General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - June 2018

Jun 2018

Jan 09, 2021

Russia and Syria Clash with US over Chemical Weapons Sanctions in UNSC

Syria and close ally Russia clashed with the US and other nations over a Western initiative to suspend Syria's voting rights in the global chemical weapons watchdog for failing to provide details of three chemical attacks in 2017 that investigators blamed on President Bashar Assad's government.
The confrontation in the UN Security Council foreshadowed a showdown when the 193 member states of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons meet in The Hague, Netherlands, in April to consider a French-drafted measure, on behalf of 46 countries, to suspend Syria's "rights and privileges" in the body.
The French proposal was a response to Syria's failure to meet a 90-day deadline set in July by the OPCW's executive council for Damascus to declare the nerve agent sarin and chlorine, which OPCW investigators said last April were dropped by the Syrian air force on the central town of Latamneh in late March 2017.

Ghana Presidential election

- Nana Akufo-Addo has been sworn in for a second term as Ghana's president, hours after scuffles between rival politicians broke out in parliament.
- Soldiers were briefly deployed after the unusual scenes in one of Africa's most stable democracies.
- The president defeated his main rival, former President John Mahama, in December's tightly fought election.
- He faces the twin challenges of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and trying to boost the economy.
- Ghana has had more than 50,000 confirmed cases of the virus, and like many countries has experienced major economic disruption.

Boeing will Pay USD 2.5 Billion to Settle Charge Over 737 Max

Boeing will pay USD 2.5 billion to settle a Justice Department investigation and admit that employees misled regulators about the safety of its 737 Max aircraft, which suffered two deadly crashes shortly after entering airline service.
The government and the company said that the settlement includes money for the crash victims' families, airline customers and a fine.
Prosecutors said Boeing employees gave misleading statements and half-truths about safety issues with the plane to the Federal Aviation Administration, then covered up their actions.

Jan 08, 2021

Democrats Take Control of U.S. Senate with Two Georgia Victories

Democrats won both Georgia Senate seats — and with them, the U.S. Senate majority — as final votes were counted, serving President Donald Trump a stunning defeat in his last days in office while dramatically improving the fate of President-elect Joe Biden's progressive agenda.
Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, Democratic challengers who represented the diversity of their party's evolving coalition, defeated Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler two months after Mr. Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the State since 1992.

WHO Team Investigating Virus Origins Denied Entry To China

A World Health Organization (WHO) team due to investigate the origins of Covid-19 in the city of Wuhan has been denied entry to China.
Two members were already en route, with the WHO saying the problem was a lack of visa clearances.
However, China has challenged this, saying details of the visit, including dates, were still being arranged.
The long-awaited probe was agreed upon by Beijing after many months of negotiations with the WHO.
The virus was first detected in Wuhan in late 2019, with the initial outbreak linked to a market.

Jan 07, 2021

Curfew Imposed in Washington after Violence at US Capitol Hill

Hundreds of supporters of US President Donald Trump breached the US Capitol disrupting the lawmakers as they were about to certify Democrat President elect Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
The riot-like situation took place after Trump supporters responded to his call to protest against the loss in November 3, 2020 presidential election.
Vice President Mike Pence condemns violence at Capitol Hill by President Trump supporters who attempted to block certification of the presidential election results.

Joe Biden to Name Merrick Garland as US Attorney General

US President-elect Joe Biden will nominate Merrick Garland, a Federal Court Chief Judge, as Attorney General.
Garland leads the DC Circuit Court of Appeals and was nominated by former President Barack Obama to the Supreme Court but Republicans, who controlled the Senate at the time, had blocked him.
As Attorney General, Garland will be Biden's top law enforcement official.
Garland will have to be confirmed by the Senate, which will not be difficult as Democrats are poised to take control of the chamber after the Georgia run-offs.
The selection of Garland will resonate with Democrats after Senate Republicans led by Mitch McConnell prevented him from even getting a confirmation hearing for the high court in 2016.
The move fills the last with the big four cabinet posts Biden had remaining, after earlier naming his choices for secretaries of defence, state and treasury.

Jan 06, 2021

US Hits Iran with Fresh Sanctions

The US blacklisted a Chinese company that makes elements for steel production, 12 Iranian steel and metals makers and three foreign-based sales agents of an Iranian firm, seeking to deprive Tehran of revenues as Trump's term winds down.
The China-based company is Kaifeng Pingmei New Carbon Materials Technology Co Ltd. Among the 12 Iranian companies are the Pasargad Steel Complex and the Gilan Steel Complex Co.

At UNSC, India Warns of Syrian Chemical Weapons Falling into Hands of Terrorists

India has warned that Syrian chemical weapons can fall into the hands of terrorists, in the first public statement after New Delhi began its two-year term at the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member.
India's envoy to the UN, TS Tirumurti said that India remains concerned about the possibility of such weapons falling into the hands of terrorist organisations and individuals. Terrorist groups have taken advantage of the decade long conflict in Syria to entrench themselves posing a threat to the entire region.
The Security Council took up the report on the activities of Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in implementing Security Council resolution and its Executive Council decisions in relation to the elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons programme.

Jan 05, 2021

India, Mexico, Norway, Ireland and Kenya Join Polarized United Nations Security Council

Five new countries, India, Mexico, Norway, Ireland and Kenya, formally joined the UN Security Council on Monday at a time of growing polarization in the body charged with keeping world peace and security.
They took part in a first meeting aimed at approving an agenda proposed by the current chair of the council, Tunisia.
The new countries will hold non-permanent seats on the 15-member council for two years.
The Security Council is active in many conflict zones and crises around the world, mainly through more than a dozen peacekeeping operations involving some 100,000 soldiers from UN member states.

India Becomes Co-chair of Asia Protected Areas Partnership (APAP)

India has been chosen as the co-chair of the IUCN-supported Asia Protected Areas Partnership (APAP) for a period of three years till November 2023. India will replace South Korea, which held the post for 3 years until November 2020. As a co-chair, India would be responsible to assist other Asian countries in managing their protected areas. The APAP is chaired by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Asia and co-chaired by an APAP nation member on a rotational basis.
The APAP was formally launched in 2014, at the IUCN World Parks Congress in Australia.
It is a regional platform to assist governments and different stakeholders to collaborate for more practical administration of protected areas (PA) within the area.
Currently, there are 21 members from 17 international locations.

Central African President Touadéra Wins Re-election

The President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, has been re-elected after securing nearly 54% of the votes.
The electoral commission said that the results made a second round runoff unnecessary.
Former Prime Minister, Anicet George Pologuele, finished a distant second with just 21% of the votes, while Martin Ziguele finished third with 7% of the votes.
There were a total of 16 candidates running for President - including three women.
The vote took place despite an offensive by a coalition of armed rebel groups which left thousands unable to cast their ballots.
The government has accused the former President François Bozizé, who was barred from standing in the poll, of staging an attempted coup.

Saudi Arabia to Lift Qatar Embargo, Easing the Gulf Crisis

Saudi Arabia will open its airspace and land border to Qatar in the first step toward ending a years-long diplomatic crisis that deeply divided US defence partners, frayed societal ties and tore apart a traditionally clubby alliance of Gulf states.
Qatar's only land border has been mostly closed since mid-2017, when Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain launched a blockade against the tiny Gulf state, accusing it of supporting Islamist extremist groups and of having warm ties with Iran.
While the Saudi decision marks a major milestone toward resolving the Gulf spat, the path toward full reconciliation is far from guaranteed. The rift between Abu Dhabi and Doha has been deepest, with the UAE and Qatar at sharp ideological odds.
The lifting of the embargo by Saudi Arabia paves the way for Qatar's ruler to attend an annual summit of Gulf leaders that will be held in the kingdom's ancient desert site of Al-Ula. The summit would traditionally be chaired by Saudi King Salman, though his son and heir, the crown prince, may instead lead the meeting.

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