General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

Mar 05, 2020

World's First Nation to Make All Public Transport Free

In order to reduce traffic pressure on the road, Luxembourg, the 7th smallest country in Europe, made public transport free from February 29, 2020. It became the first country in the world to do so.
However, this free public transport system does not include 1st -class travel tickets on trains and certain night bus services. Commuters can still pay for first class, at a cost of 660 euros a year.
Earlier, all the standard-class journeys on public transport in the country caused an annual pass worth 440 euros ($485).
The move will benefit people with low incomes or the minimum wage, tourists from neighbouring countries like Germany, Belgium and France.
Luxembourg has more than 600,000 inhabitants, and 214,000 cross-border laborers traveling to this country for work every day, which causes heavy traffic jams.

Ukraine Prime Minister Ousted

Ukrainian lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to accept the resignation of the nation's Prime Minister after a six-month tenure in which his performance came under severe criticism from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The President's Servant of the People party dominates the Ukrainian parliament and took the lead in relieving Oleksiy Honcharuk of his post. Forty lawmakers abstained from the vote but the message of the 353-0 tally was clear.
Lawmakers later approved Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmygal to be the new Prime Minister.
Addressing lawmakers before the resignation vote, Zelenskiy said Honcharuk, 35, failed to halt an industrial slump or meet tax collection targets.

Michael Bloomberg Ends US Presidential Campaign

After spending millions on his own campaign, Michael Bloomberg is dropping out of the 2020 presidential race.
Bloomberg said that three months ago, he entered the race for president to defeat Donald Trump and now he is leaving the race for the same reason.
Mr. Bloomberg, a former mayor of New York City, spent at least $409m (£313m) of his own money in the race to become the Democratic Party's nominee.
Now he supports former Vice-President Joe Biden.

IMF Announces $50 bn Fund for Affected Countries

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposed up to $50 billion in emergency financing for countries affected by the novel coronavirus as the Fund said that it would cut its economic growth forecast for this year due to the outbreak.
Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF chief, announced the plan as she warned that more "adverse" scenarios about the spread of the epidemic around the world, and their impact on the global economy, were starting to materialise.
Georgieva announced the $50 billion financing, including $10 billion at zero interest for the poorest nations. Countries can draw on that money if they need it.

Mar 04, 2020

Personnel Cap on Chinese Media Entities in US

Trump administration imposed limits on the number of Chinese nationals allowed to work in five Chinese state media entities in the United States.
The announcement was made by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said that Washington hopes that the action will spur Beijing to adopt a more fair and reciprocal approach to the US.
This comes in the backdrop of China's decision last month to expel three Wall Street Journal reporters over a headline on a coronavirus opinion piece which read: "China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia."

China Takes over Presidency of UN Security Council

China assumed the Presidency of the United Nations Security Council for March 2020. While taking on the role, China vowed to advance solidarity and cooperation among the members.
China's permanent representative to the UN, Zhang Jun said that his country attaches great importance to the work during its presidency and will act responsibly and constructively.
Zhang Jun further said that China will make an effort to boost cooperation among all parties to ensure that the UNSC fulfils its crucial role and responsibility to maintain international peace and security.
The presidency of the UN Security Council is rotated among its members every month according to the English alphabetical order. Vietnam held the Presidency in January 2020, followed by Belgium in February 2020. After China, the Presidency of the UNSC will go to Dominican Republic in April 2020.

OZ News Agency AAP to Close

The national news agency Australian Associated Press (AAP) will close in late June, its 85 years in business vanquished by a decline in subscribers and free distribution of news content on digital platforms. AAP was started in 1935 by newspaper publisher Keith Murdoch, father of News Corp founder Rupert Murdoch. Australian media organisations face mounting financial pressure, with global digital giants Google and Facebook taking a growing chunk of advertising revenue.

Mar 03, 2020

Britain, EU Begin Post-Brexit Trade Talks

British trade negotiators begin a marathon of talks in Brussels aimed at forging a new post-Brexit relationship with the EU. The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier and his UK counterpart David Frost will lead the talks, which would be held over several weekly rounds in Brussels and London. The negotiations start just over a month since UK left the EU, and are meant to wrap up by the end of this year - an exceedingly tight time frame that few see as feasible for anything but a barebones accord.

Iraq's PM-Designate Withdraws From Post, Prolonging Deadlock

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Allawi withdrew his candidacy for the post, accusing political parties of obstructing him, deepening a domestic crisis and threatening an unprecedented power vacuum.
His move came hours after parliament failed for the second time in a week to approve his cabinet amid political infighting in the oil producer, where mass protests and deadlock between lawmakers are delaying Iraq's recovery from years of war.
Allawi's appointment was meant to ease a crisis as the Shi'ite-led country faces a mass protest movement that broke out in October and brought down Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.
Iraq could end up without a Prime Minister in the meantime if Abdul Mahdi, who stayed on in a caretaker capacity, also quits.
Salih appointed Allawi after squabbling lawmakers from rival parties failed for two months to decide on a successor to Abdul Mahdi, who resigned in November during mass unrest. Allawi had one month to form a government that was meant to organise early elections.

Libya Conflict: Stressed Ghassan Salame Resigns as UN Envoy

The UN's special envoy for Libya resigned saying his efforts to bring peace in the North African country was damaging his health.
Talks between the UN-backed government based in the capital, Tripoli, and fighters loyal to renegade Gen Khalifa Haftar have floundered.
Libya has been torn by conflict since the 2011 uprising which ousted long-time strongman Muammar Gaddafi.
Last week Mr. Salame brought representatives of the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Haftar-led Libyan National Army (LNA), the two warring sides, to Geneva for peace talks, but the representatives suspended their involvement.

Saudi Arabia Starts Issuance of Permanent Premium Residency Permit to Foreigners

As Saudi Arabia officially started the issuance of Permanent Premium Residency Permit to Foreigners, Indian investor Yosuffali M A, Chairman of the Lulu group became one of the first to be given the permanent residency permit by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Premium Residency, informally known as Saudi Green Card, is a residence permit in Saudi Arabia that grants expatriates the right to live, work and own business and property in the Kingdom without need for a sponsor.
The introduction of the Premium Residency comes as a part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 reform plan, which was announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to boost the Saudi economy.

Erdogan Hopes to Broker Idlib Truce in Moscow

Turkey's President said that he hopes to broker a cease-fire later this week in Moscow when he meets with his Russian counterpart, after growing alarm over direct clashes between Turkish troops and Russian-backed Syrian forces in northern Syria.
The fighting in Syria's Idlib province, the last rebel-held area in the country, has sparked one of the war's worst humanitarian crises.
Turkey has sent thousands of troops into the area supporting the opposition fighters held up there, but hasn't been able to stop the government offensive.
Russia tipped the nine-year civil war in Syrian President Bashar Assad's favour after it joined the conflict on his side in September 2015.

Mar 02, 2020

Slovakia Election: Anti-corruption Party Takes Lead

The opposition Ordinary People party (OLaNO) won a resounding victory in Slovakia's parliamentary election on a wave of anti-corruption sentiment.
With nearly all results counted, the party has secured almost 25% of votes.
The popularity of the Ordinary People party soared in recent weeks, thanks to its anti-corruption agenda.
The election campaign was dominated by public anger over the 2018 murder of an investigative journalist, Jan Kuciak, and his fiancée, Martina Kusnirova.
The result has unseated the centre-left Smer-SD party, which dominated Slovak politics for a decade and garnered just over 18%.
Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini has admitted defeat.
Kuciak had been investigating high-level corruption when he was killed.
The shooting shocked the nation and toppled PM Robert Fico, but his Smer-SD party remained in office.

Luis Lacalle Pou Uruguay's New President

Luis Lacalle Pou was sworn in as Uruguay President to herald a new era in the South American country following 15 years of left-wing rule that brought important social reforms but left a stagnated economy and soaring crime. The 46-year-old leader of the center-right Partido Nacional was elected in November after winning a run-off against the incumbent Broad Front's candidate Daniel Martinez by just 37,000 votes in the country of 3.4 million people.

Malaysia Gets New PM

Malaysia's former Interior Minister Muhyiddun Yassin was sworn in as the Prime Minister after being appointed by the Malaysian King. This came after a week of uncertainty, following Mahathir Mohamad's resignation.
Mahathir said that he would call for an urgent parliamentary sitting to determine who had majority support.
Mahathir boycotted the swearing in ceremony, but held a press conference an hour before, flanked by his supporters.
The Malaysian palace announced that King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah believed Muhyiddin had the support of a majority of lawmakers. But Mahathir insisted that he had the support of at least 114 out of the 222 lawmakers.
Muhyiddin started his political career in the 1970s with the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). He served as deputy prime minister under Najib Razak, who was removed from office due to the 1MDB scandal. He then left UNMO and joined forces with Mahathir under the Pakatan Harapan coalition, which rose to power in 2018.

US Urges Ethiopia to Sign Nile Dam Deal

The United States says Ethiopia must, in the shortest possible time, sign a deal with Egypt and Sudan about a giant dam it is building on the River Nile.
Steven Mnuchin, the US treasury secretary, said that the final testing and filling of the dam should not take place without an agreement.
Ethiopians have reacted angrily on social media, calling on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to resist US pressure.
Earlier this week Ethiopia failed to attend what was meant to be the final signing of an accord. Egypt and Sudan fear the $4bn (£3bn) dam will deprive their populations of water.
The Grand Renaissance Dam is at the heart of Ethiopia's manufacturing and industrial dreams. When completed it is expected to be able to generate a massive 6,000 megawatts of electricity.

Mar 01, 2020

Pakistan Says US Invited to Invest in China Pakistan-Economic Corridor

In an interesting move, cash-strapped Pakistan has invited the US to join the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, an ambitious infrastructure project looked with suspicion by the Trump administration for being non-transparent.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's adviser on commerce Abdul Razak Dawood on Thursday said the government made the offer during a meeting with the US trade delegation led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, The Express Tribune reported.
Interestingly last month, senior US diplomat Alice Wells said that there is no transparency in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the firms blacklisted by the World Bank have got contracts under the project, which will increase Pakistan's debt burden.
Wells, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia made the remarks while speaking at a think tank event during her four-day visit to Pakistan.
Khan's commerce advisor Razak said that the US has shown interest in (Pakistan's) energy, oil and gas, agriculture and food processing.

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