General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2018

Nov 2018

Oct 30, 2022

Putin Rules Out Using Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin denied having any intentions of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine but described the conflict there as part of alleged efforts by the West to secure its global domination, which he insisted are doomed to fail.
In a long speech full of diatribes against the U.S. and its allies, Putin accused the U.S. and its allies of trying to dictate their terms to other nations in a dangerous, bloody and dirty domination game.
Putin, who sent his troops into Ukraine on February 24, has cast Western support for Ukraine as part of broad efforts by Washington and its allies to enforce its will upon others through what they call a rules-based world order. He argued that the world has reached a turning point, when the West is no longer able to dictate its will to the humankind but still tries to do it, and the majority of nations no longer want to tolerate it.

United States Appoints Elizabeth Jones to Serve as Chargé d'Affaires At US Embassy in New Delhi

The Biden administration named a senior US diplomat Elizabeth Jones, who had worked on NATO's role in Europe vis-a-vis Russia as the US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, as the next Charge d'Affaires ad interim in New Delhi — until a full-time Ambassador is sent to India.
Elizabeth Jones is the sixth interim US envoy in the last 21 months (since January 2021) asked to step in for the job, which is considered a placeholder until a full-time Ambassador is confirmed by the US Congress. During the Obama administration, Jones had served as Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. In October 2021, she was appointed as Coordinator for Afghan relocation efforts.

Oct 29, 2022

In a First, UNSC's Counter Terrorism Committee Meet in India

India is hosting a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council's Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC), which will discuss the overarching theme of 'Countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes'. The panel will also discuss terror-financing through crypto-currency and use of drones in the new-age terrorism.
This will be the first such meeting of the UNSC-CTC in India since its establishment in 2001. The Permanent Representative of India to the UN serves as the Chair of the CTC for 2022.
The United Nations Security Council's Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) will be hosted in Mumbai and Delhi on October 28 and 29, 2022, respectively.
The use of emerging technologies for spreading terror is an issue of increasing concern across the globe.

US Pledges another USD 30 Million in Assistance for Flood-hit Pakistan

The US pledged an additional USD 30 million in assistance for Pakistan to help the people hit by the devastating floods that have affected 33 million people and killed 1,700 or more since mid-June.
US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome made the announcement during a visit to the Shikarpur district of Sindh, where he helped to distribute emergency shelter, and hygiene kits to flood-affected people.
This new funding brings the United States total assistance to Pakistan for flood response, food security, and disaster preparedness and capacity building efforts to $97 million this year.
The new funding will expand efforts to address immediate needs, scaling up assistance to the most affected communities and enabling USAID to reach more than 4 million people.

Oct 28, 2022

North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Towards Sea

North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the sea, as its rival South Korea was wrapping up an annual military drill that the North views as an invasion rehearsal.
As per South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missile flew towards North Korea's eastern waters but gave no further details including how far the weapon flew.
The launch, the latest in a series of weapons tests by North Korea in recent weeks, came on the final day of South Korea's annual 12-day "Hoguk" field exercises, which also involved an unspecified number of US troops this year.

7th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting Held under Co-chairmanship of Narendra Singh Tomar

The 7th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting (AIMMAF) on Agriculture and Forestry was held virtually. The Meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Phet Phomphiphak, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR and Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare of India. Agriculture Ministers of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam also participated in the meeting.
Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, in his opening remarks during the meeting, reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of keeping ASEAN at the centre of India's Act East Policy. He also emphasised on mutually close regional cooperation with ASEAN to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth for agricultural development in the region. Referring to the importance of millet (nutritional-cereals) as a nutritious food and the international nutritional-cereal year 2023, Tomar urged the ASEAN member countries to support the efforts of India in increasing the production, processing, value addition and consumption of millets.

Oct 27, 2022

Russia, Belarus Ambassadors Barred from Nobel Prize Ceremony

The ambassadors of Russia and Belarus were excluded from this year's Nobel Prize ceremony because of the war in Ukraine.
The Nobel Foundation, a private foundation which administers the prestigious awards, normally invites ambassadors stationed in Sweden to the annual award ceremony on December 10.

For First Time in New Zealand's History, Women Lawmakers Outnumber Men in Parliament

For the first time in New Zealand's history, a majority of lawmakers are women. Soraya Peke-Mason from the liberal Labour Party was sworn into Parliament, replacing former Speaker Trevor Mallard, who left to become ambassador to Ireland. With the resignation of another male lawmaker, it has tipped the balance in Parliament to 60 women and 59 men.
The milestone places New Zealand among a half-dozen nations in the world that this year can claim at least 50% female representation in their parliaments, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Other nations include Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates. Globally, about 26% of lawmakers are women, according to the union.
New Zealand has a history of strong female representation. In 1893, it became the first nation to allow women to vote. Current Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is the nation's third female leader, and women currently also hold a number of other top roles including chief justice of New Zealand's Supreme Court and governor-general.

Shefali Juneja Elected as Chairperson of Air Transport Committee of ICAO

Shefali Juneja was named the chairperson of the Air Transport Committee (ATC) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, becoming the first Indian in 28 years to do so.
India will be chairing the important committee after 28 years and has had the opportunity of chairing the ATC only twice so far.
This committee handles a big component of ICAO work relating to air transport as nine technical panels report to it. It is therefore a tremendous opportunity to steer issues in the policy arena and deal with new emerging challenges to carve out a better future for international air transport.
In September last year, Juneja was elected as the chairperson of the ICAO'S Aviation Security Committee (ASC) and made an Indian taking charge of the position after a gap of 12 years. Juneja has been serving as India's representative in the council of the ICAO since 2019.

Oct 26, 2022

Pakistan, China to Launch Three New CPEC-like Corridor Projects

Pakistan and China are set to start three new corridors in November, in addition to the multiple billion dollars China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), to strengthen bilateral ties.
The formal launch of the projects could take place during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's visit to China next month following the invitation by President Xi Jinping.
These projects, which include health and digital corridors, were announced by Pakistan's Ambassador to China Moinul Haq while speaking to the China Economic Net (CEN) in Beijing.

Rishi Sunak the UK's New Prime Minister

British politician Rishi Sunak was elected Conservative leader and became the Prime Minister, after being invited to form government by King Charles III. Rival Penny Mordaunt failed to secure the necessary 100 nominations from her fellow MPs, following which she backed out paving the way for Sunak to become the first Indian-origin Prime Minister of United Kingdom.
He lost to Liz Truss in September, but she resigned six weeks later. In the latest leadership contest, Sunak racked up the support of his fellow MPs early, and fast. He crossed the 100 nominations he needed long before the deadline - including from MPs that had previously backed Truss or Boris Johnson.

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