General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - January 2018

Jan 2018

Jan 30, 2023

Petr Pavel Becomes New President of Czech Republic

Petr Pavel, a former chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military committee, became the new President of the Czech Republic.
Pavel defeated billionaire Andrej Babis in a run-off vote and replaced controversial President Milos Zeman.
A former military general, Pavel got more than 58 per cent of the vote.

Indian-American Raja J. Chari Nominated as US Air Force Brigadier General

Indian-American astronaut Raja Chari was nominated by US President Joe Biden for the post of Air Force brigadier general. The nomination has yet to be confirmed by the US Senate. The senate approves all senior civilian and military appointments, according to the US Defense Department. Brigadier General (BG) is a one-star General Officer rank of the United States Air Force.
Raja Chari is a US Air Force Colonel, who is 45 years old and earned a master's degree in aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Chari is also graduated from the US Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland.

Italy, Libya Sign Gas Agreement

Italy's PM held talks in Libya with officials from the country's west-based government focusing on energy and migration.
During the visit, the two countries' oil companies signed a gas deal worth USD 8 billion, the largest single investment in Libya's energy sector in more than two decades.

South Africa to Host 15th BRICS Summit in August 2023

The 15th BRICS summit is all set to take place in South Africa's Durban in late August this year.
The Foreign Ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, and China met for the first time on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in 2006, kicking off BRIC cooperation. Later in April 2011, South Africa participated, for the first time, in the 3rd BRICS Summit held in Sanya, China.
The announcement was apparently made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Mali Defends Ties with Russia, Opposes Options for UN Force

Mali's Foreign Minister defended the military government's cooperation with Russia on Friday and rejected three options proposed by the United Nations' chief to reconfigure the UN peacekeeping force in the West African country where Al-Qaida and Islamic State extremist groups are driving insecurity.
Abdoulaye Diop told the UN Security Council that security was the country's top priority and Mali would not continue to justify its partnership with Russia, which was providing training and equipment to the military. He did not mention Russia's Wagner Group, the private military contractor with ties to the Kremlin.

Jan 29, 2023

Amira Elghawaby is Canada's First Anti-Islamophobia Advisor

Canada appointed its first special representative on combatting Islamophobia, a position created following several recent attacks on Muslims in the country.
Journalist and activist Amira Elghawaby filled the post to serve as a champion, advisor, expert and representative to support and enhance the federal government's efforts in the fight against Islamophobia, systemic racism, racial discrimination and religious intolerance.

Jan 28, 2023

India Elected as Vice-chair at the 12th Session of Intergovernmental Technical Working Group

In the 12th Session of the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group (ITWG) on Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) India was elected as vice-chair and represented Asia & Pacific region. Dr. B. N. Tripathi, Deputy Director General (Animal Sciences), ICAR, and the National Coordinator, vice-chaired the Session and also act as rapporteur.
The 12th Session of the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group (ITWG) on Animal Genetic Resources was held in Rome.
The Working Group, established by the FAO's Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), functions to review technical issues, advise and make recommendations to the Commission and further implement the Commission's program related to AnGR at the global level.
In the 12th Session of ITWG, implementation of the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources, monitoring of AnGR diversity, and preparing the 3rd Country Report.

Shirin Sharmin Likely to Become Bangladesh's First Woman President

Bangladesh's Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury is possibly going to be the country's first woman President.
As per reports, the ruling party has decided to field Chowdhury despite some factions pitching for senior party leaders like Matiya Chowdhury and Amir Hossain Amu. Some suggestions about party general secretary and Roads-bridges Minister Obaidul Quader as a likely candidate for President was negated by most in the Presidium and Central Executive Committee because Quader recovered from his physical maladies and is seen as a tough old-school Awami League organiser.

Jan 27, 2023

India among Top 3 Nations in Expanding Organic Farming in 2020

India emerged as one of the top three countries in the world where the area under organic agriculture expanded the maximum in 2020. The total increase under organic cultivation globally in 2020 was 3 million hectares (mh), out of which Argentina accounted for 7,81,000 hectares (up by 21 per cent), followed by Uruguay at 5,89,000 hectares (28 per cent) and India at 3,59,000 hectares.
The Agriculture Ministry's Rs. 2,481-crore plan to create the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) has yet to be approved by the Cabinet. The project is set to run from the current fiscal year until 2025-26, with a goal of bringing 7.5 lakh farmers on board to practice non-chemical natural farming over 7.5 lakh hectares. Farmers will get a maximum of Rs. 15,000/hectare (until 2025-26) under the scheme, depending on any income loss from transitioning to natural farming.

Jan 25, 2023

Uganda's First Oil Drilling Program

Uganda has one of the largest oil reserves in the Saharan desert, according to the International Monetary Fund. Oil was discovered in Uganda twenty years back. But the production was delayed due to a lack of funds and infrastructure. With the assistance of China, Uganda launched its first oil field in Lake Albert. Extraction is to be done in four phases and the first phase was launched.
The China National Offshore Oil Corporation launched the drilling in the lake along with the Uganda National Oil Company. China is investing 10 billion USD in the project. Along with the project, Uganda is also launching a controversial pipeline. The pipeline will connect the oil fields in Lake Albert to the Tanzanian coast for easy transport.
Under the program, Uganda is planning to produce 230,000 barrels of oil per day.

Chris Hipkins sworn in as New Zealand PM

Chris Hipkins was sworn in as New Zealand's 41st Prime Minister, following the unexpected resignation last week of Jacinda Ardern.
Hipkins promised a back-to-basics approach focusing on the economy and what he described as the "pandemic of inflation."
He will have less than nine months before contesting a tough general election, with opinion polls indicating his Labour Party is trailing its conservative opposition.
New Zealand Governor-General Cindy Kiro officiated the brief swearing in ceremony in front of friends and colleagues after earlier accepting Ardern's resignation.

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