General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2018

Mar 2018

Jun 09, 2020

US Releases Iranian Doctor in Prisoner Swap

An Iranian-American doctor released from a US jail as part of a prisoner swap has flown back to Tehran.
Majid Taheri, was accused of violating US sanctions and financial reporting requirements.
Dr. Taheri's return came just days after Iran freed US Navy veteran Michael White, and the US deported Iranian scientist Sirous Asgari.
The exchange represents a slight thaw in relations between the two foes.
US-Iran relations have become increasingly hostile since 2018, when President Donald Trump abandoned Iran's nuclear deal with world powers and reinstated crippling economic sanctions.
Earlier this year, the US assassinated top Iranian commander Gen Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in Iraq. Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles at Iraqi military bases hosting US forces.

North Korea Halts all Communications with South

The North said that this was the first in a series of actions, describing South Korea as "the enemy".
Daily calls, which have been made to a liaison office located in the North Korean border city of Kaesong, will cease immediately.
The two states had set up the office to reduce tensions after talks in 2018.
North and South Korea are technically still at war because no peace agreement was reached when the Korean War ended in 1953.
North Korea "will completely cut off and shut down the liaison line between the authorities of the North and the South, which has been maintained through the North-South joint liaison office from 9th June 2020.
Military communication channels will also be cut.

Environment Performance Index 2020

According to the biennial Environment Performance Index (EPI ) 2020 released jointly by Yale University and Columbia University, India has ranked 168 out of 180 countries with a score of 27.6 out of 100.While the Denmark has topped the list with a score of 82.5.
Among the South Asian countries, Bhutan topped in the list and Afghanistan was at the bottom.
The EPI provides a quantitative basis for comparing, analysing, and understanding environmental performance of the countries based on 32 key sustainability indicators across 11 categories and also gives a snapshot of the 10-year trends in environmental performance at the national and global levels.

Vietnam Ratifies Free Trade Agreement with EU

The National Assembly of Vietnam ratified a free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), which over the next 10 years will cut or eliminate 99 per cent of tariffs on trade between the two sides.
The Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will come into effect in July.
When it comes into effect, 71 per cent of Vietnamese exports to the EU will be exempt of tariffs while taxes on the remaining goods will be lifted in the next seven years.
In return, Vietnam will lift 65 per cent of the tariffs on products from EU member countries, while taxes on the remaining goods will be reduced over the next 10 years until 99 per cent of them are eliminated.
The EU is Vietnam's second largest export destination behind the US, and is also the second largest exporter of goods to the Southeast Asian country, also behind the US.

Jun 08, 2020

Biden Will Take on Trump in November Election

Former US vice-president Joe Biden has secured enough delegates to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination at the party convention in Milwaukee in August.
Late results from the June primaries took Biden to 1,995 delegates, past the threshold of 1,991 needed to clinch the nomination, clearing the path for his race against President Donald Trump in November.

Malawi Leader Appoints New Electoral Chief Ahead of Rerun

Malawi's President Peter Mutharika has appointed a new electoral commission chairperson ahead of a presidential re-run.
The Constitutional Court had in February 2020 ordered a fresh presidential election be held within 150 days after annulling last year's re-election of President Mutharika - a ruling upheld by the Supreme Court.
The former commission chairperson Jane Ansah resigned amid criticism by the opposition on how she managed the disputed election.
President Mutharika appointed Justice Chifundo Kachale to head the commission.
He also appointed new commissioners, namely Arthur Nanthuru, Steve Duwa, Jean Mathanga, Linda Kunje, Anthony Mukumbwa and Olivia Liwewe.

Jun 07, 2020

Iran Blocking Sites Access, UN Nuclear Watchdog Says

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says that for more than four months Iran has been blocking inspections of two suspect locations.
It is believed the activity there took place long before Iran agreed to curb its nuclear ambitions in a 2015 deal.
The IAEA says Iran's enriched uranium stockpile now exceeds the agreed limit.
It comes amid rising tensions between Iran and the US, which pulled out of the 2015 international agreement.
Iran has always denied that it has ever sought to develop a nuclear weapon, insisting that its programmes have been peaceful.

Facebook Places State Media Labels on Russian, Chinese Outlets

Facebook Inc will start labelling Russian, Chinese and other state-controlled media organisations, and later this summer will block any ads from such outlets that target U.S. users.
The world's biggest social network will apply the label to Russia's Sputnik, Iran's Press TV and China's Xinhua News, according to a partial list Facebook provided. The company will apply the label to about 200 pages at the outset.
Facebook will not label any U.S.-based news organisations, as it determined that even U.S. government-run outlets have editorial independence.
Facebook, which has acknowledged its failure to stop Russian use of its platforms to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, has since stepped up its defences and imposed greater transparency requirements for pages and ads on its platforms.

US Approves over $340 Million Aid to Indian Firms

The US has approved loans and investments worth over $340 million for Indian firms and organisations as part of its efforts to uplift under-served communities around the world against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Most of these loans were part of $1 billion in investments approved recently by the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)'s board of directors to advance development in Africa, Latin America, the Indo-Pacific, and emerging markets.

Jun 06, 2020

IMF Asks Pakistan to Freeze Govt. Employees' Salaries

The IMF has asked cash-strapped Pakistan to freeze salaries of government employees and adhere to the fiscal consolidation path by showing a nominal primary deficit in the new budget due to the unsustainable public debt that is set to hit 90 per cent of the total value of the national economy.
Pakistan is finding it hard to concede to the two demands but the IMF is insisting that the country should continue to follow the fiscal consolidation path due to the high and unsustainable public debt.
However, the government is resisting the demand due to high inflation that has eroded people's real income.
Nonetheless, it is inclined to abolish over 67,000 posts that have remained vacant for over one year and is also ready to further squeeze current expenditures including a ban on purchase of vehicles.

Eight Countries form Alliance to Counter China

A group of senior lawmakers from eight democracies including the US have launched a new cross-parliamentary alliance to help counter what they say is the threat China's growing influence poses to global trade, security and human rights.
The list of participating nations includes the US, Germany, the UK, Japan, Australia, Canada, Sweden and Norway, as well as members of the European parliament.

Jun 05, 2020

Brazil's Coronavirus Death Toll Passes Italy

Brazil's total COVID-19 death toll past that of Italy, as the Health Ministry reported 1,437 deaths in the last 24 hours and 30,925 additional coronavirus cases.
The Latin American nation has now reported 34,021 deaths from the coronavirus, trailing only the United States and the United Kingdom.

Novavax Ggets U.S. Defense Funding for COVID-19 Vaccine

Novavax Inc said that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) will give the late-stage biotech company up to $60 million to fund the manufacturing of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine. This deal includes the delivery of 10 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine - NVX-CoV2373 - to the DoD this year.
The announcement of Novavax's vaccine trial came last month as drug makers pause clinical trials on drugs for other ailments to focus on COVID-19.
The Maryland-based company joined the race to test coronavirus vaccine candidates on humans and said that it was targeting the production of over a billion doses of its vaccine candidate next year.
Vaccines are seen by world leaders as the only real way to restart their stalled economies after months of sweeping shutdowns.

Hong Kong's Legislature Approves Bill Making it Illegal to Insult the Chinese National Anthem

Hong Kong's legislature approved a contentious bill that makes it illegal to insult the Chinese national anthem.
The legislation was approved after pro-democracy opposition lawmakers tried to disrupt the vote. The bill was passed with 41 lawmakers voting for it and just one voting against. Most of the pro-democracy lawmakers boycotted the vote out of protest.
The pro-democracy camp sees the anthem bill as an infringement of freedom of expression and the greater rights that residents of the semi-autonomous city have compared to mainland China.
According to the pro-Beijing majority, the law was necessary for Hong Kong citizens to show appropriate respect for the anthem.
Those found guilty of intentionally abusing the 'March of the Volunteers' face up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 50,000 Hong Kong dollars (USD 6,450).

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