General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - March 2018

Mar 2018

Mar 18, 2020

Philippines President Duterte Locks Down Island

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte widened a monthlong quarantine in the Manila region to cover all of the country's main island to prevent coronavirus from spreading. The "enhanced quarantine" of Luzon, which has 60 million people and is responsible for 70% of the Philippines' economic output, will place tens of thousands of daily wage earners at risk of penury. Hours after the announcement, the country's central bank governor said that policy makers are "inclined" to cut the key interest rate by 50 basis points.

Iraqi President Appoints Adnan al-Zurfi as New PM-designate

Iraqi President Barham Salih appointed Adnan al-Zurfi as the country's new Prime Minister-designate in the latest bid to resolve a months-long political crisis.
Al-Zurfi has 30 days to form his cabinet which he must then put to a vote of confidence in Iraq's fractious Parliament. The 54-year-old former governor of the holy Shia city of Najaf heads the Nasr parliamentary grouping of former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Al-Zurfi would replace caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who quit in December 2019 following widespread mass demonstrations against a government that protesters see as corrupt, failing to provide them with basic services, and beholden to powerful neighbouring Iran.

Trump Moves to Save US Economy

Admitting for the first time that the coronavirus outbreak may send the US economy into a recession, President Donald Trump is asking Congress to unleash a torrent of emergency economic aid to help people through the financial pain of the crisis, with sizable cheques directly to Americans as part of the deal.
The White House was asking Congress on Tuesday to approve a sweeping emergency stimulus package to help businesses and taxpayers cope with the economic fallout of the pandemic. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin planned to outline the roughly $850 billion package to Senate Republicans at a private lunch, with officials aiming to have Congress approve it this week. It's the most far-reaching economic rescue package since the Great Recession of 2008.

Mar 17, 2020

Switzerland Declares State of Emergency

The Swiss government declared a state of emergency lasting until April 19. "A strong reaction is needed across the country. And we need it now," Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga told a press conference. All shops, restaurants, bars, and entertainment and leisure facilities are to shut down, with the exception of grocery stores, pharmacies and health facilities. Switzerland will also tighten its border controls with Germany, France and Austria.

Mar 16, 2020

Gantz to Form New Israeli Govt.

Israel's President Reuven Rivlin decided to give opposition leader Benny Gantz the first opportunity to form a new government following an inconclusive national election this month. President Reuven Rivlin's office announced this decision after consulting with leaders of all of the parties elected to parliament. The decision raises questions about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political future as he leads the country's battle against the coronavirus threat and prepares to go on trial for corruption charges. Netanyahu's Likud emerged as the largest party in the March 2 election, Israel's third in under a year. But with his smaller religious and nationalist allies, he received the support of only 58 lawmakers during consultations, leaving Likud three seats short of the required majority in parliament.

Slovakia Poll Winner to Form 4-party Govt.

The chairman of the winning party in Slovakia's parliamentary election told the country's President that he has agreed to form a coalition government with three other parties. Igor Matovic and his centre-right populist opposition group Ordinary People captured 25% of the February 29 vote. It has 53 seats in the 150-seat parliament. President Zuzana Caputova asked Matovic in March 2020 to lead the efforts to create a new government. After their meeting, Matovic said that he presented the details of his Cabinet to the President. It is not clear when the new government might be sworn in.

Mar 15, 2020

Bill Gates Quits Microsoft Board

Microsoft announced that co-founder Bill Gates left its board of directors to devote more time to philanthropy.
Gates served as chairman of Microsoft's board of directors until early in 2014 and has now stepped away entirely.
Microsoft would continue to benefit from Gates' "technical passion and advice" in his continuing role as a technical advisor.

Europe Now the Epicenter of the Coronavirus Pandemic

As per World Health Organization officials, Europe has become the new epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic as cases in China slow and the deadly coronavirus runs through Italy and nearby countries.
More cases are now being reported (in Europe) every day than were reported in China at the height of its epidemic.
Italy currently has the most cases outside of China with at least 15,113 infections, followed by Spain at 4,334, Germany at 3,156 and France at 2,882, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Other countries in Europe are seeing cases soar. Switzerland currently has 1,125 cases, followed by Sweden at 809, the Netherlands at 804 and Denmark at 788.

Mar 14, 2020

Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare to Step Down

Canada's Bombardier Inc said that Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare would step down and be replaced by former company executive and Hydro-Quebec CEO Eric Martel.
Bellemare, who took over the top job at Bombardier in 2015, has steered the company through some of its biggest challenges, including a brush with bankruptcy due to its costly C Series jet program.
Under his watch, the company has narrowed its focus on making business jets, after offloading its stake in the A220 passenger jet program - formerly known as the C Series - to Airbus SE and selling the rail division to France's Alstom SA earlier this year.
Martel had worked with Bombardier for 13 years and was the president of its business aircraft unit before joining the hydropower producer as CEO in 2015.

India 2nd Largest Arms Importer in 2015-19

In accordance with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's (SIPRI) annual report titled "Trends in international arms transfers, 2019" released in 2020, India is the world's second largest arms importer during 2015-19 with its global share of 9.2% after Saudi Arabia, who has topped the ranking with global share of 12%. On the other hand, India ranked 23rd in terms of world's largest arms exporters with global share of 0.2% and its main clients being Myanmar (46%), Sri Lanka (25%), and Mauritius (14%). United States (US) topped the list in this section with a share of 36%.
On the global front, the volume of international transfers of major arms in 2015–19 has increased by 5% as compared to 2010–14.
Largest suppliers of arms to India: Russia is largest supplier of arms to India; however, share of weapons purchased has declined from 72% to 56% during 2015-19, which accounted 25% of total Russian arms exports. Contrarily, Israel and France's share increased, by 175% and 715% respectively, which have become second and third largest suppliers to India during 2015-19.

US Congress Approves to Limit Trump's War Powers against Iran

The United States House of Representatives approved a War Powers Resolution aimed at limiting President Donald Trump's ability to wage war against Iran.
The passage of the resolution was yet another rebuke of the President over his decision to order the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in January 2020 amid escalating tensions with Tehran.
The Senate voted 55 to 45 - with eight Republicans joining Democrats on February 13 - to approve the resolution. The House action sends the measure to Trump, who has threatened to veto it. A two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate would be needed to override a veto.

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