General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2016

Mar 2016

Nov 14, 2019

2nd edition of the Paris Peace Forum Held in France

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed more than 30 heads of state and government at the second annual Paris Peace Forum aimed at finding solutions to global challenges ranging from climate change and terrorism to migration and cyber security.
Making an impassioned plea for multilateralism in his opening address at the Paris Peace Forum, Macron called on all delegates to come together to fight climate change, economic inequalities, terrorism, disinformation and cybercrime.

New Zealand Parliament Passes Euthanasia Bill

New Zealand lawmakers voted in favour of a bill to legalise euthanasia, a watershed moment that ended a contentious two-year debate.
But the final decision will rest with voters, who will need to approve the Bill in a referendum in 2020 for it to go into effect. Polls have indicated a majority support the measure.
The Bill was passed 69-51.
The Bill applies only to people who are terminally ill and likely to die within six months. To be eligible, a person must be in irreversible physical decline and experience "unbearable suffering" that cannot be relieved in any other way they find tolerable.

China-Bangladesh to build Dhaka's Mega new Town Project called Purbachal

A Chinese company will play a leading role in building Bangladesh's first smart city and the biggest planned township on the outskirts of capital Dhaka including a mega water project which upon completion will divert water from the Meghna river to the settlement.
The flagship project comes in the backdrop of Beijing pumping in billions of dollars in building the populous country's ports, power stations and roads, and a recent, violent clash between Chinese and local workers at a China-funded power station.
The 6,150-acre town in the northeastern suburbs of Dhaka is being developed as the first smart city in Bangladesh.
Purbachal is the biggest planned township in Bangladesh, with many mega infrastructures including an international exhibition center under construction by another Chinese firm.

India's Pledges to contribute USD 5 million in 2020 to Palestine

India has pledged to contribute USD 5 million in 2020 to the UN Palestine refugee agency, even as it voiced concern over the agency's "dire" financial situation due to the funding gaps that risk its core services to the refugees in the fields of education and health.
India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu said as a mark of solidarity with the Palestine refugees, the Indian government has increased its annual financial contribution fourfold to the core budget of the UN Relief and Works Agency(UNRWA), from USD 1.25 million in 2016 to USD 5 million in 2018.

India, Russia Step up Cyber Security Cooperation after Attack on Kudankulam

India and Russia have stepped up their cyber security cooperation in the backdrop of cyber-attack on Kudankulam nuclear power plant built by global nuclear major Rosatom.
Deputy Chief of Mission of the Russian Embassy Roman Babushkin has said Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited has informed Russian authorities that the plant is safe and additional steps have been taken to enhance its security further.

PM Modi arrives in Brazil for BRICS Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Brazil's Brasilia on November 13, 2019. He landed in Brasilia for the 11th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit.
The Prime Minister took part in the summit on November 13-14, 2019. He addressed the BRICS Business Forum and interacted with BRICS Business Council as well as the New Development Bank on the sidelines of the summit.
The summit's theme is 'Economic Growth for an Innovative Future'

Nov 13, 2019

Next Round For US Prez Impeachment

The US House of Representatives will begin public hearings to impeach Trump over allegations that he misused his powers. Whistleblower and insider accounts have emerged claiming that Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine till its President agreed to investigate rival democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to damage his campaign.
15 witnesses have testified in closed-door depositions
3 witnesses will appear in Public hearings
2 Whistleblowers have come forward so far
The hearing will begin with testimonies from two Trump officials: Bill Taylor, US Chief envoy to Ukraine, and George Kent, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.
Both have provided accounts of Trump pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to open a probe against Biden and his son Hunter.

Nov 12, 2019

PM Modi To Visit Brazil On Nov 13-14 for 11th BRICS Summit

Ministry of External Affairs' Secretary (ER) T.S. Tirumurti informed about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Brazil to attend the 11th BRICS Summit.
He said that PM Modi will visit Brazil from 13-14 November, 2019. This will be the sixth time that the Prime Minister will be participating in the BRICS summit.
PM Modi will be accompanied by officials as well as business delegation from India. The theme of BRICS Summit this year is 'Economic Growth for an Innovative Future'.

Bolivia's Former President Accepts Asylum Offer, Heads For Mexico

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales, whose resignation amid allegations of fraud in October's presidential election left his country without a leader and mired in growing chaos, departed Bolivia on a plane for Mexico, which offered him asylum.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said his country decided to grant asylum "for humanitarian reasons, and given the urgent situation faced in Bolivia" after Mr. Morales made the request over a phone call.

Spanish Elections: Socialists Win Amid Far-Right Surge

Spain's governing Socialists (PSOE) won the most seats in election, but fell short of a majority - and right-wing parties made major gains.
The conservative Popular Party (PP) came in second, and far-right Vox more than doubled its seats to become the country's third most-powerful party.
This is Spain's fourth general election in as many years.
This time, the Socialist party won 120 of the 350 seats - three fewer than in April's vote. The PP has 88 seats, up from 66 in the previous poll, while Vox has 52 - up from just 24 in April.

Nov 11, 2019

Working Right of H-4 Visa Holders hangs in Balance

The US Court of Appeals in its recent order has concurred with the views of 'Save Jobs USA' that granting of work permits (employment authorisations) to spouses of H-1B visa holders increases competition for American jobs. As spouses are able to work, it provides an incentive to the H-1B visa holders to continue to stay in the US.
The crux of the matter which will now be examined by the lower court is whether the US department of homeland security (DHS) has the authority to give EADs to H-4 visa holders.
But, the sword of Damocles continues to sway over the families where the spouse holds an EAD, as the Trump administration in the course of court hearings had reiterated the intent to rescind the EAD policy.
In its letter to the court, DHS stated that a proposed rule to rescind the EAD programme could be published earliest by spring 2020. Typically, post publication of the rule, it takes a few months for the new policy to come into effect.
If the finding by the lower court is that DHS acted beyond its scope in granting EAD or the policy is rescinded by the Trump government, it will adversely impact many Indian families.

China Opens a New Bridge Close to Border with India

Chinese engineers have constructed a new bridge over the Brahmaputra river (Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet), which will enhance rail connectivity in south Tibet, near the Chinese border with India. Rail connectivity is crucial for logistical support in both infrastructure building and military activities.
Bayu bridge, the new 283-metre-long and 19-metre-wide bridge, an engineering feat has been constructed in a difficult mountainous terrain. The bridge, standing 61.5 metres above the river in the city of Shannan, finally connects a 435km-long railway line, from Lhasa to Nyingchi in southeast Tibet.
This comes months after China opened a 409km new expressway linking Lhasa with Nyingchi, which is close to the border with Arunachal Pradesh. The 409km tollfree expressway, which cost nearly $5.8 billion, linked the two major cities which are also tourist attractions in Tibet.

Iran Finds New Oilfield with 53bn Barrels

Iran discovered an oil field containing the equivalent of 53 billion barrels, potentially boosting its reserves as the Opec member struggles to overcome the effects of US sanctions on its energy industry.
It wasn't immediately clear how much of the oil discovered in Khuzestan province is new, or how much of it can be developed commercially.
Iran currently ranks fourth in reserves worldwide — behind Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Canada — with almost 156 billion barrels.

Nov 10, 2019

Iran Finds New Oil Field

Iran has discovered a new oil field in the country's south with over 50 billion barrels of crude, a find that could boost the country's proven reserves by a third as it struggles to sell energy abroad over U.S. sanctions.
The announcement by Hassan Rouhani comes as Iran faces crushing American sanctions after the U.S. pulled out of its nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.
Rouhani made the announcement in a speech in the desert city of Yazd. He said the field was located in Iran's southern Khuzestan province, home to its crucial oil industry.

Brazil's former president Lula walks free after 18 months behind bars

Brazil's leftist icon Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva walked free from jail after a year and a half behind bars for corruption following a court ruling that could release thousands of convicts.
The former president, wearing a black T-shirt and suit jacket, pumped his fist in the air as he exited the federal police headquarters in the southern city of Curitiba and was quickly mobbed by hundreds of supporters and journalists.
Lula addressed the crowd, thanking his supporters, colleagues and lawyers, his voice at times drowned out by the cheers of the crowd and fireworks.

Trump to Release Transcript of a Second Call with Ukrainian President

President Donald Trump said he plans to release a transcript of a second phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, one that occurred months before the July call that kickstarted House Democrats' impeachment inquiry.

Mauritius elects incumbent PM for five-year term

2019 vote was dominated by calls for fairer distribution of wealth on the prosperous Indian Ocean island of 1.3 million people, which touts itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia and has a flourishing financial sector.
MSM won 38 of the 62 seats up for grabs while its rivals, the Labour Party and the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM), garnered 13 and 9 seats respectively.
Two seats on the island of Rodrigues were won by the Organisation of the People of Rodrigues (OPR) party.
Jugnauth, 57, became prime minister in 2017 when his father stepped down from the post, and has already introduced a minimum wage to try and improve wealth distribution.

Jordan ends border enclaves land lease for Israeli farmers

The King of Jordan has announced the end of a lease agreement that gave Israelis access to two border enclaves.
Under a 1994 peace treaty, Israeli farmers could cultivate land in the Jordanian areas of Naharayim and Tzofar - known as Baqura and Ghamr in Arabic.
The lease governing them was for 25 years, but could have been extended.
However King Abdullah announced in 2018 that he planned to end the lease - in what was seen as a sign of worsening ties between Jordan and Israel.
At the time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said that he still hoped to negotiate an extension to the arrangement.
As the lease expired, gates on the border were closed, and Israelis were prevented from entering.

30th Anniversary of the Berlin Wall fall

Google on November 9 (2019) celebrated the 30th year of the fall of the Berlin Wall with a doodle that captured the essence of the breaking down of boundaries that separated many families.
The doodle created by Berlin—based guest artist Max Guther, shows a man and woman walk over the wall brought down.
It was the moment that signalled the simultaneous end of the Cold War and the beginning of reunification of East and West Germany.

PM Modi inaugurate historic Kartarpur Corridor

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that opening of Kartarpur Corridor and Integrated Check Post would bring double happiness.
Addressing a gathering at Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur after inaugurating the Kartarpur Corridor, PM Modi said it will be easy to pay obeisance at Darbar Sahib Gurudwara after the opening of Kartarpur Corridor.
He also thanked Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan for understanding India's sentiment. Asserting that he is fortunate to be able to dedicate the Kartarpur corridor to the country, Prime Minister said he has a feeling like doing Kar Sewa.
He said, Guru Nanak Dev is revered and inspiration for all mankind. When Guru Nanak Dev had left Kartarpur nobody knew that he will give a new direction to the society.
Meanwhile, the first Jatha of Sikh pilgrims entered Pakistan through Kartarpur Corridor.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first batch of over 500 Indian pilgrims led by Akal Takhat Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib through the corridor.

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