General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

Oct 06, 2020

Trump Returns to White House

US President Donald Trump returned to the White House after spending four days at a military hospital where he was treated for coronavirus.
Trump in an unusual decision climbed up the South Portico stairs, instead of the elevators, to go to his residence. He waved at reporters.
The president, after taking off his mask, stood up in the portico facing South Lawns for a few minutes and saluted Marine One.
He was discharged from the Walter Reed National Medical Centre after doctors treating him found that he was fit enough to go back home.

Indonesians Protest against Passage of Jobs Bill

Thousands of Indonesians took the streets of several cities to protest the passage a day earlier of a jobs law they say is too pro-business, but which the government has promoted as vital to attract investment.
President Joko Widodo's "omnibus" Job Creation bill was passed three days ahead of schedule, revising over 70 existing laws to accelerate reform of Southeast Asia's largest economy.
The passage also came a day before the start of a three-day national strike which unions expected to involve two million workers in protest against the bill.
The law will definitely affect the status of our employment. People fear losing pensions and insurance if they are made contract workers for life due to the law.

FATF Set to Decide on Pakistan's Grey List Status

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is all set to decide on Pakistan's grey list status in a virtual meeting scheduled for later this month.
The Paris-based global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog had placed Pakistan on the grey list in June 2018 and asked Islamabad to implement a plan of action to curb money laundering and terror financing by the end of 2019, but the deadline was extended due to the Covid pandemic.
Seeking to wriggle out of the FATF's grey list, debt-ridden Pakistan in August imposed financial sanctions on 88 banned terror groups and their leaders, including 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
The virtual FATF plenary scheduled for October 21-23 will decide if Pakistan should be excluded from its grey list, based on a review of Islamabad's performance to meet global commitments and standards on fight against money laundering and terror financing.

Oct 05, 2020

Maulana Fazlur Rehman Head of Pak's New Anti-Govt. Alliance

Pakistan's firebrand cleric-cum-politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman was unanimously appointed as the first president of the Opposition's newly-formed anti-government alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).
The decision was taken during a virtual meeting of the Opposition parties attended by Pakistan Mus¬lim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, BNP chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal among other senior politicians.
According to PDM's steering committee convener Ahsan Iqbal, deposed prime minister Sharif proposed Rehman's name as the alliance president and it was endorsed by PPP chairman Bilawal and others.

Azerbaijan's Aliyev Demands Armenian Timetable to Withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev demanded that Armenia set a timetable for withdrawing from the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding Azeri territories, and said that Azerbaijan would not cease military action until that happened.
In a televised speech in the evening on October 4, Aliyev said Azerbaijani forces were advancing in a week-long offensive to retake territories that they lost to ethnic Armenians in the 1990s.

New Caledonia Rejects Full Independence from France again

The South Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia voted against independence from France for the second time in as many years, a provisional final count showed.
A surprise "yes" vote would have deprived Paris of a foothold in a region where China is expanding its influence, and dented the pride of a colonial power whose reach once spanned large parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
The "no" vote won 53.26% of votes cast votes, a narrower margin of victory than in the 2018 poll.
The result will bring relief to President Emmanuel Macron's government, whose attention had been focused on the coronavirus pandemic in the run-up to the referendum.
New Caledonia became a French colony in 1853. Tensions have long run deep between pro-independence indigenous Kanaks and descendants of colonial settlers who remain loyal to Paris.
The referendum was the second of up to three permitted under the terms of the 1998 Noumea Accord, an agreement enshrined in France's constitution and which set out a 20-year path towards decolonisation.
France stood ready to organise a further vote within two years if that was the wish of New Caledonians, at which point both sides would have to accept the result.

Chinese President Xi Jinping for Closer Ties with Bangladesh

Chinese President Xi Jinping said that he was ready to take the strategic partnership with Bangladesh to new heights and jointly promote the construction of the multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Xi stated this in an exchange of congratulatory messages with his Bangladesh counterpart, Mohammad Abdul Hamid on the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relationship.
Xi hailed the steady and long-term friendship, saying that he was ready to work with Hamid to better align development strategies with Bangladesh and step up cooperation under the framework of the BRI.

Oct 04, 2020

World is Living in Shadow of Nuclear Catastrophe

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world is living in the shadow of nuclear catastrophe, fuelled by growing distrust and tensions between the nuclear powers.
The UN chief told a high-level meeting to commemorate the recent International Day for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons that progress on ridding the world of nuclear weapons "has stalled and is at risk of backsliding."
He said that strains between countries that possess nuclear weapons have increased nuclear risks. As examples, Guterres expressed deep concern at the escalating disputes between the Trump administration and China. Relations between the US and Russia are at a low point.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan are feuding over Kashmir, and India just had a border skirmish with China. And North Korea boasts about its nuclear weapons.

Advance Voting Begins in New Zealand Election

Early voting began in New Zealand with Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern seen securing a second term in office on the back of her success in handling the coronavirus pandemic and other crises.
Voters can head to the polls with about 450 advance polling stations opened across the country in the lead-up to election day on October 17.
The election commission said that advance voting has become steadily more popular. It accounted for 47% of all votes in 2017 and could reach as much as 60% this time round.
New Zealanders are also voting on two other issues - legalising recreational cannabis and euthanasia - topics that have split opinions in the country.
Ardern's Labour Party, governing in a coalition with the Greens and the nationalist New Zealand First party, faces the conservative National Party in what has been a pandemic-dominated campaign.

Amid Growing Concern of Chinese Debt Trap, Kyrgyzstan Parliamentary Elections Set for Oct 4

Elections for 120-seat Kyrgyz Parliament 'Jogorku Kenesh' are scheduled for October 4, 2020. At least 16 political parties are in the fray this time whose candidates are to be chosen by 3.3 million voters. The election would be monitored by 24 long-term and 350 short-term observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.
Parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan are held every five years. MPs are elected on the basis of party lists. To prevent absolute dominance of one party, there is provision that one political subject cannot win more than 60 per cent of 120 mandates in the Parliament.
A party contesting the election has to receive a 7 per cent national vote threshold to get a seat assured in Parliament. In the current House, Birimdik Party leads with 28 MPs, followed by Mekenim Kyrgyzstan with 15 and Kyrgyzstan party with 14 MPs. 100 incumbent MPs are contesting the elections under different party banners.

Pakistan to Merge Gilgit-Baltistan with the Mainland

Pakistan is exploiting the instability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to create a commotion on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. In a recent media briefing, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur stated that Pakistani Government has decided to change the status of G-B and to make it a full-fledged province.
He also said that Prime Minister Imran Khan shall soon visit the region to make a formal announcement.
In the legal set-up imposed on G-B by Pakistan, there are two things to consider — first, the laws governing the region and second, government agencies administering the region.
In order to keep the autonomy of the region intact and to legitimise its arguments of entitling autonomy of the region, the government of Pakistan has been ruling GB through provisional ordinances.
After the Karachi Agreement of 1949, Pakistan began to rule the region through the British era Frontier Crime Regulations (FCR). These regulations were abolished in 1975 and civil and criminal laws were extended to the area.
In 1994, the area began to be ruled by Northern Areas Council Legal Framework. However, in 2009, Pakistan came up with the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self Governance Order (2009) and extended the legislature to G-B.
The order was replaced by Gilgit Baltistan Order (2018) and until very recently, the Pakistan government was working to bring Gilgit Baltistan Reforms Order/Bill 2019.
These temporary and rapid policy changes highlight the fact that Pakistan has always maintained an ambiguity in the constitutional status of G-B.

Oct 03, 2020

Nigeria Submits its Formal Adoption of Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol

A few hours to deadline Nigeria submitted its formal adoption the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol to the UN; becoming the 144 th country to so thereby ensuring its entry into force. With this emission reduction targets for 37 developed countries agreed to in 2012 will have legal validity. The Doha Amendment will enter into force on December 31, that is also when its mandate comes to an end.
The entry into force of the Doha Amendment is important as it underscores the importance of multilateralism, provides a strong foundation for next phase of global climate action under the Paris Agreement and serves as a reminder of the cost that low ambition to tackle climate change can exact.
In December 2012 at the 18 th annual UN sponsored climate talks in Doha, Qatar 192 countries agreed to extend the mandate of the Kyoto Protocol for a second period of eight years. The Kyoto Protocol, 1997 climate law, required developed countries, referred to the UN climate parlance as Annexe 1 parties, to take on legally binding quantified emission reduction targets. The US, at the time the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and now the second biggest, never ratified the Kyoto Protocol therefore did not take on a legally binding reduction either in the first or second period. Japan, Canada, and Russia did not sign on to the second commitment period. Only 37 developed countries—the European Union with its 28 member states accounted for the majority—signed on for the second period under the Kyoto Protocol. These 37 countries were collectively required to reduce their emissions by 18 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020.

Madrid Readies for Partial Lockdown, Files Legal Challenge

Madrid set to go into partial lockdown, complying with an order from the Spanish government but determined to fight it in the courts.
Measures that ban all nonessential trips in and out of the capital and nine of its suburbs — covering around 4.8 million people — were set to be enacted.
Spain's Socialist Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, said that there was a critical need to take the new steps in the European coronavirus hot spot.
But officials in Madrid, whose regional government is managed by the conservative Popular Party, balked at the order, saying it would bring chaos and further the sap the economy's health. It filed an appeal at the National Court against the new measures.
Under the national order, travelers will need to prove that they are going to or from work, to see a doctor or to conduct essential administrative or legal errands in order to leave Madrid or the town where they live.

Oct 02, 2020

Pakistan Army-Imran's Plan for Gilgit-Baltistan Faces Challenge from Maryam Nawaz

Pakistan's principal opposition party, the Pakistani Muslim League of Nawaz Sharif, has launched a tirade against a recent secret dinner meeting between that country's army chief and a few parliamentarians to discuss holding elections in Pak-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and declaring the area as the fifth province of the country.
PML-N leader and Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz has termed the meeting at the army headquarters as an attempt by the men in uniform to tighten their grip over Pakistan politics.
Maryam Nawaz said that she wasn't aware if her father, Sharif, knew of the meeting beforehand.
GB was occupied by Pakistan as part of PoK, but in the 1970s, the country's ruling elite decided to carve it out of PoK, and make it an administrative unit named Northern Areas, directly controlled by Islamabad. Since then, local politics has been side lined in the region. Its proposed provincial status would facilitate a part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passes through the area. The western flank of the CPEC passes through GB and Beijing is reportedly of the opinion that the region's constitutional status would facilitate China's mega designs in the region. Gilgit-Baltistan is six times the size of the remaining part of PoK.
Islamabad has also been actively changing the demographics of GB by bringing in outsiders, experts on Pakistan affairs told ET. The Pashtuns have been encouraged to settle in GB. Besides, Islamabad has fuelled Shia-Sunni tensions in the region. Recent years have seen a rise in killings of Shias through what are seen as Islamabad-backed groups.

EU Launches Legal Action against UK over Brexit Deal

The European Union (EU) launched a legal case against the United Kingdom (UK) for undercutting their earlier divorce deal and a senior UK minister said that differences remained in talks on a post-Brexit trade agreement.
Controversy over UK's new Internal Market Bill has thrown the tortuous Brexit process into a fresh crisis, while disagreements over corporate subsidies, fisheries and ways to solve disputes overshadow parallel trade negotiations.
"We had invited our British friends to remove the problematic parts of their draft Internal Market Bill by the end of September," head of the EU's executive commission Ursula von der Leyen said. "The deadline lapsed yesterday."
With London not budging, she said the commission started a so-called infringement, an EU legal procedure against countries that violate the bloc's laws, while continuing to work towards implementing the divorce deal, or Withdrawal Agreement.

US Judge Blocks Trump's H-1B Visa Ban

A federal judge has blocked the enforcement of the H-1B visa ban issued by President Donald Trump in June 2020, saying that the President exceeded his constitutional authority.
The order was issued on Thursday by District Judge Jeffrey White of Northern District of California.
The lawsuit against the Department of Commerce and Department of Homeland Security was filed by companies represented by National Association of Manufacturers, US Chamber of Commerce, National Retail Federation and TechNet.
The ruling places an immediate hold on a series of visa restrictions that prevent manufacturers from filling crucial, hard-to-fill jobs to support economic recovery, growth and innovation when most needed.
In June, Trump had issued an executive order that had put temporary bar on issuing of new H-1B and other foreign visas, including H-2B, J and L visas, till the end of the year.
The President had argued that the United States needs to save and protect jobs for its domestic work force at a time when millions of them lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic.
A number of IT companies and other US firms, and those representing them had voiced their opposition to the temporary ban.

Turkey and Greece Set Up Military Hotline Amid Energy Tensions

Turkey and Greece have set up a military hotline to try to reduce the risk of clashes in the Mediterranean, where the two are locked in a row over energy resources and maritime borders.
The move was announced by the Nato military bloc, of which both countries are members.
Tensions rose this year when Turkey sent a research ship to a disputed area.
It comes as EU leaders met to discuss the bloc's thorny ties with Turkey.
Turkey has been a long-term candidate for membership of the European Union but efforts have stalled, with EU leaders criticising Turkey's record on human rights and the rule of law, in particular in the wake of the 2016 failed military coup.
But Turkey remains an important partner for the EU. Turkey hosts millions of migrants and struck a deal with the EU that limited the numbers arriving in Greece.

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