General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - June 2018

Jun 2018

Feb 13, 2021

BBC World News Barred from Airing in China

British television channel BBC World News has been barred from airing in China, a week after Britain's media regulator revoked Chinese state television's broadcast licence.
In a statement issued on the stroke of the Lunar New Year, the administration said an investigation found BBC World News' China-related reports had "seriously violated" regulations, including that news should be "truthful and fair," had harmed China's national interests and undermined national unity.
The channel therefore does not meet requirements for foreign channels broadcasting in China and its application to air for another year will not be accepted, it added.
On Feb. 4, British media regulator Ofcom revoked China Global Television Network's (CGTN) licence to broadcast in the United Kingdom after an investigation found the licence was wrongfully held by Star China Media Ltd.

Russia Clashes with US and West over Conflict in Ukraine

Russia clashed with the United States and its Western allies over the nearly seven-year conflict in eastern Ukraine, and the UN warned that the current fragile cease-fire risks being reversed if peace negotiations become deadlocked.
Russia called the Security Council meeting to mark the sixth anniversary of the signing of the Minsk peace plan brokered by France and Germany. It aimed to resolve the conflict between Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists that flared in April 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea and its support for the separatists in the mostly Russian-speaking industrial east called Donbass.
Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused Ukraine of failing to implement the 2015 Minsk agreement saying.
The United States and European allies France, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Norway, Belgium and the United Kingdom blamed Russia for fuelling the conflict, which has killed more than 14,000 people, by providing financial and military support to the separatists.

Feb 12, 2021

Tanzania's President 'Will Not Be Seeking Third Term

The ruling party in Tanzania has dismissed growing calls from its MPs for President John Magufuli to extend his term in office.
The 61-year-old President, who won elections in October, is currently serving his second and final five-year term in office.
Humphrey Polepole, the CCM party's publicity secretary, has told parliament that Mr. Magufuli has no intentions of remaining in power beyond his current constitutional mandate.
Some ruling party MPs have been proposing the Constitution be changed to allow for a third term for him.

US Senators Revive Bill to Make Refugee Status Easier for Hong Kong Protesters

A bipartisan group of senior US senators reintroduced a bill to make it easier for people from Hong Kong fearing persecution after joining protests against China to obtain US refugee status.
The 12 senators, led by Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Bob Menendez, said the bill was a response to a Draconian national security law introduced by China in Hong Kong last year that was the focus of mass street protests.
The Hong Kong Safe Harbor Act would make "Hong Kongers who participated peacefully in the protest movement and have a well-founded fear of persecution" eligible for processing as refugees in Hong Kong or a third country.

Feb 11, 2021

New Zealand Severs Diplomatic, Military Ties with Naypyidaw

New Zealand has officially suspended all diplomatic ties with Myanmar as it does not recognise the legitimacy of the new military-led government.
According to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, these ties include aid and funds that were intended for the country.
Meanwhile, U Maung Maung Lay, the vice president of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry raised concerns that New Zealand could impose economy-related sanctions and potential blocks in the exchange of payments, which might result in investors pulling out of Myanmar.

Biden Orders Sanctions against Myanmar after Military Coup

President Joe Biden ordered new sanctions against the military regime in Myanmar, taking action after the military this month staged a coup in the Southeast Asian country and arrested de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior politicians.
Biden said he was issuing an executive order that will prevent Myanmar's generals from accessing USD 1 billion in assets in the United States. Biden added that more measures are to come. "The military must relinquish the power it seized and demonstrate respect for the will of the people of Burma," Biden said.
Biden said that the new sanctions will allow his administration to freeze US Assets that benefit Myanmar's military leaders while maintaining support for health care programs, civil society groups and other areas that benefit the country's people.

FATF Meets to Assess Pakistan's Actions on Countering Terror Financing

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will begin a series of meetings that will review Pakistan's actions to counter terror financing amid signs that Islamabad is yet to completely implement the multilateral watchdog's action plan.
There will be eight meetings of FATF's working groups between February 11 and 19 before the crucial plenary meeting during February 22-25 that will take a final call on Pakistan's case. All the meetings are being held virtually because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the conclusion of its last plenary in October, the FATF had given Pakistan time till February this year to address what it described as "very serious deficiencies" in efforts to counter terror financing. The watchdog also retained Pakistan in the "grey list", in which it was placed in June 2018.
FATF president Marcus Pleyer last year cautioned Pakistan that it would not be given a chance "forever" to address outstanding issues and that repeated failure to deliver on the action plan would result in a country being put in the "black list". Pleyer also said Pakistan had fully complied with 21 of 27 points in the action plan.

Feb 10, 2021

India to Overtake European Union as World's Third Largest Energy Consumer by 2030

India will overtake the European Union as the world's third-largest energy consumer by 2030, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said as it forecast India accounting for the biggest share of energy demand growth over the next two decades.
In its India Energy Outlook 2021, IEA saw primary energy consumption almost doubling to 1,123 million tonnes of oil equivalent as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expands to USD 8.6 trillion by 2040.
India at present is the fourth-largest global energy consumer behind China, the United States and the European Union.

El Salvador Opposition Proposes President's Removal

Opposition lawmakers in El Salvador proposed starting a process that could lead to the removal of President Nayib Bukele from office just two weeks before his party is widely expected to win a majority in legislative elections.
El Salvador's historical parties from the left and right appeared poised to unite against Bukele who ran an outsider's campaign that carried him to the presidency less than two years ago. He maintains broad popular support, but has battled against the opposition-controlled legislature at every turn.
The proposal has the support of the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, or FMLN, and the Christian Democrat Party. The proposal goes to the Legislative Assembly's political committee, which is controlled by those parties. Eventually, the proposal would need the support of at least two-thirds of the body's members and the unanimous support of a five-doctor panel appointed by the assembly.

Feb 09, 2021

Sudan Prime Minister Picks Former Rebel Leaders in New Cabinet

Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has named a new cabinet which includes seven former rebel leaders who were part of a peace deal signed in October.
Mr. Hamdok dissolved the previous cabinet to form a more inclusive government.
Two ministers were selected from the military. Many are from the Forces for Freedom and Change which led the protests that saw Omar al-Bashir ousted from power.
The Prime Minister gave the role of finance minister to the veteran rebel leader and economist Gibril Ibrahim.
Being Sudan's Foreign Minister in a volatile region will also be a major test. That job has gone to Mariam al-Sadiqal-Mahdi- the daughter of Sudan's last democratically elected Prime Minister, Sadiqal-Mahdi.

China Bolstering Tibet Military Infrastructure

There is mounting evidence that China has sped up work to build and expand military and civilian facilities in Tibet and surrounding areas that will enhance its military posture along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) amid the stand off with India in the Ladakh sector.
These new developments come on the back of China more than doubling the total number of airbases, air defence positions, and heliports near the LAC during 2017-20, as detailed in a report issued last year by Stratfor.
There is also growing evidence of the build-up of People's Liberation Army (PLA) and civilian facilities in sectors other than Ladakh, such as along the disputed border in Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh. In these areas, China has embarked on an extensive campaign of building villages in disputed regions with the intention of settling thousands of people in hitherto uninhabited areas.

Head of Singapore's $230bn State Fund Temasek Steps Down

The head of Singapore's giant $230bn (£167bn) state-owned fund is stepping down after 17 years at the helm.
Ho Ching joined Temasek in 2002 as executive director, and was appointed chief executive two years later.
Temasek is ranked among the world's biggest investors although the fund's value has dropped during the pandemic.
Ms. Ho, the wife of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, will be succeeded by Cambridge-educated lawyer Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara.

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