General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2017

Nov 2017

May 29, 2019

Sri Lanka, Japan and India to Develop Container Terminal

Sri Lanka, Japan and India signed an agreement to jointly develop the East Container Terminal at the Colombo Port.
The joint initiative is estimated to cost between $500 million and $700 million.
As per the agreement signed, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) retains 100% ownership of the East Container Terminal (ECT), while the Terminal Operations Company is jointly owned.
Sri Lanka will hold a 51% stake in the project and the joint venture partners will retain 49%. The ECT is located some three km away from the China-backed international financial city, known popularly as "Port City".

Iran Says No Mediation

As Iran played down the chances of a military clash with Washington, Iran's Foreign Ministry insisted it did not currently see the need for mediation with the U.S.
Iran is locked in a standoff with the U.S. which has beefed up its military presence in the West Asia over alleged threats from the Islamic republic.
U.S. President Donald Trump had said that U.S. would like to talk if Iran was ready.

NIA Team in Lanka

A two-member team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), led by inspector general Alok Mittal, reached Colombo to discuss with Sri Lankan authorities the Indian links of radical Muslims who carried out the Easter Sunday attacks in the island nation.
The purpose of the visit is not to probe the coordinated bombings on April 21 that left 258 people dead, but to exchange information on suspects and about people based in Tamil Nadu and Kerala who likely have links with the National Towheed Jamaath (NTJ), which is suspected to have masterminded the attacks.

May 28, 2019

Sebastian Kurz Loses No-confidence Vote

Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz lost a no-confidence vote in Parliament, removing him and his Cabinet from office over a corruption scandal that brought has down his coalition government.
The move comes in the wake of the so-called 'Ibiza-gate' scandal, which saw Freedom Party leader and Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache resign from both posts after he was caught appearing to offer public contracts in return for campaign help from a fake Russian backer.

May 27, 2019

Challenges for Britain's Next PM

The ruling Conservative Party began the process of choosing a new Prime Minister (PM) for Britain following Theresa May's announcement that she will resign on June 7.
The next PM will face the same political minefield that Ms May was unable to navigate.
There will be three main sources of danger. One is bridging the gaps within the Conservatives about what sort of Brexit will Britain carry out. This division, and the seeming impossible task of finding a middle path between hardline "no deal Brexiteers" and those who want some sort of soft economic union, has been the primary reason the May prime ministership failed. Two is ensuring that any such resolution will not drive large numbers of voters into the hands of the new right-wing Brexit party or towards the liberal left opposition. Finally, to then sell any Brexit deal to the European Union and, preferably, find means to smoothen the sharper economic consequences of a clean break.
The problem is Britain is no closer to a viable Brexit plan than before. The Conservatives now seem set to choose a hardline Brexiteer as the next PM.
If so, this will bring Britain the closest it has been so far to a full break with the EU, without any sort of economic union.
This will deliver a sharp economic cost to Britain, driving its economy into recession and making it far less attractive as an investment site for Indian and other foreign investors.
Since it is assumed this will not be palatable to any PM, a new round of intra-party squabbling can be expected.

May 26, 2019

Trump Decides to Sell Arms to Saudi Arabia and UAE

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration bypassed the Congress to sell $8.1 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies, citing a threat from Iran, infuriating lawmakers who fear the weapons could kill civilians in Yemen.
According to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the administration would circumvent the required review by Congress to approve 22 arms transfers to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, saying that the freeze on sales by Congress could affect the Arab allies' operational abilities.
As per Mr. Pompeo, the weapons, which include munitions and aircraft support maintenance, are meant to deter Iranian aggression and build partner self-defence capacity.

May 25, 2019

U.S. to Deploy Additional Troops to West Asia

President Donald Trump announced that some 1,500 additional U.S. troops would be deployed to West Asia against a backdrop of soaring tensions with Iran.
The deployment includes reconnaissance aircraft, fighter jets, engineers, and the extension of the presence of a Patriot missile defense battalion that accounts for 600 of the personnel.

N. Korea Says Talks Won't Resume

North Korea said that nuclear negotiations with the U.S. will never resume unless President Trump's administration moves away from what Pyongyang described as unilateral demands by U.S. for disarmament.

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