General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - August 2018

Aug 2018

Jan 16, 2019

Brexit Deal Rejected

British lawmakers defeated Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit divorce deal by a crushing margin, triggering political upheaval that could lead to a disorderly exit from the EU or even to a reversal of the 2016 decision to leave.
Parliament voted 432-202 against her deal, the worst parliamentary defeat for a government in recent British history. Scores of her own lawmakers -both Brexiteers and supporters of EU membership - joined forces to vote down the deal.
Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn promptly called a vote of no confidence in May's government, to be held within 24 hours.
With the clock ticking down to March 29, the date set in law for Brexit, the United Kingdom is now ensnared in the deepest political crisis in half a century as it grapples with how, or even whether, to exit the European project that it joined in 1973.
May's crushing loss, the first British parliamentary defeat of a treaty since 1864, marks the collapse of her two-year strategy of forging an amicable divorce with close ties to the EU after the March 29 exit.

Jan 14, 2019

LOVE Act at The US

Mayor Muriel Bowser signed an emergency measure authorising city officials in Washington to validate marriages in the absence of the Marriage Bureau, which closed when the budget standoff began on December 22.
Titled the Let Our Vows Endure Emergency Amendment Act, or LOVE Act, the law is valid for 90 days and will spare future brides from finding themselves in Kafkaesque situations.

Jan 13, 2019

Trump's Shutdown Longest in US History

The partial shutdown of the US government has become the longest on record, overtaking the previous record of the 21-day impasse in 1995-96 under then President Bill Clinton.
With no end in sight to the political standoff, the current shutdown eclipsed the shutdown that stretched from December 16, 1995, to January 6, 1996.
US President Donald Trump and Congress have been at loggerheads over his demand to include in the budget $5.7 billion funding for building a wall along the Mexico border. Democratic leaders have rejected his call.

Malaysia state's New King

A Malaysian state announced it had a new Sultan, who is expected to be elected king after the former monarch abdicated.
Tengku Abdulah Shah has replaced his father, Sultan Ahmad Shah as the ruler of Pahang.
Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy with a unique arrangement where the national throne changes hands every five years between rulers of the country's nine states.

Jan 12, 2019

UAE shrinks job categories for expats to 700 from 3,000

UAE employers hiring expat workers now have to meet requirements of the new 'job occupational classification scheme', which has reduced the number of job titles to 726 from the earlier 3,000.
Firms can apply for new work permits for their expat employees with job titles selected from the new list, which was introduced late last month.
Immigration experts say the new classification is in accordance with International Labour Organisation standards and meets current requirements.
Each job title belongs to one of the five levels of professional skills that determine whether the work permit application must be accompanied by a degree certificate.

China mulls faster travel permits for visit to Tibet

Amid a bitter row with the US over a new law banning Chinese officials who deny US citizens, government officials and journalists access to Tibet, China has approved a plan to cut time for issuing travel permits for foreigners visiting remote Himalayan region from this year.
President Donald Trump had signed the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018 into law which was passed by US Congress and the Senate.
At present, foreign tourists need a special travel permit to visit Tibet in addition to a Chinese visa.
It normally takes at least 15 days to receive the permits. This extra requirement is based on Tibet's unique ethnic traditions, cultural heritage, reception capacity and ecological protection needs.

Jan 11, 2019

Canada to Welcome New Immigrants

Canada`s Parliament has announced plans to add more than one million new permanent residents in the next three years, which is nearly 1 per cent of the country`s population each year.
Canada welcomed more than 286,000 permanent residents in 2017 and projects that the number could reach 350,000 this year.
Canada`s friendly stance towards new residents comes as many other Western nations, including the US, are adopting more restrictive immigration policies.

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