General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - August 2018

Aug 2018

Jan 27, 2019

US to Resume Premium Processing of H-1B Visas

The US announced that premium processing of applications for H-1B visas in all categories subject to Congress-mandated caps will resume, after it was suspended temporarily to clear the backlog of applications for the work visas popular among Indian IT professionals.
Premium processing allows applicants, US employers, to seek fast-tracked adjudication of their applications, within 15 days, against payment of a fee.
It allows applicants to jump the queue by months, but it only guarantees early decision and not the visa itself.
US citizenship and immigration services (USCIS) announced that it will resume premium processing for all fiscal year 2019 H-1B cap petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption.
Petitioners who have received requests for evidence (RFEs) for pending FY 2019 cap petitions should include their RFE response with any request for premium processing they may submit.
The US grants 85,000 visas every year under the H-1B programme to allow US companies to hire foreign professionals for high-skilled jobs to make good the shortage of local hands.
Indians have usually cornered more than 70% of these visas for foreigners hired mostly by companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google and others.
A smaller number are hired by Indian outsourcing giants such as Infosys, TCS and Wipro.

Trump Signs Deal to End Shutdown for 3 Weeks

The US government shutdown is set to end for the time being, thanks to a deal signed between President Donald Trump and the Democrats.
The move reopens shuttered agencies for three weeks as discussions continue on funding a Mexico border wall - an issue that still remains unresolved.
The two chambers of the US Congress passed a legislation ending the shutdown which was to go into effect as soon as it was signed into law by Trump.
An estimated 800,000 federal employees can now return to work and they will receive their held-up pay.

Jan 26, 2019

Taliban Appoint Co-Founder as Top Negotiator for Peace Talks with US

The Taliban have appointed a co-founder of the movement as the new head of their political office in Doha, where talks have been held with US officials seeking to end 17 years of conflict in Afghanistan.
The esteemed Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has been appointed chief of the political office.

US Govt Prepares Draft for Emergency Order

The White House is preparing a draft proclamation for US President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency along the Mexico border and has identified more than $7 billion in potential funds for his border wall should he go that route, according to internal documents.
Trump has not ruled out using his authority to declare a national emergency and direct the defence department to construct a border wall as Congress and the White House were still at an impasse over a deal to end the government shutdown.
But while Trump's advisers remain divided on the issue, the White House has been moving forward with alternative plans that would end up bypassing Congress.
If the declaration is made, the US Army Corps of Engineers would be deployed to construct the wall, some of which could be built on private property and would therefore require the administration to seize the land, which is permitted if it's for public use.
According to options being considered, the administration could pull $681 million from Treasury forfeiture funds, $3.6 billion in military construction, $3 billion in Pentagon civil works funds and $200 million in department of homeland security funds.

Jan 25, 2019

China Appears to have Blocked Bing

Microsoft's search engine Bing appeared to have been blocked in China with users saying they have not been able to access the site.
There was no confirmation if this was a short-term measures by Chinese censors or a permanent blockade.
Bing and Yahoo are the only major foreign search engines accessible from within China's so-called Great Firewall as most others, including Google, Twitter and Facebook, have already been shut out.
There was some confusion as Greatfire.org, a group that tracks what sites are blocked, said Bing was accessible in some parts of China. Experts said the blockade takes time to cover the entire country. Some agency reports too said that Bing was back online for some users.

Jan 24, 2019

Pakistan- UAE Signs $3 Billion Bailout Package

Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a $3 billion bailout package as part of Abu Dhabi's efforts to support Islamabad's dwindling foreign exchange reserves and to end the balance of payments crisis.
On December 21 2018, the UAE had announced it would deposit $3 billion into Pakistan's foreign currency account to help it successfully overcome an international payment crisis and to avoid a stringent International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal.
State (Central) Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor Tariq Bajwa and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) director general Mohammed Saif al-Suwaidi and other officials were present during the signing of the agreement.

Jan 23, 2019

Macron, Merkel Ink Pact to Tackle EU Crisis

France and Germany signed a new friendship treaty to deepen their alliance at a time of crisis for the EU, drawing fire from the far right whom President Emmanuel Macron slapped down for "spreading lies" about the pact.
Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel inked the accord to deepen ties as Britain prepares to leave the European Union and tensions are rising with populist leaders in the bloc.
The treaty pledges stronger political, economic and defence ties and restates the countries' commitment to the EU.
The document has come under attack from the far right, which accuses the pair of signing away their countries' sovereignty.

China may End Birth Control

China may discuss the complete withdrawal of its family planning policy to allow citizens to have as many children as they want during the upcoming session of its Parliament.
The forecast by Mu Guangzong, a scholar from the Population Research Institute of Peking University, is similar to experts opinions appearing in state media. The removal of family planning policy-related content from a draft civil code circulated last year also buttresses the possibility.
China replaced its one-child policy with a two-child one in 2016 but the change hasn't had the desired effect of improving the country's birthrate; 2018 saw 2 million fewer births than 2017.
The removal of contents related to family planning policy in a draft civil code is the latest official signal from China that it may soon scrap the policy, as the country's demographic structure undergoes fundamental changes. This signals that China may scrap childbirth limits.

Secret N Korean Missile Base HQ

One of 20 undeclared ballistic missile operating bases in North Korea serves as a missile headquarters, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The Sino-ri missile operating base and the Nodong missiles deployed at this location fit into North Korea's presumed nuclear military strategy by providing an operational-level nuclear or conventional first-strike capability.
The discovery of an undeclared missile headquarters comes three days after US President Donald Trump announced that he looks forward to another summit to discuss denuclearisation with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late February.
CSIS, which last reported on the 20 undeclared bases in November, said the Sino-ri base has never been declared by North Korea and as a result does not appear to be the subject of denuclearisation negotiations.
The report also noted that missile operating bases would presumably be subject to declaration, verification, and dismantlement in any denuclearisation deal.
Located 212km north of the demilitarised zone, the Sino-ri complex is an 18-square-km base that plays a key role in developing ballistic missiles capable of reaching South Korea, Japan, and even the US territory of Guam in the Western Pacific.

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