General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - May 2019

May 2019

Oct 12, 2019

Narendra Modi-Xi Jinping summit Day 2

The second 'informal' summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping is underway in Mamallapuram on October 12, 2019.
The two leaders vowed to work together in facing the challenges of radicalisation and terrorism in India and China during a two-and-half hour "open and cordial" one-on-one discussion over dinner at the magnificent Shore temple complex in the ancient coastal town.

New Caledonia To Hold New Independence Poll From France In 2020

France's Pacific island territory of New Caledonia will hold a second referendum on independence in 2020, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said.
Voters in a November 2018 poll chose to remain part of France by 57 per cent to 43 per cent, a result hailed by President Emmanuel Macron as "historic".
The date for next year's poll will be decided over the coming fortnight, but will be either August 30 or September 6, 2020. French since 1853, New Caledonia is a remote island territory in the southwestern Pacific and has around 270,000 inhabitants.
It is located about 18,000 kilometres (11,000 miles) from mainland France -- some 2,000 kilometres east of Australia.
The bulk of New Caledonia's population is made up of indigenous Melanesians known as Kanaks (39 percent) and European inhabitants, or Caldoches (27 percent).

Oct 11, 2019

Kerala Signs Mou With Bahrain To Collaborate For Startup Growth In State

Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), the Kerala government organisation supporting the startup ecosystem in the state, has tied up with the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) to support technology startups. EDB is the investment promotion agency for the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The MoU would help promote innovation in their respective markets in financial technology, information and communication technology (ICT) and related emerging technologies.

8th Joint Commission Meeting between India and Thailand

The 8th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) between India and Thailand was held on 10 October 2019, New Delhi.
The Indian side was led by Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister and the Thai side was led by H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The JCM was preceded by Senior Officials' Meeting held on 9 October 2019.
The Ministers had a restricted bilateral meeting, which was followed by delegation level talks.
During the meetings both sides reviewed the progress made in all areas of bilateral relationship, including political, defence and security, economic and commercial, connectivity, cultural, tourism and people-to-people ties. Both sides noted that India and Thailand are close maritime neighbours having historical and cultural linkages.
In the contemporary context, India's 'Act East' policy is complimented by Thailand's 'Look West' policy.

Jaishankar Holds Talks With Thai Counterpart To Intensify Bilateral Ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets visiting Foreign Affairs Minister of Thailand Don Pramudwinai in New Delhi.
Several agreements in various areas are to be inked during Thai Foregn Minister's three-day visit to India.

Dancila's Romanian Government Falls In No-Confidence Vote

Romania's government has collapsed after losing a no-confidence vote weeks ahead of a presidential election.
Prime Minister Viorica Dancila was defeated amid dramatic scenes by 238 votes in favour of the motion - five more than needed in the 465 house.
Viorica Dancila was appointed in January 2018 - the third prime minister in seven months. Romania has for years been plagued by government corruption scandals.
President Klaus Iohannis will now choose a replacement government.
He will hold talks with all parliamentary parties, with new elections due in late 2020.
Ms Dancila's Social Democrats (PSD) have been in power since 2016.
However, Ms Dancila lost her parliamentary majority in August 2019 after a succession of setbacks.
Her centre-left party suffered huge losses at the European elections in May 2019.

Oct 09, 2019

Xi Jinping To Arrive With 200-Member Delegation

When Chinese President Xi Jinping reaches the Chennai airport with his 200-member delegation, he will be welcomed with a massive performance, put up by 500 dancers, and folk music.
Ahead of their arrival, in a first, an Air China 747 aircraft, carrying four black, bullet-proof luxury vehicles, landed at the Chennai airport.

US imposes China Visa Restrictions Over Uighur Issue

The US has said it will impose visa restrictions on Chinese officials accused of involvement in repression of Muslim populations.
It follows the decision to blacklist 28 Chinese organisations linked by the US to allegations of abuse in the Xinjiang region.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Chinese government had instituted "a highly repressive campaign".
China has dismissed the allegations as groundless.

Longest Ever Ballot Paper In Lanka Poll

Sri Lanka will have its longest ever ballot paper in the November 2019 presidential election, the Election Commissioner said after as many as 35 candidates filed nominations for the contest, said to be a record number of candidates.
The Commission will incur additional costs on the long ballot paper, pushing the cost of the election from the initially estimated $22 million to $28 million.
The ballot paper will have symbols of all the candidates listed on it, with the party or alliance they represent, and voters are entitled to mark up to three preferences for President.

India Ranks 68th On Global Competitiveness Index; Singapore On Top

India ranked at 15th place in terms of corporate governance, while it is ranked second globally for shareholder governance
India has moved down 10 places to rank 68th on an annual global competitiveness index, largely due to improvements witnessed by several other economies, while Singapore has replaced the U.S. as the world's most competitive economy.
India, which was ranked 58th in the annual Global Competitiveness Index compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF), is among the worst-performing BRICS nations along with Brazil (ranked even lower than India at 71st in 2019).

US Top Court Divided as it Ponders LGBT rights

The US Supreme Court appears divided over whether a civil rights law barring workplace discrimination applies to gay and transgender workers.
The top court heard arguments regarding two cases of alleged discrimination against gay employees, and a third involving transgender discrimination.
The cases may be a landmark for LGBT rights in the US, four years after gay marriage became legal nationwide.
The top court's liberal quartet indicated their agreement with the plaintiffs and the argument that LGBT workers should be covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Italy Reduces Size Of Parliament 'To Save €1bn In a Decade'

Italy's parliament has voted to cut the number of representatives in both houses by more than a third.
The lower house approved a law to reduce the number of MPs from 630 to 400 and senators from 315 to 200.
The reform was a manifesto promise of the populist Five Star Movement, the main party in Italy's governing coalition.
They say it will streamline parliament and save hundreds of millions of euros in salaries and expenses.

Oct 08, 2019

India, Mexico Agree To Work Together On Multilateral Issues

The fifth round of Foreign Office Consultations between India and Mexico were held in New Delhi.
The Indian side was led by Secretary (East) Vijay Thakur Singh and Mexican side was led by Deputy Minister of External Affairs of Mexico Julián Ventura Valero.
The two sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation, including political, trade and economic cooperation.
Both sides underscored the need to hold a regular dialogue in these areas through the established bilateral mechanisms.

Portugal's Socialists Win Re-Election

Portugal's incumbent Prime Minister Antonio Costa's Socialists won a general election marked by low turnout after presiding over a period of solid economic growth following years of austerity.
The Socialist Party (PS) took 36.65 per cent of the vote, followed by the centre-right Social Democrats (PSD) with 27.9 per cent.
That left the PS, which has governed for the past four years with the support of two smaller hard-left parties, with 106 seats in the 230-seat parliament, up from 86 seats in the outgoing assembly and just ten seats short of an outright majority.
Four seats still must be attributed according to the results of votes cast abroad.
The election bucks the trend of declining centre-left fortunes and the rise of far-right populist forces seen elsewhere in Europe.

Oct 07, 2019

Dharmendra Pradhan To Visit Mongolia

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan will pay a two-day visit to Mongolia from October 8, 2019 as a follow up of the state visit by Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga in September 2019.
The Minister will participate in the opening ceremony of infrastructure that Mongolia has already constructed for the Indian funded, Mongol Refinery project.
The refinery project is being developed under a line of credit of USD 1.236 billion extended by New Delhi during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Mongolia in 2015 and subsequently enhanced during the State visit of the President of Mongolia to India in September 2019.

Mauritius PM Dissolves Parliament, Calls For General Elections

Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth has dissolved parliament and called for general elections.
Mr. Jugnauth said, he has advised the president to dissolve Parliament and to issue the writ for general elections. He said the voting will take place on November 7, 2019.
Jugnauth, 57, who is also finance minister, will seek another term as leader of the Mouvement Socialiste Militant (MSM).
He has served as prime minister since 2017 when he took over from his father, Anerood Jugnauth.
The country, a popular tourist destination and one of Africa's most stable nations, holds elections every five years, with the last one in 2014.

Turkey's Erdogan to meet Trump in US Over Syria 'Safe Zone'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US counterpart Donald Trump agreed during a phone call to meet in Washington to discuss creating a "safe zone" in northern Syria, the Turkish presidency.
Erdogan told Trump of his "frustration over the US military and security bureaucracy's failure to implement the deal" agreed in August 2019 to establish a buffer zone on the Turkish border.
It added that the visit would take place after an invitation from Trump.
There had been expectations in Turkey of a Trump-Erdogan meeting on Syria on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, but it did not take place.

India, Bangladesh sign MoU For Setting Up a Coastal Surveillance System Radar In Bangladesh

India and Bangladesh inked a important MoU that will enable Delhi to set up a coastal surveillance system radar in Bangladesh besides deciding to further expand connectivity network corridors boosting Delhi's Indo-Pacific strategy with Dhaka emerging as a key pillar in that vision.
After the summit between PMs Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina, the two sides signed seven pacts --

MoU for providing a Coastal Surveillance System;
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on the use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for Movement of goods to and from India;
MoU on withdrawal of 1.82 cusec of water from Feni River by India for drinking water supply scheme for Sabroom town, Tripura;
Agreement concerning Implementation of the Lines of Credit (LoCs) committed by India to Bangladesh;
MoU between University of Hyderabad and University of Dhaka;
Renewal of Cultural Exchange Programme ;
MoU on Co-operation in Youth Affairs

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