General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - September 2017

Sep 2017

Apr 25, 2021

Israel: Google and AWS Chosen for 1 Billion Nimbus Project

The Government of Israel has chosen Google and Amazon Web Services to provide cloud services for its military and Public Sector Units. The project is to be implemented in four phases and has been named the "Nimbus" project.
The Nimbus Project is to be implemented at an estimated cost of 1 billion USD.
It will establish cloud sites in Israel. These sites will keep the information within the borders of Israel under strict security guidelines.
The four phases of the project are: Acquisition and Construction of cloud Infrastructure, Formulating Government Policy for migrating to the Cloud, Integration and Migration and Control and Optimisation of Cloud Activity.
In future, the project is to be extended, where dozens of local suppliers are to be selected to assist in migration of Government Systems to the Cloud.

AU Condemns Somalia President's Term Extension

The African Union has condemned the extension of the term of Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and is sending a special envoy to Mogadishu to help resolve the political impasse there.
The AU's Peace and Security Council made the announcement after hours of closed-door meeting where it also resolved to mediate the crisis.
The AU council called on all Somali political leaders to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from any actions that may lead to an escalation of tensions and further undermine the stability of Somalia.
Last week, Mr. Farmajo controversially approved an extension of his term in office by two years but the move has been criticised by major world powers including the United States and Britain, the United Nations and the European Union.

US House Passes No Ban Act

The US House of Representatives passed a bill that will limit the ability of the President to impose religion-based travel ban. It is informally called "No Ban Act".
The No Ban Act was passed in response to the controversial "Muslim ban" passed by the former US President Donald Trump. The Muslim ban barred the travel from Muslim-majority countries to the US.
Before imposing a restriction, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department should report to Congress about the restriction.
The President should present his evidence of credible threat that initiated travel ban to the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary of the State. He shall impose the ban only after getting approval from DHS and the Secretary.

Apr 24, 2021

Russia Orders Troops Back after Massive Drills near Ukraine

Russia's Defence Minister ordered troops back to their permanent bases following massive drills in Crimea that involved dozens of Navy ships, hundreds of war planes and thousands of troops in a show of force amid tensions with Ukraine.
He said the troops should return to their bases by May 1, but he also ordered to keep the heavy weapons deployed to western Russia as part of the drills for another massive military exercise later this year.
The Russian troop buildup near Ukraine that came amid increasing violations of a ceasefire in Ukraine's east has raised concerns in the West, which urged the Kremlin to pull its forces back.

Iran Seeks to Enhance Security and Economic Cooperation with Pakistan

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for the enhancement of security and economic cooperation between Tehran and Islamabad.
"Security is a common concern for the two countries, and it is essential to boost cooperation in this regard," Rouhani said in a meeting on Wednesday with visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
He also stressed the need to promote security along the Iran-Pakistan borders, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Iranian President urged for the promotion of Tehran-Islamabad ties in trade, energy and border markets, adding it is necessary for both sides to implement the signed agreements to further cooperation.

Apr 23, 2021

U.S. Senate Confirms Vanita Gupta as Associate Attorney-General

The United States Senate voted 51-49 to confirm Indian-American Vanita Gupta as Associate Attorney-General, making her the first person of colour to occupy the third highest position at the Department of Justice.
From 2014 to 2017, Ms. Gupta served as the assistant attorney general for civil rights under President Barack Obama, where she advanced criminal justice reform, prosecuted hate crimes, protected voting rights and fought against discrimination.
Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski broke away from her party colleagues to support Gupta (46), that gave the Democrats 51 votes to see her through the historic confirmation.
Vice President Kamala Harris was present in the Senate to cast her vote in case of a tie. The two parties have 50 members each in the 100-seat United States Senate.
Ms. Gupta is also the first civil rights lawyer to serve at one of the top three positions at the Department of Justice.

Mrs. Ireland is New Mrs. World

Kate Schneider from Ireland has been named the new Mrs. World after the reigning titleholder resigned following an on-stage fracas in which she pulled the crown off the head of the winner of the Mrs. Sri Lanka beauty pageant.
Mrs. World Inc. received the resignation of Caroline Jurie and that the first runner-up, Mrs. Ireland Kate Schneider, therefore will be the new Mrs. World 2020.

Apr 22, 2021

Russia Warns West of Harsh, Swift Response amid Tension

President Vladimir Putin warned the West not to cross Russia's red lines, saying that Moscow would respond swiftly and harshly to any provocations and those responsible would regret it.
At a time of acute crisis in ties with the United States and Europe, with Russian troops massed near Ukraine and opposition leader Alexei Navalny on hunger strike in jail, the Kremlin leader used his state-of-the nation speech to project a message of Russian strength and defiance in the face of outside threats.
Meanwhile, the police detained 102 people at protests across Russia in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

Japan Prime Minister Cancels Trip to India and Philippines

Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga has cancelled plans to visit India and the Philippines during his country's extended holiday starting in late April amid a sharp rise in Covid cases, a senior government spokesman said on Wednesday. Japan is considering a state of emergency for Tokyo. Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said, "It has been decided Prime Minister Suga won't take any overseas trips during the Golden Week."

Chad's New Leader

Lt Gen Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno has been named as the new leader of Chad, after his father Idriss Déby was killed during a battle with rebel forces.
Mahamat is now incharge of a 15-member Transitional Military Council (CMT) that will be in power for the next 18 months.
He has a reputation for discretion and shunning the limelight, unlike some of his half-brothers. However, he is a battle-hardened soldier like his father.
Mahamat, is the same age as the late Déby was when he took power through a military coup in 1990.
Until his father's death, he was the head of the elite presidential guard: the Directorate-General of the Security Services of State Institutions (DGSSIE).

Sudan Talks Tough with Ethiopia over River Nile Dam

Sudan is caught in the middle of a decade-long row between Ethiopia and Egypt over the dam Ethiopia is building on the River Nile and in recent months it has undergone a major shift in attitude, as Zeinab Mohammed Salih reports from Khartoum.
When discussing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd), Sudan's rhetoric has moved from being broadly welcoming to being suspicious and belligerent.
This change, in large part, reflects the increasing influence of the military in the transitional government that is supposed to pave the way to a democratic system after the overthrow of long-serving leader Omar al-Bashir.
The diplomatic temperature has increased as Ethiopia's rainy season approaches and the reservoir behind the dam will fill up for a second year without any agreement on how it should be done.

Apr 21, 2021

Pakistan Gets Payment Relief as UAE Rolls over $2 Billion Loan

The United Arab Emirates has rolled over the pending payment of a $2 billion loan by Pakistan, amid a three-day visit of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to the nation.
The payment relief comes days after the South Asian nation reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a resumption of a $6 billion bailout program.
Having averted a financial crisis just two years ago, Pakistan finds itself with little room for policy errors due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The central bank expects the economy will expand by around 3% in the year to June, after a rare contraction in the previous 12 months.

World Press Freedom Index

India remained at the 142nd position among 180 countries in the World Press Freedom index, with the report saying that the country was among nations where reporting on the Covid-19 pandemic was blocked or seriously impeded.
India was ranked in the "bad" category, along with Brazil, Mexico and Russia. In south Asia, Nepal was placed 106, Sri Lanka 127, Myanmar 140, Pakistan 145 and Bangladesh at the 152nd spot. China was ranked 177, and the US 44.

China's Xi Launches Veiled Attack on US

Chinese President Xi Jinping hit out at the US, saying that there should be no bossing and meddling in the internal affairs of other countries as Beijing is increasingly coming under pressure from Washington and its allies over issues of human rights violations, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
"Bossing others around or meddling in others' internal affairs would not get one any support. We must advocate peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, which are common values of humanity, and encourage exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations to promote the progress of human civilization," Xi said, without directly referring to the US.
His snide remark against Washington came as US President Joe Biden vigorously pursued a strong China containment policy initiated by his predecessor by Donald Trump.
Biden united US allies like the UK, the EU and Japan over his China policy.
He also held the first quadrilateral summit of the emerging alliance called Quad which included US, Australia, Japan and India.
The US, the European Union, Britain and Canada have imposed coordinated sanctions on China over alleged human rights violations against Uygur Muslims in Xinjiang, a charge Beijing denied.

Finland World's Happiest Country

Finland has been named the happiest country in the world by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which publishes an annual report evaluating the happiness of people around the world.
The World Happiness Report uses data from interviews of more than 350,000 people in 95 countries, conducted by Gallup. The rankings are based on how people rate their own happiness on a 10-point scale.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

September GK, August GK, July GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26