(Current Affairs) International Events | October: 2016

International Events

Dilma Rousseff was stripped of the Brazil’s presidency

  • Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff was stripped of the country’s presidency in a Senate impeachment vote, ending 13 years of Leftist rule in Latin America’s biggest economy.
  • Ms. Rousseff (68) was convicted by 61 of the 81 Senators of illegally manipulating the national budget. The vote, passing the needed two-thirds majority, meant she was immediately removed from office.
  • Brazil’s first woman President, holed up in the presidential palace on the outskirts of the capital Brasilia with close aides, was expected to make a statement soon after the vote.
  • Her Vice-President-turned-bitter-political-enemy, Michel Temer, was to be sworn as her replacement
  • Ms. Rousseff, from the leftist Workers’ Party, is accused of taking illegal state loans to patch budget holes in 2014, masking the country’s problems as it slid into its deepest recession in decades.

China will provide at least 8 submarines to Pakistan

  • Pakistan will acquire at least eight modified diesel-electric attack submarines from China by 2028 in a nearly $5 billion agreement, said to be the biggest arms export deal for Beijing.
  • China is expected to extend a long term loan to Pakistan at a low interest rate to cover the cost of the project, the report said.
  • It has not officially been confirmed what type of submarines will be supplied to the Pakistan Navy by the China Shipbuilding Trading Company (CSTC).
  • The first four submarines are expected to be delivered by the end of 2023 while the remaining four will be assembled in Karachi by 2028.
  • China is Pakistan’s biggest supplier of military hardware and the two jointly manufacture J-17 Thunder warplane.
  • Pakistan’s submarine fleet comprises five Agostas of which one — Hamza (Khalid Class) — was indigenously constructed and commissioned in 2008.

The Australian court asks newspaper to provide leaked data to shipbuilder DCNS

  • An Australian court confirmed its preliminary decision made earlier this week asking The Australian newspaper to provide all leaked data of Scorpene to the French shipbuilder DCNS and to stop publishing any more details.
  • The paper, which has already withdrawn information published on its website after the first decision of the court, will provide the DCNS with the documents in its possession and is prohibited from publishing any additional document.
  • Underlining that confidentiality of information and communication was a matter of utmost importance, the DCNS said, “It welcomes this decision of the court.”
  • In parallel to this action, the DCNS filed a complaint against unknown persons for breach of trust, receiving the proceeds of an offence and aiding and abetting before the Paris Public Prosecutor, it added.
  • Over 22,000 pages of top secret data on the capabilities of six highly advanced submarines being built for the Indian Navy in Mumbai, in collaboration with the French company, have been leaked.

Belt and Road initiative to be followed by a World Land Bridge

  • China’s Belt and Road connectivity initiative, which bears a strong imprint of the Eurasian Land Corridor should be followed by a World Land Bridge that will link North America with the New Silk Road.
  • World Land Bridge is the natural sequel to the Eurasian Land Bridge, the mega-connectivity initiative to revive the ancient Silk Road in all its dimensions, including its lost cultural and civilisational attributes.
  • Siberia in Russia can be connected with Alaska, if we build an undersea tunnel across the Bering Strait. That would lay the foundation for a World Land Bridge.
  • Better coordination among the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) within the G-20framework, to achieve far-reaching results.
  • Energy committee of the BRICS must embark on a “crash programme” to develop thermonuclear fusion, to achieve long-term energy security, and reduce pressure on finite resources.
  • When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the most obvious thing was to enlarge this conception of connectivity by establishing development corridors linking the population and industry centres of Europe with those of Asia.

PM Modi balances between US and China

  • PM Narendra Modi praised U.S. President Barack Obama for his leadership of the G-20 and asserted that the grouping in the future would succeed if it pursued a “collective, coordinated and target-oriented” approach.
  • Mr. Modi had held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, widely seen as an effort to reboot ties between New Delhi and Beijing.
  • India aimed to improve its financial system, boost domestic production, enhance infrastructure investment and create a pool of human capital in the country.
  • Mr. Modi also held talks with Saudi Arabia’s Deputy-Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al-Saud, where he singled out maritime trade, infrastructure and low-cost housing among the items for joint collaboration between New Delhi and Riyadh.

The World Health Organisation declared Sri Lanka to be malaria-free

  • The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Sri Lanka to be malaria-free, after certifying that the life-threatening disease had been completely eliminated here.
  • Sri Lanka’s achievement is truly remarkable. In the mid-20th century, it was among the most malaria-affected countries, but now it is malaria-free.
  • Sri Lanka’s road to elimination had not been easy. It demanded well-calibrated, responsive policies.
  • For instance, after cases of malaria soared in Sri Lanka in the 1970s and 80s, the country revised its strategy, intensively targeting the parasite in addition to targeting the mosquito.
  • Sri Lanka has, despite the protracted civil war that ravaged the country, set high standards in public health and sanitation in South Asia.
  • India is in the “control phase” with regard to malaria, but is working to reach pre-elimination by 2017 and to complete elimination thereafter, says a 2015 WHO report.

Israel and Palestine agreed for talks

  • Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced that the Israeli and the Palestinian leaders have agreed “in principle” to meet in Moscow for talks in what the Russians hope will relaunch the Mideast peace process after a more than two-year break.
  • But the wide gaps between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas left it uncertain if or when the meeting will take place, and raised doubts about whether they would make any progress.
  • After years of taking a back seat to the U.S., Russia has increasingly sought to take a leadership role in the region. Announcement in Moscow indicates that Russia is pushing forward with its attempt to become a peace broker.

Agreement reached for truce in Syria

  • The United States and Russia working in lockstep against the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria.
  • A rejuvenated truce that will compel President Bashar al-Assad’s air and ground forces to pull back. New flows of badly needed humanitarian aid.
  • U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov capped another marathon meeting in Geneva to present their latest ambitious push to end Syria’s devastating and complex war.
  • The potential breakthrough deal, which launches a nationwide cessation of hostilities, will hinge on compliance by Mr. Assad’s Russian-backed forces and U.S.-supported rebel groups, plus key powers such as Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
  • The ultimate hope is to silence the Syrian guns so that the long-stalled peace process under U.N. mediation can resume between Mr. Assad’s envoys and representatives of the opposition, while the two world powers focus on battling jihadists.
  • The U.S. and Russia Now, are also lining up in an unexpected new military partnership targeting the IS and al-Qaeda-linked militants.
  • The military deal would go into effect after both sides abide by the truce for a week and allow unimpeded humanitarian deliveries. Then, the U.S. and Russia would begin intelligence sharing and targeting coordination.

Click Here for Full International Issue

Click Here to Join Online Coaching for IAS (Pre.) Exam

<< Go Back To International Events Main Page

Current Affairs
International Issues
Civil Services EXAM
Civil Services Preliminary
Civil Services Mains
UPSC