General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - June 2018

Jun 2018

Apr 18, 2019

Global Contest to Replace Notre-Dame Spire

France announced it would invite architects from around the world to submit designs for replacing the spire of Notre-Dame Cathedral after a devastating blaze, as the government braced for a mammoth restoration challenge.
According to Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, the contest would decide whether the monument should have a new spire at all and if so, whether it should be identical to the fallen 19th-century model or be a wholly new design.

Trump Vetoes Bill

President Donald Trump vetoed a resolution from Congress directing him to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, the second such move of his presidency.
The resolution was a harsh bipartisan rebuke to Mr. Trump that took the historic step of curtailing a President's war-making powers, a step he condemned in a statement announcing his veto.
Mr. Trump argued that U.S. support for the bloody war between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and Iran-aligned Houthi rebels was necessary for a variety of reasons, first and foremost to protect the safety of more than 80,000 Americans who reside in certain coalition countries.

Widodo Set for Re-election

Indonesia's Joko Widodo was on track to be re-elected leader of the world's third-biggest democracy as unofficial results put him in a comfortable lead over firebrand ex-General Prabowo Subianto after voting closed across the 17,000-island archipelago.
While official results are not due until May, a series of so-called "quick counts" by pollsters showed Mr. Widodo as much as 11 percentage points ahead.

Apr 17, 2019

Sudan's Prosecutor General Ousted

Sudan's new military ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan sacked the country's Prosecutor General Omer Ahmed Mohamed after protesters demanded he be fired.
The Lieutenant General has appointed Al-Waleed Sayyed Ahmed as the country's new acting Prosecutor General.

Iran labels U.S. Troops in West Asia as Terrorist

Iran's lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a bill labelling U.S. forces in the West Asia as terrorist, a day after the U.S. terrorism designation for Iran's Revolutionary Guard formally took effect.

MPs Vote Extends Sisi's Rule

Egypt's Parliament, packed with loyalists of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, began a session to vote on changes to the Constitution that could keep the former military chief in power until 2030.
The proposed amendments were initially introduced in February and updated this week after several rounds of debates.
These include changing Article 140 of the Constitution to allow the Egyptian president to extend his current four-year term, which ends in 2022, by two years. A further change would permit Mr. Sisi to stand for another six-year term to remain President until 2030.

Apr 16, 2019

Removing Fuel Rods from Fukushima Plant

The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima power plant began removing atomic fuel from inside a building housing one of the reactors that melted down in 2011.
The delicate operation represents the first time the Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) has pulled out fuel rods from inside a highly contaminated building containing the melted-down reactor, and comes four years behind schedule.
Due to high radiation levels, technicians used remote-controlled equipment to haul fuel from a storage pool inside the building.

Iran Advances Bill to Retaliate for US Action

Iran's parliament approved the outlines of a bill to retaliate for the US designation of the Revolutionary Guards Corp as a terrorist organization.
The bill declares that US Central Command forces in West Asia and any organisations or bodies working under them against Iran are terrorists.
It further states that any financial, technical and training support, services and supplies to these forces will be regarded as engaging in an act of terrorism.

Iconic Paris Landmark Engulfed in Fire

A massive fire consumed Notre-Dame Cathedral, gutting the roof of the Paris landmark and stunning France and the world, but firefighters managed to save the shell of the stone structure and its two main bell towers from collapse.
Flames burst rapidly through the roof of the eight centuries-old cathedral and engulfed the spire, which toppled, quickly followed by the entire roof.
As it burned into the evening, firefighters battled to prevent one of the main bell towers from collapsing and tried to rescue religious relics and priceless artwork.
Mr. Macron said that France would launch a campaign to rebuild the cathedral, including through fundraising efforts and by appealing to talents from overseas to contribute.

Tehran is Allowed to Enrich Uranium

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif issued a reminder to European powers that Tehran is allowed to enrich uranium under its nuclear deal, after a senior French diplomat claimed otherwise.
Under the 2015 agreement, Iran can only enrich uranium to 3.67%.
His comments were addressed to France, Germany and Britain who signed up to the landmark 2015 accord with Tehran under which uranium enrichment is curtailed but not banned.

China is Using AI to Profile Muslims

The Chinese government has drawn wide international condemnation for its harsh crackdown on ethnic Muslims in its western region, including holding as many as one million of them in detention camps.
Now, documents and interviews show that authorities are also using a vast, secret system of advanced facial recognition technology to track and control the Uighurs.
It is the first known example of a government intentionally using artificial intelligence for racial profiling.

Apr 15, 2019

Assange Willing to Cooperate

As per Mr. Assange's lawyer, Julian Assange would cooperate with Swedish authorities if they reopen a rape case against him but will continue to resist any bid to extradite him to the U.S.
Mr. Assange is in custody in London awaiting sentencing for breaching his British bail conditions in 2012 by seeking refuge in Ecuador's London Embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden.
He was arrested at the Embassy after Ecuador gave him up, and is now also fighting a U.S. extradition warrant relating to the release by WikiLeaks of a huge cache of official documents.

World's Biggest Single-day Election

Tens of millions of Indonesians will vote in presidential and parliamentary elections this week after campaigns focused on the economy, but with political Islam looming ever larger in the world`s biggest Muslim-majority nation.
President Joko Widodo, a former furniture salesman who launched his political career as a small-city mayor, is standing for re-election in a contest with ex-general Prabowo Subianto, whom he narrowly defeated in 2014.
Most opinion polls give Widodo a double-digit lead but the opposition has disputed survey findings.
More than 192 million will also vote in national and regional legislative elections, being contested by more than 245,000 candidates, in what is being described as the world`s biggest single-day election.

Zarif Urges Countries to Take Position on US

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Iran will ask the international community to take a position on the U.S. designation of its Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation.
Iran condemned U.S. President Donald Trump's step as illegal. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is a powerful elite force which controls much of the Iranian state and economy.
Zarif had sent letters to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the United Nations Security Council to protest against this illegal U.S. measure.
Tehran retaliated against Washington`s move by designating the regional United States Central Command (CENTCOM) as a terrorist organisation.

Apr 14, 2019

Kim Open to another Summit with Trump

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that he is open to a third summit with President Donald Trump, but set the year's end as a deadline for Washington to offer mutually acceptable terms for an agreement to salvage the high-stakes nuclear diplomacy.
Mr. Kim made the comments during a speech at a session of North Korea's rubber stamp parliament, which made a slew of personnel changes that bolstered his diplomatic lineup amid stalemated negotiations with the United States.
His speech came hours after Mr. Trump and visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in met in Washington and agreed on the importance of nuclear talks with North Korea.

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