General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - February 2017

Feb 2017

Oct 22, 2021

Britain and New Zealand Strike Free Trade Deal

Britain and New Zealand have reached agreement in principle on a free trade deal designed to reduce tariffs, improve services trade, and take London one step closer to membership in a broader trans-Pacific trade agreement.
Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Jacinda Ardern sealed the deal after 16 months of negotiation.
Tariffs on 97% of the products will be eliminated for both countries the day the deal comes into force.

India at 71st on Global Food Security index 2021 of 113 Nations

India was ranked at 71st position in the Global Food Security (GFS) Index 2021 of 113 countries, but the country lags behind its neighbours Pakistan and Sri Lanka in terms food affordability.
According to the global report released by Economist Impact and Corteva Agriscience, Pakistan (with 52.6 points) scored better than India (50.2 points) in the category of food affordability. Sri Lanka was even better with 62.9 points in this category on the GFS Index 2021.
Ireland, Australia, the UK, Finland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan, France and the US shared the top rank with the overall GFS score in the range of 77.8 and 80 points on the index.

Oct 21, 2021

Biden Picks Donald Armin Blome as Pakistan Envoy

The United States will have a full-time ambassador in Pakistan for the first time in over three years as President Joe Biden named Donald Armin Blome, a career diplomat, as the country's new envoy to Islamabad.
The appointment of Blome, currently serving as the US ambassador to Tunisia, as top US diplomat to Pakistan suggests a positive development in the context of Pakistan-US ties that has often been marred by mistrust.
The absence of a full-time ambassador was seen as an effort by the US to downgrade its ties with Pakistan, which are considered crucial for Afghanistan and the overall regional security.
However, the appointment of Blome marks a shift in US policy towards Pakistan. This also indicates that there may be some positive movement in the relationship, following the recent contacts between the two countries.
The nomination of the new ambassador comes just days after US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman visited Pakistan, underlining the fact that despite differences on certain issues the US still considered Pakistan important at least in the context of Afghanistan.

IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath to Leave Job

IMF's Chief Economist Gita Gopinath will leave her job in January next year and return to the prestigious Harvard University.
Indian-American economist had joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the Chief Economist in January 2019.
She was the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University when she joined the Washington-based global lender.

Oct 20, 2021

Brazil President to be Charged with 'Intentional' Crimes Over Covid-19 response

A Brazilian senate committee will ask that President Jair Bolsonaro be charged with "intentional" crimes over his management of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has left 600,000 of his compatriots dead.
Following six months of eventful hearings, with emotional witness statements and chilling revelations about the use of ineffective medication on "human guinea pigs," the committee of inquiry will deliver its eagerly awaited report.

Oct 19, 2021

Russia to Shut NATO Mission in Response to Expulsion of 8 Staff Members

Russia will suspend the activities of its mission to NATO starting next month in response to the alliance's expulsion of eight Russians, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Lavrov said staff at NATO's military mission in Moscow would be stripped of their accreditation from Nov. 1, and that NATO could interact with Russia via its embassy in Brussels if needed.
NATO this month expelled eight members of Russia's mission to the alliance who it said were "undeclared Russian intelligence officers".

French Ambassador Leaves Minsk

France's ambassador to Belarus has left the country after the Belarus government ordered him out.
An embassy spokesperson confirmed that ambassador Nicolas de Lacoste left the country.
France, like other EU countries, has not recognised Mr Lukashenko's claim to a sixth presidential term after last August's elections amid widespread claims of voting fraud.

Jaishankar Unveils Plaque at 'Bhoodan Grove' in Israel

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar unveiled the "Bhoodan Grove" plaque at the Jerusalem Forest, bringing out lesser-known aspects of Indo-Israel relations before the establishment of full-fledged diplomatic ties between the two countries.
With an objective of keeping Mahatma Gandhi's concept of the village as the basic unit of development, Indian leaders who were exploring ways to implement the socialist ideals of the Sarvodaya movement namely, 'Bhoodan and Gramdan', made several visits to Israel to study the social structure of different forms of Israel's communal and cooperative institutions -- 'Kibbutzim and Moshavim'.
Jayaprakash Narayan, the leader of the Sarvodaya movement, visited Israel in September 1958 on a nine-day visit as the guest of Histadrut, the Israel Federation of Labour.
Mr. Jaishankar also called the unveiling of the plaque very "timely" as last year was the 125th birth anniversary of Acharya Vinoba Bhave.

Oct 18, 2021

Germany Remains EU's Main Migrant Destination with 100,000 Annual Requests

Germany remained the most popular European destination for migrants, with more than 100,000 asylum bids recorded for nine years in a row.
The federal migration office received 100,278 requests from first-time seekers as of late September 2021, which saw the second-highest monthly tally since 2017.
France came far behind with 54,105 asylum applications fielded between January and September 2021, followed by Spain with 41,799 requests, Italy with 37,492 requests and Austria with 22,928 requests.

Hungary: Mayor Marki-Zay Wins Run-off to Challenge Orban

A conservative provincial mayor has been chosen to face off against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in next year's election.
Peter Marki-Zay, a political outsider with no party affiliation, won an opposition run-off primary.
He will now lead a united opposition into the parliamentary elections.
Opinion polls suggest he has the best chance of ousting the right-wing Prime Minister, whose Fidesz party took office in 2010.
For years Fidesz has benefited from the fragmentation of opposition parties.
But for the first time since he came to power, Mr. Orban will now face a united front of opposition parties that also includes the socialists, liberals and the formerly far-right, now centre-right, Jobbik.

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