General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2018

Mar 2018

Oct 26, 2020

Indian-origin Priest is Seychelles President

An Indian-origin priest from Bihar has been elected President of Seychelles which has a substantial population from the subcontinent.
Wavel Ramkalawan, whose grandfather came from Gopalganj, Bihar, defeated incumbent Danny Faure.
Ramkalawan, who had remained underground for some time during the one-party rule by Faure's predecessors, is opposed to the "Assumption agreement" for handing over an island to India.
In a reflection of the changing political climate in the country, a four-party parliamentary majority led by Ramkalawan's Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS), has refused to ratify the agreement.

Punjabis Win British Columbia Election

Eight candidates of Punjabi origin have emerged winners in the British Columbia provincial elections in Canada. All eight belong to the ruling New Democratic Party, which secured an absolute majority with 55 seats in the 87-member House.
Three of them — Labour Minister Harry Bains, Deputy Speaker Raj Chouhan and Parliamentary Secretary Jagrup Brar — have been elected MLAs for the fifth time.
Chouhan won from Burnaby-Edmonds. He defeated Liberal Party's Tript Atwal, the daughter of former Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker and SAD leader Charanjit Singh Atwal. Brar retained his Surrey-Fleetwood seat. He belongs to Deon village in Bathinda.
Rachna Singh, daughter of Punjabi writer Dr. Raghbir Singh and an alumna of Panjab University, has been re-elected from Surrey-Green Timbers. She defeated Dilraj Atwal of the Liberal Party.
Ravi Kahlon retained his Delta North seat. Aman Singh defeated Jas Johal from Richmond-Queensborough. Jinny Sims and Niki Sharma won from Surrey-Panorama and Vancouver-Hastings, respectively.

Chile Votes to Rewrite Constitution

Chileans have voted overwhelmingly in support of rewriting their Constitution, which dates to the dictatorship of Gen Augusto Pinochet.
With nearly 90% of the vote counted, 78% of people had voted yes in a referendum that was called after mass protests against inequality.
President Sebastian Piñera acknowledged the result and praised the peaceful vote.
He said that it was the beginning of a path that we must all walk together.
A mass anti-government protest movement began in Chile a year ago. From the beginning one of the demonstrators' key demands was that the country needed a new constitution to be able to fix deep inequalities in society.
"Until now, the constitution has divided us," Mr. Piñera said as people took to the streets in celebration. "From today we must all work together so that the new constitution is the great framework of unity, stability and the future.

Guinean President Wins Third Term amid Stir

Guinea's President Alpha Conde has won a third term with 59.49 per cent of the vote, the National Independent Electoral Commission declared.
His victory came amid widespread protests that were violently suppressed by security forces.
Some people went on to the streets to protest immediately after the announcement. Such demonstrations have occurred for months after the government changed the constitution through a national referendum, allowing Condé to extend his decade in power.
Opposition candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo received 33.50% of the vote. Voter turnout was almost 80%.

Oct 25, 2020

Central Asia's Biggest State Takes Key Step towards Democracy

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a decree scheduling Majilis elections for January 2021, in what can be described as a key step towards democracy in the region.
Majilis is the lower chamber of the Kazakh Parliament consisting of 107 deputies, who are elected for a five-year term.
The previous elections were held in March 2016. Six political parties participated in the elections and three of them including Nur Otan (82.2 per cent), AkZhol Democratic Party of Kazakhstan (7.18 per cent), the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan (7.14 per cent), received more than 7 per cent of the votes and won the right to delegate their deputies to the chamber.
Currently, the Nur Otan party has a majority of 84 deputies in the Majilis, the Ak Zhol and the Communist People's party have 7 deputies each.

Malaysia's King to Consult with Rulers amid Talk of Emergency

Malaysia's King Al-Sultan Abdullah will consult with other rulers to discuss proposals by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, after the premier had asked the king to declare a state of emergency.
Muhyiddin met with the king to present the emergency proposal that includes a suspension of the Parliament, a move that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim denounced as an attempt by the premier to retain control amid a power struggle.
The proposal comes as Malaysia faces a resurgence in coronavirus cases, a pandemic-battered economy and doubts over Muhyiddin's ability to command a majority in parliament and pass the budget for 2021.
The palace did not identify the recommendations made by Muhyiddin and said that the king would soon hold the consultation with other Malay rulers.

Sudan Joins UAE, Bahrain in Recognizing Israel

Sudan became the third country to join UAE and Bahrain in recognizing Israel. The United States recently brokered pacts between Israel and UAE and Bahrain. Under the agreement, UAE and Bahrain agreed to recognise Israel as an independent state.
In September 2020, UAE, Bahrain and Israel signed the first peace agreement in 26 years. The agreement was called the Abraham Accord.
Egypt was the first country to recognise Israel. Following Egypt Jordan recognised Israel by establishing peace with the country. After 26 years following Jordan, UAE signed a peace deal with Israel recently. After UAE, Bahrain became the fourth country to sign a peace deal with Israel.
On May 14, 1948, the head of Jewish agency David Ben Gurion proclaimed the establishment of Israel.

Oct 24, 2020

Libya Rivals Sign Ceasefire Deal in Geneva

Libya's warring factions have signed an agreement on a permanent ceasefire, after five days of talks in Geneva.
The deal between military leaders from Libya's government, and those from opposition forces lead by General Khalifa Haftar, was brokered by the UN.
Its Libya envoy Stephanie Williams called the agreement "a crucial sign of hope for the Libyan people".
Libya has been riven by violence since Col Muammar Gaddafi was deposed by Nato-backed forces in 2011.
The oil-rich nation is a key transit point for migrants heading to Europe from Africa, and many Libyans within the country have been forced from their homes.
The UN's envoy said that the ceasefire will allow displaced people and refugees inside and outside the country to return to their homes.

China Threatens to Stop Recognising BNO Passports

China threatened to stop recognising the UK-issued passports for Hong Kong residents after the country reaffirmed its plan to offer a route to its citizenship to thousands of people living in the former British colony.
The British government announced in July that it will open a new special pathway to obtaining British citizenship for eligible Hong Kongers from January 2021 after China imposed a new, sweeping national security law on Hong Kong.
The British offer is not for all residents of Hong Kong, but only those holding a British National Overseas (BNO) passport.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that the Chinese government has repeatedly made clear its strong stance on this issue, but the British side has insisted on interfering with Hong Kong affairs and China's domestic issues.
As the British side broke its own promises, the Chinese government will consider not recognising the BNO passport as a valid travel document, and reserve the right to impose further measures.

India Assumes Chairmanship of International Labour Organisation

The Union Ministry of Labour announced that India has assumed the chairmanship of International Labour Organisation after 35 years. The current Labour Secretary Apurva Chandra has been elected as the chairperson of the Governing Body of ILO. He is to preside over the upcoming meeting of the Governing body in November 2020.
The Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation is the apex executive body. It decides on policies, agenda, programmes and elects the Director-General. Currently, there are 187 members associated with ILO.
India is one of the founding members of ILO. It was created in 1919 under Treaty of Versailles and became a specialized agency in 1946.
The organisation creates World Employment and Social Outlook Report and Global Wage Report.
Apurva Chandra is a 1988 batch IAS officer who spent more than seven years in Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. He has worked for over four years as Principal Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra. In 2017, he was appointed as the Directorate General (Acquisition) to strengthen Indian Armed Forces.

Facebook Poised to Face Antitrust Suit

US antitrust officials are nearing a final decision on bringing a lawsuit against Facebook that accuses the social media giant of using its dominance to harm competition, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The FTC has been investigating whether Facebook violated antitrust laws for more than year, including whether its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were designed to eliminate emerging competitive threats.

Oct 23, 2020

Sweeping Powers for Lanka President

Sri Lanka's Parliament passed the 20th Amendment to the Constitution with two-thirds majority, consolidating the power in the hands of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and undermining the authority of Parliament.
The second reading of the 20th Amendment was passed in Parliament, with 156 MPs voting in favour of the Bill and 65 against it in the 223-member Parliament. Only 213 members were present at the time of voting.
The interesting feature of the vote was six defections from the Opposition benches to government ranks.
With their dominant majority in the assembly, the Rajapaksa have made it clear that they would amend the Constitution to bolster the powers of the President, reversing the work of the previous government to introduce more checks and balances and enhance the role of Parliament.

Whistleblower Edward Snowden Gets Permanent Residency Rights

Russia has granted US whistleblower Edward Snowden permanent residency rights, a step towards Russian citizenship if he wants it.
Snowden fled the United States and was given asylum in Russia after leaking secret files in 2013 that revealed vast domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by the US National Security Agency where he was a contractor.
US authorities have for years wanted Snowden returned to the United States to face a criminal trial on espionage charges brought in 2013.

China Vows Retaliation if US Proceeds with Taiwan Arms Sale

China has vowed to retaliate if the US proceeds with the sale of advanced weaponry to Taiwan worth more than a billion dollars.
The statement from China's defence ministry gave no specifics but the development marks a further deterioration in ties between Beijing and Washington that have hit their lowest ebb in decades.
The State Department announced it had green lighted the sale of 135 precision land-attack missiles, associated equipment and training to Taiwan to improve its defence capabilities. The package is worth just over a billion dollars, it said in a statement. The missiles are made by Boeing.

Lebanon's New Prime Minister

Lebanon's President Michel Aoun designated Sunni Muslim politician Saad al-Hariri as Prime Minister to form a new government to tackle the worst crisis since the country's 1975-1990 civil war.
Hariri won the backing of a majority of parliamentarians in consultations with Aoun. He faces major challenges to navigate Lebanon's power-sharing politics and agree a cabinet, which must then address a mounting list of woes: a banking crisis, currency crash, rising poverty and crippling state debts.
A new government will also have to contend with a COVID-19 surge and the fallout of the huge August explosion at Beirut port that killed nearly 200 people and caused billions of dollars of damage.

Sri Lanka Opposes Delisting of LTTE as Terror Group

Sri Lanka has appealed against a judgment from Britain's Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission, which has delisted the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a proscribed terrorist organisation.
As per a foreign ministry statement, Sri Lanka had been made aware of the Open Judgment by the Commission
The decision of the commission arose from an appeal filed in May 2019 by an LTTE front organisation challenging a decision of the British Secretary of State for Home Affairs.

Oct 22, 2020

EU and Britain to Resume Trade Talks

Britain will resume talks with the European Union (EU), marking a new push by the two sides to protect billions of dollars worth of trade from the beginning of next year.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson walked away from the negotiations late last week after British officials criticised conclusions from an EU summit, which they said that suggested only London should compromise to try to secure a new trade deal.
With just 10 weeks until a status quo Brexit transition period due to end, both sides have traded blame and called on each other to offer more concessions in the talks, which have been all but deadlocked since the summer.
But while markets welcomed the resumption, it is unclear whether the two sides can bridge gaps on fair competition guarantees —especially state aid rules —and fisheries, a sector laden with symbolism for Brexit supporters in Britain.

Taiwan Not Seeking Arms Race with China

Taiwan is not seeking to get involved in an arms race with China but does need a credible combat capability, Defence Minister Yen De-fa said after the United States approved a potential $1.8 billion arms sale to the Chinese-claimed island.
Beijing has applied increasing pressure on democratically-ruled Taiwan to accept China's sovereignty, including by flying fighter jets across the sensitive mid-line of the Taiwan Strait, which normally serves as an unofficial buffer.
The latest US arms package includes sensors, missiles and artillery, and further congressional notifications are expected for drones made by General Atomics and land-based Harpoon anti-ship missiles, made by Boeing Co, to serve as coastal defence cruise missiles.

Sindh Cops Revolt against Pakistan Army

In a show of open defiance against the Pakistan army, police officers in Karachi threatened to go on mass leave after the Sindh police chief was allegedly kidnapped and coerced to act against PML (N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz Sharif.
Sources in Islamabad said that with the ongoing tussle between Opposition and the Army, Pakistan was slipping into a civil war-like situation.
The Sindh police alleged they were pressured to arrest Maryam's husband Safdar Awan. Sindh is headed by CM Syed Murad Ali Shah of the Pakistan People's Party.
The Sindh police had arrested Safdar Awan, who's the son-in-law of exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, from a hotel in Karachi.

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