General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2017

Feb 2017

Feb 18, 2022

UK Scraps 'Golden Visas' amid Russian Money Concerns

Britain's government scrapped so-called "golden visas" offering residency to wealthy foreign investors amid security concerns and renewed calls for the UK to review its links with Russia.
The Home Office said that the Tier 1 investor visa route has given opportunities for corrupt elites to access the UK. It said that in some cases, the visas have given rise to security concerns, including people acquiring their wealth illegitimately and being associated with wider corruption.
The visa route, which was introduced in 2008, offered residency to people investing 2 million pounds ($2.7 million) or more in the UK and allows their families to join them. It has been shut to all new applicants from all nationalities with immediate effect.

Nepal to Become First Country to Deploy India's UPI Platform

The international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced to deploy Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Nepal to bolster interoperable real-time person-to-person (P2P), person to merchant (P2M) and potential cross-border P2P remittances between Nepal and India.
Nepal is the first country outside India to adopt UPI as the payments platform, driving the digitalisation of cash transactions.
The NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the global arm of the NPCI joined hands with the Gateway Payments Service Pvt Ltd, an authorised Payment System Operators in Nepal, and Manam Infotech Private Limited to deploy UPI in the country.

Feb 16, 2022

Former President of Honduras Arrested on Drugs Charges

Honduran ex-President Juan Orlando Hernández was arrested on drugs charges.
Mr. Hernández governed Honduras from 2014 to January 2022. He denied the charges against him.
He is accused of having been involved in a drug-trafficking ring which included his younger brother, Tony Hernández, who last year was sentenced in the US to life in prison.
Honduras has for years been a key transit country for drugs smuggled from South America to the United States, and more recently has also become a place where cocaine is produced.

Russia Shows Some Troops Leaving Near Ukraine, Seeks Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow is ready for security talks with the U.S. and NATO, as the Russian military announced a partial troop withdrawal from drills near Ukraine — new signs that may suggest a Russian invasion of its neighbour isn't imminent despite snowballing Western fears.
Mr. Putin said that he doesn't want war, and called for "peaceful" discussions over Ukraine's bid to join NATO, which Moscow sees as a major threat. The overtures from Russia offered possible new impetus for diplomatic efforts to ease the worst East-West tensions in decades, which have put Europe on edge and rattled global markets.

Feb 15, 2022

Canada PM Justin Trudeau Invokes Emergency Powers

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked emergency powers to try to quell the protests by truck drivers and others who have paralysed Ottawa and blocked border crossings in anger over the country's Covid restrictions.
Trudeau ruled out using the military and said that the emergency measures "will be time-limited, geographically targeted, as well as reasonable and proportionate to the threats they are meant to address".
Members of the self-styled Freedom Convoy have also blockaded various US-Canadian border crossings, though the busiest and most important—the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit—was reopened over the weekend.

Ukraine to Drop NATO Bid to Avoid War with Russia

Ukraine could drop its bid to join NATO to avoid war with Russia, the BBC quoted the country's ambassador to Britain as saying, in what would amount to a major concession to Moscow in response to the build-up of Russian troops on its borders. Ambassador Vadym Prystaiko said that Ukraine was willing to be flexible over its goal to join the Atlantic military alliance, a move Russian President Vladimir Putin has said would be a trigger for war.
Ukraine is not a NATO member but has a promise dating from 2008 that it will eventually be given the opportunity to join, a step that would bring the US-led alliance to Russia's border. Putin says Ukraine's growing ties with the alliance could make it a launch pad for NATO missiles targeted at Russia. He says Russia needs to lay down "red lines" to prevent that.

Feb 14, 2022

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier Re-elected for another Term

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was re-elected for a second term of five years by a special parliamentary assembly.
Steinmeier had been endorsed by most mainstream political parties ahead of the election for the largely ceremonial head of state.
The President was elected with a big majority by a special assembly made up of the members of parliament's lower house and representatives of Germany's 16 states.
Before first becoming president in 2017, Steinmeier served two stints as Chancellor Angela Merkel's foreign minister and earlier was chief of staff to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Norway Tops Democracy Index 2021

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its report on the state of democracy in 2021 across 165 independent countries and two territories.
The report was based on five findings – electoral process and pluralism, functioning of the government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties. The report was further bifurcated into a full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime, and authoritarian.
Norway topped the Democracy Index 2021 with an overall score of 9.75 while Afghanistan displaced North Korea as the least democratic country with an overall score of 0.32.
Norway, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, and Iceland are the top five nations while the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, North Korea, Myanmar, and Afghanistan are the bottom five nations in the Democracy Index 2021.
India was ranked 46th in the 2021 Democracy Index's global ranking.

Anti-vaccine Convoy Protests continue in Canada's Ottawa

Access to three border crossings in Michigan, North Dakota and Montana were cut off by truckers and like-minded demonstrators on the Canadian side of the border who are protesting Covid-related restrictions.
For two weeks now, the trucks have blockaded the downtown core of Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Demonstrators have parked their bulky vehicles in the middle of critical roadways between Canada and the US.
The protests were ignited by truckers who oppose the nation's new rule that requires them to be fully vaccinated when crossing the Canada-US border or face a two-week quarantine. Their "Freedom Convoy" has since drawn others who are resisting Covid-19 preventative measures, including mask mandates, lockdowns and restrictions on gatherings.

Nepal's Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher JB Rana Faces Impeachment Motion

Nepal's ruling coalition lawmakers filed an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher JB Rana over allegations of corruption.
Rana, who had assumed the post of Chief Justice on January 2, 2019, was suspended from his post following the registration of impeachment motion against him at the House of Representatives.
A total of 98 lawmakers from ruling alliance signed the proposal to impeach the Chief Justice.
There is a provision for automatic suspension of the Chief Justice with the registration of the impeachment motion.

Feb 13, 2022

Jaishankar Attends Quad Foreign Ministers' Meet in Australia

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar participated in the 4th Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting in Melbourne.
Australia hosted India, Japan and the United States for the fourth Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting and the top diplomats sought to bolster cooperation in areas including economy, security, coronavirus pandemic and free and open Indo-Pacific.
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is a partnership of four nations, each of whom shares a commitment to openness, transparency and challenges coming out of the current global order.

Anti-vaccine Convoy Protests Continue in Canada's Ottawa

Horn-blaring demonstrations demanding an end to Canadian Covid-19 vaccine mandates have caused gridlock in the capital Ottawa since late January. The protests by truckers and others are now spilling to key Canada-United States border crossings and disrupting trade.
The mayor of Windsor, Ontario, where protesters have closed the Ambassador Bridge border crossing to the United States, choking trade, said police were preparing to physically remove protesters if necessary.
The "Freedom Convoy" driving across Canada toward Ottawa in late January ostensibly opposed vaccinate-or-quarantine mandates for cross-border truckers. But most truckers do not support the convoy.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance, an industry group, said it opposes protests on public roadways and the vast majority of Canadian truckers are vaccinated.
The protests have broadened to oppose a range of provincial and federal Covid-19 measures.

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