General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - July 2017

Jul 2017

Apr 22, 2023

India, Armenia, Iran Hold First-Ever Trilateral Talks

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India, Armenia and Iran held the first trilateral political consultations in Yerevan, Armenia.
The three countries had a wide range of discussions, particularly on economic issues and regional communication.
Trilateral cooperation in various fields was also discussed during the meeting.
Armenia and India celebrated 30 years of bilateral diplomatic relations in 2022. Armenia and India maintain active political ties. Effective cooperation exists between the two nations within international bodies.
After Armenia's independence in 1991, Armenian-Indian relations were re-established in 1992.

Apr 21, 2023

Top National Security Adviser to Brazilian President Lula Resigns

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's top national security adviser resigned, amid a scandal related to the aide's presence during the storming of government buildings in the capital.
The resignation of General Marcos Goncalves Dias, which the President accepted, followed a report from CNN Brasil that included footage of him walking around the presidential palace while a mob ransacked government buildings in Brasilia in January.

Apr 20, 2023

South Asia Home to World's Highest Number of Child Brides

According to new estimates released by UNICEF, South Asia is home to highest number of child brides in the world as increased financial pressures and school closures due to Covid-19 forced families to marry off their young daughters.
There were 290 million child brides in the region, accounting for 45% of the global total, the children's agency of the United Nations said, calling for more efforts to end the practice.
Child marriage locks girls out of learning, puts their health and wellbeing at risk and compromises their future.
A new study by the agency that also included interviews and discussions across 16 locations in Bangladesh, India and Nepal found that many parents saw marriage as the best option for daughters who had limited options to study during COVID lockdowns.
The legal age of marriage for females is 20 in Nepal, 18 in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and 16 in Afghanistan. It is 16 in Pakistan except for Sindh province, where the minimum age is 18.

Nephew of Former US President John F. Kennedy Announces Presidential Bid

Robert Kennedy Jr. a noted anti-vaccine advocate whose uncle "JFK" was the 35th US President, formally announced his own White House bid.
Robert Kennedy Jr. intends to compete for the Democratic Party's nomination against incumbent President Joe Biden, who has yet to announce his re-election bid but has repeatedly said he plans to run.
Kennedy's father "RFK" served as attorney general under Democratic President John F. Kennedy and later as a US senator from New York.
The assassinations of both brothers, JFK in 1963 and RFK in 1968 during his own presidential campaign, are viewed as among the most significant events in 20th century US politics.

Chennai Ranks among Top 5 in Digital Payment Transactions in 2022

Chennai emerged as one of the top digital payment transactions cities in 2022 in the country, according to a report by payment services firm Worldline India.
The capital city in terms of volume made 14.3 million transactions with a value of USD 35.5 billion.
Bengaluru emerged on top with 29 million transactions worth USD 65 billion followed by New Delhi 19.6 million transactions worth USD 50 billion, Mumbai (18.7 million transactions worth USD 49.5 billion), Pune (15 million transactions valued at USD 32.8 billion).
According to the report, in 2022, frequently visited physical merchant categories like grocery stores, restaurants, clothing and apparel, pharmacey, household appliances together accounted for over 43 per cent in terms of volume and about 40 per cent in terms of value, across the country.

Cuba's First Non-Castro Leader Re-elected as President

Cuba will have Miguel Diaz-Canel as its President for another five years. The development came after Diaz-Canel clinched a second five-year term in a parliamentary vote that had him as the sole candidate.
Diaz-Canel's bid to serve as the most powerful man in Havana's corridors of power was confirmed by 97.66 per cent of votes cast in the Communist Party of Cuba-aligned National Assembly, its president Esteban Lazo announced in the chamber.
Díaz-Canel succeeded the brothers Fidel and Raúl Castro, making him the first non-Castro leader of Cuba since the revolution.

Apr 19, 2023

ADB Provides USD 230 Million for Flood Rehabilitation in Bangladesh

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided a loan of USD 230 million to Bangladesh to help the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the north-eastern part of the country affected by devastating floods in May–June 2022. The agreement between ADB and the government of Bangladesh was signed in Dhaka.
Record rainfall in north-eastern Bangladesh in May–June 2022 caused massive flooding, especially in the low-lying Haor region, affecting 7.2 million people.
The assistance under the Flood Reconstruction Emergency Assistance Project will help in the reconstruction, improvement of resilience, and economic recovery of north-eastern districts of Brahmanbaria, Habiganj, Kishoreganj, Moulvibazar, Mymensingh, Netrokona, Sherpur, Sunamganj, and Sylhet.

World's Richest City Has Over 3 Lakh Millionaires

According to global wealth tracker Henley & Partners, New York took the crown of being the world's richest city, yet again, with the most millionaires in 2023, according to The report - World's Wealthiest Cities Report 2023. The city has 3,40,000 millionaires.
The city is followed by Tokyo and San Francisco Bay Area with resident millionaire populations of 290,300 and 285,000, respectively.
The report - World's Wealthiest Cities Report 2023 - covered 97 cities across nine regions worldwide (Africa, Australasia, CIS, East Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia) and included most of the world's top wealth hubs.
The US dominated the list with four of its cities - New York, The Bay Area, Los Angeles and Chicago - making it to the list. China has two of its cities (Beijing and Shanghai) in the list.

WTO Rules India Violated Global Trade Rules in IT Dispute

The World Trade Organization (WTO) found that India breached global trading regulations in a dispute over import duties on IT products with the European Union (EU), Japan, and Taiwan. The WTO panel's report recommended that India should modify the measures to conform with its obligations. The dispute began in 2019 when the EU objected to India's introduction of import duties of between 7.5% and 20% on various IT products, including mobile phones, integrated circuits, and components, stating that the tariffs exceeded the maximum rate. Japan and Taiwan also lodged similar complaints that year.
The EU is India's third-largest trading partner, and its exports worth up to 600 million euros ($654.66 million) are directly affected by India's tariffs on an annual basis.
The ruling has significant implications for India's IT industry, which is a vital sector of the country's economy. It remains to be seen whether India will accept the panel's decision and bring its import duties into line with global trading rules or challenge the ruling.

Apr 18, 2023

India to Chair Commonwealth Group on Reform of Financial Architecture

Finance Ministers from various Commonwealth countries called for a systemic reform of the global financial architecture to enhance access to development financing for vulnerable countries.
The ministers agreed for India to be the chair and Nigeria to be the deputy chair of the Finance Ministers Working Group for a Commonwealth Call for Reform of the Global Financial Architecture.
Their collective call for reform came at the Commonwealth Finance Ministers High-Level Working Group Meeting in Washington D.C.
At the inaugural Commonwealth Finance Ministers High-Level Working Group Meeting held on the margins of the 2023 World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings, finance ministers discussed national fiscal policies, measures for financial sustainability, eligibility criteria for development finance and potential reforms required for a more equitable financial architecture.

Germany Shuts Down its Three Remaining Nuclear Power Plants

What was once a slogan found on the bumper of many a German cars became a reality, as the country shut down its three remaining nuclear power plants in line with a long-planned transition toward renewable energy. The shutdown of Emsland, Neckarwestheim II and Isar II was cheered by anti-nuclear campaigners outside the three reactors and at rallies in Berlin and Munich. Inside the plants, staff held more somber ceremonies to mark the occasion.
Decades of anti-nuclear protests in Germany, stoked by disasters at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, had put pressure on successive governments to end the use of a technology that critics argue is unsafe and unsustainable. But with other industrialized countries, such as the United States, Japan, China, France and Britain, counting on nuclear energy to replace planet-warming fossil fuels, Germany's decision to stop using both has drawn skepticism at home and abroad, as well as unsuccessful last-minute calls to halt the decision.
Defenders of atomic energy say fossil fuels should be phased out first as part of global efforts to curb climate change, arguing that nuclear power produces far fewer greenhouse gas emissions and is safe, if properly managed.
As energy prices spiked last year due to the war in Ukraine, some members of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government got cold feet about closing the nuclear plants as planned on Dec. 31, 2022. In a compromise, Mr. Scholz agreed to a one-time extension of the deadline, but insisted that the final countdown would happen on April 15.
Advocates of nuclear power worldwide have slammed the German shutdown, aware that the move by Europe's biggest economy could deal a blow to a technology they tout as a clean and reliable alternative to fossil fuels. Dozens of scientists including James Hansen, a former NASA climate expert credited with drawing public attention to global warming in 1988, sent a letter to Scholz urging him to keep the nuclear plants running.

Melbourne Surpasses Sydney as Australia's most Populous City, on Technicality

Melbourne became Australia's most populous city, surpassing Sydney, which had held the title for over a century. According to official statistics, there are now 4,875,400 people in Melbourne - 18,700 more than in Sydney. The change in rank was attributed to a technicality.
This came after Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) added a new district, expanding the city limits, in order to accommodate the rising population. The "significant urban area" measure defines a city's boundary by contiguous urban population above 10,000.

Syria Becomes World's Largest 'Narco-State'

Syria became the biggest narco-state in the world, as the horribly addictive amphetamine it produces, which is known as Captagon or "poor man's coke", turned out to be the country's economic lifeline and its biggest export product, earning more than 90 per cent of the country's foreign currency.
Captagon is a synthetic stimulant composed of amphetamine and caffeine, and it is an internationally-recognized illegal drug (UNODC, 2021).
In 1961, a German pharmaceutical company first introduced Captagon to treat health conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, narcolepsy and depression. However, after a few years, scientists realized the drug's addictive properties and its adverse effects on mental and physical health and so the drug was banned.
According to experts, Syria is the country currently producing the largest quantities of Captagon which is exported primarily to the Gulf region.

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