Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Duchess of Cornwall, and Baroness Amos are to be appointed as members of the Order of the Garter, England's oldest and most senior order of chivalry. The former Prime Minister now will be known as 'Sir Tony'. The appointments are the personal choice of the Queen, who has up to 24 "knight and lady companions". The ceremonial order, founded in 1348, is a recognition of significant public service and made without prime ministerial advice.
Under Sir Tony's leadership, the UK joined the US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan – an official inquiry into the 2003 Iraq war was strongly critical of his government and UK military chiefs. He famously referred to Diana, Princess of Wales, as the "people's princess" after her death.
T. S. TRimurthy Assumes Charge of UN's Counter-Terrorism Committee
T. S. Tirumurti, India's permanent representative to the United Nations was named the new Chair of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC).
Prior to taking up his current position as Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, in May 2020, Tirumurti served as Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, handling the Economic Relations portfolio (which included, inter alia, the Gulf and the Arab World, Africa, and India's Development Partnership).
Tirumurti previously served at the Embassy of India to Egypt, in Cairo; at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in Geneva; as the first Representative of India to the Palestinian Authority, in Gaza; as Counsellor in the Embassy of India to the United States, in Washington. DC; as Deputy Chief of Mission in the Embassy of India to Indonesia, in Jakarta and as High Commissioner of India to Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur.
India will chair the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in January.
This Committee was formed in September 2001 soon after the tragic terrorist attack of 9/11 in New York, while India had chaired this Committee in the Security Council in 2011-12.
US, Bucharest 9 Group in Solidarity with Lithuania against China Aggression
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the representatives of the Bucharest Nine group highlighted their solidarity with Lithuania amid escalating political pressure and economic coercion by China.
The tensions erupted between China and the Baltic nation when in November Lithuania angered China by allowing Taiwan to open a representative office in Vilnius, equivalent to an embassy. It escalated in recent times after Lithuania took steps to strengthen ties with Taiwan. China considers Taiwan as its integral part.
According to a report, Lithuania needs the support of the West and other foreign powers to counter Chinese aggression as it seems to be struggling almost alone against one of the world's economic and political superpowers.
Bucharest Nine is an organization founded in November 2015 in Bucharest, Romania, at the initiative of the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis and the President of Poland Andrzej Duda during a bilateral meeting between them. Members of it are Poland and Romania and also Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.
Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and UAE Join Security Council
The United Nation Security Council got five new members as Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates formally took up the posts they won in an election in June 2021.
Ambassadors made brief remarks and installed their countries' flags alongside those of other members outside the council chambers, and posed for a group photo – wearing face masks and standing apart in an acknowledgment of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The flag ceremony is a tradition that Kazakhstan started when it was on the council in 2018.
If Not in Person, Join Virtually: Pakistan Invites India for 19th SAARC Summit
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that his country was ready to host the 19th SAARC Summit and India can join it virtually if the leadership in New Delhi is not willing to visit Islamabad.
Addressing a press conference to highlight the achievements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2021, Qureshi accused India of making SAARC dysfunctional through its stubbornness by refusing to come to Islamabad for the Summit meeting.
Jan 04, 2022
France Takes over EU Presidency for Six Months 2022
France assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union with effect from January 2022. The country will continue to hold the EU presidency for the next six months till June 30, 2022. This is the 13th time that France took over the rotating presidency. The motto of France as EU President is "recovery, strength, belonging."
France will work to place the continent's digitization and climate protection at the forefront. The presidency of the EU rotates every six months among the member states of the 27-nation bloc. Upon the completion of six months presidency, France will be replaced by the Czech Republic.
Jan 03, 2022
Sudan's PM Abdalla Hamdok Announces Resignation
Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced his resignation amid a political deadlock and widespread pro-democracy protests following a military coup that derailed the country's fragile transition to democratic rule.
Hamdok, a former UN official seen as the civilian face of Sudan's transitional government, had been reinstated as Prime Minister in November as part of an agreement with the military following the October coup. In that time he had failed to name a Cabinet and his resignation throws Sudan into political uncertainty amid uphill security and economic challenges.
China Opens Embassy in Nicaragua after Nation Breaks Ties with Taiwan
China opened an embassy in Nicaragua for the first time since 1990, acting just over three weeks since President Daniel Ortega's government broke off relations with Taiwan.
The Nicaraguan government broke relations with the Taiwanese on December 9 and last week it seized the former embassy and diplomatic offices of Taiwan, saying they belong to China. However, China's new embassy is located elsewhere, and it is unclear what China will do with the Taiwan building.
New Brexit Rules In, UK Fears Food Disruptions
New post-Brexit custom rules for goods arriving from the European Union to Britain are took effect, and a leading food industry body has warned that the new border controls could lead to food shortages.
Now onwards, importers must make a full customs declaration on goods entering the UK from the EU or other countries. Businesses will no longer be allowed to delay completing full import customs declarations for up to 175 days — a measure that was introduced to cope with the disruption of Brexit.
The new measures require businesses to complete the correct paperwork at least four hours before goods can arrive at UK borders, or they risk being turned back.
Jan 02, 2022
UN Welcomes Dialogue Between US, Russia after Putin-Biden Call
The United Nations welcomed the dialogue between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Joe Biden on security and strategic issues.
The two Presidents held a telephone call to discuss escalating tensions over Ukraine and the upcoming talks on the issue.
Jan 01, 2022
Russia's 1st Versatile Nuclear-powered Icebreaker to Boost India's Arctic Plans
Russia launched its first in the series Project 22220 versatile nuclear-powered icebreaker known as 'Sibir'. This icebreaker will support the growing fleet of icebreakers to keep the Northern Sea Route open for year-round shipping through the Arctic and enable a wider presence of India in the arctic region.
The construction of Sibir was started in 2015 and the icebreaker was floated on 22nd December 2017. Sibir was handed over to the Rosatom State Atomiс Energy Corporation for exploitation; the Delivery-Acceptance Act was signed on 24th December at Baltic Shipyard, St. Petersburg, Russia. The icebreaker is 173.3 meters (568.6 feet) long and 34 meters broad with a 33,500-tonne displacement.
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