General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2017

Nov 2017

May 01, 2020

Australia Marks Cook anniversary Under Lockdown

Australia has marked the 250th anniversary of the arrival of British settlers in the country.
Captain James Cook arrived at Botany Bay in Australia's east coast near current-day Sydney on April 29, 1770.

India Ranks 53rd in Budget Transparency, Accountability

The Open budget survey has placed India at 53rd position among 117 nations in terms of budget accountability and transparency. The survey conducted by the International Budget Partnership (IBP) released the ranking on April 29, 2020.
IBP has provided a transparency score of 49 out of 100 to India's Union budget process. The provided score to India is higher than the global average score of 45.
Other developing countries, with an exception to China, have scored much higher transparency scores in comparison to India. New Zealand has gained the highest score of 87.

Apr 29, 2020

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom downgrades India in 2020 list

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has downgraded India to the lowest ranking, "countries of particular concern" (CPC) in its 2020 report.
The report, released in Washington by the federal government commission that functions as an advisory body, placed India alongside countries, including China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
India was categorised as a "Tier 2 country" in last year's listing. This is the first time since 2004 that India has been placed in this category.

Prakash Javadekar Stresses on Climate Finance in First Virtual Petersberg Climate Dialogue

Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar has said that, today, as the world is unitedly engaged in finding a vaccine for novel Coronavirus, likewise it should have climate technology as open source which must be available at affordable cost.
Representing India in the first virtual Petersberg Climate Dialogue, Mr Javadekar stressed on the issue of climate finance and said the world now needs more. He said, we must plan for 1 trillion dollar in grants to developing world immediately.

Jaishankar attends BRICS FMs' meet on coronavirus via video conferencing

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar participated in BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting on coronavirus through video conferencing.
Opening remarks were made by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Russia is the Chair of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) for 2020.
The meeting was organized to discuss the joint efforts of the five-member states -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa -- to combat the virus and overcome the financial, economic, and social consequences of the pandemic.

Apr 27, 2020

Israeli Court Bans Lawless Contact Tracing

Israel's Supreme Court has banned its intelligence agency from tracing the phone location of those infected with Covid-19, until new laws are passed.
The Shin Bet internal security service had been given emergency powers in March, 2020 to use the technology.
Now, the court says legislation must be brought in for it to continue past 30 April, 2020.
It warned of a "slippery slope" of using the "extraordinary and harmful tools" against innocent citizens.

Apr 26, 2020

WHO Warns Against Coronavirus Immunity Passports

The World Health Organization has warned against issuing "immunity passports" to people who have recovered from Covid-19, as there is no evidence that they will be protected from a second infection.
The idea of issuing some form of certificates to people who have been sick with the virus – on the assumption they would be immune to reinfection – has been gaining ground in many places, including the UK, as authorities cast around for ways out of socially and economically devastating lockdowns.

India attends Saarc health ministers conference hosted by Pakistan

India on Thursday participated in a video conference of Saarc health ministers hosted by Pakistan to promote greater regional cooperation to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India was represented at the conference by Director General of Health Services who was assisted by experts from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Apr 25, 2020

PM Modi Most Popular Leader On Facebook, Trump Leads Interactions

With around 45 million likes on his personal page, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to be the most popular world leader on Facebook, while US President Donald Trump dominates the rankings for the most interactions even as leaders across the world grow their audience on the social networking platform amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Trump is the second most popular world leader on Facebook, with around 27 million likes and Jordan's Queen Rania is in third position with 16.8 million likes, according to in the latest 2020 "World Leaders on Facebook" rankings by leading global communications agency BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe).

Saudi Arabia To Abolish Flogging - Supreme Court

The directive from the Gulf kingdom's Supreme Court says flogging will be replaced by imprisonment or fines.
Saudi Arabia is to abolish flogging as a form of punishment, according to a legal document seen by media outlets.
It says this is an extension of human rights reforms brought by King Salman and his son, the country's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Saudi Arabia has been criticised over the jailing of dissidents, and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Australia and New Zealand mark Anzac Day in driveways

Thousands of people across Australia and New Zealand have stood outside their homes at dawn to mark Anzac Day, after being urged to pay tribute even amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Crowds usually gather for services, but these were cancelled last month amid wider restrictions on gatherings.
Instead people were urged to hold a candle in their driveways and live stream services.
The day of remembrance is a hugely important event for both nations.
It marks the anniversary of the first campaign that led to major casualties for the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) during World War One.

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