General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - November 2018

Nov 2018

May 30, 2022

Sri Lanka's Only Refinery Resumes Operations after more than Two Months; Begins Receiving Russian...

Sri Lanka's only refinery, which was shut down more in March 2022, commenced operations and has begun receiving Russian crude, as the crisis-hit island nation tried to overcome its worst economic crisis since independence.
The more than five-decade-old Iran-built Sapugaskanda oil refinery, which boasts of 50,000 barrel-per-day capacity, was temporarily shut down on March 20 following the non-availability of crude oil supplies due to the ongoing foreign exchange crisis that has crippled the country. Sri Lanka became the latest Asian country to accept Russian crude after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 prompted a slew of crippling sanctions on Moscow.A crippling shortage of foreign reserves has led to long queues for fuel, cooking gas, and other essentials while power cuts and soaring food prices heaped misery on the people.

May 29, 2022

Leaders of Quad Nations Launch First-of-its-kind QUAD Fellowship

Leaders of Quad countries launched the QUAD Fellowship - a first-of-its-kind scholarship programme designed to build ties among the next generation of scientists and technologists from the four member nations. US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterparts Anthony Albanese and Fumio Kishida from Australia and Japan respectively launched the fellowship that will sponsor 25 students per year from each Quad country to pursue masters and doctoral degrees at leading Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) universities in the US.
The Fellowship will sponsor 100 students per year - 25 from each Quad country - to pursue masters and doctoral degrees at leading STEM graduate universities in the United States.

Sri Lanka PM Ranil Wickremesinghe Appointed as Finance Minister

Sri Lanka's newly appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe doubled up as finance minister leading bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund. Wickremesinghe, who was appointed following violent unrest, was sworn in by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as Minister of Finance and Economic Stabilization and National Policies.
Wickremesinghe held talks with foreign envoys, including from India, China and the U.S., and discussed with representatives from the Asian Development Bank and World Bank ways to replenish food, fertilizer and medicine supplies. Sri Lanka needs $4 billion over the next eight months to pay for essential imports.
As a member of the opposition, Wickeremesinghe had criticized the president's policies, pointing to falling foreign-currency reserves and flagging early on that the government should seek help from the IMF.

May 28, 2022

India Joins First Movers Coalition to Decarbonise Carbon-heavy Sectors

India joined the First Movers Coalition, a global initiative aimed at decarbonising the heavy industry and long-distance transport sectors responsible for 30 per cent of global emissions. Launched by US President Joe Biden and the WEF at COP26 as a flagship public-private partnership to clean up the most carbon-intensive sectors, also saw 50 new corporate members with collective market cap of USD 8.5 trillion joining the force.
Besides India, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Norway, Singapore, Sweden and the United Kingdom have also joined the US as government partners to create early markets for clean technologies through policy measures and private sector engagements.

Hungary Amends Constitution to Extend Govt's State of Emergency Powers

Hungary's Parliament amended the country's Constitution to enable the government to introduce a special legal order and declare a state of emergency in case of an armed conflict, war or humanitarian disaster in a neighbouring country. The legislation was approved with 136 votes for and 36 against.
The government will have the power to suspend some laws or deviate from their stipulations to ensure the security of residents, their assets, as well as the stability of the national economy. The Constitutional Court, if requested, must review the measures taken by the government. The 10th amendment of the country's Constitution was initiated by Justice Minister Judit Varga and will enter into force on November 1, 2022.

May 27, 2022

Indian Officer Anwar Hussain Shaik is New Chair of a WTO Committee

After a gap of ten years, an Indian Government Officer —Anwar Hussain Shaik — was made the chair of the World Trade Organisation's Committee on Technical Barriers on Trade. Mr. Shaik took this role from Elisa Maria Olmeda de Alejandro from Mexico.
The Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement aims to ensure that technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures are non-discriminatory and do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. TBT Committee work involves two broad areas — review of specific measures and strengthening implementation of the TBT Agreement. WTO members use this committee to discuss specific trade concerns, specific laws, regulations or procedures that affect their trade, usually in response to notifications.

Health Secretary Appointed as Chairperson of Committee B at 75th World Health Assembly

Union Health Secretary, Rajesh Bhushan was appointed as the chairperson of the Committee B at the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA). Committee B primarily discusses administrative and financial matters of the World Health Organization (WHO). Each year, the World Health Assembly has a long and complex list of health challenges and responses to review and the Assembly functions through two committees — A and B.
Committee A meets to debate technical and health matters. Committee B discuss and prepare a report on many important issues which includes health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory including East Jerusalem and the occupied Syrian Golan.

May 26, 2022

Mohinder K. Midha is UK's First Dalit Woman Mayor

An Indian-origin politician from the UK's Opposition Labour Party, Mohinder K. Midha, was elected mayor of Ealing Council in west London, becoming the first woman mayor of a local London council belonging to the Dalit community.
Midha was elected for the next year's term of 2022-23 at a council meeting. The election is being celebrated by the British Dalit community as a proud moment.

Minister of State for Culture & External Affairs Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, Participated in the 7th BR...

Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for Culture and External Affairs, attended the 7th BRICS Culture Ministers' Meeting via video conference, which was hosted by the People's Republic of China and attended by all BRICS Member Nations. Under the subject Establishing a Cultural Partnership Featuring Inclusiveness and Mutual Learning among BRICS, a discussion was conducted to promote and expand cultural activities among the BRICS countries.
The debate focused on boosting cultural digitization growth and collaboration, enhancing cooperation on cultural heritage preservation, and pushing the development of BRICS nations' cultural exchange platforms.
The Ministers approved the BRICS Action Plan 2022-2026, which aims to expand cultural cooperation and execute the 2015 BRICS Cultural Cooperation Agreement.

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