General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2017

Nov 2017

Dec 21, 2020

Nepal President Dissolves Parliament

Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved Parliament at the recommendation of Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli. She dissolved Parliament as per Article 76, clause 1 and 7, and Article 85 of the Constitution of Nepal.
The President has announced mid-term general elections from April 30 for the first phase and May 10 for the second phase.
The surprising development unfolded during an emergency meeting called by PM Oli. The meeting was attended by the council of ministers and the cabinet recommended the dissolution of the country's parliament.

EU-UK Trade Talks Floundering over Fish as Cutoff Day Nears

Deep into a crucial weekend of negotiations, a breakthrough on fishing rights remained elusive for the European Union and Britain, leaving both without a trade agreement that would dull the edge of a chaotic, costly economic break on New Year's Day.
With hundreds of thousands of jobs at stake throughout the economy, the tiny sector of fisheries continued to drive a wedge between the 27-nation bloc and the U.K., highlighting the animosity that drove them to a Brexit divorce over the past four years. Britain left the bloc in January, but an 11-month economic transition period ends on December 31.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the EU is continuing to make demands that are incompatible with our independence. We cannot accept a deal that doesn't leave us in control of our own laws or waters.

Xi Appoints New General for PLA's Western Theatre Command Amidst Ladakh Standoff

Chinese President Xi Jinping has appointed a new General as the Commander of the People's Liberation Army's Western Theatre Command which oversees the Sino-Indian border, amidst the military stand-off in eastern Ladakh.
President Xi, who heads the Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high-command of the two million-strong People's Liberation Army (PLA), appointed Gen. Zhang Xudong as the Commander of the Western Theatre Command.
Xi has promoted four senior Chinese military and armed police officers. Among them was Gen. Zhang, Commander of the Western Theatre Command of the PLA.
The other officers who were promoted include Guo Puxiao, Political Commissar of the Logistic Support Department of the CMC; Li Wei, Political Commissar of the PLA Strategic Support Force and Wang Chunning, Commander.

Dec 20, 2020

India Ranks 111 on Human Freedom Index

The Human Freedom Index 2020, a worldwide ranking of civil, economic and personal freedom, placed India at the 111th spot out of 162 countries. India ranked 94 on the index in 2019.
India is ahead of China and Bangladesh, which ranked 129 and 139 on the 2020 index respectively. New Zealand, Switzerland and Hong Kong bagged the first three spots.
India's scored 6.30 out of 10 in personal freedom and 6.56 in economic freedom. The country's overall human freedom score was 6.43.
The index was published by American think tank Cato Institute and Fraser Institute in Canada. It takes into account 76 indicators of personal, civil, and economic freedoms to rank 162 countries from 2008 to 2018. The institutes noted that the world has seen a notable decline in personal freedom since 2008.

QUAD Senior Officials Meet for second Time in 2020

Senior officials of the QUAD grouping--India, Australia, Japan and the US met for the second time virtually in 2020 on Friday, with a focus on issues like COVID-19 vaccine, Indo-Pacific among others. The first meeting took place on September 25 followed by Quad Foreign Ministers in-person meeting in Japan in October, making the total number of Quad meets this year at three showing an increased engagement.
The Minister of External Affairs in a release said that officials underscored the importance of enhancing the resilience of supply chains and highlighted the need to ensure safe, effective and affordable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, a number of COVID plus meetings at the foreign secretary-level took place that saw the participation of countries like New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan.
Indo-Pacific was expectedly the top focus area with officials of the grouping reaffirming "their commitment towards a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region" based on "shared values and principles and respect for international law especially the UNCLOS." UNCLOS or United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was violated by China in 2016 by not accepting the award of the tribunal constituted under it. The tribunal had dismissed the Chinese claim to a large portion of South China Sea based on its so-called "nine-dash line".

Trump Signs into Law Stopgap Funding Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown

President Donald Trump signed into the law a two-day stopgap extension of existing federal funds passed by Congress to avoid a midnight government shutdown, as lawmakers negotiate a $900 billion pandemic aid bill and as part of $1.4 trillion government spending package.
The House of Representatives and Senate, with little debate and with only hours to go before government funding expired, gave congressional leaders more time to try to craft a bipartisan COVID-19 aid bill that would ride along with the massive spending legislation.

Dec 19, 2020

Spain Moves Closer to Legalising Euthanasia

Spain's Lower House of parliament has backed a bill legalising euthanasia, despite strong opposition from religious groups.
The legislation allows those with "serious and incurable" diseases that cause "unbearable suffering" to choose to end their lives.
The bill now goes to the Senate which can suggest amendments.
If passed, Spain would become the fourth and largest country in the European Union to legalise euthanasia.
Such practices are currently only allowed in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
The bill was approved by 198-138 votes in the Lower House.

Iran Begins Construction at Underground Nuclear Facility amid US Tensions

Iran has begun construction on a site at its underground nuclear facility at Fordo amid tensions with the US over its atomic programme.
Iran has not publicly acknowledged any new construction at Fordo, whose discovery by the West in 2009 came in an earlier round of brinkmanship before world powers struck the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.
This comes as the latest move by Iran to further develop its nuclear program in the face of continued U.S. sanctions, with Iran last week announcing it was moving its nuclear facility in Natanz underground following a July explosion that Tehran described as a sabotage attack.

Deb Haaland: Historic Native American Pick for Biden Cabinet

President-elect Joe Biden will nominate a Native American to serve as his interior secretary, leading the agency governing public lands.
If confirmed, Congresswoman Deb Haaland will be the first indigenous person to lead the department, which also plays a key role in Native American affairs.
She will also be the first Native American in a cabinet secretary role.
Native rights groups and progressive Democrats had pushed for the New Mexico lawmaker's nomination in recent weeks.
Ms. Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe and made history as one of the first two Native American women ever elected to Congress in 2018.

Dec 18, 2020

Josef Aschbacher to be New European Space Agency Boss

Austrian Josef Aschbacher will be the new director general of the European Space Agency (ESA).
Currently in charge of Earth observation at the organisation, his new position was confirmed at a meeting of member states this week.
He will take up the post on 1 July, succeeding the German Jan Wörner, who has been at the helm for five years.

Afghan-Taliban Delegation in Pakistan to Push Peace Talks

A high-level Afghan-Taliban delegation arrived in Pakistan to hold talks with the top Pakistani leadership as part of efforts to push forward the reconciliation process amid growing incidents of violence in Afghanistan The Taliban Political Commission (TPC), is headed by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
The visit comes after a delegation, led by US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, met Pakistan's Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and discussed with him the ongoing Afghan peace process.
Baradar and his delegation were summoned to Islamabad from Qatar, where they have been negotiating since September with Afghan government representatives.
As per reports, the delegation will discuss issues of mutual interest, in particular, problems of refugees, relaxation and facilitation of Afghan's movement to Pakistan, as well as issues faced by Afghan traders.

The Economist Names Malawi Country of the Year

The Economist Newspaper has named Malawi the country of the year for reviving democracy in an authoritarian region, citing the nullification of the 2019 presidential election results that were marred by irregularities.
The vote-count was rigged with correction fluid on the tally sheets. Foreign observers cynically approved it anyway. Malawians launched mass protests against the 'Tipp-Ex election'. Malawian judges turned down suitcases of bribes and annulled it.
Malawi held a presidential election re-run in June and President Peter Mutharika was defeated by President Lazarus Chakwera.

Dec 17, 2020

Mexico Lawmakers Restrict Foreign Law Enforcement Agents

Mexico's Chamber of Deputies has passed changes to a security law which tightens the rules governing foreign law enforcement agents.
Under the new regulations, the foreign agents have to share the information they gather with Mexican officials.
The changes have the backing of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who proposed them.
US Attorney General William Barr warned that its passing would make US-Mexico cooperation more difficult.

UK and US in Talks over Mini Trade Deal

The outgoing US administration is in talks with the UK to try to seal a mini-deal to reduce trade tariffs.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told that he was hopeful for a deal that could see punitive tariffs on Scottish whisky lowered.
The UK recently said that it would drop tariffs against the US over subsidies for aerospace firms.
This was in a bid to reach a post-Brexit trade deal with Washington.

Thomas Kirsch to Replace Barrett on Federal Appeals Court

The Senate has confirmed an Indiana prosecutor to replace Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on a federal appeals court based in Chicago.
Thomas Kirsch, who currently serves as US Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, will replace Barrett as a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the 7^th Circuit. Kirsch was confirmed on a 51-44 vote.
President Donald Trump named Kirsch as Barrett's replacement before she was confirmed to the High Court in October, and the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced his nomination. Kirsch graduated from Indiana University and earned his law degree from Harvard.

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