General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2017

May 2017

Aug 13, 2018

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul Passes Away

British novelist and Nobel Prize winner for Literature, Sir V. S. Naipaul died at the age of 85. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001 with an extraordinary career spanning half a century. Overall he wrote more than 30 books, and was one of the first winners of the Booker Prize, now Britain's leading literary award, in 1971 for "In A Free State."

Aug 12, 2018

Promise of Korea Peace for China

Northeast China has high stakes in North Korea. A durable peace on the Korean Peninsula could mean much needed jobs for China's industrial rust belt. China's northeast, historically known as Manchuria, was among the first to industrialise. The region's plentiful reserves of iron ore and coal premised the rise of its heavy steel-based industry. At one time, Tsarist Russia's advances, as well as the northeast's occupation by imperial Japan before the Second World War, spurred the first phase of industrialisation.

UN Confronts China

UN human rights experts have expressed alarm over what they said were many credible reports that China had detained one million or more ethnic Uighurs in the western region of Xinjiang and forced as many as two million to submit to re-education and indoctrination.

In the name of combating religious extremism, China had turned Xinjiang into "something resembling a massive internment camp, shrouded in secrecy, a sort of no-rights zone," said Gay McDougall, a member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Aug 11, 2018

Doubling of Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum

US President Donald Trump has doubled steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkey, adding to pressure on that nation's troubled economy amid a diplomatic row with Washington.

Withdrawal of Indian Military Helicopters and Personnel

The Maldives wants India to withdraw military helicopters and personnel posted there following the expiry of an agreement in June, the latest snub to New Delhi by President Abdulla Yameen's China-backed government.

Aug 10, 2018

Pakistani Soldiers to Get Training in Russia

Pakistani soldiers and officers will soon be able to train at Russian military training institutes, in yet another indication of the deepening defence ties between the two countries who till a few years ago were in the opposing camp of world politics. The two countries signed the Contract on Admission of Service Members of Pakistan in RF's (Russian Federation) Training Insti¬tutes, paving the way for Pakistani troops to undergo training in Russia, a country which has been India's biggest ally and suppliers of weapons and defence equipment.

Michelle Bachelet Nominated as UN Rights Chief

Michelle Bachelet, Chile's first woman President and prominent rights advocate, has been nominated by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to be the global body's next human rights chief.
Bachelet, 66, will succeed Jordanian diplomat Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, who had been one of the most outspoken critics of alleged abuses by the governments in many countries.
Her name now goes forward for consideration and approval by the 193-member UN General Assembly.

Aug 09, 2018

US Announces to Impose Sanctions Against Russia

The US has announced that it would impose fresh sanctions against Russia from the end of August. The move comes after intense debate in US circles over the effects of the sanctions, and subsequent measures to ensure the blowback among other things does not affect countries like India.
Moscow had been notified of the coming sanctions. The sanctions are aimed at penalising Moscow for allegedly carrying out a nerve gas attack against Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence operative, in London in March. A number of European countries have already responded by expelling Russian diplomats.
The sanctions come after it had been determined that Russia has used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law, or has used lethal chemical or biological weapons against its own nationals.
Provisions of the US law would have penalised India and any other country that held security and defence exchanges with Russian entities. The US government has sought to mitigate this possible blowback against India by taking steps, that have included giving the Strategic Trade Authorization-1 status to India. The STA-1 status will also give India greater access to sensitive technologies.

Sale of Su-35 Fighters to Pakistan

According to Russian news outlet Pravda, a defence thinktank has called for Moscow not to prioritise India's interest too much even though it still buys most of its defence equipment from Russia.

India and Russia had signed an inter-governmental agreement in 2007 to jointly develop and produce a fifth-generation stealth fighter for their air forces but in July 2018 Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharam announced that New Delhi has conveyed to Moscow that they can go ahead with the project and India may join it at a later stage following disputes over the cost and performance of the proposed fighter.

Tlaib to be First Muslim Congresswoman

Ms. Tlaib is poised to become the first Muslim woman elected to Congress after she narrowly defeated Brenda Jones, Detroit's City Council president, in a Democratic primary race to succeed long-time Rep. John Conyers Jr., a Democrat, in Michigan's 13th Congressional District. She will run unopposed in November.

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