General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - June 2018

Jun 2018

Dec 25, 2018

Israel to Hold Early Elections

As per reports, Israeli coalition leaders agreed to hold early elections in April, seven months before they are due.
Coalition party heads in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government have decided to dissolve Parliament and hold elections in early April.
Mr. Netanyahu's coalition was left with a one-seat majority in Parliament following Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman's resignation in November over a controversial Gaza ceasefire deal.
Mr. Netanyahu is also facing mounting pressure over a series of corruption investigations.

Trump's Visa Policy Changes for Foreign Students

As many as 65 top US universities, including Harvard and MIT, have challenged the Trump administration in a court against its new stringent visa policy for foreign students, warning that the new 'backdating' rule will have a detrimental effect on America's higher education system.
The new policy announced by the Trump administration in August places restrictions on overstaying a visa.
With the new rules, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can set retroactive start dates for unlawful presence that begins the day after an individual's degree programme is complete or the day after a person's visa expires.

Dec 24, 2018

Ghani Replaced Top Security Chiefs

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani replaced two of the top security chiefs with staunch anti-Taliban officials, in a major shake-up days after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to slash troop numbers in the country.
Amrullah Saleh and Assadullah Khaled, both former heads of the Afghan intelligence agency, have been appointed to the critical posts of Interior Minister and Defence Minister, respectively.

Dec 23, 2018

U.S. Special Operations Forces in Syria

The US is considering using small teams of Special Operations forces to strike the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, one option for continuing a military mission there despite President Donald Trump's order to withdraw troops.
As per the reports, U.S. commandos would be shifted to neighbouring Iraq, where an estimated 5,000 U.S. forces are deployed, and surge into Syria for specific raids.

Dec 22, 2018

US Government Heads for Partial Shutdown

The US government was headed towards a partial shutdown after President Donald Trump`s fellow Republicans in the Senate failed to muster the votes needed to approve $5 billion he has demanded for a border wall fiercely opposed by Democrats.
Trump said that the impending shutdown of key parts of the federal government could last for a very long time, and he sought to blame the Democrats.
They, in turn, put the blame squarely on him for his demand for wall funding after earlier backing bipartisan short-term government funding legislation passed by the Senate without any such money.

Russia Probing BBC

Russia's broadcasting watchdog was probing the BBC in retaliation after a British regulator said that Kremlin-funded RT television broke broadcasting standards.
The crackdown on the BBC is the latest in a series of tit-for-tat moves as RT, which aims to give Russia's view on international events, wrangles with media regulators in the West.

Dec 21, 2018

Bill on Tibet Signed into Law

US President Donald Trump has signed a bipartisan Bill on Tibet into law that could enrage China, paving the way to impose a visa ban on Chinese officials who deny American citizens, government officials and journalists access to the sensitive Himalayan region, homeland of the exiled Dalai Lama.
US citizens, including government officials, reporters and tourists who seek to enter Tibetan areas are routinely rejected, and the few who do get in are forced to stay on strictly-controlled official tours, where the true situation of the Tibetan people is hidden from them.

Sirisena Named a 30-member Cabinet

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena named a 30-member Cabinet, but retained the control over the island nation's security forces and the police by ignoring Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's nominees, indicating that two leaders are still at loggerheads after weeks of political crisis.

Smaller Military Drills with the US

South Korea wants to hold smaller joint military drills with the United States next year, scaling back larger exercises as part of an effort to boost nuclear diplomacy with North Korea.
The allies have suspended a number of combined military exercises this year as tensions on the Korean peninsula eased and Washington began talks to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

October GK, September GK, August 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