General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

May 30, 2020

Top Indian-Americans Endorse Joe Biden for President in 2020 US Polls

Over half a dozen Indian-American former senior Obama administration officials announced their endorsement of Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
Top among those include former US Ambassador to India Richard Verma; former Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal; former US Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra and former Deputy White House Cabinet Secretary Gaurav Bansal.
- Biden, 77, is the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. He is likely to be formally nominated by the Democratic National Convention in Wisconsin in August.
- He has already been endorsed by several leaders, including his one-time rivals for the Democratic nomination Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, former president Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Trump Terminates US Relationship with WHO

US President Donald Trump has announced that he is terminating the country's relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO).
The president has accused the WHO of failing to hold Beijing to account over the coronavirus pandemic.
"China has total control over the World Health Organization," the president said while announcing measures aimed at punishing Beijing.
Washington will redirect funds to other bodies.
The US is the global health agency's largest single contributor, providing more than $400m (£324m; €360m) in 2019.

U.S. Joins G7 Artificial Intelligence Group to Counter China

The US has joined an international panel for setting ethical guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence.
The Trump administration had earlier dismissed the idea.
The Trump administration had been the lone holdout among leaders of the Group of Seven — the world's wealthiest democracies — in setting up the Global Partnership on AI.
White House's chief technology officer, Michael Kratsios, told it is important to establish shared democratic principles as a counter to China's record of "twisting technology" in ways that threaten civil liberties.

Australian Court Grants Access to Queen's Letters

Letters written by the Queen before the 1975 dismissal of then Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam can be made public, an Australian court has ruled.
Mr Whitlam's government was removed by her representative at the time, Governor-General Sir John Kerr, and replaced with an opposition party.
The dismissal is often described as the most controversial episode in Australian political history.
It is not known what the letters between the Queen and Sir John contain.
Historians have long questioned what Buckingham Palace knew about the removal of Mr Whitlam, a progressive whose reforms divided Australia after two decades of conservative rule.
More than 200 letters have been kept sealed in the National Archives since 1978, but in 2020 the High Court of Australia ruled they could be accessed in the national interest.

May 29, 2020

United States Revokes Hong Kong's Special Status

The United States has revoked Hong Kong's special status under US law, opening the way for the city to be stripped of trading privileges, as Washington accused China of trampling on the territory's autonomy.
The decision came as China's rubber-stamp parliament was set to vote on a new Hong Kong security law, a move that has triggered renewed protests.
Under legislation passed last year (2019) to support Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters, the US administration must certify that the city still enjoys the freedoms promised by Beijing when it negotiated with Britain to take back the colony.

May 28, 2020

Russia Starts Building First Stealth Bomber

Russia has started building its first stealth bomber, also known as the Perspective Aviation Complex for Long-Range Aviation (PAK DA) programme.
Production of the PAK DA airframe is to be handled by United Aircraft, while the aircraft was designed by the Tupolev design bureau.
The addition of a stealth bomber would strengthen Russia's nuclear triad. The nuclear triad is a strategy employed by Washington and Moscow that gives each country three options for launching nuclear attacks: aircraft, submarines and ballistic missiles.

May 27, 2020

Costa Rica Celebrates First Same-Sex Weddings

The first same-sex weddings have taken place in Costa Rica, the first Central American country to equalise its marriage legislation.
A lesbian couple became the first to tie the knot in a ceremony that took place just after the new law came into effect.
President Carlos Alvarado said the law change meant Costa Rica now recognised the rights lesbian and gay people had always deserved.
The first same-sex marriage ceremony was broadcast as the culmination of a three-hour programme celebrating marriage equality.

Mexican Archaeologists Locate Wreck of 200-Year-Old Ship

Underwater archaeologists in Mexico have revealed details of the remains of a sailing ship they have located off the coast of Quintana Roo state.
They believe the ship sank more than 200 years ago after hitting a reef.
While most of the wood has rotted away, the ship's cannon and anchor are well preserved.
The wreck has been named after Manuel Polanco, the fisherman who first spotted it and reported it to Mexico's National Archaeological Institute.

May 26, 2020

Africa Day

Africa Day (formerly African Freedom Day and African Liberation Day) is the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity on 25 May 1963.
It is celebrated in various countries on the African continent, as well as around the world.

France Frowns on English Words

France has announced a new list of alternatives for English language terms such as clickbait, podcast and deepfake.
The Commission for the Enrichment of the French Language (CELF) published the new list in an official government newsletter.
It has released a number of recommendations over the years in a bid to stop English terms taking hold.

China's First Plateau-Focused Unmanned Helicopter Makes Maiden Flight

China's first domestically developed unmanned helicopter focused on plateau operations made its maiden flight.
Capable of conducting missions including reconnaissance, communication relay, electronic disruption and fire strike at high altitude, this versatile and easy-to-operate drone could help safeguard China's southwestern borders with India.
The AR500C unmanned helicopter, developed by the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), successfully made its maiden flight at an AVIC base in Poyang, East China's Jiangxi Province, in which it conducted several maneuvers including hovering, horizontal and vertical moves.

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