General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

Sep 01, 2020

Lebanon's Mustapha Adib Set to be Designated as New Prime Minister

Lebanese leading Sunni politician Saad al-Hariri nominated the country`s ambassador to Germany Mustapha Adib to be the next Prime Minister in formal consultations.
Speaking after a meeting with President Michel Aoun, Hariri also said that the new government should be formed quickly and made up of specialist ministers.
Former prime minister Najib Mikati was the first MP to formally nominate Adib in consultations at the presidential palace. President Michel Aoun is required to designate the candidate with greatest support among MPs.

Pritam Singh Formally Takes Charge as First Leader of the Opposition in Singapore

Pritam Singh, Singapore's Indian-origin politician scripted history when Parliament conferred the duties and privileges to him as the city-state's first Leader of the Opposition.
Singh's Workers' Party won 10 parliamentary seats out of the 93 it contested in the July 10 General Election, making it the biggest opposition presence in Singapore's parliamentary history.
The House passed a motion to double Singh's speaking time from 20 minutes -- which is allotted to backbenchers -- to 40 minutes, the duration allotted to office holders.
Singh took the seat directly opposite Prime Minister Lee in the chamber.
This is similar to the practice in other countries that formally recognise the role of the Leader of the Opposition, Indranee pointed out.

France Accuses United Kingdom of Stalling in Post-Brexit Trade Talks

On the cusp of a crucial month of negotiations on a post-Brexit trade deal between the European Union and the United Kingdom, France has lambasted the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson for what it sees as deliberate stalling and for harboring unreasonable expectations.
The 27-nation EU and the UK remain deadlocked in their talks on future trade ties after a transitional divorce period ends on December 31. That has raised concerns that no agreement will be in place in time and that tariffs and other impediments to trade will have to be enacted at the start of next year.
Britain left the EU on January 31 but both sides hoped that a chaotic Brexit could be avoided during 11 months of negotiations.
Both sides have said that September will be a crucial month in the discussions. The EU, for its part, insists that the talks conclude before November to allow time for parliamentary approval and legal vetting and Le Drian insisted that the 27 won't buckle under pressure from London.

Ex-defence Minister Ishiba is People's Choice for Next Japan PM

Former Japanese Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba is the most popular choice among the public to be the next prime minister, media opinion polls showed, as the race kicks off to succeed Shinzo Abe after his abrupt resignation last week.
As per reports, Ishiba has about 34% of the public's support, more than double the 14% for Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the second-most popular choice.
A Nikkei/TV Tokyo poll showed Ishiba with 28% support, followed by current Defence Minister Taro Kono with 15%. Suga came in fourth place with 11%.
The surveys highlight a split between public opinion and internal Liberal Democratic Party politics.
Suga, a longtime lieutenant of Abe's in a key supporting role -- is expected to get the backing of the faction led by LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai and of other major factions, local media reported, putting him in a favourable position.

First Historic Direct Flight between Israel and UAE

In a historic step towards peace in the Middle East, the first commercial direct flight between Israel and the UAE landed in Abu Dhabi after both countries announced normalisation of relations.
The flight carried a top level Israeli delegation led by National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbat while the US delegation was headed by US President Donald Trump''s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien.
The delegation left aboard the commercial El Al flight 971 that took off from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. The word peace was painted on it in Arabic, English and Hebrew above a cockpit window.
Saudi Arabia granted permission for the use of its air space.
Israel and the UAE announced on August 13 that they were establishing full diplomatic relations, in a US-brokered deal that required Israel to suspend its plan to annex parts of the West Bank.
UAE is only the third Arab country to establish diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.

Aug 31, 2020

Arjuna Ranatunga Enters UNP Leadership Fray

Arjuna Ranatunga, the captain of Sri Lanka's 1996 Cricket World Cup winning team, joined the race to lead the Opposition United National Party (UNP) after former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe decided to resign from the party leadership after 26 years at the helm following its crushing defeat in the parliamentary elections.
UNP general secretary and Wickremesinghe's cousin Ruwan Wijewardena and former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya have also offered to lead and revive the party after its humiliating defeat in the parliamentary elections.
The UNP, the oldest party in the country, suffered its worst electoral defeat since it was formed in 1946 by failing to win a single seat from any of the 22 electoral districts in the August 5 election won by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa-led Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP).

Afghan President Names Council for Peace Deal with Taliban

Afghanistan's president has appointed a council for national reconciliation, which will have the final say on whether the government will sign a peace deal with the Taliban after what are expected to be protracted and uncertain negotiations with the insurgents.
The negotiations were envisaged under a US-Taliban peace agreement signed in February as intra-Afghan talks to decide the war-torn country's future.
However, their start has been hampered by a series of delays that have frustrated Washington. Some had expected the negotiations to begin earlier this month.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree late Saturday establishing the 46-member council, led by his former rival in last year's presidential election, Abdullah Abdullah, who is now in the government.
The council is separate from a 21-member negotiating team, which Ghani appointed in March and which is expected to travel to the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office, for intra-Afghan talks.
The council will have the final say and will ultimately decide on the points that the negotiating team takes up with the Taliban.

Aug 30, 2020

President Erdogan Wants to Replace Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Anybody who frequently passes through Lutyens zone must have come across a road named after Mustafa Kemal Ataturk -the founding father of Republic of Turkey. In fact, Ataturk has been the most popular Turk leader in India, with cross-cutting popularity as well as the strongest pillar of Indo-Turkic friendship. However, his legacy is being jeopardised in his home country itself as Erdogan is working on an ambitious agenda of projecting himself as the tallest leader of Turkey and undermining Ataturk's legacy is a part of the same plan.
As per some analysts, " The Turkish population as well as the world is noticing the pattern how Erdogan has been taking over the state institutions of Turkey to establish his authoritarian control. The Diyanet as well as the Council of States are the two major institutions that have been acting as puppets of Erdogan to help him fulfil his ambitions."
In another sinister attempt to dent Ataturk's heritage, Erdogan's government banned the celebrations of Victory Day, falling on August 30, under the excuse of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Victory Day is one of the most important national days of Turkey when the Turkish President offers tributes at Kemal Ataturk's mausoleum and delivers his speech during a grand celebration at the place. The day is also marked by celebrations all across the nation.

Japan's Suga to Join Race to Succeed PM Abe

Yoshihide Suga, a long-time lieutenant of Japan's Shinzo Abe, has emerged as a strong contender to succeed him as Prime Minister, an outcome that would extend the fiscal and monetary stimulus that defined Abe's nearly eight years in office.
While some other would-be successors have declared their intention to run, Suga said that he did not want the job. But such comments have been called into question by an aggressive media push in recent days that put him squarely in the public eye.
A self-made politician, Suga was chosen by Abe in 2012 for the pivotal role of chief cabinet secretary, acting as top government spokesman, coordinating policies and riding herd on bureaucrats.
The winner of the LDP vote, which domestic media said could be held around September 15, is virtually ensured the premiership because of the party's majority in parliament. The victor will serve out Abe's remaining term as LDP chief, which ends in September 2021.

UN Security Council Approves Cut in Lebanon Peacekeepers

The UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution cutting the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon and expanding its mandate to address US and Israeli concerns about activities of the militant group Hezbollah in the area.
The French-drafted resolution reduced the troop ceiling for the force, known as UNIFIL, from 15,000 to 13,000 under US pressure. And it also made another concession to the Trump administration and close ally Israel.
It calls on the Lebanese government to facilitate prompt and full access to sites requested by UN peacekeepers for investigation, including tunnels crossing the UN-drawn Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel. And it urges freedom of movement and unimpeded access for peacekeepers to all parts of the Blue Line, and condemns in the strongest terms all attempts to restrict UN troop movements and attacks on mission personnel.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah, which is backed by its greatest foe Iran, of impeding UNIFIL peacekeepers from carrying out their mandate, a view strongly backed by the Trump administration.

Aug 29, 2020

India 72nd on Global List with Average Monthly Wage of Rs. 32,800

India was ranked a lowly 72nd among 106 countries in terms of the average wage per month, while Switzerland topped the chart, according to a global ranking of average wages prepared by Picodi.com. With an average monthly wage of Rs. 32,800 (USD 437), an international e-commerce platform which provides discount coupons.
Switzerland, where the average wage converted into rupees amounts to Rs 4,49,000 (USD 5,989), topped the ranking, while in Cuba the average wage is the lowest at Rs. 2,700 (USD 36).
Switzerland was followed by Luxembourg and the United States, whose citizens on an average earn Rs. 3,00,900 (USD 4,014) and Rs. 2,64,900 (USD 3,534), respectively.
Others in the top ten list include Denmark (USD 3,515), Singapore (USD 3,414), Australia (USD 3,333), Qatar (USD 3,232), Norway (USD 3,174), Hong Kong (USD 3,024) and Iceland (USD 2,844).

UN Chief Asks G20 Nations, Including India, to Invest in Clean Transition

UN chief Antonio Guterres renewed his call on India and other G20 countries to invest in a clean and sustainable transition as they recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, expressing deep concern over the continued support for polluting fossil fuels by nations across the world.
UN Secretary-General Guterres, virtually delivered the 19th Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), and said that clean energy and closing the energy access gap are good business.
"They are the ticket to growth and prosperity. Yet, here in India, subsidies for fossil fuels are still some seven times more than subsidies for clean energy," he said.
Guterres praised India for raising the proportion of renewable energy in its total consumption to 24 per cent from 17 per cent despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Japan's PM Resigns for Health Reasons

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe announced his resignation for health reasons.
He said that he did not want his illness to get in the way of decision making, and apologised to the Japanese people for failing to complete his term in office.
The 65-year-old has suffered for many years from ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, but his condition had worsened recently.
Last year, he became Japan's longest serving Prime Minister. His current period in office began in 2012.
He will remain in his post until a successor is chosen.
Mr. Abe has a reputation as a staunch conservative and nationalist, and for stimulating growth with his aggressive economic policy known as "Abenomics".

Aug 28, 2020

South African President Grilled over COVID-19 Graft Scandals

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa faced tough questioning by lawmakers over COVID-19 corruption scandals, days after he asked ruling party members to refrain from stealing money meant for the poor.
Many South Africans have been dismayed to see the country's widespread graft problem infiltrate efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus. South Africa has the world's fifth largest virus caseload with more than 600,000 confirmed infections.
Ramaphosa has been accused of being soft on corruption amid concerns that implicating too many senior leaders of the ANC could split the ruling party.
Having secured the presidency on an anti-corruption ticket after predecessor Jacob Zuma was pressured to resign amid multiple scandals in 2018, Ramaphosa has been under pressure to show that his government is taking a tough stance on the scourge.

EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan Resigns

The embattled European trade commissioner, Phil Hogan, resigned his post after an outcry over his breaches of coronavirus rules during a golfing break in Ireland.
Hogan issued a statement apologising to the Irish people and the EU commission for causing hurt and embarrassment, ending his attempts to ride out the controversy and keep his post as a key player in Brexit talks.
Hogan said that it was his decision to quit and he was not forced to quit.
The leaders of Ireland's three governing parties welcomed the resignation.

Ericsson and UNICEF Partner to Map School Internet Connectivity in 35 Countries

Networking and telecommunications company Ericsson entered into a global partnership with UNICEF to help map internet connectivity in schools across 35 countries by the end of 2023.
This is part of the Giga initiative, led by the United Nations Children's Fund and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which was launched last year (2019). Ericsson is the first private sector partner to make a multimillion-dollar commitment to the initiative, which aims to connect every school to the internet.
Mapping the internet connectivity landscape for schools and their surrounding communities is a critical first step towards providing every child with access to digital learning opportunities.
In addition to funding, Ericsson will commit resources for data engineering and data science capacity to accelerate school connectivity mapping. Specifically, Ericsson will assist with the collection, validation, analysis, monitoring and visual representation of real-time school connectivity data.
The data generated through the mapping will enable governments and the private sector to design and deploy digital solutions that enable learning for children and young people.

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