General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - August 2018

Aug 2018

Apr 20, 2019

Indian extradited to the U.S.

Singapore has extradited Indian national Hitesh Madhubhai Patel to the U.S. to face charges in a call centre fraud that scammed millions of dollars from mostly South Asian victims in the U.S.
The case was first announced in 2016, charging 60 people with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

Malaysia Revives Project Backed by China

Malaysia will revive a $34 billion Chinese-backed transport and property development that was abandoned in 2017.
The project would contribute to Beijing's global infrastructure drive.

Key Summit between the Taliban and Afghan Officials Postponed

Hopes for a breakthrough in a push to end Afghanistan's gruelling conflict suffered a major setback after a key summit between the Taliban and Afghan officials was indefinitely postponed.
The so-called intra-Afghan dialogue, due to take place in Doha, fell apart at the last minute in a row over the large number of delegates Kabul wanted to send.
The collapse comes at a critical time and amid continued bloodshed. The Taliban now control or influence about half of Afghanistan and 3,804 civilians were killed there in 2018, according to a UN tally.
Washington, which is leading an effort to end the war, signalled its disappointment and urged both sides to return to the table, though organisers provided no hint about when the conference might be rescheduled.

Sudan Protesters to Unveil Civilian Body

Sudanese protest leaders have announced plans to unveil a civilian body to take over from the ruling military council as demonstrators thronged outside Army headquarters and Washington said that it would send an envoy to encourage the transition.
The military council, which took power after ousting Omar al-Bashir on April 11, has so far resisted calls from protesters to make way for a civilian administration.
The Sudanese Professionals Association, which has been spearheading the protests, said that it would name members of the council at a news conference outside the Army complex, to which foreign diplomats are also invited.

Apr 19, 2019

Kim to Meet Putin

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un will visit Russia for talks with Vladimir Putin in April, as tensions between Washington and Pyongyang reached fever pitch.
The Kim-Putin meeting will be the first between the two leaders, as Moscow seeks to play a role in another global flashpoint.

Both Indonesian Candidates Claim Victory

Indonesia's Joko Widodo said that his re-election as head of the world's third-biggest democracy was all but assured, calling for calm as his firebrand ex-General rival insisted he had in fact won the nation's top job.
However, Mr. Subianto insisted that he and running mate Sandiaga Uno, a wealthy financier, had prevailed, citing voter fraud but without supplying concrete evidence.
Sandiaga Uno and Mr. Subianto declared victory as the President and Vice-President.

Pakistan's Finance Minister Quits

Pakistan's Finance Minister Asad Umar stepped down as part of a reshuffle of the Cabinet initiated by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
As part of a Cabinet reshuffle, PM wanted that Asad Umar takes the Energy Minister portfolio instead of Finance. However, Asad Umar obtained his consent to not take any Cabinet position.
As per reports, Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan was also asked to step down, but he refused to do so. He reportedly said that he will leave Prime Minister Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party if he's forced to quit the Cabinet. He has now been made Federal Minister for Aviation.
Shehryar Afridi, State Minister for Interior, has now been made Minister for States and Frontier Regions. The new Federal Minister of Interior will be Brigadier Ijaz Shah (retired). Brig. Shah was Federal Minister Parliamentary Affairs earlier, a porfolio now assigned to Azam Swati.
Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry will now be the Minister for Science and Technology. Firdous Ashiq Awan will be Special Adviser to Prime Minister for Information.
According to sources, Health Minister Aamir Kiani, Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur and Minister for Housing and Works Tariq Bashir Cheema also lost their jobs.

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.

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