General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2017

May 2017

Dec 20, 2018

US Begins Withdrawing Troops from Syria

The Donald Trump-led US administration announced that it has started withdrawing US troops from Syria after claiming a victory in the fight against the Islamic State (IS).
As per reports, the time-frame for the troop's withdrawal from the war-torn Arab country is expected to be between 60 and 100 days.

Criminal Justice Reform Bill

The U.S. Senate passed the First Step Act, a criminal justice reform Bill, that would roll back what are seen as excessively punitive criminal justice policies that have been in place since the crackdown on crime in the 1980s.
The Bill benefits federally convicted individuals, mostly serving drug offences.

Post-Brexit

The Theresa May government announced that citizens from 27 European Union countries and those from India and elsewhere will be treated on par for purposes of migration after Brexit, in what is being billed as the biggest shake-up in 40 years of the visa system.
A new visa route for skilled migrants and scrapping of the annual 20,700 limit for work permits are among proposals outlined. They will come into force from 2021, if all processes of Brexit are completed.

Dec 19, 2018

Putin Open to Third Nations Joining Nuclear Treaty

Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested he was open to the idea of other countries joining a key Cold War treaty limiting mid-range nuclear arms or to starting talks on a new agreement.
Putin spoke after Washington said it would withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF) within 60 days if Russia did not dismantle missiles that the US claims breach the deal.
The treaty was signed in 1987 by then US President Ronald Reagan and Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Dec 18, 2018

Germany Agreed to Compensate

As per reports, Germany agreed to one-time payments for survivors, primarily Jews, who were evacuated from Nazi Germany as children, many of whom never saw their parents again.
According to the New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, the government had agreed to payments of 2,500 euros (USD 2,800) to those still alive from among the 10,000 people who fled on the so-called "Kindertransport.
This year is the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the transport of the children to Britain from Nazi Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

Maldives to Get Aid from India

India will provide $1.4 billion as financial aid to the Maldives, which is grappling with mounting Chinese debt, after the two sides signed four agreements that will boost cooperation in areas ranging from healthcare to defence.
The Indian support is the largest assistance yet for the Maldives. Modi was the only head of state or government invited to Solih's swearing-in in November and had earlier said that India was prepared to help the Maldives in "every possible way" to cope with the crisis.

Dec 16, 2018

MoU Signed on Anti-terrorism Cooperation

Pakistan, China and Afghanistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on anti-terrorism cooperation during a second trilateral ministerial dialogue in Kabul.
The MoU was signed by Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his Chinese and Afghan counterparts Wang Yi and Salahuddin Rabbani. The signing of the document was witnessed by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
This was the second meeting of the three foreign ministers after their kick-off meeting in Beijing last year.

Dec 15, 2018

Abortion No Longer Illegal in Ireland

Ireland passed a bill that legalised abortion, following a referendum on the controversial issue sparked by the death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar.
The referendum was resoundingly won by the 'Yes' campaign on the question whether the deeply conservative Catholic country should legalise abortion.
Savita died in 2012 when she was refused abortion due to prevailing laws. The new law is widely being called "Savita law" after her.

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