General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2017

Nov 2017

Nov 26, 2020

Scotland Becomes First Country in the World to Make Sanitary Products Free for Women

Scotland became the first country to make sanitary products free. It is the first nation in the world to take a step against period poverty, which refers to the prevalent phenomena of being unable to afford products such as pads or tampons to manage menstrual bleeding.
With this new bill, called the Period Products (Free Provision) Scotland Bill, tampons and sanitary pads will be available free of cost at designated public places such as community centres, youth clubs and pharmacies.
The bill was passed unanimously, and First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon called it "an important policy for women and girls."

Shanghai Becomes World's Most Connected City

Shanghai has dethroned London to become the world's most connected city as the coronavirus shakes up international travel.
According to airline industry body IATA, London has seen a 67% fall in connectivity in air travel.
Shanghai has risen up the ranks, and the world's four most connected cities are now all in China.
Large transport hubs including London, New York and Tokyo have been hit hard by the dramatic reduction in flights in and out of their cities.
The top four most connected cities in the world are now Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Chengdu.

Bhutan and Germany Establish Diplomatic Ties

Bhutan and Germany established diplomatic ties with each other, something that was in the pipeline for a while now. In a small ceremony at the Bhutanese mission in Delhi, German ambassador to India Walter J. Lindner and Bhutan's envoy to India Major General V. Namgyel exchanged the diplomatic documents marking the establishment of ties.
The announcement does not involve plans to open resident missions in both countries. As per a statement from Bhutanese foreign ministry, with the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two ambassadors expressed the desire to further deepen the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
Bhutan now has diplomatic relations with 53 countries and the European Union. It is interesting that Thimphu does not have any formal diplomatic relation with any P5 country--US, Russia, UK, France or China.

Nov 25, 2020

John Kerry Named Climate Envoy as Inner Circle Get Key Posts

US President-elect Joe Biden is to nominate one of the leading architects of the Paris climate agreement as his climate envoy.
Ex-US Secretary of State John Kerry was one of several named for top positions by the Biden transition team.
It marks a big break with the climate policy under the Trump administration as Biden makes good on his campaign pledge to tackle climate change.
Other key picks include long-time aide Antony Blinken as Secretary of State.

World renews aid for Afghanistan

The international community pledged another four years of aid for Afghanistan but tied its money to rights being upheld in stuttering peace talks with the Taliban - as fresh deadly blasts underlined the ongoing violence. At a global donor conference in Geneva, countries began reaffirming their commitment to propping up a country beset by violence between the Taliban and government forces, rampant corruption and an imminent withdrawal of US troops.
Donor nations meet every four years to pledge aid to Afghanistan, which is almost entirely reliant on foreign assistance despite years of promised reforms and attempts to grow the economy.

India Announces Launch of High Impact Community Development Projects in Afghanistan

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during the 2020 Afghanistan Conference organised in Geneva through video- conference said that India has announced the launch of Phase-IV of the High Impact Community Development Projects in Afghanistan. It envisages more than 100 projects worth 80 million dollars that India would undertake in Afghanistan. The two day conference was co-hosted by the United Nations, the Government of Afghanistan, and the Government of Finland.
S. Jaishankar also announced that India had just concluded with Afghanistan an agreement for the construction of the Shatoot Dam, which would provide safe drinking water to two million residents of Kabul city. India had earlier built the 202-kilometer Phul-e-Khumri transmission line that provided electricity to Kabul city.
S. Jaishankar pointed out that Afghanistan's growth has been constrained by its land locked geography and highlighted India's efforts to provide an alternate connectivity through Chabahar Port and a dedicated Air Freight Corridor between India and Afghanistan.

Nov 24, 2020

Biden Picks Blinken as Secretary of State

President-elect Joe Biden is moving forward on his campaign pledge to restore America as a leader on the global stage and lean on experts, tapping veteran diplomats for key posts even as President Donald Trump continues to refuse to concede.
Biden will name Antony Blinken as Secretary of State and Linda Thomas-Greenfield as ambassador to the UN, bringing deep foreign-policy backgrounds to the nascent administration while providing a sharp contrast with Trump, who distrusted such experience and embraced an "America First" policy that strained longstanding US relationships.
Thomas-Greenfield, a Black woman who served as the assistant Secretary of State for Africa under Obama, was intended to restore morale and help fulfil Biden's pledge to choose a diverse cabinet.

IT Minister Launches International version of UMANG App

On the completion of three years of the UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) app, the international version of the app has been launched.
The UMANG international version is for select countries including US, UK, Canada, Australia, UAE, Netherlands, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, and will help Indian international students, NRIs and Indian tourists abroad to avail government of India services anytime.
Launched by Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Communications and Law & Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad in collaboration with Ministry of External Affairs, the international version of the app will also help in taking India to the world through 'Indian Culture' services available on UMANG and create interest amongst foreign tourists to visit India. Additionally, the government also announced that it is integrating Common Services Centres service into the Umang app.
The international version of the UMANG App can be downloaded by going to the Play Store of specific countries.

India and the EU Hold Consultations on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Matters

India and the European Union held the sixth round of consultations on disarmament and non-proliferation matters.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India and the EU exchanged developments in the area of nuclear, chemical, biological disarmament and non-proliferation.
The consultations involved exchanges on developments in the area of nuclear, chemical, biological disarmament and non-proliferation, conventional weapons, outer space security issues, export control regimes, strategic stability environment and other developments of mutual interest.
The consultations aim at enhancing mutual understanding and appreciation between India and the EU on international security issues. These are part of the broad dialogue architecture with the EU as a key strategic partner of India.
These are part of the broad dialogue architecture with the EU as a key strategic partner of India.

China lashes out at United States withdrawal from "Open Skies Treaty" with Russia

China lashed out at Washington over its withdrawal from the "Open Skies Treaty" with Russia, saying the move undermined military trust and transparency and imperiled future attempts at arms control.
The treaty, to which China is not a signatory, had allowed each country overflight rights to inspect military facilities.
That leaves only one arms-control pact still in force between the former Cold War foes, the New START treaty, which limits the number of nuclear warheads each may have. That treaty will expire in February and the Trump administration had said it was not interested in extending it unless China also joined something Beijing says it will not do.

WEF to Host Online Davos Agenda Meet in January

The World Economic Forum will host a five-day online summit in January 2021, during which heads of state and government will deliver special addresses and engage in dialogue with business leaders at the start of a crucial year to rebuild trust.
Named 'Davos Agenda', the online meeting would take place around the same time—from January 25-29 -- during which the WEF has been holding its Annual Meeting every year in the Swiss ski resort town.
While the WEF's Davos 2020 summit was the last major global event that took place before almost the entire world got locked down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the next annual meeting has been shifted to May 2021 and is scheduled to be held in Lucerne-Burgenstock, Switzerland.
The 'Davos Agenda' will also mark the launch of WEF's 'Great Reset Initiative' and begin the preparation of the special Annual Meeting in the spring, said the Geneva-based entity, which describes itself as an international organisation for public-private cooperation.

Nov 23, 2020

Tibetan Political Leader Visits White House for First Time in 6 Decades

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) said that the head of the Tibetan government in exile has visited the White House for the first time in six decades, a move that could further enrage Beijing, which has accused the US of trying to interfere in China's internal affairs.
As per CTA, this unprecedented meeting perhaps will set an optimistic tone for CTA participation with US officials and be more formalised in the coming years.
Sangay, the President of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), was invited to the White House to meet the newly appointed US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, Robert Destro.

Joe Biden Picks US-Indian as Policy Director

US President-elect Joe Biden has appointed Indian-American Mala Adiga as the policy director of his wife Jill. Adiga was a senior adviser to Jill and senior policy adviser for Biden's poll campaign. She previously worked for Biden Foundation as director for higher education and military families.
Adiga will work for the First Lady who intends to prioritise education and welfare of military families.
Before entering government service, Adiga volunteered and worked for Obama's presidential campaign for nearly two years.
The new announcements came just days after Biden revealed his first round of top White House staff.

Erdogan Says Turkey's Place is in Europe before EU Summit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey saw itself as a part of Europe, but he called on the European Union to "keep your promises" on issues such as the country's membership bid and refugees.
In recent weeks, the EU members have raised the prospect of sanctions against Turkey over its gas exploration missions in the eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey applied for membership in the bloc in 1987 and four years ago signed a deal with the EU to manage the flow of migrants to Europe.
European heads are due to meet in Brussels on December 10 and 11 and have voiced concerns over Turkish activity in parts of the Mediterranean that Ankara unilaterally claims as its economic zone.

Nov 22, 2020

New Zealand's First African MP

Ibrahim Omer is a former Eritrean refugee who became the first African Member of Parliament in New Zealand. He is part of the country's Labour Party.
During the election campaign, Mr. Ibrahim said that he wanted to fight for people in his previous situation to have better opportunities for a decent life.
He fled Eritrea in 2003, to a refugee camp in neighbouring Sudan.
He then resettled in New Zealand where he worked as a cleaner. Mr Ibrahim saved enough money to study at Victoria University, in Wellington, after which he got into politics.
Mr. Ibrahim shares his incredible journey with the BBC's Peter Okwoche.

Egypt Eyes Reopening of Trilateral Talks on Nile Dam

Egypt looks forward to taking part in the next round of trilateral talks with Ethiopia and Sudan on an Ethiopian dam built on their shared Nile River.
The ministry's statement came after the foreign and water ministers of the three countries concluded a virtual meeting.
Egypt wants to reach "a binding legal agreement" on how to operate the Ethiopian giant dam as soon as possible.
It also highlighted the necessity of reaching a fair and balanced agreement that achieves the common interests of the three countries and preserves their water rights.
During the last round of trilateral talks held earlier this month, Egypt voiced its discontent as no progress was made in the negotiations.
Ethiopia started building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in 2011, which prompted concerns from downstream countries like Sudan and Egypt.

China Will Have to Play by Rules; US to Rejoin WHO: Biden

US President-elect Joe Biden said that he wants to make sure that China plays by the rules and announced that his administration will rejoin the World Health Organisation.
Biden was responding to a question on Thursday about his remarks during the presidential debates that he wanted to punish China over the way Beijing has been behaving.
Bidden also said that we are going to rejoin on day one as well and it needs reform, acknowledge, and rejoin the Paris Climate Accord. And we have to make sure that the rest of the world and we get together and make sure there are certain right lines the Chinese understand.

Somalia Sacks Foreign Minister

Somali Prime Minister, Mohamed Hussein Roble, has sacked Foreign Affairs Minister, Ahmed Isse Awad, hours after a row over the country's position on the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region.
The sacked minister was named as an ambassador, but he tweeted that he was "not currently ready for any position as an ambassador or any other".
The verified Twitter account of the office of the Prime Minister, @SomaliPM, announced the appointment but did not explain why Mr Awad was sacked.
Mr. Awad denied that Somalia had issued an official statement on the Ethiopia crisis.

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