General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - June 2018

Jun 2018

Jul 21, 2020

Putin Picks New Governor after Murder Allegation

Russian President Vladimir Putin has named a new acting governor for the Khabarovsk region after days of demonstrations.
Governor Sergei Furgal was arrested for murder earlier this month, sparking protests in the far eastern province.
His supporters believe the charges against him are politically motivated.
The protests come just weeks after Mr. Putin won backing for major constitutional reforms in a national referendum, which allow him to stay in power for an additional two terms - prompting fears of a crackdown on the opposition.
President Putin formally removed Mr. Furgal from his post on Monday and named Mikhail Degtyaryov as the acting head of the region.
Mr. Degtyaryov is a member of the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), just like Mr. Furgal.

China Warns UK of Consequences over Hong Kong Interference

The UK will bear the consequences if it continues to go down the wrong road on Hong Kong, China has warned.
The UK suspended an extradition treaty with Hong Kong over a new security law for the ex-colony, which gives Beijing more power.
In response, the Chinese ambassador in London said that the UK had blatantly interfered in China's affairs.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to offer three million Hong Kong residents the chance to settle in the UK, allowing them to ultimately apply for British citizenship.
And the government separately announced it would require the removal of Chinese technology from the UK's fledgling 5G mobile network.
The moves came after Beijing introduced the controversial new security law at the end of June, creating offences that could see Hong Kong residents sent to mainland China for trial.
Critics have claimed the law could see pro-democracy protesters in the region being served with life sentences.

I CC Finally Postpones T20 World Cup

Ending months of suspense, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced postponement of the upcoming men's T20 World Cup, which was scheduled to kick off on 18th October in Australia.
he decision gives the Indian cricket board a clear window for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which was also deferred due the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ICC also announced windows for the next three ICC men's events, in order to bring clarity to the calendar and give the sport the best possible opportunity over the next three years to recover from the disruption caused by Covid-19.
ICC will conduct the Men's T20 World Cup in 2021, 2022 and 2023 during the months of October and November. While the host for 2021 and 2022 are not announced yet, the 2023 World Cup will be held in India.

Egyptian MPs Approve Military Deployment in Libya

The Parliament in Egypt voted to authorise the deployment of its military abroad to defend national security and – in its words – fight criminals and foreign terrorists on a western front.
It is an apparent reference to neighbouring Libya, where Egypt has been supporting the renegade general Khalifa Haftar who has been forced back from positions around the capital, Tripoli.
The resolution came despite a phone call between the Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and President Trump, who's reported to have asked that nothing be done to escalate the situation in Libya.
Last week the pro-Haftar parliament in eastern Libya moved towards inviting the intervention of Egyptian troops, which have not fought abroad in nearly thirty years.

Jul 20, 2020

Portland Protests: Mayor Demands Federal Troops Leave City

The mayor of Portland in Oregon renewed his call for federal troops to leave the US city, accusing them of abusive tactics against protesters.
There have been nightly protests against police brutality in the city since the killing of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis in May.
The federal government has said it is trying to restore order in Portland.
Mayor Wheeler said that there were "dozens if not hundreds of federal troops" in the city, added that their presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism.
His comments echoed those of Oregon Governor Kate Brown, who described the presence of federal troops in the city as "purely political theatre" from the Donald Trump administration.

India Remains as Lower-Middle-Income Economy

According to the New World Bank country classifications by income level 2020-2021, India remains in the classification, Lower-Middle-Income Economy. In total 218 countries have been included in this classification.The World Bank classifies countries into four income groups namely: low income , lower-middle income, upper-middle income, and high-income economies.
The classifications are updated each year on July 1 and are based on Gross National Income(GNI) per capita in current USD (using the Atlas method exchange rates) of the previous year.
Low-income economies: GNI per capita, between USD 1,035 or less in 2019
Lower Middle-income economies: GNI per capita between USD 1,036 and USD 4,045
Upper middle-income economies:GNI per capita between USD 4,046 and USD 12,535
High-income economies:GNI per capita of USD 12,536 or more

Jul 19, 2020

Political Options Run Out for PM Oli in Nepal

Options seem to be running out for Nepal Prime minister K. P. Sharma Oli with the high powered nine-member secretariat of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) scheduled to meet in Kathmandu to decide the political future of the country.
According to political sources based in Nepal, Oli appeared to have softened his past hard stance in his meeting with NCP co-chair P. K. Dahal but that could be part of the political tactics to buy time for himself to remain both the head of government as well as the party.
In case the secretariat is not deferred on Saturday on grounds of Oli's indisposition, the apex body may decide to hold the standing committee meeting on Sunday to take a decision on whether he remains either the prime minister or NCP co-chair or even lose both the posts for single-handedly playing into the hands of China and destroying bilateral relations with India.
Apart from laying territorial claims on India-Nepal border, Oli used all tactics to paint anyone opposed to him politically as an agent of India.

Third Meeting of G20 Finance Ministers, Discusses Global Economic Outlook Amid COVID-19 Crisis

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the 3rd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under the Saudi Arabian Presidency through video conferencing to discuss the global economic outlook amid evolving COVID-19 pandemic crisis along with other G20 Finance Track priorities for the year 2020.
This G20 Action Plan lays out a list of collective commitments under the pillars of Health Response, Economic Response, Strong and Sustainable Recovery and International Financial Coordination, aimed at co-ordinating G20 efforts to fight the pandemic.
Nirmala Sitharaman also shared her perspective on the way forward on the action plan and highlighted the need for international coordination required in addressing the spill-over effects of exit strategies. Emphasising that the Action Plan needs to reflect how the economies are balancing their supply side and demand side measures in response to COVID-19, Sitharaman shared with her counterparts how India is working on ensuring this balance through credit schemes for greater liquidity, direct benefit transfers, and employment guarantee schemes.
She specifically referred to India's comprehensive economic package to address recovery and growth amounting to over $295 Billion, about 10 per cent of India's GDP. Adding to this, Sitharaman also spoke about the procyclicality of credit rating downgrades by the rating agencies and its deterrent impact on policy options, particularly for EMEs.

Australia PM Morrison Delays Parliament as Coronavirus Spreads

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison delayed the opening of parliament for several weeks as the new coronavirus continued spreading through the country's two most populous states.
Morrison asked the Speaker of Parliament to cancel a two-week session due to start on August 4, out of concern about the COVID-19 pandemic. The request was seen as a formality as the speaker is a member of Morrison's Liberal Party and the opposition Labor Party accepted the call.
Lawmakers are to meet at the next planned session on August 24.

Joe Biden Warns of Russia Meddling in November's US Presidential Election

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden got intelligence briefings, and has been told Russia continues to try to meddle in November`s US election.
As per Biden, China also was conducting activities designed for us to lose confidence in the outcome of the 2020 election.
Bidedn now knows that the Russians are still engaged in trying to delegitimize our electoral process.
He warned that if Russia continued to interfere there would be "a real price to pay" if he wins the November election against Republican President Donald Trump.

UK Asks Japan for Huawei Alternatives in 5G Networks

The British government asked Japan to help build its 5G wireless networks without Huawei Technologies, a further step in a global technology and security war between the United States and China.
Britain named NEC Corp and Fujitsu Ltd as potential alternative suppliers to Huawei.
British officials met with their counterparts in Tokyo, two days after Britain ordered Huawei equipment purged from its 5G networks by the end of 2027.
As Britain prepares to leave the European Union, fears over the security of Huawei have forced Prime Minister Johnson to choose between the United States and China, weighing a critical alliance against billions in investment.

Jul 18, 2020

US Civil Rights Pioneer, Congressman John Lewis Dies

US Representative John Lewis, a pioneer of the civil rights movement and long-time member of the US House of Representatives passed away at the age of 80.
Lewis was one of the "Big Six" civil rights leaders, which included Martin Luther King Jr, and helped organise the historic 1963 March on Washington.
As a congressman he was a Georgia Democrat, and represented an area which covered most of its capital Atlanta.
During the civil rights movement, Lewis was one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and then became its chairman from 1963 to 1966.

Gabon Appoints First Woman Prime Minister Ossouka Raponda

The President of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, appointed the country's first female Prime Minister, Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda.
Ossouka Raponda was promoted from the Defence Ministry and took over from Julien Nkoghe Bekale, who was appointed Prime Minister in January 2019.
She is an economist by training who graduated from the Gabonese Institute of Economy and Finance, specialising in public finance.

Jul 17, 2020

India, Israel Sign Agreement to Further Expand Collaboration in Dealing with Cyber Threats

India and Israel have signed an agreement to further expand collaboration in dealing with cyber threats amid rapid digitisation due to the coronavirus pandemic that exposed the vulnerabilities of the virtual world.
The agreement was signed between the Director-General of Israel's National Cyber Directorate (INCD), Yigal Unna, and India's Ambassador to Israel, Sanjeev Singla.
Israel can contribute from its experience and can benefit from the vast experience gained in India in dealing with cyber attacks.
The agreement lays down the framework for dialogue, cooperation in capacity building, mutual exchange of best practices in the field and facilitates regular exchanges.

EU-US Privacy Shield for Data Struck Down by Court

A major agreement governing the transfer of EU citizens' data to the United States was struck down by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The EU-US Privacy Shield let companies sign up to higher privacy standards, before transferring data to the US.
But a privacy advocate challenged the agreement, arguing that US national security laws did not protect EU citizens from government snooping.
Max Schrems, the Austrian behind the case, called it a win for privacy.
It is clear that the US will have to seriously change their surveillance laws, if US companies want to continue to play a role in the EU market.

PM Mette Frederiksen Marries Filmmaker Bo Tengberg

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen got married after her wedding was postponed and then rescheduled due to a busy first year in office that included the coronavirus pandemic.
As per Danish media reports, Frederiksen married filmmaker and photographer Bo Tengberg at the medieval Magleby Church on Moen island in southeastern Denmark.
Frederiksen was sworn in as Denmark's youngest ever Prime Minister in June 2019, becoming the second woman to hold the post.

UN Designates Noor Wali Mehsud as Global Terrorist

The United Nations designated Pakistan-based terror organisation Tehrik-e Taliban's Pakistan (TTP) leader, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, as a global terrorist.
This comes as another blow to Pakistan as the world community has repeatedly called it out for supporting terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) among others.
The US welcomed the development saying that the TTP was responsible for many deadly terrorist attacks in Pakistan. The United States had domestically designated Noor Wali as a terrorist in September 2019. TTP was earlier designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by the US Department of State.

South American Country Suriname Elects Indian-origin President

Suriname, a small country in South America with a significant Hindu population, elected a new President, ending the dictatorial rule of Desi Bouterse.
Chan Santokhi, an Indian-origin former police chief, won a landslide victory in the general elections.
Santokhi, who was also the leader of Opposition, replaced Bouterse, who is facing murder charges and has also been convicted of drugs smuggling abroad.
The new President now inherits a country on the verge of bankruptcy, widespread corruption and the coronavirus pandemic. So far, there have been 780 cases and 18 deaths.
Suriname is a former Dutch colony but the country's relations with the Netherlands, which was once its primary trade partner, deteriorated under Bouterse's rule.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

September GK, August GK, July GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26