General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - June 2018

Jun 2018

Sep 02, 2019

India Raises The Issue Of Global Oil Price Volatility With Russia

India has raised the issue of global oil market's price volatility with Russia, that is hurting the interests of both consuming and producing nations. This was articulated by India's oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan in a meeting with Russia's energy minister Alexander Novak.
India has been urging its long time ally Russia to take into account the interest of energy consuming nations during its engagement with the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) at a time when the Opec plus arrangement including Russia has extended its compact for production cuts.
Minister Pradhan also conveyed expectation that Russia, a member of the Opec Plus, can play an important role in balancing global oil market both in terms of ensuring adequate supply as well as in having a responsible and reasonable price.

China To Start 27 New CPEC Projects In Pakistan

China plans to launch 27 new projects in Pakistan under the second phase of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The ambitious CPEC links China's Kashgar city in Xinjiang province with Pakistan's Gwadar port in Baluchistan through a network of roads, railways and highways.
There will be 27 new projects in the second phase of the CPEC. Following the signing of the memorandum of understanding between China and Pakistan for the second phase of CPEC earlier in 2019, work on these 27 new projects was expected to begin by the end of the year 2019.
Agriculture, education, vocational training, industry, increase in water supply, etc, are all part of our plans for the next phase.

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan visits Russia to Strengthen Cooperation in Energy and Steel Sectors

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan led a business delegation from Oil and Gas as well as Steel sectors to Moscow, Russia. The visit is a part of active overreach to strengthen bilateral relationship between India and Russia in energy and steel sectors.
The visit started with meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy to Far Eastern Federal Districts of Russia, HE Yury P Trutnev.
Discussions centered on expanding the scope of co-operation between India and Far Eastern Russia, in the energy and steel sectors.
The two sides discussed to further co-operation in sourcing of metallurgical coal and crude oil from Far East of Russia. They also talked about potential Indian investments in oil and gas and steel sectors in Far Eastern Russia and reviewed the progress in these sectors in the run up to the visit of Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during the first week of September (2019) to Vladivostok for the Eastern Economic Forum and for the 20th Annual Bilateral Summit.

Tamil Nadu Signs Three Agreements For Healthcare Collaborations In UK

In the first leg of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami's visit abroad, as far as the health sector is concerned, the team from Tamil Nadu seems to have marked up substantial gains for the State, going only by the merit of agreements signed. A swathe of health sector interventions have been envisaged to improve healthcare and parameters of the Human Development Index.
Among the key tie-ups are those with International Skills Development Corporation for skilling the health work force, primarily nurses and doctors. The team from ISDC had already visited training schools in Chennai and was satisfied with the infrastructure even before the Chief Minister's team left for London. There is also a proposal to recruit the trained nurses from the State, after they go through their specialised training courses, to work for the NHS in the U.K.
The tie up with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is another agreement that the team, led by Mr. Palaniswami, seems to be chuffed about. Tamil Nadu's health officials say they hope to harness the famous school's expertise in vector borne disease control, particularly in the area of malaria and dengue control.

India, Japan Defence Ministerial Meet Underway In Tokyo

Defence Ministerial meeting between India and Japan is presently underway in Japan's capital Tokyo. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is heading the Indian side while Japanese side is led by Japan's Minister of Defence Takeshi Iwaya. The Ministerial Dialogue will aim to further strengthen India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership and include wide-ranging discussions to enhance the bilateral defence and security engagements between the two countries.
The two sides are also expected to deliberate on the long-pending issue of supply of the US-2 amphibious aircraft by Japan to India.
Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reached Tokyo during the first leg of his five-day visit to Japan and South Korea to enhance strategic ties and explore possibilities of collaboration of major military platforms.

Sep 01, 2019

Amit Shah Meets His Singaporean Counterpart K Shanmugam

Union Home Minister Amit Shah met his Singaporean counterpart K Shanmugam in New Delhi and discussed several issues of mutual interest.
Mr Shah said, India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi always looks forward to further strengthening India-Singapore ties.
The two leaders also exchanged views and concerns on the challenges posed by terrorism and extremism.
They agreed to strengthen the existing bilateral institutional mechanisms on security issues.
Both the sides also agreed to enhance cooperation in dealing with trans-national organized crimes including drug trafficking and economic offences.
Mr Shah noted that India-Singapore relations are based on shared values and approaches, economic opportunities and convergence of interest on key issues.

Saudi Arabia Creates New Ministry Of Industry And Mineral Resources

Saudi Arabia announced that it has created an independent Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, separating it from the Energy Ministry, a move that is understood as part of the kingdom's strategy to diversify the economy away from oil.
In 2016, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched a plan called Vision 2030 aimed at reducing the country's dependence on crude by reinforcing other economic and investment activities, increasing non-oil industry trade of goods and consumer products with other nations, and growing government spending on health, education, infrastructure, recreation, tourism, and the military.
It will be fully independent starting on January 1, 2020. Bandar Al-Khorayef, a businessman from the Saudi industrial conglomerate Khorayef Group, will be the department's head.
Under Al-Khorayef, the ministry should reach the goal of increasing the value of mining operations to reach $69.3 billion. Currently, the direct and indirect contribution of the sector to the kingdom's GDP is estimated to be around $21.3 billion.

Aug 31, 2019

Tulsi Won't Contest Election Independently

Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu lawmaker in the US Congress who is running for the presidency, said that she would not contest as an Independent candidate if she fails to win the Democratic presidential nomination.
Gabbard, an Iraq war veteran who has been serving as the US Representative for Hawaii's second congressional district since 2013, would focus on moving the campaign forward, continuing this grassroots campaign, continuing to deliver the message to the American people and ask for their support.

Boris Johnson's Brexit strategy

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's move to "prorogue" or suspend Parliament for over five weeks beginning September second week (2019) has triggered furious responses from opposition leaders, who call the decision a threat to democracy.
The decision comes at a time when Britain is inching closer towards the October 31, 2019 deadline for Brexit.
The suspension of Parliament between September 9-12 and October 14 (2019) would mean that the lawmakers would have less time to debate, scrutinize or to block Mr. Johnson's Brexit plan.
By suspending Parliament for over a month, Mr. Johnson has effectively narrowed the lawmakers' opportunities to reject his Brexit plans.
The MPs, who are currently on recess, are supposed to be back in session on September 3, 2019. Before the suspension of Parliament, they were scheduled to be in session till September 16, 2019.
This would have been crucial time for rebel MPs to come up with legislation against a no-deal Brexit, which Mr. Johnson has not ruled out.
Now that Parliament will be closed on either September 9 or 12, 2019, the time available for MPs in the current session to legislate against a potential no-deal Brexit has shrunk.

Trump's Personal Assistant Steps Down

Donald Trump's personal assistant Madeleine Westerhout resigned after she shared information about the President's family with journalists.
Westerhout's unexpected departure came after Trump learned that she had talked about his family and White House matters with reporters at an off-the-record session during the President's recent working vacation in New Jersey.
Westerhout's office was in front of the Oval Office and she had been described as Trump's "gatekeeper" in US media. She had been his personal assistant from the beginning of his presidency.
Westerhout was not a high-profile staffer, but her exit adds to a long list of administration officials who have quit since Donald Trump was elected president in 2016.

Aug 30, 2019

The World's Highest-Paid Women In Music 2019: Taylor Swift Doubles Up No. 2 Beyoncé

Forbes revealed its list of highest-paid celebrities and Taylor Swift took the top spot, having earned $185 million from June 2018 to June 2019.
Swift beat out Kylie Jenner, and, according to Forbes' new list of the world's highest-paid women in music, she's number one in her industry too.
Her $185 million income far surpassed Beyonce's $81 million. Queen Bey is number two on the list, followed by Rihanna, who earned $62 million, according to Forbes.

Aug 29, 2019

US Sets Up Diplomatic Mission For Venezuela In Colombia

The United States has opened a diplomatic mission for Venezuela in Colombia, months after suspending its embassy in Caracas as Washington seeks to oust President Nicolas Maduro.
The Venezuela Affairs Unit, located inside the US embassy in Bogota, will focus on supporting Juan Guaido, the opposition leader whom the United States and most other Western and Latin American countries consider the interim president.
The unit will continue to work for the restoration of democracy and the constitutional order in that country, and the security and well-being of the Venezuelan people.
The US diplomatic presence in Venezuela will still be sharply curtailed. A US official said the unit in Bogota would not provide consular services such as issuing visas.
The United States suspended operations at its embassy in Caracas in March 2019 and pulled out all remaining staff as the political crisis intensified following years of severe deterioration of the economy.

Dharmendra Pradhan Meets Australian Minister Matthew Canavan

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan held a meeting with Australian Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Senator Matthew Canavan in New Delhi.
Both Ministers stressed on the importance of energy and resources in the bilateral relationship, and agreed to expand the scope of cooperation given that India offers a large energy market and Australia is rich in natural resources particularly coal and Liquid Natural Gas (LNG), apart from Uranium. India is the largest importer of Australian metallurgical coal.

US To Launch Space Command In a Bid To Expand Military Outreach

The United States will officially launch the Space Command on August 29, 2019 with a White House ceremony hosted by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Air Force General John Raymond, commander of SPACECOM, are also expected to attend. SPACECOM is US military's 11th combatant command.
The launch of the Space Command will accelerate what has been a decades-long effort to reorganise and improve the US military's technological capabilities in space.
The creation of the new combatant command is the first step towards the creation of a full-up Space Force, an idea that has been heavily pushed by President Donald Trump.

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