General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

May 14, 2020

Republicans Snatch Rare Prize of California Seat

A Republican candidate has won a congressional seat from the Democrats in liberal California for the first time in more than two decades.
Democrat Christy Smith has conceded the special election to Republican Mike Garcia, a former Navy fighter pilot.
Republicans lost the House of Representatives seat by nearly double digits in the 2018 midterm elections.
The election was held to fill Democrat Katie Hill's seat after she resigned last year in a sex scandal.
It is the first time the Republican party has won a Democratic-held seat in the state since 1998.

India up at 74th Place on WEF's Global Energy Transition Index

India has moved up two positions to rank 74th on a global 'Energy Transition Index' with improvements on all key parameters of economic growth, energy security and environmental sustainability, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said.

Releasing the annual rankings, the Geneva-based international organisation for public-private cooperation said Covid-19 will compromise the transition to clean energy without an urgent stakeholder action as unprecedented disruptions due to the pandemic threaten this transition.
In its report, the WEF said its study measuring readiness for clean energy transition in 115 economies showed that 94 have made progress since 2015, but environmental sustainability continues to lag.
Sweden has topped the Energy Transition Index (ETI) for the third consecutive year and is followed by Switzerland and Finland in the top three.

Israel West Bank Annexation Looms as Unity Government Sworn In

Israel's main political rivals become its leaders when a new unity government is sworn in, ending over a year of unprecedented deadlock.
Benjamin Netanyahu returns as prime minister for a record fifth time while his electoral opponent Benny Gantz will be deputy under a power-sharing deal.
The country has been in political limbo after three inconclusive elections.
The two men have agreed to push forward with a controversial plan to annex part of the occupied West Bank.
The move is in line with President Trump's Israel-Palestinian peace plan unveiled, which also envisages a Palestinian state in about 70 per cent of the West Bank, all of Gaza, and with its capital on the fringes of East Jerusalem.

May 13, 2020

ASSOCHAM organises Indo-Bangladesh "Virtual Conference"

Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has organised the Indo-Bangladesh "Virtual Conference".
Union DoNER Minister of State (I/C) Dr Jitendra Singh addressed the virtual conference.
The conference featured the participation of Minister of Commerce Bangladesh Tipu Munshi, Chief Minister of Meghalaya Conrad Sangma and Riva Ganguli Das High commissioner to Bangladesh.

WHO Released First "State of the World's Nursing Report - 2020"

World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and Nursing Now has released the first "The State of the World's Nursing 2020" report amid COVID19 pandemic.
In accordance with the report, there are 28 million nurses worldwide but still, there is a global shortfall of 5.9 million.
Countries facing the greatest shortfall of nurses are in Africa, South East Asia and the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region as well as some parts of Latin America.
Globally, there are roughly 36.9 nurses per 10,000 people, with variations within and across regions.

May 11, 2020

Saudi Arabia Triples VAT to Support Coronavirus-hit Economy

Saudi Arabia is tripling its value added tax (VAT) as part of austerity measures to support its coronavirus-hit economy.
The government in Riyadh also said it will suspend its cost of living allowance to shore up state finances.
The oil-rich nation has seen its income plummet as the impact of the pandemic has forced down global energy prices.
The kingdom first introduced VAT two years ago as part of efforts to cut its reliance on world crude oil markets.
Saudi Arabia's state news agency said VAT will increase from 5% to 15% as of 1 July, 2020 while the cost of living allowance will be suspended from 1 June, 2020.

Colombian Airline Avianca Files for Bankruptcy in US court

Colombia's national airline, Avianca, has filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court.
The carrier is the second-largest in Latin America, but its passenger operations have been grounded since March 2020 because of coronavirus.
If it fails to come out of bankruptcy, Avianca will be the first major airline to go under amid the pandemic.
Behind KLM, Avianca is the second-longest continually running airline in the world.

May 10, 2020

WHO, UN Postal Agency Release Commemorative Postage Stamp on 40th Anniversary of Eradication of S...

World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN's postal agency have released a commemorative postage stamp on May 9, 2020 on the 40th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox. The head of the global health body expressed gratitude to a top Indian-origin UN official. In May 1980, the 33rd World Health Assembly issued its official declaration that the world and all peoples have won freedom from smallpox.
It ended after a 10-year WHO-spearheaded global effort that involved thousands of health workers around the world to administer half a billion vaccinations to stamp out smallpox. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, when WHO's smallpox eradication campaign was launched in 1967, one of the ways countries raised awareness about smallpox was through postage stamps.

Govt rejects Nepal protest on Lipulekh

New Delhi rejected Kathmanu's protest against the construction of a road to Lipulekh on the border with China, saying the region is "completely within the territory of India" and both sides can resolve boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue.
Nepal expressed regret at the inauguration of the route from Dharchula in Uttarakhand to Lipulekh, with a statement from the foreign ministry contending the road "passes through Nepali territory".
Defence minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 80-km road to curtail the time taken for the pilgrimage to Kailash-Mansarovar. The road ends at Lipulekh Pass, and will help pilgrims avoid dangerous high-altitude routes through Sikkim and Nepal.

US Lawmakers Propose Bill, 40,000 Covid-19 Health Workers Set to get Green Cards

A bipartisan group of US senators have introduced a legislation to grant 40,000 unused Green Cards to foreign nurses and physicians to fight the coronavirus epidemic.
They have proposed granting 25,000 of the Green Cards to nurses and the rest 15,000 to physicians, which include both those hired abroad or those already in the United States.
The US grants around 1 million Green Cards a year, which are subject to a per country-limit of 7%.

May 08, 2020

Largest Number of Children Displaced in 2019: UNICEF

More than five million people were internally displaced in India due to natural disasters, conflict and violence in 2019, constituting the highest number of new internal displacements in the world during the period followed by the Philippines, Bangladesh and China, according to a UN report.
The 'Lost at Home' report, published by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), said that almost 33 million new displacements were recorded in 2019 – around 25 million were due to natural disasters and 8.5 million as consequence of conflict and violence.
Of these, there were 12 million new displacements involving children, including around 3.8 million of them caused by conflict and violence, and 8.2 million due to disasters linked mostly to weather-related events.

Irans Parliament Introduces New Currency, Toman, to Tackle Inflation

The Iranian Parliament has announced the decision to replace its currency "Rial" with another basic unit of currency called the "Toman."
Each toman will be worth 10,000 rials under the new system. The move aims to ease the psychological impact of soaring consumer prices on a population that has endured high inflation for decades and grappled the number of zeros in government figures.
The move by the Iranian government aims to simplify financial transactions. Once the law is ratified, the Central Bank of Iran will have two years to implement the change. The rial and the new currency is expected to overlap for between two to five years in the market. The new system was authorized to manage high inflation in the country.

VE Day: Europe marks 75th Anniversary

Leaders across Europe are marking the 75th anniversary of VE Day with low-key ceremonies, as much of the continent remains under coronavirus lockdown.
The leaders of France and Germany, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel, laid wreaths at small ceremonies.
Other events are also being held to mark the defeat of Nazi Germany, but large gatherings remain forbidden.
On 8 May 1945 Britain and its Allies formally accepted Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender after almost six years of war.

New Iraq Prime Minister after Five Months of Deadlock

Iraq's parliament has approved a new government, ending months of deadlock as the country battles an economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.
Former intelligence chief Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the third man to be nominated to replace Adel Abdul Mahdi since November, 2019 was sworn in as prime minister.

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