General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

Oct 19, 2020

India, Chile hold first joint commission meeting

India and Chile held their first joint commission meeting and agreed to add new momentum to their relations in a wide range of fields including trade and commerce, agriculture, health and social security, defence and space.
The meeting held virtually was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chilean counterpart Andres Allamand Zavala. Both sides noted that the Joint Commission was a significant development in India - Chile relations, being the first institutionalized dialogue between the two countries at the level of Foreign Ministers.
India welcomed Chile's decision to designate India as a priority country in its foreign policy. Chile will also be opening its Consulate General in Mumbai.
Based on their convergence of views on many global and regional issues, both sides agreed to coordinate closely at the multilateral fora.

Israel and Bahrain to Formalise Diplomatic Ties

Israel and Bahrain officially established diplomatic relations at a ceremony in Manama as the wealthy Gulf region continues to open up to the Jewish state.
An Israeli delegation, led by National Security Council chief Meir Ben Shabbat, arrived from Tel Aviv for a one-day trip that saw Israel and Bahrain formalise a US-brokered agreement they signed at the White House on September 15.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain became only the third and fourth Arab states to agree to normalise ties with Israel, following Israel's 1979 peace deal with Egypt and a 1994 pact with Jordan.

India, Netherlands Collaborate in E-health Initiative

India and the Netherlands discussed a joint thrust in e-health sector with the purpose of providing digital health facilities and security to Indians and helping the Netherlands accelerate the digital transformation of health.
Part of India''s ambitious National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), this collaboration will see the two countries work closely to create capacities and put in place the requisite technology backbone to enable this revolutionary initiative.
The NDHM, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day, aims to create a mechanism to improve healthcare significantly and provide better access to it.

New Zealand Election

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has won a landslide victory in the country's general election.
With all votes tallied, Ms Ardern's centre-left Labour Party won 49.1%, bringing a projected 64 seats and a rare outright parliamentary majority.
The opposition centre-right National Party won 26.8% in polls - just 35 seats in the 120-seat assembly.

China Passes New Export Law

China has passed a new law restricting sensitive exports to protect national security, a move that adds to policy tools it could wield against the US as tensions -- especially in technology -- continue to rise.
The law, which China's top legislature passed, comes into effect on 1 December and allows Beijing to "take reciprocal measures" against countries that abuse export controls and pose a threat to national security.
Technical data related to items covered will also be subject to export controls, according to the published text of the law.
Beijing's latest measure gives it more room to hit back in US President Donald Trump's war on Chinese tech firms, with the White House moving against popular platforms and major companies -- including apps TikTok and WeChat, tech giant Huawei and chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.

Oct 18, 2020

India Ranks 94 in Global Hunger Index

India ranked 94 among 107 nations in the Global Hunger Index 2020 and is in the 'serious' hunger category with experts blaming poor implementation processes, lack of effective monitoring, siloed approach in tackling malnutrition and poor performance by large states behind the low ranking.
Last year, India's rank was 102 out of 117 countries.
The neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan too are in the 'serious' category but ranked higher than India in this year's hunger index. While Bangladesh ranked 75, Myanmar and Pakistan are in the 78th and 88th position.
Nepal in 73rd and Sri Lanka in 64th position are in 'moderate' hunger category, the report showed.
Seventeen nations, including China, Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Cuba and Kuwait, shared the top rank with GHI scores of less than five.
GHI score is calculated on four indicators -- undernourishment; child wasting, the share of children under the age of five who are wasted-- who have low weight for their height reflecting acute undernutrition); child stunting, children under the age of five who have low height for their age reflecting chronic undernutrition; and child mortality -- the mortality rate of children under the age of five.

US Government to Execute First Woman Since 1953

The US Government has set the dates of two more executions this year which also includes that of the first woman since 1953.
Lisa Montgomery, who in 2004 was convicted of strangling a Missouri woman who was eight months pregnant, is expected to receive the lethal injection on December 8.
As per reports, the last woman executed by the US Government dates back to December 18, 1953, as per the US Bureau of prisons records, for kidnapping and murder. CNN further reported that Ethel Rosenberg was famously executed for espionage, along with her husband, Julius, which was also in 1953.

PM Jacinda Ardern Wins Second Term

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern turned speaking from the heart and smiling through adversity into a winning formula for blowout re-election as New Zealand`s leader.
Now Ardern, who made a name for herself by crushing COVID-19 in the country and healing the nation after a massacre of Muslims by a white supremacist, faces a challenge to show her leadership extends beyond crisis management and kindness.
Her Labour Party won a landslide victory in the general election, a resounding mandate that ushers in New Zealand`s first purely left-leaning government in decades and may allow her to form a single-party government.
The win is also the reward for Ardern`s leadership through a series of extraordinary events that shaped her first three-year term: the gunman`s massacre of 51 worshippers at two Christchurch mosques and the eruption of the White Island volcano, which killed 21.

Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Discuss OPEC+ Agreements

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed energy markets and the implementation of agreements by the oil producers group known as OPEC+.
Both sides have reiterated their willingness to continue close coordination in this area in order to maintain stability on the global energy market.
The two leaders also discussed cooperation in combating the spread of coronavirus infections and the prospect of using the Russian vaccine Sputnik V in Saudi Arabia.

China Passes Amendments Outlawing Insulting National Flag

The Standing Committee of China's congress passed amendments to a law that will criminalise the intentional insulting of the national flag and emblem, after anti-government protesters in Hong Kong last year desecrated the Chinese flag.
According to the newly amended National Flag and National Emblem Law, which will take effect on January 1, those who intentionally burn, mutilate, paint, deface or trample the flag and emblem in public will be investigated for criminal responsibility.
The law also states that that national flag must not be discarded, displayed upside down or used in any manner that impairs the dignity of the flag.
The revised law will also apply to offices in Hong Kong and Macao that are set up by the central government.
The amendments to the law were proposed after anti-government protesters in Hong Kong last year trampled on the Chinese flag, prompting an outcry in China.

Oct 17, 2020

Boris Johnson Says Time to Get Ready for 'No Deal' Brexit

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a stark warning that the UK must now prepare for the prospect of no post-Brexit free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU).
In a statement from Downing Street, Johnson said that he was making a judgement call on the UK-EU trade negotiations as the January 1, 2021, deadline for the end of the ongoing Brexit transition period was now only 10 weeks away and the crucial European Council summit this week failed to come up with promising answers.
The UK had voted to leave the 27-member European economic trading bloc in a referendum in June 2016 and formally left in January this year, entering into a transition period with unchanged rules until the end of this year.

Chinese Envoy Warns Canada against Granting Asylum to Pro-democracy Protestors from Hong Kong

The Chinese ambassador to Canada warned the Trudeau government not to grant asylum to Hong Kong residents fleeing a widely criticised national security law imposed by Beijing.
Ambassador Cong Peiwu branded pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong as violent criminals and said if Canada grants them asylum that amounts to interference in China's internal affairs.
Protests against the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese governments swelled last year, and Beijing clamped down on expressions of anti-government sentiment in the city with a new national security law that took effect in June.
The law outlaws subversive, secessionist, and terrorist activity, as well as collusion with foreign powers to interfere in the city's internal affairs. The US, Britain and Canada accuse China of infringing on the city's freedoms.

India to Expand Economic Partnership with Chile as Part of Indo-Pacific Vision

India and Latin American financial main Chile deliberated upon increasing their Preferential Commerce Settlement and creating Joint Enterprise Council to advertise multi-faceted enterprise and commerce hyperlinks as Delhi hopes to broaden its Indo-Pacific assemble.
These selections had been arrived on the first Joint Fee Assembly (JCM) between India and Chile held on a digital platform. It was co-chaired by S. Jaishankar, Overseas Minister and his Chilean counterpart Andres Allamand Zavala. Chile had determined to open its Consulate Normal in Mumbai to advertise commerce hyperlinks.
The JCM with Chile was a big growth, being the primary institutionalized dialogue between the 2 nations on the degree of Overseas Ministers. Chile is a member of Pacific Alliance comprising Chile; Peru; Colombia and Mexico. The Pacific Alliance seeks nearer ties with India and the Alliance might be an anchor for India in a single geographical a part of the Indo-Pacific area.

Putin Proposes Year Long Extension of Nuclear Pact with US

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a strong call to save the last existing nuclear arms control pact between Russia and the United States, proposing to extend it at least for one year.
Putin's statement comes amid conflicting signals from Russian and U.S. diplomats about the fate of the New START treaty that is set to expire in February 2021 unless Moscow and Washington agree on its extension.
All those years, the New START has worked, playing its fundamental role of limiting and containing an arms race.
The New START treaty was signed in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
The pact limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, and envisages sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance.

Japan Will not Join U.S. Plan to Bar China from Telecom Networks

Japan has told the United States that Tokyo will not, at the moment, join Washington's plan to exclude Chinese firms from tele-communications networks.
Japan will take its own steps to respond in case there are worries over security issue, while Tokyo will cooperate with the United States.
The U.S. State Department published in August an update of a plan called the "Clean Network" calling for telecom companies, cloud service providers, and mobile apps of Chinese origin to be kept out of the United States.
The United States is pressing allies to bar Huawei from next generation 5G mobile phone networks on security grounds.

Oct 16, 2020

Oli Keeps Defence Ministry with Himself in Cabinet Reshuffle

Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli reshuffled his Cabinet, keeping the key defence portfolio with himself, in a bid to strengthen his grip within the fractious ruling party and to allow smooth functioning of his government.
Oli inducted three new ministers, including Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel, and changed the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwor Pokharel.
However, the dissident faction of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal led by executive chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' was not satisfied with Oli's latest move, which they considered as one-sided.

France Appoints Envoy Christophe Penot for Indo-Pacific

In a first, France appointed an envoy for the Indo Pacific, a move that shows how Paris is giving priority to the new concept. Senior diplomat Christophe Penot is the country's envoy to Indo Pacific and he begins his assignment immediately.
Penot's last posting was Canberra as France's envoy to Australia. He has been France's envoy to Malaysia and served in Tokyo, Ottawa, London, Hanoi. Fluent in Chinese and Japanese, Penot was honoured with Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 2012 for service to his country.
Directly appointed by French President Emmanuel Macron, in his new capacity the envoy will pay "special attention" to cooperation with India to implement the joint vision on the Indo-pacific. The vision was adopted during the 2018 visit by French President Macron to India.

Oct 15, 2020

US Supreme Court Halts Census in Latest Twist of 2020 Count

The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration can end census field operations early, in a blow to efforts to make sure minorities are properly counted in the crucial once-a-decade tally.
The decision was not a total loss for plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the administration's decision to end the count early. They managed to get nearly two extra weeks of counting people as the case made its way through the courts.
However, the ruling increased the chances of the Trump administration retaining control of the process that decides how many congressional seats each state gets — and by extension how much voting power each state has.

Germany Agrees to aid Holocaust Survivors

The organisation that negotiates compensation with the German government said that Germany has agreed to provide more than a half billion euros to aid Holocaust survivors struggling under the burdens of the coronavirus pandemic.
The payments will be going to approximately 240,000 survivors around the world, primarily in Israel, North America, the former Soviet Union and Western Europe, over the next two years.
With the end of World War II now 75 years in the past, Holocaust survivors are all elderly, and because many were deprived of proper nutrition when they were young today they suffer from numerous medical issues.
In addition, many live isolated lives having lost their entire families and also have psychological issues because of their persecution under the Nazis.

Ukraine 17th country to Have Air Bubble Arrangement with India

India has established a separate bilateral air bubble arrangement with Ukraine for operation of special international passenger flights between the two countries.
Till now, India had formed such arrangements with 16 countries—Afghanistan, Bahrain, Oman, Canada, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, the Maldives, Nigeria, Qatar, the UAE, Kenya, Bhutan, the UK and the USA.
Under an air bubble pact between the two countries, special international passenger flights can be operated by their airlines into each other's territories under restrictive conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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