General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2017

May 2017

Nov 28, 2021

India Elected to UNESCO World Heritage Panel

India was elected to the World Heritage Committee of the UN's cultural organisation for a four-year term, a week after the country was re-elected to the UNESCO Executive Board.
The committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States parties.

Kuwait Reappoints Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid as Prime Minister

Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid was reappointed Prime Minister and tasked with forming a cabinet that would be the Gulf OPEC oil producer's third this year in a domestic political standoff.
Sheikh Sabah, Prime Minister since late 2019, was reappointed by an Emiri order issued by Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah.
Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Sabah last week temporarily handed over some of his main constitutional duties to the crown prince, his designated successor, including naming the Prime Minister and swearing in the cabinet.

Nov 27, 2021

U.S. Threatens Escalation with Iran at IAEA Next Month

The United States threatened to confront Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency next month if it does not cooperate more with the watchdog - an escalation that could undermine talks on reviving a 2015 big-power deal with Iran.
Tehran is locked in several standoffs with the IAEA, whose 35-nation Board of Governors is holding a quarterly meeting.
Iran is denying the IAEA access to re-install surveillance cameras at a workshop at the TESA Karaj complex. The IAEA also wants answers on the origin of uranium particles found at apparently old but undeclared sites, and says Iran keeps subjecting its inspectors to excessively invasive physical searches.

Nov 26, 2021

CBI Official Praveen Sinha Elected as Asian Delegate to Interpol Executive Panel

India's Praveen Sinha, special director, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), was elected as Asian delegate to the executive committee of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
This was a tough election, with India running against four other contestants - China, Singapore, Republic of Korea and Jordan - for two posts. The elections were held in Istanbul (Turkey) during the ongoing 89th Interpol General Assembly.
The Interpol is a key body for tackling rising numbers of trans-national organized crimes, terrorism and cyber-crimes.

Nov 25, 2021

Japan, Vietnam Seal Space, Cyber Defence Deal

Japan and Vietnam signed an agreement to cooperate in space defence and cybersecurity, as the two Asian nations rapidly step up their military ties amid concerns over China's growing assertiveness.
The space and cyberspace agreement is aimed to address a strong sense of urgency over activities in the Indo-Pacific region that challenge the existing international order, indicating China without identifying any country by name.

Joe Biden Nominates Shalanda Young to Lead White House Budget Office

President Joe Biden announced nominated Shalanda Young to lead the White House budget office and Nani Coloretti to serve as Young's deputy.
If confirmed by the Senate, Young would be the first Black woman to lead the Office of Management and Budget while Coloretti, who is Filipino American, would become one of the highest-ranking Asian Americans in the Biden administration.
It would also be the first time that two women of colour will lead the agency, which helps the president develop an annual budget and monitors how tax dollars are spent.

Sweden's First Female PM Resigns Hours after Appointment

Sweden's first ever female Prime Minister resigned just hours after she was appointed.
Magdalena Andersson, was announced as leader but resigned after her coalition partner quit the government and her budget failed to pass.
Instead, parliament voted for a budget drawn-up by the opposition which includes the anti-immigrant far right.
Her coalition partner, the Greens Party could not accept a budget drafted for the first time with the far-right.

Nov 24, 2021

U.N. Libya Envoy Bows Out as Presidential Vote Approaches

The United Nations' top envoy for Libya is resigning weeks ahead of presidential elections seen as critical to the country's stability after nearly a decade of chaos.
Jan Kubis decided to step down after just 10 months in the job. With the presidential vote set for December 24, the U.N. is working as quickly as possible to ensure continuity of leadership.
Mr. Kubis, a former Slovak foreign minister who previously held high-level U.N. posts in Iraq and Afghanistan, became the head of the U.N. political mission in Libya in January, after the world body sought for nearly a year to fill the sensitive job. One leading candidate turned it down, some U.N. member countries objected to other suggestions and there were changes in the job itself.

Israeli Parliament Okays Bill Setting Term Limit of 8 Years for PM

The Israeli parliament voted in favour of a bill that would limit the service of a Prime Minister to a maximum of eight years. Lawmakers voted 66-48 in favour of the bill.
The vote was the first in three full rounds of votes that the bill needs to pass before becoming a law.
The bill is widely seen as a reaction to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was ousted by the new governing coalition after 12 consecutive years in office.
The bill will not be retroactive, thus not affecting the opposition leader Netanyahu should he seek to run for the post again.

Romania President Klaus Iohannis Nominates Defence Minister Nicolae Ciuca as PM

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis nominated Defence Minister Nicolae Ciuca to form a new government as Prime Minister.
A solid majority was formed in the Romanian Parliament for Nicolae Ciuca to form a new government as Prime Minister, which Klaus Iohannis accepted.
Earlier, the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) reached an agreement to form a coalition government, which enjoys the support of the 18 MPs representing the country's minorities.
Under the country's Constitution, the Prime Minister-designate has 10 days to form a government and win a vote of confidence in Parliament, which Ciuca is expected to win easily as his coalition holds 65 per cent of seats.

JP Morgan World's most Systemically Important Bank

According to the latest annual ranking of top lenders by global regulators, JP Morgan Chase became the world's most systemically important bank once again, with BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs also now deemed more systemic.
The Financial Stability Board (FSB), made up of regulators from G20 countries, published its latest table of the world's 30 most systemic banks.
Being included in the table means having to hold additional capital and undergo more intense supervision to avoid a repeat of taxpayer bailouts in the banking crisis over a decade ago.

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