2020

The UK and EU Ready to Unveil Brexit Trade Accord

Negotiators from the European Union and Britain worked through the night and right into Christmas Eve to put an end to the historic Brexit Trade Accord, which is expected to be announced very soon.
After resolving the remaining fair completion and almost all fisheries issues, negotiators combed through hundreds of pages of legal text that should become the blueprint for post-Brexit relationship.
The agreement, which will formally complete Britain's separation from the bloc four-and-a-half years after the 2016 referendum, will allow for tariff and quota-free trade in goods and cooperation in areas from security to aviation.
The outline of the deal was agreed, and an announcement is expected very soon. Meanwhile in Brussels, chief negotiators were still working to nail down the exact wording of the final treaty in the European Commission's headquarters.

Alex Padilla to Replace Kamala Harris in US Senate

Alex Padilla has been named to replace Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris in the US Senate by California Governor Gavin Newsom, filling the remainder of her term in the Upper House.
He is the first Latino to represent California in the house and a close ally of Mr. Newsom.
The son of Mexican immigrants, he became California's first Latino secretary of state in 2015.
He is due to hold the Senate seat until 2022 when Ms. Harris's term ends.

Prachanda-led Faction Elects Him as New Parliamentary Leader

Nepal Communist Party's executive chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was elected as the ruling party's new parliamentary leader, replacing Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli.
The 66-year-old leader's nomination was proposed by senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, who was earlier named as one of the two chairmen of the party, at a parliamentary party meeting of the Prachanda-led faction at the Parliament Building in New Baneshwar.

Dec 24, 2020

Trump Refuses to Sign Covid Relief Bill

US President Donald Trump has refused to sign the Covid relief Bill, saying the $600 stimulus payment to most Americans was not enough as he asked Congress to increase the amount to $2,000.
Despite all of this wasteful spending and much more, the $900 billion package provides hard-working taxpayers with only $600 each in relief payments, and not enough money is given to small businesses and in particular restaurants whose owners have suffered grievously.
Meanwhile, the US will pay Pfizer Inc nearly $2 billion for 100 million additional doses of its Covid vaccine to bolster its supply as the country grapples with a nationwide spike in infections. Under the new agreement, Pfizer will deliver at least 70 million doses by June 30.

Kosovo Pins UN Membership Hopes on Biden Presidency

Kosovars cattle seller hopes incoming US President Joe Biden will help the small Balkan country's push for United Nations membership.
Biden is respected in Kosovo for his active support of the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia to halt the killing and expulsion of ethnic Albanians in its then southern province. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but Belgrade refuses to recognize it.
Many hope that a Biden administration, which is likely to take more of a multilateral and diplomatic approach aimed at repairing Washington's relationships with its key NATO allies, will actively help Kosovo's bid for a U.N. seat.

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