General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2016

Sep 2016

Apr 14, 2021

Benin's Talon Wins Re-election as President

According to provisional results released by the national electoral commission, Benin's President Patrice Talon was re-elected with 86% of the votes.
Duo Allasane Soumanou got about 11.3% while Corentin Kohou came in third with 2.3%, with a voter turnout of 50%.
The Beninese Constitutional Court is expected to announce the final results of the election later.
The main opposition figures, who are either in exile or have been sentenced to prison, had called for a boycott of the ballot.
Others were prevented from running in the elections by a new electoral code and institutional reforms.
The election could not be held in 13 of the country's 546 districts, because of security problems in some areas in the country's northern and central regions.

Iran to Enrich Uranium to Highest Level Ever

As per an Iranian nuclear negotiator, Iran will begin enriching uranium to 60 per cent purity, higher than the programme ever has before, after an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility.
Abbas Araghchi's comment came after Iran's foreign minister warned that the weekend assault could hurt ongoing negotiations over its tattered atomic deal with world powers.
Iran had been enriching up to 20 per cent. That is a short technical step to weapons-grade levels.

Global Food Policy Report 2021

The Global Food Policy Report is published by the International Food Policy Research Institute. This year the institute has released the report based on the theme "Transforming Food Systems After COVID-19".
The report found that:
Around 95 million people, mostly in Africa are living in extreme poverty.
Number of poor people living under poverty increase by 150 million as compared to the pre-pandemic levels.
Women accounted to 39% of employment globally. However, they incurred 54% of job losses during pandemic.

Austria's Health Minister Resigns

Austria's Health Minister announced his resignation, saying that he could not continue in the grueling job of helping lead the country's coronavirus response because of persistent personal health problems caused by overwork.
Rudolf Anschober had been Health Minister since January 2020, when his Green party became the junior partner in a governing coalition under conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

Biden Picks First Person of Colour to Head Census Bureau

President Joe Biden has said that he would pick the president of the American Statistical Association to lead the US Census Bureau as it works toward releasing data from the 2020 census that will be used for redrawing congressional and legislative districts.
If confirmed, Robert Santos, who is Mexican-American, would become the first person of colour to serve as a permanent director of the Census Bureau, the nation's largest statistical agency.
Santos is an expert in survey sampling. He has 40 years of experience in survey design and social science and policy research.

Germany, US Revive Security Cooperation

The US and German defense chiefs sat down together in Berlin, at a time when pressure is mounting on multiple fronts. Russian troops appear to be massing along Ukraine's border. Israel is suspected of sabotaging an Iranian uranium enrichment facility. An Afghanistan withdrawal deadline looms.
Easy solutions to these and other global security problems are in short supply, and the alliance remains divided over several of them. Yet both sides say they are committed to working together.
"We will deploy 500 additional troops to Germany," Austin announced at a press conference with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer following their meeting.
This constitutes a marked turn-around from ex-US President Donald Trump's decision to move troops out of Germany to Poland.

US to Withdraw Troops from Kabul by September

US President Joe Biden said that he had planned to have all American troops out of war-torn Afghanistan by September 11 this year, the 20th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York.
The process will begin before May 1 and we plan to have all US troops out before the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

Apr 13, 2021

Leader of Merkel's Party Moves Forward in Bid for Chancellor

The head of Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, Armin Laschet, rallied his party's leadership behind his bid to become the center-right candidate for Germany's next leader, gaining an advantage over a rival who has also declared his ambition.
The Union bloc aims to decide quickly after months of shadow-boxing between Laschet, the head of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, and Markus Soeder, who leads its smaller Bavaria-only sister party, the Christian Social Union.
Laschet and Soeder the governors of Germany's two most populous states, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria respectively both officially declared on Sunday that they're prepared to run for chancellor in the September 26 parliamentary election, but insisted that they will find a harmonious solution.

Fukushima: Japan Approves Releasing Wastewater into Ocean

Japan has approved a plan to release more than one million tonnes of contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea.
The water will be treated and diluted so radiation levels are below those set for drinking water.
But the local fishing industry has strongly opposed the move, as have China and South Korea.
Tokyo says work to release water used to cool nuclear fuel will begin in about two years.
The final approval comes after years of debate and is expected to take decades to complete.

DR Congo President Takes Full Control in New Cabinet

Democratic Republic of Congo's Prime Minister announced a new cabinet in a move that consolidates President Felix Tshisekedi control in government.
The new government of the Sacred Union coalition has 57 members including 14 women, with only 10 from the previous cabinet being reappointed.
The Sacred Union is President Tshisekedi's new coalition announced on 6 December after breaking his collaboration with former President Joseph Kabila.
Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde named economist Nicolas Kazadi as Finance Minister, former civil society activist Antoinette N'Samba Kalambayi as Mining Minister and retired General Daniel Aselo Okito as Interior Ministera.

Apr 12, 2021

Israel Vows to Work with US on Tehran

The Israel Defence Minister pledged to cooperate with the United States on Iran, voicing hope that Israel's security would be safeguarded under any renewed Iranian nuclear deal that Washington reaches.
"Israel views the United States as a full partner across all operational theatres, not the least Iran," Benny Gantz said after hosting visiting US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin
Netanyahu said that will not be bound by a renewed deal, which he describes as a temporary cap on Iranian nuclear capabilities that would pave the way to bomb-production in the longer run. Tehran says its atomic ambitions are purely peaceful.
Israel and Iran have in recent weeks reported sabotage to their ships at sea. Syria has accused Israel of air strikes on its territory. Israel says it is trying to stem a build-up of Iranian forces within next-door Syria.

Conservative Ex-banker Ecuador's New President

A conservative former banker, Guillermo Lasso, won Ecuador's presidential election following a run-off vote.
His opponent, the left-wing economist Andrés Arauz, conceded defeat hours after polls closed.
With almost all the ballots counted, Mr. Lasso had won 52.5% of the vote compared to Mr. Arauz's 47.5%.
Mr Lasso will assume office on 24 May.
The former banker, who has twice finished second in presidential votes, represents the country's business sector. He has vowed to break away from the leftist policies of past administrations that he says have dragged Ecuador down.

US Warns of Consequences to Russian Aggression

The Biden administration is carrying a review of its policies against Russia over its escalating aggression in eastern Ukraine and there will be consequences, some seen and some unseen, to Kremlin, the White House has warned.
The long-running conflict in Ukraine's mainly Russian-speaking east has claimed more than 13,000 lives since 2014.
Fighting in the conflict, which erupted after Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, subsided in 2020 as a new ceasefire agreement took hold last July.
From his first phone call with President Putin, President Biden has been clear that the United States will respond to a number of destabilising Russian actions, in a manner and timing of our choosing.

Apr 11, 2021

Vietnam National Assembly Selects PM and President

Vietnam's legislature voted to make Pham Minh Chinh, a member of the Communist party with a history as a security official, the country's next Prime Minister. Outgoing Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was appointed the new President. The votes of the nearly 500 members of the National Assembly rubber-stamped the leadership picks the Communist party made during its National Congress in January.

Singapore Deputy PM To Step Aside as Future PM

Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat will step aside as the designated successor to current premier Lee Hsien Loong, in an unexpected decision that disrupts the city-state's succession plans.
Heng, who will turn 60 this year, is set to give up his portfolio as Finance Minister at the next cabinet reshuffle, which is expected in about two weeks.
Succession in the wealthy Southeast Asian city state - which has been governed by the People's Action Party (PAP) since independence in 1965 - is normally a carefully planned affair.
The pandemic, however, has set back a handover of power. Lee, 69, has flagged that he may delay his plan to pass the reins to a successor by the time he is 70 to see Singapore through the aftermath of the pandemic.

US President Biden Introduces Limited Gun Control Measures

President Joe Biden and his Attorney General Merrick Garland announced limited measures to tackle gun violence in the United States, in what the White House described as a first step to curb mass shootings, community bloodshed and suicides.
The new measures include plans for the Justice Department to crack down on self-assembled "ghost guns," and make "stabilising braces" - which effectively turn pistols into rifles - subject to registration under the National Firearms Act.
Biden said he will also ask the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to release an annual report on firearms trafficking in the United States, and make it easier for states to adopt "Red Flag" laws that flag at-risk individuals who own guns.

Apr 10, 2021

Mozambique Rules out Foreign Forces to Fight Militants

The President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi has ruled out foreign military intervention to deal with the growing jihadist conflict in the north of the country.
He called for the strengthening of the country's defence and security forces.
Last month's attack by Islamist militants on the town of Palma focused international attention on a three year old conflict that has displaced nearly 750,000 people.
President Nyusi said that the jihadists had been chased out of the town but said that victory could not be declared because the country was fighting terrorism.
The government of Mozambique has in the past recruited mercenaries from Russia and South Africa.

Virginia Becomes First Southern US State to Legalize Pot

Virginia became the first southern US state to approve the use of small amounts of marijuana for personal use.
The state Senate and House of Delegates voted to allow adults to possess marijuana, in a measure approved despite fierce opposition by Republican lawmakers.
Democratic Governor Ralph Northam in a statement said that his state had made history as the first state in the South to legalise the simple possession of marijuana.
Several other US states, including New York and Colorado, have approved similar measures, but Virginia is the first to do so in the socially and politically conservative US south.

Ukraine Conflict: Moscow could Defend Russia-backed Rebels

A top Russian official has warned that Moscow could intervene to help Russian-speaking residents in eastern Ukraine if Ukraine launches an all-out assault on separatists there.
Russian-backed separatist rebels and Ukrainian troops have been clashing in the east of the country.
Russia has also been building up troops on the border with Ukraine.
The official, Dmitry Kozak, said that everything depends on the scale of the conflagration.
The United States and Germany have both expressed concern at the increase in tensions.

South Korea Ruling Party Suffers Crushing Defeat in Mayoral Elections

South Korea's governing Democratic Party has suffered a crushing defeat in mayoral elections in the country's two biggest cities, Seoul and Busan.
Candidates from the opposition People Power Party (PPP) won both cities by big margins.
Both former mayors from President Moon's Democratic Party were accused of sexual misconduct while in office.
In Busan, the incumbent resigned. Seoul's mayor was found dead in a suspected suicide.
The vote is seen as an important barometer of public opinion ahead of a presidential election next year.
The popularity of President Moon Jae-in and his party has plummeted to record lows in recent months due to sex abuse scandals, rising house prices and deepening inequality.

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