General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2017

Nov 2017

Mar 03, 2020

Britain, EU Begin Post-Brexit Trade Talks

British trade negotiators begin a marathon of talks in Brussels aimed at forging a new post-Brexit relationship with the EU. The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier and his UK counterpart David Frost will lead the talks, which would be held over several weekly rounds in Brussels and London. The negotiations start just over a month since UK left the EU, and are meant to wrap up by the end of this year - an exceedingly tight time frame that few see as feasible for anything but a barebones accord.

Iraq's PM-Designate Withdraws From Post, Prolonging Deadlock

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Allawi withdrew his candidacy for the post, accusing political parties of obstructing him, deepening a domestic crisis and threatening an unprecedented power vacuum.
His move came hours after parliament failed for the second time in a week to approve his cabinet amid political infighting in the oil producer, where mass protests and deadlock between lawmakers are delaying Iraq's recovery from years of war.
Allawi's appointment was meant to ease a crisis as the Shi'ite-led country faces a mass protest movement that broke out in October and brought down Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.
Iraq could end up without a Prime Minister in the meantime if Abdul Mahdi, who stayed on in a caretaker capacity, also quits.
Salih appointed Allawi after squabbling lawmakers from rival parties failed for two months to decide on a successor to Abdul Mahdi, who resigned in November during mass unrest. Allawi had one month to form a government that was meant to organise early elections.

Libya Conflict: Stressed Ghassan Salame Resigns as UN Envoy

The UN's special envoy for Libya resigned saying his efforts to bring peace in the North African country was damaging his health.
Talks between the UN-backed government based in the capital, Tripoli, and fighters loyal to renegade Gen Khalifa Haftar have floundered.
Libya has been torn by conflict since the 2011 uprising which ousted long-time strongman Muammar Gaddafi.
Last week Mr. Salame brought representatives of the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Haftar-led Libyan National Army (LNA), the two warring sides, to Geneva for peace talks, but the representatives suspended their involvement.

Saudi Arabia Starts Issuance of Permanent Premium Residency Permit to Foreigners

As Saudi Arabia officially started the issuance of Permanent Premium Residency Permit to Foreigners, Indian investor Yosuffali M A, Chairman of the Lulu group became one of the first to be given the permanent residency permit by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Premium Residency, informally known as Saudi Green Card, is a residence permit in Saudi Arabia that grants expatriates the right to live, work and own business and property in the Kingdom without need for a sponsor.
The introduction of the Premium Residency comes as a part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 reform plan, which was announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to boost the Saudi economy.

Erdogan Hopes to Broker Idlib Truce in Moscow

Turkey's President said that he hopes to broker a cease-fire later this week in Moscow when he meets with his Russian counterpart, after growing alarm over direct clashes between Turkish troops and Russian-backed Syrian forces in northern Syria.
The fighting in Syria's Idlib province, the last rebel-held area in the country, has sparked one of the war's worst humanitarian crises.
Turkey has sent thousands of troops into the area supporting the opposition fighters held up there, but hasn't been able to stop the government offensive.
Russia tipped the nine-year civil war in Syrian President Bashar Assad's favour after it joined the conflict on his side in September 2015.

Mar 02, 2020

Slovakia Election: Anti-corruption Party Takes Lead

The opposition Ordinary People party (OLaNO) won a resounding victory in Slovakia's parliamentary election on a wave of anti-corruption sentiment.
With nearly all results counted, the party has secured almost 25% of votes.
The popularity of the Ordinary People party soared in recent weeks, thanks to its anti-corruption agenda.
The election campaign was dominated by public anger over the 2018 murder of an investigative journalist, Jan Kuciak, and his fiancée, Martina Kusnirova.
The result has unseated the centre-left Smer-SD party, which dominated Slovak politics for a decade and garnered just over 18%.
Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini has admitted defeat.
Kuciak had been investigating high-level corruption when he was killed.
The shooting shocked the nation and toppled PM Robert Fico, but his Smer-SD party remained in office.

Luis Lacalle Pou Uruguay's New President

Luis Lacalle Pou was sworn in as Uruguay President to herald a new era in the South American country following 15 years of left-wing rule that brought important social reforms but left a stagnated economy and soaring crime. The 46-year-old leader of the center-right Partido Nacional was elected in November after winning a run-off against the incumbent Broad Front's candidate Daniel Martinez by just 37,000 votes in the country of 3.4 million people.

Malaysia Gets New PM

Malaysia's former Interior Minister Muhyiddun Yassin was sworn in as the Prime Minister after being appointed by the Malaysian King. This came after a week of uncertainty, following Mahathir Mohamad's resignation.
Mahathir said that he would call for an urgent parliamentary sitting to determine who had majority support.
Mahathir boycotted the swearing in ceremony, but held a press conference an hour before, flanked by his supporters.
The Malaysian palace announced that King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah believed Muhyiddin had the support of a majority of lawmakers. But Mahathir insisted that he had the support of at least 114 out of the 222 lawmakers.
Muhyiddin started his political career in the 1970s with the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). He served as deputy prime minister under Najib Razak, who was removed from office due to the 1MDB scandal. He then left UNMO and joined forces with Mahathir under the Pakatan Harapan coalition, which rose to power in 2018.

US Urges Ethiopia to Sign Nile Dam Deal

The United States says Ethiopia must, in the shortest possible time, sign a deal with Egypt and Sudan about a giant dam it is building on the River Nile.
Steven Mnuchin, the US treasury secretary, said that the final testing and filling of the dam should not take place without an agreement.
Ethiopians have reacted angrily on social media, calling on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to resist US pressure.
Earlier this week Ethiopia failed to attend what was meant to be the final signing of an accord. Egypt and Sudan fear the $4bn (£3bn) dam will deprive their populations of water.
The Grand Renaissance Dam is at the heart of Ethiopia's manufacturing and industrial dreams. When completed it is expected to be able to generate a massive 6,000 megawatts of electricity.

Mar 01, 2020

Pakistan Says US Invited to Invest in China Pakistan-Economic Corridor

In an interesting move, cash-strapped Pakistan has invited the US to join the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, an ambitious infrastructure project looked with suspicion by the Trump administration for being non-transparent.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's adviser on commerce Abdul Razak Dawood on Thursday said the government made the offer during a meeting with the US trade delegation led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, The Express Tribune reported.
Interestingly last month, senior US diplomat Alice Wells said that there is no transparency in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the firms blacklisted by the World Bank have got contracts under the project, which will increase Pakistan's debt burden.
Wells, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia made the remarks while speaking at a think tank event during her four-day visit to Pakistan.
Khan's commerce advisor Razak said that the US has shown interest in (Pakistan's) energy, oil and gas, agriculture and food processing.

Feb 29, 2020

USCIRF Condemns Violence in New Delhi, Calls for Swift Action

Expressing concern over the violence in New Delhi, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom urged the Government of India to take swift action for the safety of its citizens.
Expressing "grave concern" over it, the USCIRF said the Indian government should provide protection to people regardless of their faith amid reports of attack on Muslims.
"We urge the Indian government to make serious efforts to protect Muslims and others targeted by mob violence," USCIRF Chair Tony Perkins said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
At least 27 people have been killed and over 200 injured in the violence over the Citizenship Amendment Act in the Indian capital.

Feb 28, 2020

Mahathir: Parliament Will Pick New PM

Malaysian interim leader Mahathir Mohamad said that Parliament will pick a new prime minister next week following the collapse of the ruling alliance, and that snap elections will be called if the vote ends in an impasse. Mahathir, who met the king earlier, said the monarch couldn't find a candidate with a clear majority to lead the nation after consulting all 222 lawmakers.

IAEA: Release Fukushima Water

The world's nuclear watchdog IAEA gave its backing to Japanese plans to release contaminated water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean. Japan has around a million tonnes of contaminated water stored in tanks at the site of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, whose reactors went into meltdown after a huge tsunami in 2011. A government panel last month recommended the water be released into the ocean or vaporised, but no final decision has been taken.

Mitholz: Swiss Town Faces 10-year Evacuation

A Swiss village may have to evacuate for over a decade while authorities clear a huge World War Two arms dump.
The Defence Ministry concluded in 2019 that the cache posed an "unacceptable" risk to the nearby people of Mitholz.
Now, authorities say residents may have to leave while they clear the site.
Depending on how the work develops, residents should expect the evacuation to last up to more than 10 years.
Residents would have to approve the plan to leave the area. A public consultation is under way to see how best to proceed.
The depot partially exploded in 1947, killing nine people and destroying the nearby train station.
But more than 70 years later, about 3,500 tonnes of ammunition remain buried under rock at the site.

Putin Dismisses Rumours He Uses Body Double for Security

Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that he was offered the chance to use a body double for security purposes, but rejected the idea.
He said that the plan was tabled in the early 2000s, when Russia was fighting a war against separatists in Chechnya.
A 67-year-old former KGB agent, Mr. Putin made several trips to the region during the conflict.
For years he has been the subject of conspiracy theories online, including that he uses lookalikes for security.
But Mr. Putin, who has been in power since 2000, declined these body double on every occasion he was offered.

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