General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2017

May 2017

Nov 15, 2024

Rajnath Singh to Attend ASEAN Defence Ministers Plus

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to visit Laos from November 20-22 for the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM Plus).
The ADMM-Plus is a platform for the ASEAN member states -Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam- and its eight Dialogue Partners -India, US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand- to strengthen security and defence cooperation.
India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992. Furthermore, the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Vietnam's Hanoi in October 2010.
Since 2017, the ADMM-Plus Ministers meetings have been held annually to bolster cooperation amongst ASEAN and the Plus countries.

UN Appoints Head of Observer Group for India, Pakistan

The UN appointed Major General Ramón Guardado Sánchez from Mexico as the chief military observer for the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).
Since 1972, India has opposed the mandate of UNMOGIP, and has limited the activities of UN observers in J&K. India's stance is that the Simla Agreement mentions that the resolution of J&K is a bilateral matter.

Nov 14, 2024

Dubai Secures Top Spot in Middle East in 2024 Global City Index

Dubai emerged as the highest-ranked city in West Asia and Africa in the '2024 Global City Index' by Brand Finance, maintaining its regional lead for the second consecutive year. The city also made impressive strides globally, rising to fifth place, surpassing major cities like Singapore, Los Angeles, Sydney, San Francisco, and Amsterdam.

Trump Picks Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence

President-elect Donald Trump shortlisted Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat, as the director of National Intelligence. Gabbard represented Democrats in the Congress from Hawaii from 2013 to 2021.
Tulsi Gabbard, who unsuccessfully fought the Democrats presidential nomination in 2020, endorsed Republican Donald Trump in the 2024 elections. Although her selection by Trump's team requires a clearance from the Senate which was last week won by Republicans.

The 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Conference

The 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference was hosted by the Parliament of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia in November 2024.
The 67th CPC was held under the main theme of 'Engage, Empower, Sustain: Charting the Course for Resilient Democracy'.
Anurag Sharma, a member of the Jhansi Lalitpur Lok Sabha Constituency, led the Indian delegation at the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Conference in Sydney, Australia.

Nov 13, 2024

India Secures Position in Top 10 Countries in Patents, Trademarks, and Industrial Designs

India made remarkable progress in intellectual property (IP) filings, securing 6th place globally for the first time in 2023, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Global Patent Filing Report. This achievement reflects a robust growth of 15.7% in patent filings, marking the fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth in India. With more than 64,480 patents filed in 2023, India's contributions are now among the top 10 nations globally across major IP rights, including patents, trademarks, and industrial designs.
India recorded 64,480 patent filings in 2023, reflecting a 15.7% year-over-year increase. This was the largest growth rate among the top 20 patent-filing countries.
Globally, over 35 lakh patents were filed, with China leading at 1.64 million, followed by the USA, Japan, South Korea, and Germany. India stands sixth, ahead of Germany, with a consistent rise in patent activity.
For the first time, India is included in the top 10 countries for patent, industrial design, and trademark applications. These areas saw dramatic increases, with patent and design filings more than doubling since 2018 and trademark applications up by 60%. Asia continues to dominate the global patent landscape, accounting for nearly 69% of global filings. The major contributors—China, Japan, South Korea, and India—led the global growth surge in 2023.

PM Modi to Attend G20 Summit in Brazil

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a three-nation visit from November 16-21 during which he will also travel to Brazil to attend the G20 summit.
India is part of the G20 troika along with Brazil and South Africa, and has been actively contributing to the ongoing G20 summit discussions.
The 2024 G20 in Brazil is the nineteenth meeting of Group of Twenty (G20), scheduled to take place at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on November 18–19, 2024.

Navin Ramgoolam New Prime Minister of Mauritius

Mauritius' opposition leader Navin Ramgoolam was appointed Prime Minister, returning to the post a decade on after his coalition won a near clean sweep of seats in parliament in a general election.
Ramgoolam's Alliance du Changement (ADC) coalition won a landslide 60 of the 62 national assembly seats.

Nov 12, 2024

Alix Didier Fils-Aime is Haiti's New Prime Minister

Alix Didier Fils-Aime, a businessman, became Haiti's new Prime Minister, taking the reins in a nation rocked by lawlessness and political discord.
His predecessor, Garry Conille, was appointed in May, but just five months into his term was dismissed by the transitional council, a body thrust into power after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, which left the country without a sitting parliament or leader — following an extended power struggle.

The 12th Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF12)

The Twelfth Session of the World Urban Forum WUF12, convened by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), took place in Cairo, Egypt, returning to the African continent after more than 20 years after its inception in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2002.
WUF12 focussed on localising the Sustainable Development Goals, shedding light on the local actions and initiatives required to curb the current global challenges affecting the daily life of people, including unaffordable housing, rising living costs, climate change, the lack of basic services, and ongoing conflicts.

Nov 11, 2024

Qatar Suspends Role as Mediator between Israel and Hamas

Qatar suspended its work as a mediator in ceasefire and hostage release talks between Israel and Hamas.
The country said that it would resume its work when Hamas and Israel "show their willingness" to negotiate.
It came after senior US officials reportedly said that Washington would no longer accept the presence of Hamas representatives in Qatar, accusing the Palestinian group of rejecting fresh proposals for an end to the war in Gaza.

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