General Awareness

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - June 2019

Jun 2019

Apr 18, 2021

Raúl Castro Steps Down as Cuban Communist Party Leader

Raúl Castro said that he is resigning as Cuban Communist Party leader, ending his family's six decades in power.
Mr. Castro is handing over the leadership to a younger generation "full of passion and anti-imperialist spirit".
His successor will be voted in at the end of the four-day congress.
The move, which was expected, ends the era of formal leadership by him and his brother Fidel Castro, which began with the 1959 revolution.
Although Mr. Castro has not endorsed a successor, it is widely believed the party leadership will pass to Miguel Díaz-Canel, who took over as the island's president in 2018.

Pakistan PM Appoints Shaukat Tareen as New Finance Minister

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan appointed Shaukat Tareen as the new Finance Minister of the country, the fourth to don the mantle, in another cabinet reshuffle.
A banker by profession, Tareen served in the same capacity in the government of Pakistan Peoples Party (2009-10) for a short period before he decided to step down to raise capital for his Silk Bank.
Tareen was facing corruption charges and had initially refused to accept the post until his name was cleared.
Shaukat Tareen is replacing Hammad Azhar, who was appointed towards the end of the last month after Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh was removed for failure to control raging inflation in the country.
Minister for Science Fawad Chaudhry was appointed Information Minister while his predecessor Shibli Faraz was appointed as Minister for Science.

Russia Bans Top Biden Officials as Tensions Soar

Russia banned top officials from US President Joe Biden's administration from entering the country and announced a wave of tit-for-tat sanctions and expulsions of diplomats, as tensions soar between the rivals.
The Russian action comes a day after Washington announced sanctions against Moscow and the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats, in retaliation for what it says was interference by the Kremlin in US elections, a massive cyber attack and other hostile activity.

Apr 17, 2021

Turkey Bans Cryptocurrency Payments

Turkey's central bank has banned the use of cryptocurrencies and crypto assets including Bitcoin to purchase goods and services, citing possible irreparable damage and significant transaction risks. The bank published a legislation, saying that cryptocurrencies and other such digital assets based on distributed ledger technology could not be used, directly or indirectly, as an instrument of payment.
In a statement, the central bank said that crypto assets were neither subject to any regulation and supervision mechanisms nor a central regulatory authority, among other security risks.
Payment service providers will not be able to develop business models in a way that crypto assets are used directly or indirectly in the provision of payment services and electronic money issuance, and will not provide any services.
Turkey's decision comes after Royal Motors, which distributes Rolls-Royce and Lotus cars in the country became the first to announce that it would accept payments in cryptocurrencies. Globally, giants such as Apple, Amazon and Expedia also accept such payments. In India, no company has officially announced that it will accept cryptocurrencies as payment.

Iran Starts Enriching Uranium to 60% Purity

Iran began enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity, its highest level ever, after an attack targeted its Natanz nuclear site.
However, it is likely to raise tensions even as Iran negotiates with world powers in Vienna over a way to allow the US back into the agreement and lift the crushing economic sanctions it faces.
The announcement also marks a significant escalation after the sabotage that damaged centrifuges, an attack this past weekend suspected of having been carried out by Israel.

European Union-UK Talks over Brexit Fail to Reach a Breakthrough

Top European Union and British officials failed to get a breakthrough at talks on Northern Ireland trade rules and said that contact would continue over the coming weeks.
The meeting between European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic and U.K. Brexit minister David Frost took place a month after the EU started legal action against its former member country, arguing that the UK had not respected the conditions of the Brexit agreement and violated international law.
The two sides are trying to find common ground on trade rules in Northern Ireland, where Britain's exit from the EU has unsettled a delicate political balance.
Northern Ireland is part of the U.K. but remained part of the EU's single market for goods after Brexit to avoid checks at the territory's border with EU member Ireland.

United Nations Population Fund's Flagship State of World Population Report 2021

Nearly half the women from 57 developing countries do not have the right to make decisions regarding their bodies, including using contraception, seeking healthcare or even on their sexuality, according to the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) flagship State of World Population Report 2021 titled 'My Body is My Own'.
This is the first time a United Nations report has focused on bodily autonomy, defined as the power and agency to make choices about your body without fear of violence or having someone else decide for you.
The report shows that in countries where data is available, only 55% of women are fully empowered to make choices over healthcare, contraception and the ability to say yes or no to sex. It also highlights that only 75% of countries legally ensure full and equal access to contraception.

Apr 16, 2021

China's Official in Hong Kong Warns of Retaliation against Foreign Meddling

Beijing's top official in Hong Kong warned foreign forces not to interfere with the bottom line of national security in the city, threatening retaliation amid tensions between China and Western powers.
The US, Britain and their allies have condemned China's tightening control over Hong Kong's freedoms, including the sweeping national security law and electoral reforms that have all but silenced the once-vibrant opposition in the semi-autonomous territory.

Apr 15, 2021

US Poised to Impose Sanctions on Russia for Cyber-attacks

As per reports, the US government is set to issue a wide range of sanctions against Russia.
The move would be retaliation for cyber-attacks aimed at the US, including alleged interference in the 2020 presidential elections.
The sanctions, expected, target more than 30 Russian entities and include the expulsion of at least 10 individuals from the US.
Diplomats will reportedly be among those targeted.

Vienna Offer on N-deal Not Worth Looking at: Iran

Iran's supreme leader dismissed initial offers being made at talks in Vienna aimed at saving Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers. He described them as "not worth looking at" after an attack on an atomic site in his country.
The comments come as informal talks in Vienna continue ahead of a planned formal round of negotiations.
The talks already have been thrown into disarray by a weekend power outage at Iran's main nuclear enrichment site suspected to have been engineered by Israel.

Haiti Prime Minister Resigns

Haitian Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe announced that he has resigned as the country faces a spike in killings and kidnappings and prepares for an upcoming constitutional referendum and general election later this year.
Jouthe had served as Prime Minister since March 2020. He did not provide an explanation for his resignation.
Jouthe previously had tried to submit his resignation, but President Jovenel Moïse at the time had rejected it.
This time, Moïse accepted it and nominated Claude Joseph as Haiti's new Prime Minister. Joseph previously served as Foreign Minister.

Apr 14, 2021

Benin's Talon Wins Re-election as President

According to provisional results released by the national electoral commission, Benin's President Patrice Talon was re-elected with 86% of the votes.
Duo Allasane Soumanou got about 11.3% while Corentin Kohou came in third with 2.3%, with a voter turnout of 50%.
The Beninese Constitutional Court is expected to announce the final results of the election later.
The main opposition figures, who are either in exile or have been sentenced to prison, had called for a boycott of the ballot.
Others were prevented from running in the elections by a new electoral code and institutional reforms.
The election could not be held in 13 of the country's 546 districts, because of security problems in some areas in the country's northern and central regions.

Iran to Enrich Uranium to Highest Level Ever

As per an Iranian nuclear negotiator, Iran will begin enriching uranium to 60 per cent purity, higher than the programme ever has before, after an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility.
Abbas Araghchi's comment came after Iran's foreign minister warned that the weekend assault could hurt ongoing negotiations over its tattered atomic deal with world powers.
Iran had been enriching up to 20 per cent. That is a short technical step to weapons-grade levels.

Global Food Policy Report 2021

The Global Food Policy Report is published by the International Food Policy Research Institute. This year the institute has released the report based on the theme "Transforming Food Systems After COVID-19".
The report found that:
Around 95 million people, mostly in Africa are living in extreme poverty.
Number of poor people living under poverty increase by 150 million as compared to the pre-pandemic levels.
Women accounted to 39% of employment globally. However, they incurred 54% of job losses during pandemic.

Austria's Health Minister Resigns

Austria's Health Minister announced his resignation, saying that he could not continue in the grueling job of helping lead the country's coronavirus response because of persistent personal health problems caused by overwork.
Rudolf Anschober had been Health Minister since January 2020, when his Green party became the junior partner in a governing coalition under conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

Biden Picks First Person of Colour to Head Census Bureau

President Joe Biden has said that he would pick the president of the American Statistical Association to lead the US Census Bureau as it works toward releasing data from the 2020 census that will be used for redrawing congressional and legislative districts.
If confirmed, Robert Santos, who is Mexican-American, would become the first person of colour to serve as a permanent director of the Census Bureau, the nation's largest statistical agency.
Santos is an expert in survey sampling. He has 40 years of experience in survey design and social science and policy research.

Germany, US Revive Security Cooperation

The US and German defense chiefs sat down together in Berlin, at a time when pressure is mounting on multiple fronts. Russian troops appear to be massing along Ukraine's border. Israel is suspected of sabotaging an Iranian uranium enrichment facility. An Afghanistan withdrawal deadline looms.
Easy solutions to these and other global security problems are in short supply, and the alliance remains divided over several of them. Yet both sides say they are committed to working together.
"We will deploy 500 additional troops to Germany," Austin announced at a press conference with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer following their meeting.
This constitutes a marked turn-around from ex-US President Donald Trump's decision to move troops out of Germany to Poland.

US to Withdraw Troops from Kabul by September

US President Joe Biden said that he had planned to have all American troops out of war-torn Afghanistan by September 11 this year, the 20th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York.
The process will begin before May 1 and we plan to have all US troops out before the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

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