General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2016

Sep 2016

Feb 19, 2021

U.S. will Pay Over $200 Million in WHO Contributions

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that his country would pay the World Health Organization (WHO) $200 million by the end of this month.
The announcement is significant as former U.S. President Donald Trump had begun the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO, a process stopped by his successor, President Joe Biden.
Mr. Trump had pulled the U.S. out of the WHO which he had called a "puppet of China". This process would have been complete in mid-2021, but Mr. Biden halted and reversed it hours after assuming office last month.

Harsh Vardhan Shringla meets Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Ryabkov in Moscow

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had a productive meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister of Russian Sergey Ryabkov during which the two sides exchanged views on a number of issues concerning regional and global security.
Mr Shringla is on an official visit to Moscow. The Foreign Secretary also briefed the Deputy Foreign Minister about India's priorities during its BRICS chairmanship in 2021.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic situation, India and Russia have sustained the momentum of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries. This year's first visit abroad by the Foreign Secretary to Moscow signifies the importance India attaches to its close and friendly relations with the Russian Federation.

Facebook Blocks Australians from Accessing News on Platform

Facebook has blocked Australians from viewing and sharing news on the platform because of proposed laws in the country to make digital giants pay for journalism.
Australian publishers can continue to publish news content on Facebook, but links and posts can't be viewed or shared by Australian audiences, the U.S.-based company said in a statement.
Australian users cannot share Australian or international news.
International users outside Australia also cannot share Australian news.
"The proposed law fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it to share news content," Facebook regional managing director William Easton said.

Georgia PM Giorgi Gakharia Quits

The prime minister of Georgia has resigned over plans to arrest an opposition leader, saying the move could cause "political escalation".
Giorgi Gakharia said a court decision to place Nika Melia in pre-trial detention posed "a risk to the health and lives of our citizens".
Mr Melia has been accused of organising mass violence during anti-government protests in 2019.
He denies the charges but faces a nine-year sentence if convicted.
The country's Interior Ministry said in a tweet that Mr Melia's arrest had been "temporarily postponed" after the prime minister announced he was stepping down on Thursday morning.

Feb 18, 2021

Iran's Khamenei Demands Action from Biden to Revive Nuclear Deal

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demanded action, not words from the United States if it wants to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, challenging new President Joe Biden to take the first step toward a thaw.
Iran has set a deadline for Biden to begin reversing sanctions imposed by his predecessor Donald Trump, or it will take its biggest step yet to breach the deal - banning short-notice inspections by the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
Biden aims to restore the pact under which Iran agreed to curbs on its disputed uranium enrichment programme in return for the lifting of sanctions, a major achievement of the Obama administration that Trump scrapped in 2018, calling the deal one-sided in Iran's favour and reimposing a wide range of sanctions.
Iran and the United States are at odds over who should make the first step to revive the accord. Iran says the United States must first lift Trump's sanctions while Washington says Tehran must first return to compliance with the deal, which it began violating after Trump launched his "maximum-pressure" campaign.

Blinken to Hold 'Quad' Meet with Australia, India and Japan

US State Department Secretary Antony Blinken will be speaking to his counterparts from Japan, Australia and India as part of the "Quad" group of countries.
The Quad initiative is expected to put an end to the economic coercion tactics of China and cooperation with Japan and other allies will checkmate Chinese development assistance and its hegemony in the region.
As per Price, this discussion with Quad Foreign Ministers is critical to advancing our shared goals of a free and open Indo-Pacific and rising to the defining challenges of our time.
This comes as members of the Quad framework- the US, India, Japan and Australia - are working to arrange the first meeting of their leaders amid China's growing clout in the region.

Feb 17, 2021

Buhari Nominates New Nigeria Anti-corruption Czar

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has nominated Abdulrasheed Bawa to head the country's anti-corruption agency.
The President has forwarded Mr. Bawa's name to the senate for confirmation as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
If confirmed, the 40 year-old will be the agency's youngest chief since its establishment in 2003.
The previous head of the commission, Ibrahim Magu, was dismissed in July 2020 following allegations of corruption on the use of public funds and handling of assets recovered from corrupt individuals and bodies.
Fighting corruption was a key promise by Mr. Buhari when he was first elected in 2015. But critics say not much progress has been made.

Myanmar Military Defends Seizure of Power

Myanmar's military has promised that it would hold an election and hand over power as police filed an additional charge against toppled former leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
It also defended its February 1 seizure of power, denying it was a coup even as protesters took to the streets again in support of Suu Kyi and other arrested leaders and China dismissed social media rumours that it had helped with the military's action.
- The military has not given a date for a new election but has imposed a state of emergency for one year. Zaw Min Tun said the military would not hold power for long.
- Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years under house arrest for her efforts to end military rule.

IMF, Pakistan Reach Agreement to Release around USD 500 Million

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and cash-strapped Pakistan reached an agreement over reforms paving the way for imbursement of USD 500 million as part of revival of a stalled bailout programme.
The IMF had agreed in 2019 to provide Pakistan USD 6 billion under a 39-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement but it was disrupted due to Covid-19 pandemic last year.
An IMF team led by Ernesto Ramirez Rigo concluded virtual discussions with the Pakistani authorities and reached a staff-level agreement on the second to fifth reviews of the authorities' reform programme.

Separatist Win in Catalan Election Ripples Throughout Spain

The future government of Spain's restive Catalonia region is in the hands of a man who is spending his nights in a prison cell for committing acts of sedition against the state.
Republican Left of Catalonia led by Oriol Junqueras, who is serving a 13-year sentence for his part in a 2017 secession attempt by Catalonia, is positioned to choose its governing partners after this weekend's inconclusive regional election boosted the separatists' power.
While the pro-union Socialist Party of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez claimed a narrow victory in votes, candidate Salvador Illa has a very difficult path to forming a government.

Russia Ready to Foster Constructive Cooperate with New WTO Chief

According to Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, Russia is prepared to foster constructive cooperation with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the newly-appointed director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
"Okonjo-Iweala's extensive professional experience and strong international standing will help her solve the urgent challenges facing the WTO and strengthen the role of the organization in the multilateral trading system," said Reshetnikov.

Feb 16, 2021

Malaysia Defends Plan to Deport Myanmar Nationals

Malaysia defended a plan to deport 1,200 Myanmar nationals on navy ships sent from their homeland just weeks after a coup, following criticism from the United Nations.
Malaysian immigration chief Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the detainees, who will be deported on February 23, are accused of offences including not having valid travel documents and overstaying their visas.
"It is part of our usual programme to deport illegal immigrants held at detention centres," he said in a statement, adding Malaysia sent home over 37,000 foreigners last year.
He said that no refugees registered with the UN or members of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority are among those being deported.

WTO Formally Appoints Nigeria's Okonjo-Iweala as its First Female Leader

The World Trade Organization selected Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to be the first woman and first African as its leader, tasking the former Nigerian Finance Minister with restoring trust in a rules-based global trading system roiled by protectionism and the pandemic.
During a virtual meeting the WTO's 164 members unanimously selected the 66-year-old development economist to serve a four-year term as director-general.
After withstanding a veto of her candidacy by the now-departed Trump administration, Okonjo-Iweala takes the helm of the Geneva-based WTO at a precarious time for the world economy and just as the organization itself is mired in a state of dysfunction.
She held a previous role as chair of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization after a public sector career in international finance, including two terms as Nigeria's finance minister and some 25 years at the World Bank. Her dual U.S. citizenship means she's also the first American to hold the organization's top job.

Feb 15, 2021

US Senate Acquits Former President Donald Trump in Impeachment Trial

The US Senate has acquitted former President Donald Trump for a second time blocking the Democrat's attempt to punish him for the storming of the Capitol by his supporters. After a week of the impeachment trial, only 57 Senators, including seven Republicans voted to convict him last night.
The 57-43 tally fell 10 votes short of the two-third majority needed to convict him and to allow the Senate to move to disqualify him from holding future office.
Mr. Trump welcomed his second impeachment acquittal and said his movement has only just begun. He slammed the trial as yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of America.

Myanmar Amends Law on Protecting Citizens' Personal Freedom, Security

Myanmar's new military-led State Administration Council led by Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing issued an order amending the Protection of the Citizens for the Personal Freedom and Personal Security Law.
According to the order issued, Sections 5, 7 and 8 of the law will be suspended during the state of emergency declared on February 1.

Mario Draghi Italy's New Prime Minister

The ex-head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, was sworn-in as Italy's Prime Minister.
Mr. Draghi put together a unity government of the main political parties, following the collapse of the previous administration last month.
It was thrown into chaos amid a row over how to spend EU coronavirus recovery funds.
Italy is still grappling with the pandemic and is also facing its worst economic crisis in decades.
The country has recorded more than 93,000 deaths, the sixth-highest death toll in the world.

Italy's New PM Mario Draghi Announces Composition of Government

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese, and Health Ministers Roberto Speranza retained their mandates in the new government formed by Mario Draghi.
Former head of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi officially accepted the post of prime minister after the meeting with President Sergio Mattarella, to whom he presented the list of ministers of the new government.

Karim Khan New International Criminal Court Prosecutor

Parties to the International Criminal Court elected Britain's Karim Khan as the new prosecutor for a nine-year term starting on June 16.
Mr. Khan won a secret ballot against three other candidates to replace lead prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.
The 123-member Hague-based court, which began work nearly 20 years ago, handles war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and crimes of aggression.
British barrister Karim is best known for heading the United Nations' special investigative team looking into Islamic State crimes in Iraq.

Mexico's President Welcomes US Cancellation of Border Wall Construction

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador welcomed the decision by his US counterpart Joe Biden to cancel the construction of a border wall separating the two countries.
Lopez Obrador also welcomed Biden's proposal to set up a visa system for Mexican and Central American migrants. Both measures are among Biden's first actions since taking office in January.

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