General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

Feb 24, 2020

Sanders Secures Big Win in Nevada Round

Senator Bernie Sanders secured an emphatic win in Nevada, consolidating his status as the front-runner in the 2020 Democratic nomination race. Former US vice-president Joe Biden finished a distant second.
The win in Nevada was crucial for Sanders as it is racially and ethnically more diverse than predominantly white Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states in the 2020 nomination race that he tied and then narrowly won. It demonstrated his expanding base and appeal, which will be tested in the coming contests.

Largest Public Health Crisis since 1949: Xi

Chinese President Xi Jinping called the novel coronavirus epidemic the largest public health emergency since the founding of the country under Communist rule in 1949.
The outbreak has killed over 2,400 people and slowed down the world's second largest economy in just a few weeks' time.
Millions of people in China are currently facing restrictions on their movement in some way or the other and the epicentre - Hubei province - is under a lockdown.

FAFT Continues Pakistan in Grey List

Global terror financing watchdog FATF decided continuation of Pakistan in the 'Grey List' and warned the country of stern action if it fails to check flow of money to terror groups like the LeT and the JeM.
The decision was taken at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary in Paris.
The FATF decided to continue Pakistan in the 'Grey List' The FATF has also warned Pakistan that if it does not complete a full action plan by June, it could lead to consequences on its businesses.
The plenary noted that Pakistan addressed only a few of the 27 tasks given to it in controlling funding to terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and the Hizbul Mujahideen, which are responsible for a series of attacks in India.
The FATF said Pakistan has to swiftly complete its full action plan by June.
With Pakistan's continuation in the 'Grey List', it will be difficult for the country to get financial aid from the IMF, the World Bank, the ADB and the European Union, thus further enhancing problems for the nation which is in a precarious financial situation.

Feb 23, 2020

India ranks 77th in Terms of Sustainability & 131st in Flourishing Index:UN Report

According to the report, "A future for the world's children? A WHO–UNICEF–Lancet Commission" commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and The Lancet medical journal, India ranks 77^th in terms of Sustainability Index and 131^st in the Flourishing Index of Children's Survival, health, education and well-being.
Sustainability index is associated with per capita carbon emissions and ability of children in a nation to live healthy lives.
A commission of more than 40 child and adolescent health experts funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) from around the world has released the report, where the capacity of 180 countries has been assessed whether they are able to ensure that their children grow and prosper.

Sweden Creates USD 1 mn Prizes for Food Solutions

Sweden created two USD 1 million prizes for solutions to feed billions of people, as climate change threatens the world's food supply. "The new Food Planet Prize is designed to contribute to this goal," Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research in Germany who will co-chair the prize jury.

S. Sudan President and Rebel Leader Agree to Form Unity Government

South Sudan President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar agreed to form a unity government, a long-delayed step towards ending six years of war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Kiir said that the new government will be formed on Saturday and he will appoint Machar as his first vice president, or top deputy.
The President also said that security arrangements, one crucial issue, will be resolved after the government's formation. He said the protection of Machar and others with the opposition will be under his responsibility.

Feb 22, 2020

Pompeo Meets Saudi King in Talks Focused on Iranian Threats

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Saudi Arabia's King Salman in a visit focused primarily on discussing shared security concerns about regional rival Iran.
Ahead of his arrival in the capital Riyadh, Pompeo said that he would also raise with the Saudi leadership concerns about human rights and the cases of dual Saudi-American citizens who are either imprisoned in the kingdom or barred from traveling abroad.
Following his meeting at the royal palace with the king, Pompeo headed to a Saudi air base where some 2,500 U.S. troops are stationed in response to threats from Iran.
The U.S. military presence in the kingdom at the Prince Sultan Air Base includes a squadron of U.S. Air Force F-15E fighters that fly daily missions over Iraq and Syria and two American Patriot missile batteries prepared to knock down any Iranian attack against the Saudi kingdom.

Hindi is the 3rd most Spoken Language in the World

The 22nd edition of the world language database Ethnologue stated Hindi, as the 3rd most spoken language of the world in 2019 with 615 million speakers. English language was at the top of the list with 1,132 million speakers and Mandarin Chinese was at the 2nd position with 1,117 million speakers.
Ethnologue publishes a yearly database of living languages of the world, since its establishment in 1951.
Bangla has been ranked as the 7th most spoken language of the world and has 228 million native speakers.
The database covers 7,111 living languages of the world at present (2020). Ethnologue also publishes data on languages which have gone out of use in recent history and the edition lists contains 348 such languages.

Feb 21, 2020

India Will Be Guest of Honour at the International Tourism Fair of Madagascar

India will be the Guest of Honour at the International Tourism Fair of Madagascar, said Abhay Kumar, India's Ambassador to Madagascar.
To prepare for the International Tourism Fair in Madagascar that will be held in June, representatives of 22 Indian tour agencies are visiting the country to explore the tourism potential.
This is for the first time that such a large contingent of Indian tour operators is visiting the country. This shows that there is a great interest among the Indian tourism industry about Madagascar.
Last year, the Tourism Board of Madagascar had done a roadshow in India wherein they told the Indian Tour Operators about the exciting tourism opportunities in their country.

Sri Srinivasan First Indian American to Lead Appeals Court

Sri Srinivasan became the first Indian American to head a US court of appeals after taking over as Chief Judge of the Washington DC circuit from Merrick Garland.
Under US rules, Circuit Courts of Appeals, similar to High Courts in India, must be headed by the senior-most judge under the age of 65, and Garland, who is 67, stepped down on February 12, paving the way for Srinivasan, who is 52. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals is often considered the second most powerful court in the US after the Supreme Court, and has been a stepping stone to the highest court's judgeship.

Pakistan's Attorney General Resigns

Pakistan's Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan resigned after an uproar by the legal fraternity over his controversial remarks against judges of the Supreme Court.
Khan reportedly used contemptuous words against some members of the full bench of the apex court which is hearing the case about proceeding to remove Qazi Faez Essa, another judge of the top court.
The court ordered to expunge Khan's remarks from the record. However, lawyers demanded his resignation.
Khan submitted his resignation to Pakistan President Arif Alvi, saying he should be relieved of responsibilities immediately.

Feb 20, 2020

Lanka to Exit UN Resolution on Civil War Crimes

The government of Sri Lanka has decided to withdraw from co-sponsorship of a 2015 UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for the investigation of allegations of war crimes committed during the island nation's long civil war. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's announcement came days after the US state department imposed a travel ban on Sri Lanka's army commander, Shavendra Silva, and his family over rights violations.

Russia and Turkey Spar over Operation in Syria

Turkey and Russia exchanged warnings after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened an "imminent" operation in Syria to end the regime's brutal assault on the last rebel enclave.
Syrian aid workers called urgently for a ceasefire and international help for nearly a million people fleeing the regime onslaught in the country's northwestern Idlib province — the biggest wave of displaced civilians in the nine-year conflict.
Turkey, supporter of some rebel groups in Idlib, has been pushing for a renewed ceasefire in talks with Russia, which backs the Syrian regime. Ankara is eager to prevent another flood of refugees into its territory adding to the 3.7 million Syrians it already hosts.
Mr. Erdogan said that talks with Moscow over the past fortnight had so far failed to achieve "the desired result" and warned that Turkey would launch an offensive into Syria unless Damascus pulled its forces back by the end of the month.

Iran Election Watchdog Defends Decision to Bar Candidates

Iran's electoral watchdog defended its decision to disqualify thousands of candidates for a parliamentary election in two days, saying it was done in accordance with the law.
The Guardian Council, a powerful body that vets candidates for Iranian elections, also said that it expected at least 50 per cent of registered voters to turn out at Friday's election.
Thousands of candidates, most of them moderates and reformists, have been barred from entering the race by the Council, which is dominated by ultra-conservatives.
But its spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaee said that the body was neutral in its dealings with all political camps.
The Guardian Council follows the laws and regulations the parliament has passed at different times.

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