General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - December 2016

Dec 2016

Jul 14, 2022

Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe Appointed as Acting President

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as the country's acting President after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives in the face of a public revolt against his government for mishandling the economy that has bankrupted the country.
Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced that President Rajapaksa appointed Prime Minister Wickremesinghe to act to perform his functions while he is abroad.
This was under article 37(1) of the Constitution.

India Ranks 135 Out of 146 in Global Gender Gap Index

India ranked 135 among a total of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2022 and is the worst performer in the world in the "health and survival" sub-index where it was ranked 146.
According to the Global Gender Report 2022, which includes the Gender Gap Index, it will now take 132 years to reach gender parity, with the gap reducing only by four years since 2021 and the gender gap closed by 68.1%. But this does not compensate for the generational loss between 2020 and 2021 as the trends leading up to 2020 showed that the gender gap was set to close within 100 years. South Asia will take the longest to reach gender parity, which is estimated to be likely in 197 years.
India also ranks poorly among its neighbours and is behind Bangladesh (71), Nepal (96), Sri Lanka (110), Maldives (117) and Bhutan (126). Only Iran (143), Pakistan (145) and Afghanistan (146) perform worse than India in south Asia.
Although no country achieved full gender parity, the top 10 economies closed at least 80% of their gender gaps, with Iceland (90.8%) leading the global ranking. Iceland was the only economy to have closed more than 90% of its gender gap. Other Scandinavian countries such as Finland (86%, 2nd), Norway (84.5%, 3rd) and Sweden (82.2%, 5th) are in the top five, with other European countries such as Ireland (80.4%) and Germany (80.1%) in ninth and tenth positions, respectively. Sub-Saharan African countries Rwanda (81.1%, 6th) and Namibia (80.7%, 8th), along with one Latin American country, Nicaragua (81%, 7th), and one country from East Asia and the Pacific, New Zealand (84.1%, 4th), also took positions in the top 10.

Jul 13, 2022

DR Congo Officially Joins East Africa Community

The Democratic Republic of Congo joined the East African Community (EAC) as its seventh member, massively expanding the territory of the trade bloc, giving it access to the Atlantic Ocean and greatly increasing the numbers of French speakers in what began as a club of former British colonies.
EAC heads of state approved the admission of DR Congo into the bloc at a summit meeting, but although it officially became a member, not much can change straight away.
Congolese lawmakers still have to ratify the EAC laws and regulations before they come into effect.

Eight Candidates Nominated to Succeed UK PM Johnson

Eight candidates will compete to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party.
The nominated candidates were Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Tom Tugendhat, Liz Truss and Nadhim Zahawi.
Lawmakers Sajid Javid and Rehman Chishti had expressed their intention to run, but withdrew before the final list of candidates was announced. Candidates had to receive a minimum of 20 nominations to make it to that list.

Jul 12, 2022

India Becomes 68th Country to Join Interpol's Child Sexual Abuse Database

India joined the Interpol's international child sexual exploitation (ICSE) database which will allow it to draw links between victims, abusers and crime scene using audio-visual data.
The CBI, which is India's nodal agency for Interpol matters, joined the database making India the 68th country to connect to it.
The ICSE database uses video & image comparison to analyse child sexual abuse material and make connections between victims, abusers and places.
An intelligence and investigative tool, the database allows specialized investigators to share information on cases of child sexual abuse.
Detectives in all 68 countries can exchange information and notes with their colleagues across the world.

India Best Performing among Major Economies in the World: Report

Despite the massive disruptions in both demand and supply-side factors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict India has shown the most consistent improvement in macroeconomic performance among the top 10 economies in the world.
In the ranking of International Economic Resilience (IER) of the top 10 countries, India improved its position consistently in the past four years, according to data released by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The PHDCCI report is based on the comparative analysis of the leading economies' conducted on the basis of the five leading economic parameters viz., Real GDP growth Rate parameter, Merchandise Export Volume Growth rate, Current Account Balance (% of GDP), General government net lending/borrowing (% of GDP), and Gross Debt to GDP ratio.
Germany's International Economic Resilience (IER) Rank has remained intact at 1st in the pre COVID year of 2019 as well as the post COVID year of 2022.
Countries which shown overall improvement in their IER position in 2022 vis-à-vis 2019 include Canada (IER Rank in Y2019 was 2nd & in Y2022 is 1st), India (IER Rank in Y2019 was 6th & in Y2022 is 2nd), Italy (IER Rank in Y2019 was 5th & in Y2022 is 4th), Japan (IER Rank in Y2019 was 8th & in Y2022 is 5th) and the USA (IER Rank in Y2019 was 7th & in Y2022 is 6th), the PHDCCI report said.

France's Prime Minister Survives No-confidence Vote in Parliament

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne comfortably survived a motion of no-confidence brought against her by a broad alliance of left-wing opponents.
An official vote count showed 146 lawmakers voted in support of the motion. The motion required an absolute majority of 289 votes to precipitate the government's fall.
Calling the no-confidence vote a political tactic, Borne urged the parliament to switch to a culture of compromise ahead of the vote.

Jul 11, 2022

Zelensky Sacks Ukraine's Ambassadors to India, Four other Countries

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed several of Kyiv's senior envoys abroad, including India's, according to the presidential website.
In a decree that gave no reason for the move, he announced the sacking of Ukraine's ambassadors to India, Germany, Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary.
Kyiv's relations with Germany, which is heavily reliant on Russian energy supplies and also Europe's biggest economy, are particularly sensitive.

India Projected to Surpass China as World's most Populous Country during 2023: UN Report

India is projected to surpass China as the world's most populous country next year, according to a report by the United Nations.
The World Population Prospects 2022 by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, said that the global population is projected to reach eight billion on November 15, 2022.
The latest projections by the United Nations suggest that the world's population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050.
It is projected to reach a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and to remain at that level until 2100.

Sri Lanka PM Wickremesinghe Resigns

Ranil Wickremesinghe resigned as Sri Lankan Prime Minister to make way for an all-party government to take over.
As per reports, protesters broke into the private residence of Wickremesinghe and set it on fire.
In the wake of the island nation's worst economic crisis since it gained independence in 1948, people have been protesting against President Rajapaksa and his government, asking him to step down.

Alvaro Lario is New President of IFAD

The governing council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD appointed Spain's Alvaro Lario as the new President. Lario will take office on 1 October 2022 and serve a four-year term. He will succeed Gilbert Houngbo who has led the organisation since 2017.
Lario, who would become IFAD 7th president, will lead the UN agency at a crucial time when global food prices are surging, induced by the Ukraine war, climate change, and the pandemic, with the World's poorest countries hardest hit.
Headquartered in Rome, Italy, IFAD funds and sponsors initiatives that improve land and water management, develop rural infrastructure, train and educate farmers in more efficient technologies, build up resilience against climate change, enhancing market accessibility, and more.

Jul 10, 2022

Ukraine Raises Flag on Recaptured Island as Russia Makes Gains in East

Ukrainian forces raised their national flag on a recaptured Snake Island in Black Sea in a symbol of defiance against Moscow, but Russian forces consolidated gains in eastern Ukraine and probed the defences of potential new targets.
The tiny island, located about 140 km (90 miles) south of the Ukrainian port of Odesa, is strategically important as it guards sea lanes. Russia abandoned it at the end of June in what it said was a gesture of goodwill - a victory for Ukraine that Kyiv hoped could loosen Moscow's blockade of Ukrainian ports.

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