General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2019

May 2019

Jul 31, 2020

China Halts Hong Kong Extradition Pacts with Canada, Australia and the U.K.

China announced the suspension of Hong Kong's extradition treaties with Canada, Australia and Britain in a tit-for-tat move following similar decisions by those countries over a controversial new security law.
Western nations have angered Beijing over their responses to the law imposed on Hong Kong which they see as an erosion of the civil liberties and human rights the city has enjoyed since its handover from Britain in 1997.
Canada, Britain and Australia are part of the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance. The other members are New Zealand, which suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong earlier on Tuesday, and the United States, which has signalled it is preparing to do the same.
China has accused the countries of interfering in its internal affairs and defended the security law as crucial to restore order in Hong Kong following a wave of pro-democracy protests marred by violence.

Jin Liqun Gets Second Term as President of AIIB

Jin Liqun was elected to a second term as President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) by the Bank's Board of Governors. The election result was announced by the Chair of AIIB's Board of Governors during the Bank's fifth annual meeting.
President Jin's second five-year term will begin from January 2021.
Under President Jin's leadership, AIIB has grown from 57 founding members to over 100 approved members from around the world. The Bank has also maintained the highest credit ratings with a stable outlook from the largest credit rating agencies—Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch. Permanent Observer status was also granted by the United Nations (UN) in recognition of AIIB's relevance and contribution to the UN's development mandate.

Ivory Coast President Names New Prime Minister

Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara has named Defence Minister Hamed Bakayoko as Prime Minister.
Mr. Bakayoko had acted as interim Prime Minister when his predecessor Amadou Gon Coulibaly was being treated in France and after his sudden death.
The President said that Mr. Bakayoko will keep his defence role.
The ruling party asked President Ouattara to run for a third term, but the 78-year-old leader said he would announce his decision next week.
The opposition has insisted that the president would be violating the Constitution if he runs for a third term.

Pakistan's Senate Approves Two FATF-related Bills

Pakistan's Senate unanimously approved two Bills related to the tough conditions set by the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog FATF, a day after they were passed in the National Assembly amidst vociferous protest from the Opposition parties.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Amendment Bill, 2020, and the Anti-Terrorism Act Amendment Bill, 2020, were presented by Advisor to Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Senator Babar Awan.
The Bills include measures of freezing and seizure of assets, travel ban, and arms embargo on the entities and individuals, who are designated on the sanctions list of the United Nations and impose heavy fine and long term jails for those facilitating militancy.
The two Bills passed by the National Assembly fulfil various requirements of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which put Pakistan on its grey list in June 2016 after Islamabad agreed to implement a 27-point plan of action to improve its legal regime to curb money laundering and terror financing.

Jul 30, 2020

UK Names New MI6 Spy Chief to Tackle Challenges from China and Russia

Britain named career diplomat and intelligence officer Richard Moore as the new chief of the MI6 spy service as the West seeks to bolster its defences against hostile espionage from China and Russia. Moore joined the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in 1987, just four years before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
An accomplished intelligence officer, Moore served in various diplomatic and security roles before winning one of the most powerful jobs in Western intelligence. Alex Younger, the current chief of MI6 - or plain "C" - will step down in the autumn.
Moore served as British ambassador to Turkey from January 2014 to December 2017 and has also served as deputy national security adviser.

Turkey Approves Social Media law with New Powers

Turkey's parliament approved a law that gives authorities greater power to regulate social media despite concerns of growing censorship.
The law requires major social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter to keep representative offices in Turkey to deal with complaints against content on their platforms. If the social media company refuses to designate an official representative, the legislation mandates steep fines, advertising bans and bandwidth reductions.

Jul 29, 2020

Iran Holds Annual Gulf Drill Amid Rising Tensions with US

Iran`s elite Revolutionary Guards launched a military drill in the Gulf at a time of high tension between Tehran and Washington. There have been periodic confrontations in the Gulf in recent years between the Guards and the U.S. military, which has accused the Guards` navy of sending fast-attack boats to harass U.S. warships as they pass the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran, which opposes the presence of U.S. and Western navies in the Gulf, holds annual naval war games in phases in the strategic waterway, the conduit for some 30% of all crude and other oil liquids traded by sea. "The final stage of the drill called `Great Prophet 14` with the participation of the Guards Navy and Air Force has started in the areas of land, air, sea and space in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf.

Malaysian Ex-PM Najib Gets 12-year Jail

Malaysia's former leader Najib Razak was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 12 years in jail in the first trial over a multi-billion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB that stretched to the Gulf states and Hollywood.
In a case widely seen as a test of the nation's resolve to stamp out corruption and which could have big political implications, high court judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali sentenced Najib to 12 years and a fine of 210 million ringgit ($49 million) on a charge of abuse of power.
Najib, 67, also received 10 years in jail on each of three charges of criminal breach of trust and three charges of money laundering for illegally receiving nearly $10 million from SRC International, a former unit of the state fund.
The judge allowed a request by Najib's lawyers to delay the jail sentence and the financial penalty, but asked Najib to post additional bail and report to a police station twice a month.

Jul 28, 2020

Hichem Mechichi Tunisia's New Prime Minister

Tunisia's President Kais Saied appointed the Interior Minister, Hichem Mechichi, as the new Prime Minister for the North African country.
Mechichi will succeeded Elyes Fakhfakh, who resigned last week over allegations of conflict of interest.
Fakhfakh's coalition government was elected last year, with his resignation coming after only five months in power. The political row in parliament has deepened with lawmakers demanding the resignation of Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of the Islamist Ennahda party.
Mechichi served as President's adviser and member of the National Commission of Investigation on Corruption founded in 2011. However, political analysts are worried about his lack of experience in economics, at a time when the Tunisian economy is struggling.

Mahdi Mohammed Gulaid is Somalia's Interim Prime Minister

Somalia's Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Mohammed Gulaid announced his appointment as the interim Prime Minister following the vote of no confidence against the previous head of government, Hassan Ali Khaire.
Earlier, the country's parliament ousted Khaire by a vote of no confidence.
According to local website Garowe Online, a new Prime Minister will be appointed within a month.

Mali Leader Appoints New Cabinet to Resolve Crisis

Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta appointed a slimmed down cabinet to work towards a government of national unity.
It said the new cabinet would include the Prime Minister Boubou Cissé and six other ministers.
It came hours after a summit of West African leaders called for the swift creation of a unity administration and a fresh vote, following disputed elections.
No statement has been made on the other proposals by the regional grouping Ecowas, like the resignation of 31 parliamentarians whose election was disputed and the remodelling of the constitutional court.
The opposition coalition in Mali had earlier rejected a proposal for a national unity government, insisting the President must go.

New Zealand Suspends Hong Kong Extradition Treaty

New Zealand has suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in response to China's new national security law for the territory.
The widely criticised law makes it easier to punish protesters and reduces the city's autonomy.
Travel advice has also been updated to alert New Zealanders to risks presented by the law.
China's embassy in New Zealand said the suspension was a "gross interference in China's internal affairs".
The New Zealand government's decision is a serious violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations.
Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom earlier suspended their extradition treaties with Hong Kong.

Jul 27, 2020

US Sends Envoy to Press for Peace Talks in Afghanistan

Washington dispatched a special envoy for Afghanistan to press for peace talks between the government and Taliban fighters, with the diplomat scheduled to visit Kabul on a trip with stops in five nations.
U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad departed to travel to Doha, Kabul, Islamabad, Oslo and Sofia.
The United States is drawing down its troops in Afghanistan under an agreement struck in February with the Taliban.
The agreement aimed to pave the way for formal peace talks between the insurgents and the Afghan government, and Khalilzad's task is to try and bring both sides to the table.
Khalilzad plans to press for a deal on prisoner exchanges and a reduction in violence, two issues that have hampered progress toward starting peace talks.

Pakistanis Lead al-Qaida Faction, Other Terrorist Groups in Asia: UN Report

According to a UN report, Pakistani nationals remain at the leadership levels in terror groups such as al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and Khorasan (ISIL-K) and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, and many of them are yet to be blacklisted.
The 26th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning ISIL, al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities said that in April and May, the Afghan special forces conducted a series of countrywide operations and arrested the head of the ISIL-K Aslam Farooqi (also known as Abdullah Orokzai) and his predecessor Zia ul-Haq (also known as Abu Omar Khorasani) and others.

Australia Rejects China's Sea Claims

Australia has formally rejected China's territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea, aligning itself more closely with the US as tensions rise.
In a declaration to the United Nations, Australia said that the claims, which take in the majority of the sea, had "no legal basis.
It comes after the US called some of China's actions in the area unlawful.
In recent years China has built bases on artificial islands in the sea, saying its rights go back centuries.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam contest China's claims. The countries have wrangled over territory for decades but tensions have steadily increased in recent years, with several maritime confrontations taking place.
Beijing claims a vast area known as the "nine-dash line" and has backed its claims with island-building and patrols. It has built significant military infrastructure, although it insists its intentions are peaceful.

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