Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 04 December 2016

:: National ::

A 16-year-old Indian environmental activist based in the U.A.E has won this year’s prestigious International Children’s Peace Prize for her fight for climate justice and combating environmental degradation. The 16-year-old Indian activist based in the U.A.E. is thefounder of Green Hope
Kehkashan Basu was presented the award by Bangladesh’s Nobel peace laureate Mohammad Yunus at a ceremony in The Hague.
Kehkashan was nominated for the Children’s Peace Prize by her father and was selected for the award from among 120 nominees from 49 countries.
The International Children’s Peace Prize is an initiative of Marc Dullaert, Chairman and Founder of the Dutch KidsRights Foundation, and is awarded annually to a child, anywhere in the world, for his or her dedication to children’s rights.

The U.S President-elect Donald Trump signalled a potential rupture in the country’s China policy by holding a telephone conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. He is the first American President or President-elect to talk to a Taiwanese President since 1979, when the U.S. cut off diplomatic ties with the island while getting closer to China.
Recognising Taiwan as a part of China is a fundamental principle of the U.S.-China relations and Mr. Trump’s engagement with the Taiwanese leader drew strong reactions from Beijing.
During the campaign, Mr. Trump had repeatedly called China a “currency manipulator” and threatened to impose high tariffs on Chinese imports to the U.S. He had also promised to remain “unpredictable” in international affairs. His engagement with a territory that China considers its own is in sharp contrast with that of Barack Obama, who in 2009 became the first American President to visit China in the first year in office.
Mr. Obama’s ‘Pivot to Asia’ policy and the push for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal had increased tensions between the countries. Now, China is trying to make sense of Mr. Trump’s policy toward it.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council failed to reach a consensus on critical issues, including the laws that need to be passed in the winter session in order to stick to the April 1, 2017 rollout date set by the Centre.
With the pending legislations, including the draft model GST law, as well as the contentious issue of dual administrative control over assessees between the Centre remaining unresolved, the GST Council would now meet on December 11 and 12.