General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - October 2017

Oct 2017

Jul 14, 2021

WTO Should Temporarily Waive IP Rights on Covid-19 Vaccines

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) temporarily waive an agreement that protects intellectual property rights held by pharma companies producing vaccines against the coronavirus (Covid-19) disease.
The study, published in the Journal of Media Ethics, said the move would help more firms manufacture the vaccines and help fight the pandemic that has claimed thousands of lives across the world and is continuing to wreak havoc.
The lead author of the study Nancy Jecker said a waiver is the best way to expedite distribution of vaccines in low- and middle-income nations, where the inoculation drive has been very slow due to hoarding by richer nations.
Over 100 Nobel laureates and 75 former heads of state, as well as President Biden, have expressed support for a waiver. Opponents seem not to be defending intellectual property protections on ethical grounds, but in the interest of profits.

Jul 13, 2021

Nepal's Apex Court Orders Appointment of Deuba as Prime Minister

In a landmark verdict, Nepal's Supreme Court directed President Bidya Devi Bhandari to appoint Nepali Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime minister and reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives for a second time in five months.
A five-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana issued the verdict stating that President Bhandari's decision to dissolve the lower house upon a recommendation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli was an unconstitutional act, delivering a major blow to the veteran Communist leader who was preparing for snap polls.
The Bench issued a mandamus to appoint Deuba as the Prime Minister. Mr. Deuba, 74, has served as the prime minister on four occasions.

Top US commander in Afghanistan steps down as 20-year war nears end

The top commander of US troops in Afghanistan, General Austin Scott Miller, relinquished his position during a ceremony in the country's capital city of Kabul as the US' two-decade-long war in Afghanistan is nearing its end and the Taliban forces continue to gain more territory.
Miller has been the top commander in Afghanistan since his appointment to the role in 2018.
Marine Gen Frank McKenzie, another four-star general, took over from Miller and would operate from the central command headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
He will assume command and continue the airstrikes in defence of the Afghan forces at least until the US pulls out all its troops by August 31.

US Approves Blue Origin License Ahead of Crewed Voyage

Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of online retail giant Amazon and space agency Blue Origin, got one step closer in catching up to his rival Richard Branson in their spaceflight ambitions.
The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved a Blue Origin license to carry humans on the New Shepard launch system into space.
- Former Amazon.com chief executive Jeff Bezos is set to fly to the edge of space on Blue Origin's maiden crewed voyage on July 20.
- Blue Origin is authorised to carry humans while its FAA license is valid through August and is approved to conduct these missions from its Launch Site One facility in Texas, the agency confirmed.
- Blue Origin was required to verify its launch vehicle's hardware and software worked safely during a test flight and the FAA confirmed it met regulatory requirements.

Cuba Blames Unrest on US as Biden says he stands with Cubans

US President Joe Biden said his country stands with Cubans a day after thousands protested on the streets in the biggest anti-government demonstrations in three decades.
"We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba's authoritarian regime," Biden said in a statement.
The unprecedented anti-government protests erupted amid Cuba's worst economic crisis since the 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union and the recent record surge in Covid-19 cases, with people denouncing shortages of basic goods, curbs on civil liberties and the authorities' handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
They chanted "freedom" and called for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to step down.

European Consumer Organisation lodges plaint against WhatsApp

The European Consumer Organization (BEUC) lodged a complaint against Facebook-owned WhatsApp messenger over the company's latest privacy policy updates.
In January, WhatsApp introduced a new privacy policy, according to which, some data of the users could be shared with its parent company Facebook Inc and other firms owned by the group. However, WhatsApp also said that the changes would not affect private conversations of the users.
Many users globally criticized the new policies of the company, and rival messaging applications such as Telegram and Signal messenger also saw their user base expanding due to many switching from WhatsApp.
Criticizing this policy change, the BEUC along with eight of its members, lodged a complaint with the European Commission and the European network of consumer authorities aimed at WhatsApp for "multiple breaches of consumer rights." The complaint focussed on how the company has left no choice for its users but to accept the changes. "The content of these notifications, their nature, timing and recurrence put an undue pressure on users and impair their freedom of choice. As such, they are a breach of the EU Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices," the BEUC's complaint said.

Jul 12, 2021

India Evacuates Diplomats, Security Personnel from Kandahar as Taliban Captures New Areas

India has pulled out around 50 diplomats and security personnel from its consulate in Kandahar in Afghanistan in view of the deteriorating security situation and the Taliban gaining control of new areas around the southern Afghan city.
A special aircraft of the Indian Air Force was sent to bring back the Indian diplomats, officials and other staff members, including a group of Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel.
India's move to temporarily shut the consulate in Kandahar came in view of Taliban fighters rapidly seizing control of a number of key areas in the region as well as in western Afghanistan triggering huge security concerns.

Abiy Ahmed wins landslide victory in Ethiopian election

Ethiopia's ruling Prosperity party has been declared the winner of 2021's national election in a landslide, assuring a second term for the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed.
The National Election Board of Ethiopia that the ruling party won 410 seats out of 436 in the federal parliament, which will see some seats remain vacant because no vote was held as a result of unrest or logistical reasons.
The vote was a test for Abiy, who came to power in April 2018 after the former prime minister resigned amid widespread protests. Abiy oversaw dramatic political reforms, but critics say he is backtracking from some promises on political and media freedoms. He also has drawn intense international criticism for his handling of the conflict in the Tigray region has that left thousands of people dead.

Hong Kong 'unnerved' by Chinese Security Law

As many as 60% of the citizens in Hong Kong have reportedly expressed doubts about their futures under the draconian national security law that was imposed by China on the city back in June last year. The impact of the legislation imposed by the Xi Jinping-led communist government in China has left a "chilling effect" on the people of Hong Kong.
The council had, in its report marking the 24th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China, said that the US-based Freedom House gave the territory the worst rating in the history of its Freedom in the World report at 52 points, back in March. Hong Kong was ranked "partly free," due mainly to the security legislation.
Germany's Global Public Policy Institute and Reporters Without Borders similarly downgraded the territory in their respective reports on academic and press freedom, it added.

Leaders of North Korea, China vow to strengthen ties

The North Korean and Chinese leaders expressed their desire Sunday to further strengthen their ties as they exchanged messages marking the 60th anniversary of their countries' defense treaty.
In a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said it is "the fixed stand" of his government to "ceaselessly develop the friendly and cooperative relations" between the countries, the official Korean Central News Agency said.
Xi said in his message that "he is willing to provide greater happiness to the two countries ... by strengthening the strategic communication with (Kim) to properly control the direction of the advance of the China-(North Korea) relations and by steadily leading the relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries to a new stage," KCNA said.
North Korea has been expected to seek greater support from China, its major ally and aid benefactor, as it grapples with economic hardship exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and crippling US-led sanctions over its nuclear weapons program. China, for its part, sees preventing a North Korean collapse as crucial to its security interests and would need to boost ties with North Korea and other traditional allies amid fierce rivalry with the United States.

Jul 11, 2021

US State Secretary Discusses Afghanistan Issue with Pakistan FM

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored the importance of bilateral relations with Pakistan in a telephonic conversation with his counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, amidst a rapid withdrawal of American and NATO troops from neighbouring Afghanistan.
The conversation took place in the backdrop of reports that the Taliban has made huge territorial gains in Afghanistan. Taliban militants are now thought to control about a third of the war-torn country.
The Secretary and the Foreign Minister discussed the importance of continued US-Pakistan cooperation on the Afghanistan peace process following the visit to the United States by Afghan President Ghani and Chairman Abdullah.

Meena Seshamani Appointed to Key US Medicare Position

Indian-American health policy expert Dr. Meena Seshamani, who served on the leadership of the Biden-Harris transition Health and Human Services (HHS) agency review team, has been appointed as the Director of the US Centre for Medicare.
Sheshamani will lead the Centre's efforts in serving the people 65 or older, people with disabilities and people with End-Stage Renal Disease that rely on Medicare coverage.
Dr. Meena Seshamani brings her diverse background as a health care executive, health economist, physician and health policy expert to CMS, said CMS (Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure.

Jul 10, 2021

Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021

Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021 was published by UN department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). It was launched at 2021 session of High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).
Report highlights the impacts of COVID-19 on SDG implementation. It also identifies areas which require urgent and coordinated action. Report was prepared using data and estimates in Global SDG Indicators Database comprising of global, regional and country data & metadata on official SDG indicators.

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