General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - August 2018

Aug 2018

Sep 28, 2019

Modi Address to UN General Assembly

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 74th session of the UN General Assembly on September 27, 2019.
The focus of his speech, delivered in Hindi, was on development in the country and climate change. India is an example to the world and the world could seek motivation from the developing country.
He called for the world to come together in the fight against terrorism.

Bougainville Independence Vote from PNG Scheduled For Nov 23 to Dec 7

Voting in the Pacific island of Bougainville's referendum on independence from Papua New Guinea (PNG) will be held between Nov. 23 and Dec. 7, 2019.
The referendum would decide whether Bougainville becomes an independent nation or has greater autonomy within PNG.
The chair of the commission, former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, said that the world is watching the voting and he wanted the process to be a joyful celebration.

Pakistan Stops Postal Exchange with India

Amid the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan following the scrapping of special status for Jammu & Kashmir, Islamabad has now stopped the postal mail exchange between the two countries.
People in Punjab on the Indian side have stopped receiving regular mails such as magazines, publications, and even letters which they use to get regularly earlier from Pakistan via post.

Thailand, India Sign Trade Agreements for Rs. 2,400 Crore

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi first docked in England as a student just days before his 19th birthday in 1888 in pursuit of a law degree and is known to have fully immersed himself in London life.
The connect of that teenager who went on to become the leader of the Indian national movement can be found in many areas of the British capital, something the Indian High Commission in London will be using as a starting point for its celebrations to mark his 150th birth anniversary year.

Sep 27, 2019

Beijing's Starfish-Shaped Futuristic Airport Opened By Xi Jinping

A futuristic airport that resembles a giant starfish opened in Beijing, as China unveils another massive infrastructure project just days before it celebrates 70 years of Communist Party rule.
Located 46 kilometres (29 miles) south of Tiananmen Square, Beijing Daxing International Airport will operate at full capacity in 2040, with eight runways and the potential to receive 100 million passengers per year.
The airport was opened by President Xi Jinping, but had an immediate hitch when its maiden commercial flight - an A380 superjumbo heading to the southern city of Guangzhou was delayed by nearly 30 minutes.

PM Modi Announces $14 Million Grant, $150 Million Line Of Credit To Caricom

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a $14-million grant for community development projects in a grouping of Caribbean nations and another $150 million Line of Credit for solar, renewable energy and climate-change related works as he hosted the first ever India-Caricom leaders' summit.
St Lucia Prime Minister and current CARICOM Chairman Allen Chastenet co-chaired the meeting held on the margins of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly.

PM Modi, Iranian President Rouhani Exchange Views

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani discussed bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and global developments of mutual interest during their bilateral meeting in New York.
Modi met Rouhani on the sidelines of the high-level 74th Session of the General Assembly. Noting that India and Iran shared old and civilization ties, the two leaders assessed the progress in bilateral relations since their first meeting in Russian city of Ufa in 2015.

India Rises 4 Places To 44th Rank In World Digital Competitiveness Rankings

India has advanced four places to 44th position in terms of digital competitiveness in the world as the country has made improvement in terms of knowledge and future readiness to adopt and explore digital technologies, according to a global report.
India rose from 48th place in 2018 to 44th rank in 2019 as the country has improved overall in all factors -- knowledge, technology and future readiness -- as compared to the previous year's ranking.
The US was ranked as the world's most digitally competitive economy, followed by Singapore in the second place.
Sweden was ranked third on the list, followed by Denmark and Switzerland in the 4th and 5th place, respectively.
Others in the list of top-10 most digitally competitive economy include Netherlands in the 6th place, Finland (7th), Hong Kong SAR (8th), Norway (9th) and Republic of Korea (10th).
The largest jump in the overall ranking was registered by China, moving from 30th to 22nd, and Indonesia, from 62nd to 56th.

Sep 26, 2019

Donald Trump Becomes Fourth US President To Face Impeachment

Washington plunged into an impeachment crisis, as House Democrats opened an investigation into President Donald Trump's campaign season dealings with Ukraine.
Trump repeatedly prodded Ukraine's president to look into Democratic rival Joe Biden, according to a rough transcript released by the White House.
"Whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great," Trump said in the summer phone call. He was referring to attorney general William Barr, the nation's top law enforcement official.
The president's words set the parameters of the political debate to come, with Trump dismissing it as routine and Democrats saying that it laid the predicate for an impeachment inquiry.

9th India-China Financial Dialogue Held To Strengthen Cooperation

9th India-China Financial Dialogue was held in New Delhi. A high-level Chinese delegation led by Ms. Zou Jiayi, Vice Minister, Ministry of Finance, China interacted with the Indian delegation led by Atanu Chakraborty, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs on wide-ranging issues of mutual interest.
The India-China Financial Dialogue is a mechanism between the two countries with an aim to promote cooperation in the financial sector.

PM Modi Delivers Keynote Address At Bloomberg Global Business Forum

In his keynote address at the third edition of Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York, Prime Minister said his government is working towards improving the business environment in the country.
He said India has cut corporate tax and has done away with 50 old laws that were detrimental for the development.
PM Modi informed the forum, India is going to invest 1.3 trillion dollars in modern infrastructure in the coming years. He said, lakhs of crores of rupees are also being spent on the social infrastructure of the country.
India is rapidly defeating poverty and moving in ladder increasing purchasing power. He said, India has opened its defence sector like never before. 90% of FDI is through automatic route.

Sep 25, 2019

India Announces 12 Million Dollar Grant For High Impact Developmental Projects In Pacific Island ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met leaders of the Pacific Islands Developing States (PSIDS) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York.
The Prime Minister demonstrated India's commitment to advancing their development priorities.
External Affairs Ministry said, in the spirit of his fundamental Mantra "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas aur Sabka Vishwas", Prime Minister Modi announced the allocation of 12 million US Dollar grant towards the implementation of high impact developmental project in the area of their choice.

World's First Camel Hospital At Dubai Set To Expand Its Facilities

World's first camel hospital at Dubai is set to expand its facilities by an additional 50 per cent in response to the increase in demand for its services.
It is a unique hospital catering specifically to the needs of the burgeoning camel industry that has been flourishing and growing by leaps and bounds over the past few years.
Camels are an integral part of the United Arab Emirate's heritage. Historically, camels, known as the 'Ship of the Desert' were a source of transport as well as food and milk in the region.
The camel has continued to be an integral part of the UAE's society and culture to this day, with select breeds used for camel racing, a sport highly popular among Emiratis.
The camel hospital, built at an estimated cost of 40 million Dirhams, opened its doors in 2017 to meet the demand in the UAE for an advanced medical facility dedicated to treating camels.

UK Supreme Court Rules Suspension Of Parliament Illegal

In a major blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Britain's highest court ruled that his decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks in the crucial countdown to the country's Brexit deadline was illegal.
The unanimous Supreme Court ruling declared the order to suspend Parliament "void and of no effect."
Supreme Court President Brenda Hale said the suspension was unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification.

Bangladesh, Myanmar, China To Form Tripartite Mechanism For Rohingya Repatriation

Bangladesh, Myanmar and China have agreed to form a tripartite joint working mechanism to oversee the process of Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar.
Foreign Minister of Bangladesh announced in New York after holding talks with his counterparts from China and Myanmar.
According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Bangladesh has more than 9 lakh Rohingya refugees out of which close to 7 lakh 50 thousand refugees arrived after August 2017 fleeing Rakhine province of Myanmar amid violence and military crackdown.
Bangladesh claims to have 11 lakh Rohingya refugees in the country.

After Thomas Cook Collapse, U.K. Launches Largest Peacetime Repatriation Operation

British travel company Thomas Cook declared bankruptcy, stranding hundreds of thousands of holiday-makers and prompting the British government to initiate what it is calling the largest peacetime repatriation in the nation's history.
The effort, dubbed Operation Matterhorn, aims to fly 150,000 travelers who were booked on Thomas Cook flights back home to Britain.
The mammoth task is expected to cost more than $120 million, said the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The organization has chartered dozens of planes to fly Thomas Cook travelers home free of charge. Other travelers will be booked on already scheduled flights by other airlines.

Sep 24, 2019

Papua Unrest

Papua, on the western half of New Guinea island, has been gripped by weeks of violent protests fuelled by anger over racism, as well as fresh calls for self-rule in the impoverished territory.
There was "chaos" in Wamena, which is the biggest town in the highland area of Papua. Authorities said 16 people died in the city where hundreds demonstrated and burned down a government office and other buildings.
The rally was allegedly triggered by racist slurs directed at students by a teacher in Wamena.

India-US To Hold First Tri-Service Exercise In November

India and the United States are set to hold their first tri-services exercise code-named "Tiger Triumph" at Visakhapatnam and Kakinada in November, 2019.
India-US tri-services "Exercise Tiger Triumph" is being organised under the aegis of the headquarters of the Integrated Defence Staff.
Final Planning Conference (FPC) for India-US Tri-Services Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) concluded at Headquarters Eastern Naval Command on September 20, 2019.
For the first time, the US and India will be holding the tri-service military exercise and the second such tri-service exercise to be conducted by India with any other country after Russia.

Arvind Kejriwal To Attend C40 Summit In Denmark

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will attend the C40 Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark and speak on his government's experience in lowering pollution, including the Odd-Even scheme, and other issues.
The Chief Minister will join leaders of several cities such as New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles and Berlin to deliberate on the climate crisis impacting the world at the summit from October 9-12, 2019.
This will be the second official foreign visit of the Delhi Chief Minister. In September 2018, Mr. Kejriwal travelled to Seoul in South Korea to sign agreements between Delhi and Seoul.

Modi Presented Keys To Houston City On His Arrival At 'Howdy, Modi' Event

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was presented with the keys to the Houston City by its Mayor Sylvester Turner on his arrival at the 'Howdy Modi' mega event.
After welcoming Modi at the event, Turner handed over the oversized keys to the city of Houston to him.
At the event start of the event, Turner told the crowd that Houston is the most diverse city in the county.

17 UAE Companies Confirm Investments In India's Infrastructure Sector

Union Minister for Railways and Commerce Piyush Goyal has said that seventeen companies from United Arab Emirates have confirmed their investments in India's infrastructure sector in the last 12 months.
He gave this information in an interaction with the Emirates News Agency during his recent visit to the UAE.
Mr Goyal was on a two-day visit to the UAE to attend the 7th Meeting of the UAE-India High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments, which he co-chaired with Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court, in Abu Dhabi.

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