General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

Jan 20, 2020

Tehran Warns IAEA over N-deal Dispute

As per parliament speaker Ali Larijani, Iran will review its cooperation with the United Nations' nuclear watchdog should it face unjust measures, after EU powers last week triggered a dispute mechanism under Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal.
The move by France, UK and Germany amounts to formally accusing Iran of violating the terms of the deal and could lead eventually to reimposing UN sanctions that were lifted under the pact.
Tehran said last week it would abandon limits on enriching uranium, though it would continue to cooperate with IAEA, which is policing the nuclear pact.
The dispute mechanism involves a Joint Commission, whose members are Iran, Russia, China, Germany, France, Britain and the European Union, seeking to resolve the dispute.

World Powers Seek Elusive Libya Peace in Talks

World leaders were poised to commit to ending all foreign meddling in Libya's war at a Berlin summit, but calls were growing for an international force to ensure that pledges are put into action.
The Presidents of Russia, Turkey and France were among global chiefs at the talks held under the auspices of the United Nations, which wants foreign powers wielding influence in the region to stop interfering in the war - be it through weapons, troops or financing.
Leaders of both warring factions - strongman Khalifa Haftar and the head of Tripoli's UN-recognised government Fayez al-Sarraj - were also in Berlin for the first such gathering since 2018.

China, Myanmar Ink 33 Deals To Accelerate Bri

China and Myanmar inked dozens of deals on Saturday to speed up infrastructure projects in the Southeast Asian nation, as Beijing seeks to cement its hold over a neighbour increasingly isolated by the West.
But no major new projects were agreed during the two-day visit by President Xi Jinping, the first of any Chinese leader in 19 years. Analysts said Myanmar was generally cautious of investments by Beijing and was also being careful ahead of elections later this year.

Jan 19, 2020

Putin to Take Part in Libya Peace Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in a peace meet on Libya in Germany, as world powers step up efforts to find a ceasefire. The peace talks in Berlin will focus on stopping the fighting and launching a broad political dialogue under the auspices of the UN.

Pakistan Cornered at UNSC, Faces Heat on Terrorism

The UK called for more action by Pakistan to counter terror emanating from its soil against the backdrop of a majority of the members of the UN Security Council rejecting an effort by Islamabad to rake up the Kashmir issue with Beijing's backing.
Gareth Bayley, the UK Prime Minister's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said that all options are on the table if Islamabad fails to implement the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) action plan to counter terror financing and crack down on terrorists operating from Pakistani soil.
India strongly criticised Pakistan and China for raising Kashmir during closed-door consultations at the UN Security Council, saying Islamabad's attempts to "peddle baseless allegations" lacked credibility.
China's effort to discuss Kashmir at the UN Security Council, the second such move since December, ended without any outcome after members of the body such as the US, the UK and France made it clear the issue should be handled bilaterally by India and Pakistan.

Jan 18, 2020

Not Ready for Peace with India without Resolving Kashmir Issue

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan is not prepared to pay any price for peace with India and certainly not without resolving the Kashmir issue in a just manner.
Addressing the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think-tank, Qureshi reiterated Pakistan's demand that US President Donald Trump should mediate to resolve the Kashmir issue.
Ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories in August 2019, evoking strong reactions from Islamabad.
Pakistan has been trying to rally international support against India on the issue.

Ukraine PM Offers Resignation

Ukraine's Prime Minister Oleksiy Goncharuk offered his resignation after audio was leaked of him reportedly criticising President Volodomyr Zelensky's understanding of the economy.
As per Oleksiy Goncharuk the audio artificially created an impression that my team and I do not respect the president.
The alleged recordings came from an informal December, 2019 meeting between ministers and senior officials from the National Bank.

Brexit: There will be No Automatic Deportation for EU Citizens

EU citizens will not automatically be deported if they fail to sign up to the settled status scheme by the 2021 deadline.
The confirmation comes after European Parliament Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt said that he had been given the assurance by the UK government.
Under the settlement scheme, EU citizens living in the UK can apply to stay in the country after Brexit.
So far the number of applicants to the scheme has hit more than 2.7 million.
Nearly 2.5 million EU citizens have been told they can live and work in the UK after Brexit.
The deadline for applying to the scheme is 30 June, 2021.

Phone Scandal Rocks Sri Lanka's Opposition Party

Sri Lankan authorities have arrested a former minister who allegedly recorded 100,000 phone calls, the sometimes lewd and compromising contents of which were leaked on social media.
In what has become a major scandal, Ranjan Ramanayake is heard discussing court cases with judges, police, politicians and local celebrities in some of the recordings.
Police, who seized hard drives from Ramanayake's home, said that they were investigating whether the recordings had been used for blackmail or other criminal activity.
The opposition lawmaker who was remanded in custody earlier this week, said that he is being targeted for speaking out against corruption.

Jan 17, 2020

Putin's PM Pick Lays out Agenda

Russian President Vladimir Putin's new Prime Minister Promised real changes as he was approved by lawmakers after the Kremlin announced sweeping reform plans.
The Lower House State Duma voted overwhelmingly to approve Mikhail Mishustin as premier, less than 24 hours after Russia's political order was shaken by Putin's announcement of constitutional reforms and the resignation of the government.
No MPs voted against his candidacy, although Communist lawmakers abstained.
The naming of a new premier was one in a series of bombshell announcements that rocked Russia, when Putin said constitutional reform would change the country's balance of power and his longtime Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev resigned along with the cabinet.

Senate Opens Trump's Impeachment Trial

The Senate formally opened the impeachment trial of President Trump, bracing for a grave and deeply divisive debate over his fate as senators swore to deliver impartial justice and installed Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to preside over a proceeding with little precedent.
In a somber ceremony that initiated only the third presidential impeachment trial in the nation's history, Chief Justice Roberts vowed to act according to the Constitution and the laws. He then administered the same, 222-year-old oath of impartiality to the senators, setting in motion the final stage of a process that has roiled Congress and could shape the outcome of the 2020 elections, along with Mr. Trump's legacy.
Even as the antiquated ritual unfolded in the ornate chamber, with senators signing their names one by one in an oath book near the marble Senate rostrum, new evidence was emerging about Mr. Trump's pressure campaign on Ukraine that is at the heart of the charges against him.

US and China Hint at Second Phase of Trade Deal

US vice president Mike Pence said that discussions had already begun on a "Phase 2" US-China trade deal, hours after Washington and Beijing signed an initial trade pact that defused some tensions but left some major issues unresolved.

Ukraine Probes Surveillance of Ambassador

Ukrainian authorities announced a probe into the possible surveillance of U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch that a critic claimed to have orchestrated from the United States before President Trump dismissed her from the post, and the FBI visited the critic's home and business apparently seeking more information.
The statement by Ukraine's Interior Ministry and subsequent FBI action followed the disclosure of new documents related to the impeachment case against Trump. The material included exchanges between Lev Parnas, a then-associate of Trump's personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani, and others about the need to oust Yovanovitch.
The documents — provided to the House Intelligence Committee by Parnas — include messages with Robert F. Hyde, a Connecticut Republican who is running for a seat in Congress. In those exchanges, Parnas was informed about Yovanovitch's physical location.
The disclosures have opened a new front in Trump's impeachment woes, while dragging Ukraine back into the spotlight six months after the controversial call between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. Up to this point, Ukrainian officials had been careful not to criticize their most powerful Western allies, but Ukraine cannot ignore such illegal activities on its territory, the Interior Ministry statement said.

Taliban Proposes Brief Afghanistan Ceasefire

As per reports, the Taliban have offered a brief ceasefire to the US, a move which could allow the resumption of talks seeking a deal for Washington to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
Washington has for weeks been calling on the militants to reduce violence, posing it as a condition for resuming formal negotiations on an agreement that would see US troops begin to leave the country in return for security guarantees from the insurgents.
A senior Taliban official said that it is an offer for a ceasefire either for seven or ten days, and added that the offer was made to US negotiators in Doha.

Jan 16, 2020

Russia's Government Resigns As Putin Moves To Change The Constitution

In one dramatic stroke, the Russian Cabinet has been emptied.
The principal ministers of the Russian government, from Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on down, resigned in a move designed to ease a constitutional overhaul recently proposed by President Vladimir Putin. The president accepted Medvedev's resignation and he would appoint his longtime loyalist to the Russian Security Council.
Putin also nominated Mikhail Mishustin, head of the Federal Tax Service, to replace Medvedev as prime minister, according to Russia's state-run Tass news agency. The rest of the ministerial Cabinet is expected to remain until their replacements are determined.
The surprising mass resignation, which Medvedev announced during a meeting of the ministers in Moscow, came not long after Putin put forward a package of proposed constitutional amendments in his annual state of the nation address.

India, Finland ink MoU to enhance defence cooperation

India and Finland inked an MoU to enhance bilateral defence cooperation.
Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar and and the Finnish Defence Ministry''s Permanent Secretary, Jukka Juusti signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on co-operation in the field of production, procurement, research and development of defence-related equipment and industrial cooperation on the sidelines of Raisina Dialogue 2020.
Under the broad ambit of the MoU, cooperation between Finnish companies and Indian defence public sector undertakings could be explored.
The MoU was under discussion since the Defence Expo 2018 and has now been formalised in the run up to Defence Expo 2020, to be held in Lucknow between February 5-9.
In 2019, Juusti had led a delegation to the Aero India in Bengaluru and post his visit, evinced his country''s interest to participate in the ''Make in India'' vision and formalise an arrangement for defence industrial cooperation through an MoU.
On February 13, 2016, Finland''s Prime Minister Juha Sipila had bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to India for the inauguration of the ''Make in India'' week.

Trump signs first stage of trade deal with China

President Donald Trump signed an initial trade deal with senior Chinese leaders that includes pledges from Beijing to more than double its purchases from American farmers in the first year.
The 86-page agreement comes after nearly two years of fraught negotiations and a punishing trade war between the world's two largest economies that hit US soybean producers especially hard.
American taxpayers have spent about $28 billion bailing out farmers, including payments to trade groups and purchases from food banks.

Sri Lankan President decides estate workers' daily wage to be Rs.1,000 from March 1

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has decided that the minimum daily wage of estate workers will be 1000 rupees with effect from 1st March. The decision came on eve of Thai Pongal as most of the estate workers are Tamils of Indian origin. The workers have been demanding the 1000 rupee wage since past few years and held several protests during previous government. Gotabaya has promised the hike in his election manifesto.
The government also decided to take swift measures to develop all areas of the plantation sector including infrastructure facilities. The government has taken several initiatives such as tax exemption, fertilizer subsidy to increase the quality of this vital sector. President emphasized that these benefits should pass onto the workers. The objective of the government is to avail opportunities for the workers to enjoy the perks of the growth in manufacturing and industrial sectors.

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