General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2017

Nov 2017

Feb 22, 2020

Pompeo Meets Saudi King in Talks Focused on Iranian Threats

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Saudi Arabia's King Salman in a visit focused primarily on discussing shared security concerns about regional rival Iran.
Ahead of his arrival in the capital Riyadh, Pompeo said that he would also raise with the Saudi leadership concerns about human rights and the cases of dual Saudi-American citizens who are either imprisoned in the kingdom or barred from traveling abroad.
Following his meeting at the royal palace with the king, Pompeo headed to a Saudi air base where some 2,500 U.S. troops are stationed in response to threats from Iran.
The U.S. military presence in the kingdom at the Prince Sultan Air Base includes a squadron of U.S. Air Force F-15E fighters that fly daily missions over Iraq and Syria and two American Patriot missile batteries prepared to knock down any Iranian attack against the Saudi kingdom.

Hindi is the 3rd most Spoken Language in the World

The 22nd edition of the world language database Ethnologue stated Hindi, as the 3rd most spoken language of the world in 2019 with 615 million speakers. English language was at the top of the list with 1,132 million speakers and Mandarin Chinese was at the 2nd position with 1,117 million speakers.
Ethnologue publishes a yearly database of living languages of the world, since its establishment in 1951.
Bangla has been ranked as the 7th most spoken language of the world and has 228 million native speakers.
The database covers 7,111 living languages of the world at present (2020). Ethnologue also publishes data on languages which have gone out of use in recent history and the edition lists contains 348 such languages.

Feb 21, 2020

India Will Be Guest of Honour at the International Tourism Fair of Madagascar

India will be the Guest of Honour at the International Tourism Fair of Madagascar, said Abhay Kumar, India's Ambassador to Madagascar.
To prepare for the International Tourism Fair in Madagascar that will be held in June, representatives of 22 Indian tour agencies are visiting the country to explore the tourism potential.
This is for the first time that such a large contingent of Indian tour operators is visiting the country. This shows that there is a great interest among the Indian tourism industry about Madagascar.
Last year, the Tourism Board of Madagascar had done a roadshow in India wherein they told the Indian Tour Operators about the exciting tourism opportunities in their country.

Sri Srinivasan First Indian American to Lead Appeals Court

Sri Srinivasan became the first Indian American to head a US court of appeals after taking over as Chief Judge of the Washington DC circuit from Merrick Garland.
Under US rules, Circuit Courts of Appeals, similar to High Courts in India, must be headed by the senior-most judge under the age of 65, and Garland, who is 67, stepped down on February 12, paving the way for Srinivasan, who is 52. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals is often considered the second most powerful court in the US after the Supreme Court, and has been a stepping stone to the highest court's judgeship.

Pakistan's Attorney General Resigns

Pakistan's Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan resigned after an uproar by the legal fraternity over his controversial remarks against judges of the Supreme Court.
Khan reportedly used contemptuous words against some members of the full bench of the apex court which is hearing the case about proceeding to remove Qazi Faez Essa, another judge of the top court.
The court ordered to expunge Khan's remarks from the record. However, lawyers demanded his resignation.
Khan submitted his resignation to Pakistan President Arif Alvi, saying he should be relieved of responsibilities immediately.

Feb 20, 2020

Lanka to Exit UN Resolution on Civil War Crimes

The government of Sri Lanka has decided to withdraw from co-sponsorship of a 2015 UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for the investigation of allegations of war crimes committed during the island nation's long civil war. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's announcement came days after the US state department imposed a travel ban on Sri Lanka's army commander, Shavendra Silva, and his family over rights violations.

Russia and Turkey Spar over Operation in Syria

Turkey and Russia exchanged warnings after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened an "imminent" operation in Syria to end the regime's brutal assault on the last rebel enclave.
Syrian aid workers called urgently for a ceasefire and international help for nearly a million people fleeing the regime onslaught in the country's northwestern Idlib province — the biggest wave of displaced civilians in the nine-year conflict.
Turkey, supporter of some rebel groups in Idlib, has been pushing for a renewed ceasefire in talks with Russia, which backs the Syrian regime. Ankara is eager to prevent another flood of refugees into its territory adding to the 3.7 million Syrians it already hosts.
Mr. Erdogan said that talks with Moscow over the past fortnight had so far failed to achieve "the desired result" and warned that Turkey would launch an offensive into Syria unless Damascus pulled its forces back by the end of the month.

Iran Election Watchdog Defends Decision to Bar Candidates

Iran's electoral watchdog defended its decision to disqualify thousands of candidates for a parliamentary election in two days, saying it was done in accordance with the law.
The Guardian Council, a powerful body that vets candidates for Iranian elections, also said that it expected at least 50 per cent of registered voters to turn out at Friday's election.
Thousands of candidates, most of them moderates and reformists, have been barred from entering the race by the Council, which is dominated by ultra-conservatives.
But its spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaee said that the body was neutral in its dealings with all political camps.
The Guardian Council follows the laws and regulations the parliament has passed at different times.

Feb 19, 2020

Pakistan Response to FATF Remains Silent

The UN Security Council 1267 Committee may have designated mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar as a global terrorist in November 2003, and also mentioned his location as Karachi, and his last issued passport as Pakistani in 2010, but there is no reference to the main accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts in the Pakistani response to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that is being discussed in the body's ongoing plenary meeting in Paris, where one of the key decisions to be made is whether to keep the country on the "grey list".
Pakistan has submitted a detailed reply to the body which was set up to counterterror financing and money laundering, claiming it has now successfully implemented 14 of the 27 action points laid down by FATF, and that it has partly implemented 11 more, but senior officials familiar with the country's submission say that its report does not mention Ibrahim, who, according to the UN, has links to al Qaeda. "There is no reference to Dawood anywhere in Pakistan's reply to FATF as it tries to get out of the grey list with the help of China," said one of the officials who asked not to be identified. A decision by FATF is expected on Friday.

Ghani Named Afghan Election Winner

President Ashraf Ghani was declared the winner of Afghanistan's presidential vote after five months of delayed results and bitter dispute. But the announcement threatened to tip the country into a full-blown political crisis on the cusp of a U.S. peace deal with the Taliban.
Just hours after the announcement, Mr. Ghani's leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah — who accuses Afghanistan's election commission of favoring the incumbent — also declared himself the winner and said he would form a government of his own.

US Sanctions Rosneft Unit for Maintaining Ties to Venezuelan Oil Trade

The US sanctioned a unit of Russia's largest oil producer, Rosneft PJSC, for maintaining ties with Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and state-run oil company PDVSA.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control is acting against Rosneft Trading SA, the company's Swiss-incorporated brokerage firm, as well as its Chairman Didier Casimiro. The US restrictions come with a three-month wind-down period that expires May 20.
The move represents the latest escalation in the Trump administration's campaign to oust Maduro and rally international support behind Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido. For the oil market, it means disruption and increased legal costs for companies, though the wind-down period gives operators time to adjust to the new regime.

UK Gets Ready for New Points-based Visa System

Home Secretary Priti Patel announced the launch of the UK's new points-based visa system, aimed at attracting the brightest and the best from the world, including from India, and cutting down numbers of cheap, low-skilled workers coming to the country.
The new system will come into force from January 1, 2021 at the end of the transition period after the UK's exit from the European Union (EU) last month, which will formally end free movement of people within the economic bloc for the UK as a non-member.
The new post-Brexit system, which will apply equally to the EU and non-EU countries like India, is based on assigning points for specific skills, qualifications, salaries and professions, with visas only awarded to those who gain enough points.

Feb 18, 2020

UK Must be Able to Set its Own Laws

As per PM's chief Brexit negotiator, the UK must have the ability to set laws that suit us.
David Frost has set out the UK's stance ahead of post-Brexit trade negotiations, due to start next month.
He dismissed the idea an EU court would have a role in future trade disputes.
It comes as France warns Britain to expect a bruising battle during talks.
Acting Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: "Boris Johnson should listen to the views of British businesses who want to maintain the closest possible alignment with the European Union."

Trump Calls for Russia to Stop Backing Syrian Atrocities

President Donald Trump called for Russia to end its support for the Syrian regime's atrocities as he expressed US concern over violence in the Idlib region.
In a call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump expressed concern over the violence in Idlib, Syria and conveyed the United States' desire to see an end to Russia's support for the Assad regime's atrocities. President Bashar al-Assad's forces made new gains in their offensive against the last major rebel bastion in the northwest region of Idlib.
Backed by Russian air strikes, Syrian government forces have kept up the assault in Idlib and areas of neighbouring Aleppo and Latakia provinces since December 2019.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, after clashes and air strikes, regime forces were in control of all the villages and small towns around Aleppo for the first time since 2012.
As per the United Nations, the Russian-backed offensive has triggered the largest wave of displacement in Syria's civil war, with 800,000 people fleeing since December 2019.

Tunisia Stalemate Risks Forcing New Election

The President of Tunisia, Kais Saied, has said that he will dissolve parliament and call early elections if the new government line-up fails to win a parliamentary vote of confidence.
The Prime Minister-designate, Elyes Fakhfakh, presented his new cabinet but the biggest bloc in parliament, the Islamist Ennahda Party, rejected it.
Mr. Fakhfakh has a deadline to form a cabinet and avoid his predecessor's fate.
Mr. Habib Jemli, who was nominated by Ennahda, failed to get his cabinet endorsed by parliament.
The new government will have the mammoth task of reviving the economy and fixing the high unemployment problem.
President Saied has called the stalemate Tunisia's worst political crisis since independence in 1956.

UAE Issues Operating Licence for Arab World's First Nuclear Plant

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued an operating licence for the first reactor at the Arab world's first nuclear power plant, paving the way for it to start production later this year.
The Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, which is being built by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), was originally due to open in 2017 but the start-up of its first reactor has been delayed several times.

EU Agrees New Patrols to Stop Arms Flow

EU states have agreed to launch a new military mission off the Libyan coast to enforce a shaky UN arms embargo.
The 27 governments still have to draft a legal text for the mission, after agreeing it in principle in Brussels.
The main objective is the arms embargo.
The UN-recognised government in Tripoli is under attack from the forces of Gen. Khalifa Haftar, which control most of eastern and southern Libya.
The EU's new naval and air mission is to operate in the eastern Mediterranean, away from the migrant-smuggling routes from Libya which have caused bitter divisions in the EU.
Italy's Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said that if the EU ships proved to be a pull factor for migrants desperate to reach Europe the mission will be stopped.

Pak. Mission Issues Visas to Hindu Pilgrims to Visit Katas Raj Temples

The Pakistan High Commission issued visas to a group of Hindu pilgrims to visit Shree Katas Raj temples in Punjab province's Chakwal district.
The group is planning to visit Shree Katas Raj temples, also known as Qila Katas or complex of Katas temples, from February 19 to 25, the Pakistan High Commission said in a statement.
Katas Raj temples surround a pond which is considered sacred by the Hindus, it said.
A group of 88 Indian Hindu devotees had also visited Shree Katas Raj temples in 2019 from December 13 to 19.

Khan Claims Refugee Crisis Likely over Kashmir

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed that Pakistan may face another refugee crisis if the international community failed to take notice of the current situation in India.
India's "ultranationalist ideology going unchecked could lead to destruction and the region could become a flashpoint", he said at a conference marking 40 years of hosting Afghan refugees in his country, attended by visiting UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Khan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that India can destroy Pakistan in 11 days are not a responsible statement by a premier of a nuclear state with a huge population. He insisted that Pakistan is no longer a militant safe haven, and said his administration fully supports the Afghan peace process.

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