General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - August 2018

Aug 2018

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.

Apr 13, 2019

Rajapaksa's Brother Returns to Lanka

Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa returned to the island nation and said he has taken necessary steps to renounce his U.S. citizenship to be able to contest the presidential polls later in 2019.
The Former Defence Secretary is being promoted as the main candidate from the Rajapaksa camp to face the next presidential election later in 2019 as Mr. Rajapaksa cannot constitutionally run for a third term.

Taliban Declares Start of Spring Offensive

The Taliban announced the start of their spring offensive despite talking peace with the United States and ahead of a significant gathering of Afghans meant to discuss resolutions to the protracted war and an eventual withdrawal of American troops from the country.
The insurgents released a lengthy missive in five languages, including English, saying the fighting would continue while foreign forces remain in Afghanistan.
The announcement is something the militant group does every year, even though Taliban attacks never really ceased during the harsh winter months.
The insurgents carry out daily attacks targeting Afghan security forces and NATO troops, and inflicting staggering casualties, including among civilians.

Bashir Won't Be Extradited

As per the country's new military rulers, Sudan's ousted President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and war crimes, will not be extradited.

Apr 12, 2019

S. Korea Lifts Abortion Ban

South Korea's constitutional court ruled to lift the country's 66-year-old ban on abortion, in a landmark decision that will decriminalise the medical procedure by the end of 2020.
Seven out of nine judges declared that the current penalising of abortion was unconstitutional and ordered parliament to revise the 1953 law.
South Korea, Asia's fourth largest economy, is one of the few industrialised nations where the procedure is illegal except in cases of rape, incest and when the mother faces serious health risks.

EU and the U.K. Agree to Delay Brexit

Britain won't be leaving the EU on April 12, after Britain and the EU agreed to an extension till the end of October, with the option of Britain leaving earlier if a deal was agreed to in Parliament.
The period is longer than the extension till June 30 that Prime Minister Theresa May had sought but is shorter than some of the possible dates that had been considered, including a possible delay of a year.
Leaders made clear that the onus was very much on Britain to find a solution and deliver within this period.

Apr 11, 2019

Scott Morrison Announces Australia's Election

Prime Minister Scott Morrison called Australia's election for May 18, with polls showing he's facing an uphill battle to prevent a shift in power to the left-leaning opposition Labor party.
The five-week campaign will be dominated by the stark policy differences between Labor and his Liberal-National coalition, which is vying for a third straight term.
They include everything from cutting taxes to boosting wages to reducing emissions in one of the world's worst per-capita polluters.

Lawmakers Approve Sweeping Gun Reforms

New Zealand lawmakers have almost unanimously passed sweeping gun reforms, paving the way for a ban on military-style semi-automatic weapons to enter into force as soon as 12 April.
The new rules are aimed at removing semi-automatic firearms from circulation through a buy-back scheme, prohibition and harsh prison sentences.
A hand-in amnesty will be in place until 30 September 2019, and perpetrators will face between two and ten years in jail for breaking the laws.

EU's Emergency Meet on Brexit Delay

Europe mounted an emergency summit to decide how long a Brexit delay to grant British Prime Minister Theresa May, and under what conditions.
Without a postponement, Britain is due to crash out of the European Union (EU) at midnight on 12 April under a no-deal Brexit that could trigger economic chaos.
Ms. May wants to postpone Brexit from April 12 to June 30 to arrange an orderly departure — but the European leaders gathered in Brussels for a summit were expected to offer her a longer delay, of up to a year.

Zambian Villagers to Sue Vedanta

A group of Zambian citizens can take Vedanta Resources and its Zambian subsidiary, Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), to court in the U.K. over allegations relating to the pollution of a river there, after Britain's Supreme Court rejected an attempt by the company to challenge the jurisdiction of British courts.
They will now be able to bring their claims for torts of negligence and breach of duty to the courts in the U.K., first initiated in 2015.
Vedanta Resources cannot appeal the jurisdiction judgment any further as its attempt to suggest recourse to the European Court of Justice during the Supreme Court proceedings was also rejected.
The judgment was read in court by Lord Briggs, with the four other justices considering the case, concurring with him.

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