General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

Nov 08, 2020

Mississippi Voters Approve New State Flag Design

Mississippi voters cast their ballots in favour of a new flag design, replacing the state's long-controversial banner, which was adopted in 1894 and prominently featured the Confederate battle flag.
A bill to alter the flag was passed by the Mississippi state legislature earlier this summer, in the wake of widespread protests about racial justice in America. The redesigned flag is called "The New Magnolia" and features the state flower surrounded by 20 stars, signifying the state's position when joining the union, alongside the phrase "In God We Trust".

The UK and EU to Step up Efforts on Brexit Deal

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the head of the European Union's executive arm agreed to stay in contact as their negotiating teams step up efforts to conclude a post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and the European Union.
With less than two months to go before the UK exits the EU's economic orbit, the negotiating teams would redouble efforts to reach a deal.
Both sides said that the main issues at hand related to a so-called level playing field governing business regulations and fisheries.

Joe Bidden New President of the US

Joe Biden has won the US elections defeating Donald Trump. His Oath of Office as the 46th President of the US will be administered by the Chief Justice of Supreme Court. He is to assume office on January 20, 2021. The election results make Trump the first one term President since 1990. This year, the US vote counting was delayed. The delay in declaration of US Election results was due to several reasons. The foremost was that different state in the country adopts different polling, counting processes.
Joe Biden served as the 47th Vice President during Obama administration between 2009 and 2017. In 2009, during the Great Recession, he oversaw the infrastructure spending of America.
The election for the President of United States is held once in four years. A person cannot run for US President Election more than two times.

Nov 07, 2020

Suu Kyi's Party Expected to Win Second Term

Myanmar's citizens go to the polls in an effort to sustain the fledgeling democracy they helped install just five years ago.
There are about 37 million registered voters, though turnout is expected to suffer because of a recent surge in coronavirus cases.
In 2015, excitement was high over the opportunity to end more than five decades of army-directed rule.
The National League of Democracy party of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi roared to a landslide election victory and she became her country's leader after many hard years at the forefront of a non-violent struggle against military dictatorships that won international admiration.
This year, her party is expected to again top the polls, but some critics feel her administration has failed to embrace democratic principles.

China Slams US for Delisting Xinjiang's ETIM as Terrorist Outfit

China criticised the US for delisting Xinjiang's separatist militant outfit East Turkistan Islamic Movement from its list of terrorist organisations, saying it reflected Washington's double standards on fighting global terrorism.
In a major policy shift, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lifted the ban on East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which was designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN's 1267 counter-terrorism committee in 2002 for its alleged association with al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.
China accuses ETIM, which is entrenched in Uighur Muslim-majority province of Xinjiang, of being responsible for numerous violent attacks in the province and outside, including one at the Forbidden City in Beijing, killing several people.

Nov 06, 2020

India-Indonesia 5th Joint Working Group on Coal held Virtually

On November 5, 2020, the India-Indonesia fifth joint working group on coal was held. The meeting of the working group was held through video conference.
During the meeting, the countries discussed on Indian Coal Policy reforms, commercial mining of coal in India and coking coal exploration.

UNGA Adopts Two India Sponsored Resolutions On Nuclear Disarmament

The first committee of the United Nations General Assembly has adopted two India-sponsored resolutions on nuclear disarmament which aim to reduce risk of nuclear accidents and call for a prohibition on the use of nuclear weapons.
The UNGA first committee deals with the issue of disarmament and works in close cooperation with the United Nations Disarmament Commission and the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament, the other two bodies to deal with the nuclear issue.
The two resolutions adopted include Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear Weapons and Reducing Nuclear Danger under the Nuclear weapons cluster.
The adoption of resolutions shows India's commitment towards the goal of nuclear disarmament.

India-Italy Bilateral Summit

On November 6, 2020, PM Modi held a virtual bilateral summit with his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte. The leaders signed 15 pacts in the field of energy, trade, ship building and culture.
The summit explored possibilities of Italian investments in India especially in defence. Also, the leaders discussed on hosting G20 summit. Italy agreed to host G20 summit in 2021 on India's request. India is to host the G20 summit in 2022.

India-OPEC Energy Dialogue held Virtually

On November 5, 2020, the fourth high level meeting of India-OPEC Energy Dialogue was held virtually. India was represented by the Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The dialogue is being held since 2015.
During the dialogue, India pressed for assessing COVID-19 induced disruptions of oil supply. India during the meet urged OPEC to address the anomalies prevalent in differential crude oil prices fixed by the OPEC members for different regions.
In 2019-20, India imported 92.8 billion USD worth Hydrocarbons from OPEC countries.

First India-Nordic-Baltic Conclave held

On November 5, 2020, the first India-Nordic-Baltic Conclave was held virtually. India was represented by External Affairs Minister S Jai Shankar.
The Conclave was jointly hosted by Ministry of External Affairs and Confederation of Indian Industry. The Conclave focused on clean technologies and renewable energies, Artificial Intelligence, supply chain logistics and block chain led transformation.
The Nordic Baltic Eight includes Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Iceland, Norway, Lithuania and Sweden. The Baltic States are Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. These three countries are located in the Baltic sea and are fast growing economies.

PM Narendra Modi Chairs Global Investor Round Table Conference

India bravely fought the global pandemic through this year and the world saw India's true strengths and its national character, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while speaking at the virtual Global Investor Round table.
The virtual Global Investor Round table Conference was organised by the Ministry of Finance along with the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.
The global investors represented key regions across the globe including the United States, Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Korea and the Middle East. Some of them will be interacting with the Indian government for the first time.

Qatar Emir Sets First National Election

Qatar's ruler said that a long delayed vote for the country's policy reviewing chamber will be held in October 2021, marking the Gulf emirate's first national election.
The currently un-elected Shura Council advises the absolute ruler, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, on draft laws but does not create its own legislation and can be overruled by a simple decree.
In 2021, October's vote would be Qatar's first national election although Sheikh Tamim did not give details on who would be permitted to vote or who would be able to stand.

Nov 05, 2020

Biden Wins More Votes than Any Other Presidential Candidate in US History

As per reports, Democratic nominee Joe Biden has won more votes than any other presidential candidate in the US history, shattering a record set by former President Barack Obama.
As of November 4, 2020 Biden had got over 70.7 million votes, more than anyone who has ever run for President.
This count includes 300,000 more votes than what Obama got in 2008, which was the previous record. Biden surpassed the popular vote record of 69,498,516 set by Obama in 2008.
Biden, in a tight electoral vote fight to the White House against incumbent President Donald Trump, is 2.7 million votes ahead of the Republican leader in the popular vote. His lead is growing as counting picks pace in key battleground states.

US Formally Exits Paris Climate Deal

The US formally exited the Paris Climate Agreement amid election uncertainty, three years after Donald Trump announced his intent to remove the country from participating in the landmark global pact to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Trump has claimed that the deal could cost the country 2.5 million jobs by 2025. He has also said that it gives other major emitters, like China and India, a free pass.

Chinese President Opens up to more Trade Deals

According to Chinese President Xi Jinping, China will import more than $22tn (£17tn) worth of goods over the next decade.
He has also called for a more constructive approach to an open global economy, and hit out at "protectionism".
Mr Xi said that China would accelerate efforts to reopen its economy after largely bringing Covid-19 under control.
China is the only major economy to grow this year.
The Chinese economy is steadily picking up, as evidenced by the growth in the first three quarters.

Nov 04, 2020

Delaware Elects Country's First Transgender State Senator

Democrat Sarah McBride won a state Senate race in Delaware, and would become the first openly transgender state senator in the country when sworn in.
McBride defeated Republican Steve Washington to win the seat that became open following the retirement of the longest-serving legislator in Delaware history.
She won in a heavily Democratic district stretching from northern Wilmington to the Pennsylvania border, and joins several other transgender legislators around the country but is the first transgender state senator.

Indian-origin Krishnamoorthi Re-elected to the US House of Representatives

Indian-origin Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has been re-elected to the US House of Representatives for the third consecutive term.
Krishnamoorthi easily defeated Preston Nelson of the Libertarian Party. He accounted for nearly 71 per cent of the total votes counted.
Krishnamoorthi was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2016.
Meanwhile, Congressman Ami Bera is seeking his fifth consecutive win from California and Ro Khanna his third term in the House of Representatives from California.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is seeking her third consecutive term from Washington State.

World Wide Fund Water Risk Filter Report

As per the World Wide Fund Water Risk Filter Report, nearly 30 Indian cities are likely to face acute water risks. This includes Jaipur, Amritsar, Indore, Srinagar, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, Vishakhapatnam and Kozhikode. Of these cities Jaipur topped the list. It was followed by Indore, Thane, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi.
The report defines water risk as battling between flooding and droughts.
The report estimates that hundreds of millions of people all over the world will face increased water risks. The number of cities affected with water risks will increase to 100 by 2050. The list includes Jakarta, Beijing, Johannesburg, Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro and Mecca. More than half of the cities to face the water risks are located in China. The other hotspots include middle east, South Asia, Africa and South America. These cities are home to 350 million people. Bottom-line, more than 51% of world population is to face high-water risk. Currently, the global population at the risk of high water risk is 17%.
One-third of 100 cities in the world are susceptible to water risk.

One Million Swedes' Data Shared with Facebook, Google

Folksam, Sweden's largest insurer accidentally leaked private data on around one million of its customers to a handful of the world's largest tech firms.
Folksam, which insures every second family home and every second person in Sweden, shared the data with tech giants such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft and LinkedIn.
Folksam immediately stopped sharing this personal information and requested that it be deleted.
The data included social security numbers, widely used in Sweden for everyday activities including banking, and information on who had bought pregnancy insurance.

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