General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2018

Nov 2018

Jun 23, 2022

The 16th ASEAN Defence Minister's Meeting Kicks Off

The 16th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) kicked off, with discussions focusing on key challenges and security in the region.
Chaired by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Tea Banh, the meeting brought together defence ministers or representatives from all ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states.
This was the first in-person meeting in over two years following the Covid-19 pandemic.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

PM Modi to Visit Germany for G7 Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Germany on June 26 and 27 to attend the annual summit of G7, which is likely to be attended by US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau among others.
From Germany, Modi will travel to the UAE on June 28 to pay his condolences on the passing away of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the former President of the Gulf nation.

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka Plans Donor Conference with China, India and Japan

Sri Lanka called China, India and Japan to a donor conference to drum up more foreign assistance and present an interim budget in August, amid ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The island nation of 22 million people is struggling with its worst economic crisis in seven decades, unable to import essentials including food, fuel and medicines because of a severe shortage of foreign exchange.
A high-level delegation from India led by Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran will go to Sri Lanka for talks on additional support from New Delhi, and a team from the U.S. Treasury will visit next week.

The World's Most Liveable Cities

The Austrian capital, Vienna, made a comeback as the world's most liveable city, according to an annual report from the Economist.
Vienna snatched the top spot from New Zealand city Auckland, which tumbled down to 34th place due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
Vienna, which slipped to 12th place in our rankings in early 2021 as its museums and restaurants were closed, has since rebounded to first place, the position it held in 2018 and 2019.
Melbourne retained its place as one of the world's most liveable cities, ranking 10th, as other Australian capitals dropped out of the global top 10. Last year Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth were all in the top 10, but they have fallen to 27th, 30th and 32nd respectively.

Sri Lanka Revises Minimum Age for Migrant Domestic Workers

The Sri Lankan government amended the minimum age limit for women leaving for foreign employment as domestic aides to 21 years of age. The decision was announced at the weekly Cabinet meeting. However, the minimum age limit for Saudi Arabia was set at 25 years, and 23 years for the other countries in the Middle East. The minimum age limit announced as 21 for the rest of the Middle East countries other than Saudi Arabia.
On other hand, a team from the International Monetary Fund is in Sri Lanka for crucial bailout negotiations with the crisis-ridden country that is left with virtually no foreign exchange to import food, fuel and medicines. The talks began as schools and government offices shut down for two weeks and switched to working online to conserve fast depleting fuel supplies. The nine-member team has met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and will be in the country for 10 days.

Jun 22, 2022

Five Nations Oppose Pakistan's Bid to List Indian as Terrorist at UNSC

Pakistan's attempt to list an Indian national Gobinda Patnaik Duggivalasa as United Nations-listed terrorist was again rejected by five countries including India, the UK, the US, France and Albania at the United Nations Security Council's committee. Three of these counties are the permanent members of the Security Council, while Albania is the President of the Council for this month.
Pakistan had earlier tried to name the same individual on the list in 2020 and had attempted to list him as a UN terrorist but was rejected at the time as well.

India Ranks 4th in Gold Recycling with Refining Capacity of 1,800 Tonnes: WGC

The World Gold Council (WGC) in a report titled 'Gold Refining And Recycling' said that India's gold refining landscape has changed notably over the last decade, with the number of formal operations increasing from less than five in 2013 to 33 in 2021. As a result, the nation's capacity for organised gold refining has increased dramatically from just 300t in 2013 to an estimated 1,800t.
According to the WGC report, China topped the global gold recycling chart as it recycled 168 tonnes of the yellow metal, followed by Italy in the second position with 80 tonnes and the US in the third rank with 78 tonnes in 2021.

Jun 21, 2022

Lankan Cabinet Okays Move to Restrict President's Powers

Sri Lankan Cabinet passed the 21st Amendment to the Constitution aimed at empowering Parliament over the executive President. It will now be tabled in Parliament. The amendment is expected to annul the 20A Amendment to the Constitution, which gives unfettered powers to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after abolishing the 19th Amendment that will strengthen Parliament.
The 21A aims, among other reforms, at barring dual citizens from contesting elections to hold public office.

Israeli PM Bennett to Dissolve Parliament

Israel could be headed towards its fifth parliamentary elections in less than three-and-a-half years with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his ally Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announcing to introduce a bill to dissolve the Knesset (parliament) next week.
Bennett and Lapid said that they had "exhausted options to stabilise" their coalition which had come under severe strain over unruly members threatening to dump it.
The move, if passed, will trigger snap polls - Israel's fifth in just about three years.

Jun 20, 2022

Sara Duterte Sworn in as Vice-president

The eldest daughter of outgoing Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was sworn in as vice-president.
Sara Duterte vowed to unite the Philippines at a ceremony in Davao.
She took the oath beside her running mate, Ferdinand Marcos Junior, who will soon replace her father as President.
As candidates in May's elections the pair shored up historic landslide victories by forging a powerful alliance and running on a message of unity that helped many of their allies win power elsewhere in government too.
In the Philippines, the President and vice-president are elected separately.

Emmanuel Macron Alliance Projected to Lose Parliamentary Majority

President Emmanuel Macron is on course to lose his absolute majority in the National Assembly and control of his reform agenda after the first projections. Macron's centrist Ensemble! alliance was set to end up with the most seats, the polls show, followed by the left-wing Nupes bloc headed by hard left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon.
Forecasts by pollsters Ifop, OpinionWay, Elabe and Ipsos showed Ensemble! winning 200-260 seats and Nupes securing 149-200. The threshold for an absolute majority is 289 seats in the lower House.
A hung parliament would open up a period of political uncertainty that would require a degree of power-sharing among parties, or else result in political paralysis and even repeat elections.

FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Keeps Pakistan on Grey List

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) kept Pakistan on the grey list but said a visit to verify progress on countering financing of terrorism and money laundering could lead to its removal from countries under increased monitoring.
The financial crime watchdog, set up by the Group of Seven industrial powers to protect the global financial system, said Islamabad had substantially completed its two action plans, covering 34 items, as it seeks to get off the list where it has been since 2018.

Gustavo Petro: Leftist Ex-rebel Wins Colombia's Presidential Election

Gustavo Petro, the leftist former mayor of Bogota and ex-rebel fighter, was declared the winner of Colombia's presidential election.
Mr. Petro, a current senator, defeated right-wing construction magnate Rodolfo Hernández in the run-off election.
Figures showed he took 50.5% of votes, defeating his rival by more than 700,000 ballots to become Colombia's first left-wing leader.
His running mate Francia Marquez, a single mother and former housekeeper, will become the country's first black woman vice-president.

Jun 19, 2022

Arati Prabhakar to be Appointed as Science Adviser to the President of US

US President Joe Biden is expected to name Arati Prabhakar as the head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). She will succeed Eric Lander who left the role nine months after his appointment after he admitted to bullying his staff and creating a hostile work environment during his tenure.
Once the Senate approves the 63-year-old's appointment, Arati would be the first woman and the first person of color to serve as science adviser to the President of the United States. Her role will require advising Biden on how to compete with China, bring forth rules which will protect US-funded academic research from theft and aim to reduce inequality within the research community.
Arati also served in top roles during the presidential tenures of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. The Clinton administration picked her to lead the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Obama administration picked her to lead the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

EU Leaders Back Immediate Candidate Status for Kyiv

The leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania have backed Ukraine's bid to join the EU, saying it should be given "immediate" candidate status.
"Ukraine belongs to the European family," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a joint briefing in Kyiv.
But he added that Ukraine still had to meet the accession criteria in full.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the 27-member EU would stand by Ukraine until its victory against Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described Russia's continuing aggression as a war "against the united Europe", adding that the "most effective weapon" was unity.

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