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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - June 2019

Jun 2019

Apr 03, 2021

Iran, World Powers to Discuss US Return to Nuclear Deal

Officials from Iran, China, Russia, France, Germany and Britain will meet virtually to discuss a possible return of the United States to the 2015 nuclear deal, the European Union said in a statement.
The Biden administration has been seeking to engage Iran in talks about both sides resuming compliance with the deal, under which U.S. and other economic sanctions on Tehran were removed in return for curbs on Iran's nuclear program to make it harder to develop a nuclear weapon - an ambition Tehran denies.
U.S. President Joe Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed U.S. sanctions, prompting Iran, after waiting more than a year, to violate some of the pact's nuclear restrictions in retaliation.

Joe Biden Lifts Sanctions on International Criminal Court Officials

US has lifted sanctions and visa restrictions imposed by Donald Trump's administration on officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC), who are investigating American military and intelligence officials for potential war crimes in Afghanistan and had also opened a probe against alleged crimes by American ally Israel in Palestinian territories.

Apr 02, 2021

Dutch PM Rutte Narrowly Survives No-confidence Vote

Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte has narrowly survived a vote of no-confidence over his conduct during talks to form a governing coalition.
But he remains under pressure after parliament adopted a formal motion of disapproval which noted he had not spoken the truth during the talks.
Mr. Rutte is accused of lying about moves to sideline a troublesome MP.
"Parliament has given me a serious message and I will try my very best to win back confidence," Mr. Rutte said.
The 54-year-old has been in office for more than a decade and has been dubbed "Teflon Mark" for his ability to survive scandals.

South Korea Ruling Party Faces Local Election Losses

Roiled by property scandals and economic failures, South Korea's liberal ruling party looks set to lose the mayoral offices in the two largest cities, making it harder for President Moon Jae-in to achieve the policy goals of his last year in office.
Tens of millions of South Koreans will begin early voting on Friday to elect mayors of the capital Seoul and the port city of Busan among other local offices up for grab in the April 7 election.
The vote comes as Moon and his progressive Democratic Party grapple with plunging approval ratings over runaway home prices, deepening inequality and souring ties with North Korea, which could presage a broader political shift ahead of a presidential election in March.

Apr 01, 2021

CAR President Sworn In

Central African Republic's President Faustin-Archange Touadéra was sworn in, in a ceremony attended by foreign dignitaries in the capital Bangui.
President Touadéra was re-elected for a second term in December 2020.
The swearing in ceremony was held at the national assembly.

Military Chiefs of Brazil Quit

The leaders of all three branches of Brazil's armed forces jointly resigned following President Jair Bolsonaro's replacement of the Defence Minister, causing widespread apprehension of a military shakeup to serve the President's political interests.

Kremlin fears Ukraine Could Restart Conflict in War-torn East

The Kremlin said that it was concerned by mounting tensions in war-torn eastern Ukraine and that it feared Kyiv's government forces could do something to restart a conflict with pro-Russian separatists.
The comments came a day after Ukraine's commander-in-chief accused Russia of a military buildup near their shared border and said that the pro-Moscow separatists were systematically violating a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.
Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for a recent spate of violence in the region. Around 14,000 people have been killed in the conflict since it first erupted in 2014.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of provoking armed confrontation with the separatists and of failing to honour agreements over the region.

World's Largest Purple-pink Diamond to Go on Sale

A pink-purple diamond, the largest of its kind to ever appear for sale, will go under the hammer at Christie's upcoming Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels Live Auction in May.
Estimated at 25 million USD to 38 million USD, the fancy vivid purple-pink internally flawless diamond will be the star highlight of the sale. It is a 15.81 carat Sakura diamond.
The diamond's exceptional rarity, extraordinary optical transparency, brilliant colour, and enormous size make it an immensely important, and an eternal masterpiece of nature.

Mar 31, 2021

Iraqi, Egyptian and Jordanian Foreign Ministers Meet over Trilateral Summit

Egyptian and Jordanian Foreign Ministers Sameh Shoukry and Ayman Safadi met their Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein during which they discussed preparation for a summit expected to bring together the leaders of the three countries.
The three ministers exchanged views on cooperation among the countries and several regional and international issues.
At the same conference, Shoukry said that they discussed "projects to be implemented by the three countries in the fields of economy, energy, electricity, health, agriculture, industry, food, and construction".
The understandings reached by the governments of the three countries will be sent to the three leaders in the upcoming summit.

China Cuts Share of Elected Representatives in Hong Kong Overhaul

China's legislature formally approved sweeping changes to Hong Kong's electoral system that will see a sharply reduced share of directly elected representatives and a tightening of Beijing's control in the Special Administrative Region (SAR).
The changes, first announced earlier this month at the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, were on Tuesday passed by the 167 members of the NPC Standing Committee. President Xi Jinping signed orders to promulgate the amended annexes to Hong Kong's Basic Law, the constitution that has governed the SAR under the "one country, two systems" model since its return to China in 1997.
The amendments mark the biggest changes to Hong Kong's political system since the handover, and reduce the share of directly elected representatives in its Legislative Council (LegCo). While previously 35 of its 70 members were directly elected, that number has been reduced by 15.

Slovak Premier, Government Resign over Russian Vaccine Deal

Slovakia's Prime Minister Igor Matovic and his government resigned to ease a political crisis triggered by a secret deal to buy Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine.
It is the first European government to collapse due to its handling of the pandemic but the move will keep the current four-party coalition in power and avoid the possibility of an early election. The coalition holds a comfortably parliamentary majority.
President Zuzana Caputova accepted the resignation and asked Eduard Heger from Matovic's Ordinary People party to form a new government.
Heger served as the Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the outgoing government.

Rajapaksa Thanks Xi for China's Vote against UNHRC Resolution against Lanka

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa conveyed his heartfelt gratitude to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for China's vote against a recent UNHRC resolution on the island nation's rights record.
The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 23 adopted a strong resolution against Sri Lanka's rights record, in a setback to Colombo, which made determined efforts to garner international support ahead of the voting.
The resolution titled Promotion of Reconciliation Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka' was adopted by the UNHRC after 22 members out of 47 voted in favour of it. Eleven members voted against the resolution.
India was among 14 countries which abstained from voting, while China and Russia were among the 11 members who voted against it.

Mar 30, 2021

China Passes Patriot Electoral Reforms

China has passed sweeping changes to Hong Kong's electoral rules which will tighten its control over the city.
The number of directly elected seats in parliament has been cut almost by half, and prospective MPs will first be vetted by a pro-Beijing committee to ensure their loyalty to the mainland.
The aim is to ensure only patriotic figures can run for positions of power.
Critics warn it will mean the end of democracy, as it removes all opposition from the city parliament.
Beijing's rubber-stamp parliament first approved the plan during the National People's Congress (NPC) meetings earlier in March.

Scott Morrison Announces Cabinet Reshuffle

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a Cabinet reshuffle following a series of damaging allegations.
Morrison said that Linda Reynolds will leave the role of Minister of Defence and will be replaced by Peter Dutton, who was previously Minister of Home Affairs.
Christian Porter will leave as Attorney General and Minister for Industrial Relations and will be replaced by Michaelia Cash.

Global Wind Report 2021

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the year 2020 was the best year in history for the global wind industry as this sector installed 93GW of new capacity in 2020, according to a new report titled 'Global Wind Report 2021, released by the Global Wind Energy Council. This is the 16th annual flagship report, released by GWEC on March 25, 2021. The 93GW represents a 53% year-on-year increase.
The global wind power market increased four times in size over the past decade but the record growth was seen in 2020.
This increase was driven by a surge of installations in China and the US alone.
Together, the US and China installed 75% of new installations in 2020 and account for over half of the world's total wind power capacity.

Iran and China Sign Long-term Strategic Cooperation Economic Agreement

Iran and China have inked a long-term cooperation agreement in Tehran.
The comprehensive agreement signed by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, aims to expand bilateral cooperation in various fields in the next 25 years.
The agreement paves the way for billions in Chinese investment in Tehran, and in return, Iran wants to supply oil to Beijing at favourable prices. Military cooperation is also part of the plans.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described cooperation with China as strategic and said that the new agreement will deepen this partnership even further. We want China to be a major trading partner.

Congo President Wins Landslide Third Term

Denis Sassou Nguesso has been re-elected President of Congo-Brazzaville after the Constitution was amended to allow him to seek a third term.
He won 60% of the vote, against 15% for his nearest challenger, the interior minister announced.
The opposition says the vote was marred by "massive fraud".
It says the communications blackout announced during the vote was designed to prevent observers from monitoring the election.
Mr. Sassou Nguesso has been in power since 1979, except for a five-year period after losing elections in 1992.
The Constitution was changed after an October referendum to remove term and age limits which would have prevented the 72-year-old from standing again.

President Jair Bolsonaro Overhauls Cabinet amid Covid-19 Surge

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro overhauled his government, changing six cabinet members including the Foreign, Defense and Justice Ministers, as the far-right leader faced mounting pressure over a deadly surge of Covid-19.
Bolsonaro, who comes up for re-election in October 2022, has drawn backlash with his handling of the pandemic in hard-hit Brazil, where the average daily death toll has nearly quadrupled since the start of the year to more than 2,600, pushing hospitals to breaking point.
The shake-up comes the week after Bolsonaro replaced former health minister Eduardo Pazuello, an army general with no medical experience, with cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga, his fourth health minister of the pandemic.
The President named army General Luiz Eduardo Ramos as his new chief of staff, career diplomat Carlos Franca as his new Foreign Minister, General Walter Souza Braga Netto -- the outgoing chief of staff -- as Defense Minister, and police commander Anderson Torres as Justice Minister.

Agnes Callamard Is Amnesty Chief

Agnes Callamard, who led a United Nations' investigation into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, has been appointed the new leader of Amnesty International.
The international human rights group said that Callamard will serve as the new leader of Amnesty International for a four-year term.
Callamard, a French human rights expert, has previously led free-speech organisation Article 19 and directs the Global Freedom of Expression Project at Columbia University. As the UN's special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, she investigated the killing of Khashoggi, who entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, to pick up some documents, and never walked out.

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