General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2017

Mar 2017

Mar 14, 2023

US Government Approves Alaska Oil and Gas Development

US President Joe Biden approved 'Willow project', a major oil and gas drilling project in Alaska that faced strong opposition from environmental activists.
The company behind the Willow project, ConocoPhillips, said that it will create local investment and thousands of jobs.
But the $8bn (£6.6bn) proposal faced a torrent of online activism, particularly among youth activists.
Opponents argued it should be halted over its climate and wildlife impacts.
Located on Alaska's remote North Slope, it is the largest oil development in the region for decades and could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day.
This announcement allows only three drill sites for the project instead of the five that were initially proposed - a compromise of sorts with anti-Willow activists.

India Remains World's Top Arms Importer

Notwithstanding attempts at self-reliance in weapon manufacturing, India once again emerged as the world's largest importer of weapons and military equipment, accounting for 11 per cent of all such international imports.
These trends emerged from a report released by the Sweden-based think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The assessment was done for a five-year period (2018-2022). The think tank releases its annual report in March every year.
Titled "Trends in International Arms Transfers 2022", the report compared two five-year blocks, between 2013-17 and 2018-22, saying Indian arms imports in the global share have decreased.
The report said Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia and China were the next four biggest global importers for the period 2018-22. The US, Russia and France are the world's biggest three exporters with 40 per cent, 16 per cent and 11 per cent global share, respectively.

Mar 13, 2023

Saudi Arabia and Iran Agree to Restore Diplomatic Ties with the Help of China

Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume diplomatic ties that were severed for years, following Beijing-hosted talks.
The two countries plan to reopen their respective embassies in Tehran and Riyadh within two months.
They also vowed to respect countries' sovereignty and not interfere in internal affairs.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016. The decision followed the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran after the Sunni kingdom executed a Shiite Muslim cleric.

Charles Confers Duke Title on Brother Edward

Britain's King Charles III awarded his younger brother Prince Edward the title Duke of Edinburgh, in line with the wishes of the late Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip.
Prince Philip, who was the last holder of the title, had always wanted it to be inherited by Prince Edward.
King Charles conferred the title on Prince Edward, currently known as the Earl of Wessex, on his 59th birthday.

Colombia Opens Military Service to Women for First Time in 25 Years

Colombia opened military service to women for the first time in 25 years.
Colombia has long had compulsory military service for men ages 18 to 24. The army relies heavily on those young recruits to staff bases, protect infrastructure and carry out administrative tasks, while its professional soldiers confront drug trafficking gangs and rebel groups. In 2023, officials allowed females in the same age range to voluntarily join the military, in what the army says is part of an effort to strengthen the role of women in its ranks.

Joe Biden Appoints Two Indian-American CEOs to Advisory Committee

US President Joe Biden named two Indian-Americans -- Revathi Advaithi, CEO of Flex, and Manish Bapna, CEO of the Natural Resources Defence Council to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
Biden announced a team of 14 people who will be a part of the US Advisory Committee - Revathi Advaithi, Manish Bapna, Timothy Michael Broas, Thomas M. Conway, Erica R. H. Fuchs, Marlon E. Kimpson, Ryan, Shonda Yvette Scott, Elizabeth Shuler, Nina Szlosberg-Landis and Wendell P. Weeks.

China Names US-sanctioned Gen Li Shangfu as Defence Minister

China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), gave approval to key appointments in the government as it gears towards tackling economic challenges on the home front and abroad.
Among the key appointments was one of the Defence Minister and Li Shangfu, a US-sanctioned military general, was nominated for the top post.
He succeeds Wei Fenghe, who had stepped down from the Central Military Commission at the Communist Party's congress.
Before being elevated to the top post, Gen Li was appointed to Communist Party's Central Military Commission, thus becoming the first soldier on the body from the army's Strategic Support Force, the branch created in 2015 and restructured to focus on space, cyber, political and electronic warfare.

Mar 12, 2023

Union Minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh Participates in 19th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting

Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh participated in the 19th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting virtually from Bangkok. The meeting was hosted by Chair Thailand.
During the meeting, the Ministers approved several documents including rules of Procedure for Core BIMSTEC Mechanisms, Sectoral BIMSTEC Mechanisms and BIMSTEC's External Relations for submission to the 6th BIMSTEC Summit. The meeting also approved the draft Host Country Agreement between India and the BIMSTEC Secretariat for establishing BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate in India.
The meeting also approved the Terms of Reference for an Eminent Person's Group on the Future Directions of BIMSTEC. The Terms of Reference were finalized under the special scheme for institution building announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 5th BIMSTEC Summit in Colombo. Besides BIMSTEC Bangkok Vision 2030 was also approved and will be launched at the 6th BIMSTEC Summit.

China's Parliament Endorses President Xi Jinping for Rare 3rd Five-year-term

China's Parliament unanimously endorsed an unprecedented third five-year term for President Xi Jinping.
Xi was re-elected by the once-in-a-five-year Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) as its leader in October 2022, becoming the first Chinese leader after the party founder Mao Zedong to continue in power beyond the two five-year terms.
China's legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC) often described as the rubber stamp Parliament, for its mechanical and routine endorsement of the decisions of the CPC voted on the expected lines ratifying Xi's third term.

Mar 11, 2023

Amir Tamim Appoints Sheikh Mohammed as Qatar's New Prime Minister

Qatar's Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani appointed Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani as the country's new Prime Minister. The decision to appoint Sheikh Mohammed, who was the Deputy Prime Minister, came after the amir accepted the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani. Sheikh Khalid was appointed as Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister of Interior in January 2020.
Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, made the appointment. In Gulf Arab countries, the appointments of higher offices are held by members of the ruling family. Sheikh Mohammed has served as Foreign Minister since 2016.

Mar 10, 2023

Pakistan's Chief Justice to Skip SCO Meeting in India

Pakistan will not be participating in the meeting of Chief Justices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), scheduled to be held in New Delhi from March 10 to 12, 2023.
As per Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, as one of the active members of the SCO, Pakistan regularly participates in all SCO activities and constructively contributes to their outcomes. But due to his unavoidable commitments on the scheduled meeting dates, the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan will not be able to participate in the SCO meeting of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Courts scheduled from 10-12 March 2023. He has accordingly conveyed his regrets to his Indian counterpart, who is the current chair/host of the meeting.

Ram Chandra Paudel is New Nepal President

Ram Chandra Poudel of Nepali Congress was elected as the third President of Nepal.
Poudel, a common candidate of eight-party alliance that included Nepali Congress and the CPN (Maoist Center), received the vote of 214 lawmakers of parliament and 352 provincial assembly members.
The total number of voters for the election of the President is 882, consisting of 332 Members of the Parliament and 550 members of the provincial assemblies of the seven provinces.
This is the third presidential election in Nepal since the country became a republic in 2008.

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