General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2017

May 2017

Mar 19, 2023

Japan, UK, Italy Push Joint Fighter Jet Development by 2035

Japan, Britain, and Italy reaffirmed their commitment to push joint development of a next-generation fighter jet as a centrepiece of their increasingly close defence ties in the face of growing threat from China, Russia and North Korea.
In December 2022, Japan announced a joint next-generation fighter jet development with the UK and Italy as it looks to expand defence cooperation beyond its traditional ally, the United States.

Bhutan's Graduation from the UN List of Least Developed Countries

At the United Nations Least Developed Countries (LDC) Summit that concluded in March 2023 in Doha, Qatar, the landlocked Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan was no longer on the list of LDCs and became only the seventh country to graduate from the list.
Bhutan was included in the first group of LDCs in 1971. However, over the last few decades, it has made remarkable progress on a variety of socio-economic metrics.
Bhutan first fulfilled the requirements for graduation in 2015, and then again in 2018. Bhutan was therefore scheduled to graduate in 2021.
However, the UN viewed Bhutan's request to match the effective graduation date with the conclusion of the nation's 12th national development plan in 2023 as a legitimate request and thus postponed the delisting.
Six countries that have graduated from Least Developed Country status are Botswana in December 1994, Cabo Verde in December 2007, Maldives in January 2011, Samoa in January 2014, Equatorial Guinea in June 2017 and Vanuatu in December 2020.

Mar 18, 2023

Poland Becomes First to Pledge Fighter Jets to Ukraine

Poland pledged it would send four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, the first NATO member to do so, in a significant move in Kyiv's battle to resist Russia's onslaught.
As per President Andrzej Duda, the planes, from about a dozen that it had inherited from the former German Democratic Republic, would be handed over in the coming days after being serviced.
Warsaw took a lead among NATO allies in supplying Kyiv with heavy weapons. The announcement that Poland will send the Soviet-designed planes marks a step beyond the rest of the alliance's commitments, and could put pressure on other member states to do the same.

Mar 17, 2023

Indian-American Ravi Chaudhary New Assistant Secretary of US Air Force

The United States Senate confirmed Indian-American Ravi Chaudhary as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Air Force, one of the top civilian leadership positions in the Pentagon.
The Senate voted 65-29 to confirm the former Air Force officer's nomination with more than a dozen votes being cast by the opposition Republican Party.
Chaudhary previously served as a Senior Executive at the US Department of Transportation where he was Director of Advanced Programs and Innovation, Office of Commercial Space at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Mar 16, 2023

India's K.R. Parvathy Appointed as UN Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan

India's Kavilmadam Ramaswami Parvathy, who served in leading roles at the World Food Programme in Türkey and Afghanistan, was appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan.
Parvathy took up her new post as Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan, following the appointment by the Secretary-General and confirmation from the host Government.
Parvathy brings more than 30 years of experience in development and humanitarian sectors, focusing on strategic planning, performance, risk management, people management, conflict analysis and humanitarian access negotiations.

US Senate Confirms Eric Garcetti as US Ambassador to India

Eric Garcetti, who is President Joe Biden's close aide, was confirmed by the US Senate as the country's next ambassador to India. The Senate voted 52-42 to fill the key diplomatic position that had been vacant for over two years. The former Los Angeles mayor's nomination was pending before the US Congress since July 2021 when he was nominated for the prestigious diplomatic posting by Biden.
His nomination was not brought to the Senate floor for a vote during the last Congress as the ruling Democratic Party did not have enough support to get the close aide of Biden through.
Kenneth Juster, the last occupant of the ambassadorial residence of the US in New Delhi, stepped down in January 2021 after the change of government in America.

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.

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