General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2018

Mar 2018

May 07, 2021

The World's Longest Pedestrian Bridge

The world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge named "Arouca" was opened in Portugal, according to a press release by UNESCO's Arouca World Geopark. The Arouca Bridge offers a half-kilometre (almost 1,700-foot) walk across its span, along a metal walkway suspended from cables. Some 175 meters (574 feet) below, the Paiva River flows through a waterfall.
The bridge hangs on steel cables strung between V-shaped concrete towers and connects the banks of the Paiva River. The record-breaking bridge took several years to build and was designed by Portuguese studio Itecons. It was constructed by Conduril and cost about $2.8 million (2.3 million euros).

Mohamed Nasheed: Maldives Ex-president Injured in Blast

The former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, has been injured in a suspected bomb blast in the capital, Male.
Supporters from the governing Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said that the blast happened as he was about to get into a car outside his home on Thursday.
Initial reports suggested an explosive device had been fastened to a motorbike that was parked nearby.
Mr. Nasheed was the first democratically elected president of the Maldives.
He won multi-party elections in 2008 but was ousted in a coup four years later.
Mr. Nasheed, 53, is currently serving as the speaker in parliament which is the Indian Ocean nation's second-most powerful position.

China Suspends Economic Dialogue with Australia

China "indefinitely" suspended all activity under a China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue, the latest setback for strained relations between the two countries.
"Recently, some Australian Commonwealth Government officials launched a series of measures to disrupt the normal exchanges and cooperation between China and Australia out of Cold War mindset and ideological discrimination," China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a short statement on the decision.
China's foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said the suspension was a "necessary and legitimate" response to Australia "abusing" the concept of national security to pressure cooperation with China.

May 06, 2021

K. P. Sharma Oli's Govt. Loses Majority Support

Nepal's embattled Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli-led government lost majority support in the House of Representatives after the CPN (Maoist Center) led by Pushpakamal Dahal "Prachanda" officially withdrew support to it.
The party submitted a letter to this effect to the Parliament Secretariat, informing about its decision to withdraw support to the government, according to a senior leader of the party, Ganesh Shah.
After the withdrawal of support, the Oli government has lost its majority in the House of Representatives.
The decision of the Maoist party to withdraw support to the government comes two days after Oli announced that he will seek a vote of confidence in Parliament on May 10.
The Maoist Center has a total of 49 lawmakers in the Lower House.
Since the ruling CPN-UML has a total of 121 lawmakers, Prime Minister Oli is short of 15 lawmakers to save his government in the 275-member House.

Netanyahu Rival Lapid Asked to Form New Government

Israel's President has asked the leader of the centrist Yesh Atid Party, Yair Lapid, to try to form a government.
Reuven Rivlin announced that he had given Mr. Lapid the mandate after long-time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to meet an overnight deadline.
Yesh Atid came second to Mr. Netanyahu's right-ring Likud party in March's inconclusive general election.
Mr. Lapid faces a challenge to bridge the ideological differences between the parties he can ask to join a coalition.
If he fails to secure a majority in the 120-seat parliament, the Knesset, there is a risk of the country having to go to elections for the fifth time in two years.

May 05, 2021

Netanyahu Loses Mandate to form Israel Govt.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's mandate to form a government following an inconclusive election expired, giving his rivals a chance to take power and end the divisive premier's record tenure.
Netanyahu, on trial over corruption charges he denies, had a 28-day window to secure a coalition following the March 23 vote, Israel's fourth in less than two years.
The 71-year-old's right-wing Likud party won the most seats in the vote, but he and his allies came up short of an absolute majority in the 120-seat Knesset, Israel's parliament.
President Reuven Rivlin's office said in a statement that Netanyahu had "informed (the presidency) that he was unable to form a government and so returned the mandate to the President."

PM Oli to Seek Trust Vote

Nepal's embattled Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli will seek a vote of confidence from Parliament on May 10 in his bid to stay in power.
President Bidya Devi Bhandari, on the recommendation of Oli, summoned a Parliament session on May 10 to obtain a vote of confidence in his government.
Oli requires at least 136 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament, to win the confidence motion as four members are currently under suspension. During a Cabinet meeting on Sunday, Oli said that he would try to win the trust of Parliament to stay in power.
Oli's decision comes amid the current chaotic state of political affairs in the country that emerged since the Prime Minister's controversial move to dissolve the House of Representatives in December last year.

Lebanon and Israel Resume Indirect Talks on Maritime Border

After a nearly six-month pause, Lebanon and Israel resumed indirect talks with US mediation over their disputed maritime border.
The resumption comes after a new US administration took over.
Lebanon has sunk deeper into it economic and financial crisis that started in late 2019 — a culmination of decades of corruption and mismanagement by the political class.
The small Mediterranean country is eager to resolve the border dispute with Israel, paving the way for potential lucrative oil and gas deals.
The talks resumed at a UN post along the border known as Ras Naqoura, on the edge of the Lebanese border town of Naqoura. The Lebanese delegation will speak through UN and US officials to the Israelis.

May 04, 2021

WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Plans to Seek Re-election

As per reports, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, plans to run for a second five-year term as the head of the agency.
Tedros, as he is widely kno¬wn, has been the public face of the WHO's efforts to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic ever since the new SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.
In 2017, Ethiopia's Tedros became the first African to head the Geneva-based UN agency and made universal health care coverage his priority.

Differences with China Hard to Reconcile: NZ

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern took a tougher stance on China's human rights record, and said that it was getting harder to reconcile differences as China's role in the world grew.
While her language remained moderate when compared with that of many other leaders, it still marked a significant shift for the country. Ardern in past speeches has often avoided direct criticism of China.
New Zealand has been trying to strike the right tone on China in recent weeks after finding itself on the defensive with its Five Eyes (New Zealand, the US, the UK, Australia and Canada) security allies by resisting speaking out in unison with them against China on certain human rights issues.

Bill and Melinda Gates End 27 Years of Marriage

Billionaire benefactors Bill and Melinda Gates, co-founders of one of the world's largest private charitable foundations, filed for divorce after 27 years of marriage but pledged to continue their philanthropic work together.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has become one of the most powerful and influential forces in global public health, spending more than $50 billion over the past two decades to bring a business approach to combating poverty and disease.
The Gates have backed widely praised programs in malaria and polio eradication, child nutrition and vaccines. The foundation last year committed some $1.75 billion to COVID-19 relief.

May 03, 2021

US Denies Iran's Claims of Prisoner, Cash Swap

The United States denied a report by Iran's state-run television broadcaster that deals had been reached between the Islamic Republic, Washington and the United Kingdom that would see prisoners swapped and Tehran receive billions of dollars.
The announcement by state television, relying on an unnamed source, comes amid a wider power struggle between hard-liners and the relatively moderate government of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. That conflict only has grown sharper as Iran approaches its June 18 presidential election.

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