General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - August 2018

Aug 2018

Jan 05, 2019

Norway Sees India as a Key Partner

According to Norwegian ambassador Nils Ragnar Kamsvåg, Norway sees India as a key partner for upholding international law and norms as part of a rules-based order for sea lanes of communication and sea-based trade.
Speaking ahead of the first visit to India by a Norwegian premier in a decade, Kamsvag said that there is considerable potential for boosting bilateral trade from the current level of $1.2 billion.
India could particularly benefit from Norway's development of environment-friendly technologies in transport, construction and waste recycling.
Norway is very much dependent on trade and has the fifth biggest merchant fleet. It is very much dependent on international law and norms being upheld.

US Shutdown Continues

In a sign of how far apart Republicans and Democrats remained on the border wall funding, the White House has announced that President Donald Trump will even not sign the bills that the newly constituted Democratic-controlled House of Representatives had passed for the reopening of the shuttered federal agencies.
According to a statement by the White House, if either of the two legislative measures "were presented to the President, his advisors would recommend that he veto the bill", hours before the House passed two separate legislative measures to end the partial shutdown and reopen the affected departments.

Peace Treaty with Russia

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe intends to push forward towards a World War Two peace treaty with Russia, which has been stymied for decades by a territorial row, during a summit in Russia later this month.
Abe will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for discussions aimed at ending the row over a group of windswept islands seized by Soviet troops in the final days of the war.
As per Abe, reaching an agreement would be difficult, he wanted to make as much progress as possible.

Jan 04, 2019

On-arrival Visas for Afghans Abolished

Pakistan scrapped the long-standing facility of on-arrival visas for Afghan nationals, citing security risks amid a spike in terror attacks.
Citizens from 24 countries are now issued 'on-arrival' visas in Pakistan.

US House Passed Bills

The US House of Representatives approved legislation to end a partial government shutdown that began nearly two weeks ago at several federal agencies and fund the Department of Homeland Security through February 8.
Under the bills, the departments of State, Commerce, Agriculture, Labor, Treasury and other agencies would be funded through September 30, the end of the current fiscal year.
Hours before the vote, advisers to President Donald Trump would recommend that he veto the measure if Congress passed it without any additional money for Trump's proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Ireland to Seek EU Aid

As per the Agriculture Minister, Ireland will seek hundreds of millions of euros in aid from Brussels if Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal.
The emergency aid would aim to buttress sectors such as beef, dairy and fishing — those most exposed to customs and regulatory changes likely to arise if Britain severs all ties.
Nearly 80% of Irish exporters deliver products to Britain, according to 2016 government figures.

Jan 03, 2019

Trump Wants another Meet with Kim

President Donald Trump is looking forward to another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The development comes after Mr. Kim, in his New Year speech, warned that Pyongyang could change its approach to nuclear talks if Washington persists with sanctions.

Taiwan's Unification with China

President Xi Jinping said that Taiwan's unification with the mainland is inevitable, and warning against any efforts to promote the island's independence.
China would not renounce the option of using military force to bring it into the fold.
China still sees democratic Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949.

Advanced Warships for Pakistan

As per reports, China is building the first of four "most advanced" naval warships for Pakistan as part of a major bilateral arms deal to ensure among other things "balance of power" in the strategic Indian Ocean.
Equipped with modern detection and weapon systems, it will be capable of anti-ship, anti-submarine and air-defence operations.
The under-construction ship is a version of the Chinese Navy's most advanced guided missile frigate.

Jan 02, 2019

Israel's Opposition Split Ahead of Election

Israel's centre-left opposition split ahead of an April 9 election, with leader Avi Gabbay announcing that he would no longer partner with veteran politician Tzipi Livni.
The announcement means the end of their Zionist Union alliance.

U.S. and China to Boost Cooperation

The Presidents of China and the U.S. have exchanged messages vowing to boost cooperation despite a bruising trade war, on the 40th anniversary of the countries' diplomatic relations.
President Xi Jinping underlined the importance of working with the U.S. "to advance China-U.S. relations featuring coordination, cooperation and stability".

U.S. and Israel Officially Quit UNESCO

The U.S. and Israel officially quit the UN's educational, scientific and cultural agency (UNESCO), the culmination of a process triggered more than a year ago amid concerns that the organisation fosters anti-Israel bias.
The withdrawal is mainly procedural, yet serves a new blow to UNESCO, co-founded by the U.S. after the Second World War to foster peace.
The withdrawals will not greatly impact UNESCO financially, since it has been dealing with a funding slash ever since 2011 when both Israel and the United States stopped paying dues after Palestine was voted in as a member state of the organisation.

Jan 01, 2019

Resignations of Vatican Spokesperson and Deputy

The Vatican announced the resignations of its spokesman and his deputy, without giving any explanation.
Pope Francis accepted the resignations of the director and deputy director of the press office of the Vatican, Greg Burke and Paloma Garcia Ovejero, and named Alessandro Gisotti as acting director.

Elizabeth Hints at 2020 Presidential Bid

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a progressive Democrat, has formed an exploratory committee to run for President in 2020.
Ms. Warren had said in September that she would take a hard look at running for the Democratic nomination to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020.
Ms. Warren, an architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau set up after the 2008 financial crisis, has been a strong voice in the Senate on financial issues and a self-described defender of the ordinary American against powerful interests.

No Scope for a Fresh Election

Responding to the Opposition's call for a fresh election, Bangladesh's Chief Election Commissioner K. M. Nurul Huda ruled out the demand.
He said that the allegations of ballot-stuffing are completely untrue.
As per Awami League joint general secretary Abdur Rahman, foreign and domestic observers had declared that the election was held in a fair environment.

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