General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2016

Sep 2016

Nov 15, 2020

US Pitches for Free and Open Indo-Pacific at ASEAN Summit

US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien has pitched for a free and open Indo-Pacific, a strategic region that has witnessed renewed global focus in view of China's expansionist behaviour.
Addressing the US-ASEAN virtual summit, O'Brien highlighted the tremendous benefit the partnership has brought to the prosperity, security and well-being of over one billion people in the United States and ASEAN nations.
He reaffirmed the US' longstanding commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The ASEAN is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners.
The virtual ASEAN summit is taking place amid China's aggressive behaviour in the disputed South China Sea. A number of ASEAN countries have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
Beijing claims almost all of the 1.3 million square-mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory. China has been building military bases on artificial islands in the region which, in parts, is claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

UK PM's Adviser Cummings Quits

Dominic Cummings, one of the most influential and high-profile aides of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, left Downing Street after a power struggle that has rocked the UK government.
Johnson's senior advisor exited carrying a large box following a bitter dispute which also led to the resignation of Cummings' fellow Vote Leave veteran Lee Cain as communications chief.
The dramatic events came ahead of crucial Brexit talks with Brussels with the transition period deadline of December 31 looming.
He will continue to work from home, on issues such as mass coronavirus testing, until the middle of December.

Nov 14, 2020

US Election Security Officials Reject Trump's Fraud Claims

US election security officials rejected President Donald Trump's fraud claims and said that there is no evidence that the 2020 presidential election, the most secure in American history, was compromised.
Republican President Donald Trump has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud and has not yet conceded. He has also launched a flurry of legal challenges to projected results in key states won by his Democratic rival Joe Biden.
The security groups said all the states with close results in the race have paper records of each vote, which can be counted if necessary.

War Crimes Feared in Ethiopia's Tigray Conflict

Fighting between Ethiopian government forces and rebellious northern leaders could spiral out of control and war crimes may have been committed, the United Nations said that as repercussions spread around the volatile Horn of Africa.
The 10-day conflict in Tigray region has killed hundreds, sent refugees flooding into Sudan, and raised fears it may suck in Eritrea or force Ethiopia to divert troops from an African force opposing al Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia.
It may also blemish the reputation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for a 2018 peace pact with Eritrea and had won plaudits for opening Ethiopia's economy and easing a repressive political system.
UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said that there is a risk this situation will spiral totally out of control, leading to heavy casualties and destruction, as well as mass displacement within Ethiopia itself and across borders.

Nov 13, 2020

Strategic Partnership with ASEAN core of India's Act East Policy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the strategic partnership between India and ASEAN is based on shared historical, geographical, and cultural heritage and it has always been the core of India`s Act East Policy.
In his opening remarks at the 17th ASEAN-India Summit, he said that improving connectivity between India and ASEAN has been a priority area. It is of prime importance for us to improve physical, economic, societal, digital, financial and maritime connections between India and ASEAN. We`ve come closer in these sectors in the last couple of years and I believe this summit will go further to bridge gaps.
He noted that there are many similarities between India`s `Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative` and ASEAN`s `Outlook on Indo Pacific`.

UK Considers Sanctions as China Breaches HK Treaty

Britain said that China had broken its main bilateral treaty on Hong Kong by imposing new rules to disqualify elected legislators in the former British colony, cautioning that it would consider sanctions as part of its response.
The British flag was lowered over Hong Kong when the colony was handed back to China in 1997 after more than 150 years of British rule — imposed after Britain defeated China in the First Opium War.
Hong Kong's autonomy was guaranteed under the 'one country, two systems' agreement enshrined in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration signed by then Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang and British PM Margaret Thatcher.
Beijing's imposition of new rules to disqualify elected legislators in Hong Kong constitutes a clear breach of the legally binding Sino-British Joint Declaration. China has once again broken its promises and undermined Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy.

Blow to China and Pakistan as Russia Backs India at SCO Meet

Russia has come out in support of India noting that bilateral matters should not be raised at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) forum. The development comes after Pakistan attempted to raise India-Pakistan matters at the virtual meet.
The Russian Deputy Envoy to Delhi, Roman N. Babushkin, in response to a question by WION, said that this is a part of SCO charter and SCO basic documents not to bring the bilateral issue into the agenda. It has been made clear to all members' states that it should be avoided for the sake of the progress of multilateral cooperation.
The importance of SCO is to deal with regional challenges, to promote economic, financial, humanitarian partnership among member states in order to keep the momentum.

Construction of India-funded Integrated Check Post Begins in Nepalgunj in Western Nepal

India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Nepal's Urban Development Minister Krishna Gopal Shrestha jointly witnessed the ground-breaking ceremony to mark the beginning of the construction of an Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Nepalgunj in Western Nepal, aimed at bolstering bilateral trade and people-to-people contact.
India is building the Integrated Check Post on either side of the Indo-Nepal border to systematise the movement of cross-border cargo trucks between the two countries by bringing customs and immigration facilities under one roof.
The ICP at Nepalgunj, once completed, will have export and import cargo handling facilities including warehousing, refrigerated cargo facilities, medical, plant and animal quarantine areas, amenities for travellers, CCTV and other security systems, 24/7 power backup, waste-water treatment facilities, etc. to facilitate smooth movement of cargo and passenger vehicles.

Nov 12, 2020

UK Tables New Bill to Ban Takeovers from Hostile Actors

UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma warned that hostile actors will have no back door into Britain as he tabled a new Bill in Parliament, which aims to tackle hostile takeovers from foreign organisations.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said that the new National Security and Investment Bill will strengthen the UK's ability to investigate and intervene in mergers, acquisitions and other types of deals that could threaten national security.
Investors and businesses will have to tell the government about proposed deals in a number of sensitive sectors, such as defence and artificial intelligence (AI), and screening powers will be extended to include assets and intellectual property as well as companies.

Georgia to Conduct a Full Recount of Election Ballots

Georgia's top election official said that the state will conduct a recount of all paper ballots cast in the November 3 presidential election.
Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that you actually have to do a full hand-by-hand recount of all because the margin is so close.

Hong Kong's Pro-democracy Lawmakers Resign En Masse

Hong Kong's pro-democracy lawmakers have resigned en masse following a move by the city's government to disqualify four pro-democracy legislators.
The pro-democracy camp announced their decision hours after the Hong Kong government said that it would be disqualifying four pro-democracy legislators — Alvin Yeung, Dennis Kwok, Kwok Ka-ki and Kenneth Leung from the legislature.
The disqualifications came after China's National People's Congress Standing Committee, which held meetings, passed a resolution stating that those who support Hong Kong's independence or refuse to acknowledge China's sovereignty over the city, as well as commit acts that threaten national security or ask external forces to interfere in the city's affairs, should be disqualified.

Nov 11, 2020

US Attorney General Okays Probe into Vote Irregularities

Attorney General William Barr has authorized federal prosecutors across the US to pursue substantial allegations of voting irregularities before the 2020 presidential election is certified, despite little evidence of fraud.
Barr's action comes days after Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump and raised the prospect that Trump will use the Justice Department to try to challenge the outcome.
It gives prosecutors the ability to go around longstanding Justice Department policy that normally would prohibit such overt actions before the election is formally certified.
Trump has not conceded the election and is instead claiming without evidence that there has been a widespread, multi-state conspiracy by Democrats to skew the vote tally in Biden's favour.
Biden holds a sizable lead in multiple battleground states and there has been no indication of enough improperly counted or illegally cast votes that would shift the outcome.

Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia Sign Deal to End Conflict

Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia have signed a deal to end the military conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region after more than a month of bloodshed.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan first announced the signing on social media and the Kremlin and Azerbaijan`s President Ilham Aliyev later confirmed the news.
The signed trilateral statement will become a (crucial) point in the settlement of the conflict.
Putin said that Russian peacekeepers would be deployed along the frontline in Nagorno-Karabakh and the corridor between the region and Armenia.

UK PM's Treaty-breaking Brexit Laws Defeated in Parliament

Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a heavy defeat in parliament`s upper chamber over proposed laws which would allow him to breach Britain`s EU exit treaty - a plan that has been criticised by US President elect Joe Biden.
The Internal Market Bill is designed to protect trade between Britain`s four nations after Brexit. It contains clauses ministers say are needed to protect Northern Ireland`s delicate status as part of the United Kingdom, but would also break international law in a "specific and limited" way.
The House of Lords voted to strip those clauses from the bill in a series of defeats for the ruling Conservative Party. The government does not have a majority in the Lords and even some high-profile Conservative members opposed the clauses.

Modi Speaks at SCO Meet in Front of Chinese President Xi Jinping

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) virtual summit alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan and leaders of four central Asian countries.
Surprisingly, the Russian President Putin who hosted the chair of the grouping this year was seen noting down the points in the most part of PM Modi's address. He was seen listening to PM Modi's address very carefully and kept noting the points.
The virtual summit also witnessed Chinese President Jinping and Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan listening to PM Modi.
During his address, PM Modi indirectly slammed Pakistan calling it 'unfortunate' that there are unnecessary and repeated attempts to bring bilateral issues in the SCO agenda, which is in violation of SCO Charter and Shanghai spirit.

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