(Current Affairs) International Events | December: 2014

International Events

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu briefs Modi on IS

  • In the first meeting between Indian and Israeli Prime Ministers in more than a decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Benjamin Netanyahu to explain Israel’s perspective on the Islamic State.

  • According to the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin, the two leaders discussed the situation in West Asia. “Given that Israel is well placed in that region, the Prime Minister requested and was given a briefing of their understanding of the situation.”

  • The conversation assumes significance as it came before Mr. Modi’s dinner meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, and the Prime Minister’s address to the Council for Foreign Relations to outline his government’s foreign policy objectives.

India-US expected to announce Renewable energy pact

  • While India and the U.S. are at an impasse over the nuclear deal, they are expected to announce an agreement on reneweable energy when Prime Minister Modi and President Obama meet.

  • U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal said India-U.S. ties were in for “transformational growth,” and identified solar energy and other clean energy initiatives as a key area. “Clean energy is a subject very close to President Obama’s heart and I know that India’s government has made this a priority too,” said Ms. Biswal.

  • The U.S. “welcomed” the government’s decision to allow an anti-dumping proposal on solar energy technology to lapse, which would let India import solar panels and technology more easily.

  • The proposed new agreement between New Delhi and Washington would also look at assisting wind power technology, where energy giant General Electric (GE) is the biggest player.

Protests spread in Hong Kong

  • The ranks of Hong Kong democracy protesters who have paralysed parts of the city swelled into their tens of thousands, digging in for another night of confrontation with police in their campaign for free elections.

  • The protesters defied government calls to go home, a day after chaotic scenes saw riot police fired tear gas in running battles with angry crowds in one of the biggest ever challenges to Beijing’s rule of the semi-autonomous city. As night fell, thousands of demonstrators who have blocked off a major highway turned on the torches on their mobile phones, turning the Admiralty business district into a sea of lights.

  • Hong Kong democracy protesters defied volleys of tear gas and police baton charges to stand firm in the centre of the global financial hub 29th September, one of the biggest political challenges for China since the Tiananmen Square crackdown 25 years ago.

Mixed response from Indian Diaspora

  • It was literally the ambience of a sold-out rock concert at Madison Square Garden (MSG) as Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to a revolving stage and wowed the Indian-American community.

  • There was a sense of breathless excitement among numerous young Indian-Americans in the arena over the opportunity to see Mr. Modi in person. Conversations with some of them seemed to suggest that the Prime Minister’s economic agenda gave them cause for optimism.

  • However, similar discussions with a wide range of organisations protesting against Mr. Modi and his U.S. visit just outside the venue on the street suggested that a very different aspect of the Prime Minister’s agenda was a source of deep concern — his social and political views.

  • Suman Narayan, a young Indian-American based in San Jose, California, who had travelled to New York solely to be a part of the festivities here, said Mr. Modi’s presence in the U.S. had energised the community and made it upbeat about the future of India’s role in the world.

  • While Mr. Narayan expressed confidence that this would lead to more investment in research and development in India, especially if the U.S. looks to capitalise on the change in the Indian government, he seemed less sure of Mr. Modi’s political or social agendas other than the promise of investment and growth that they held out.

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ is India’s philosophy: Mr. Narendra Modi at UNGA

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened his historic United Nations General Assembly with a tribute to India’s ancient civilisational traditions, telling a packed Assembly hall of delegates that India’s philosophy, which was not an ideology, was the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or world family, and this has guided the nation since Vedic times.

  • In a wide-ranging address to the Assembly Mr. Modi also made a strong pitch for nations to “fulfill promise to reform the U.N. Security Council by 2015,” and called for a greater role for the G-4 coalition including India, Brazil, Germany and Japan, one that would help all countries move beyond thinking of policy as a “zero-sum game.”

  • Devoting a significant end segment of his speech to the benefits of Yoga Mr. Modi called for an International Yoga Day, arguing, “It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, Yoga can help us deal with climate change.”

PM announces lifelong visas for Indian Diaspora

  • Amid cheers from thousands of Indian-Americans, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced several measures to ease travel to their motherland including life-long visas.
  • “There is even more to come,” he said smilingly as he announced that People of Indian Origin (PIOs) in staying in India for long would not have to report to police. “There is no need for them to do that anymore.”
  • Currently PIO cards, given to those who themselves, their parents or grandparents or their spouse, were one-time Indian citizens, allow for visa-free travel to and from India. However, a PIO card is only valid for 15 years.
  • On the other hand, the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card given to only those who themselves or their parents were one time citizens, has lifelong visa-free travel and does not require the holder to register with any office regardless of the length of their stay.
  • Eventually the PIO and OCI schemes will be combined in a new scheme and also cover spouses.

Obama wants Modi to join fight on IS, Ebola

  • In his summit discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the coming days U.S. President Barack Obama is likely push strongly towards having India play an active role on the global stage, including in the fight against the Islamic State and the scramble to contain Ebola.

  • In a media briefing with senior administration officials on 26th september the U.S. was also quick to clarify that the summons issued against Mr. Modi in the Federal District Court of New York could not be delivered to him while he was in the U.S. and he was immune from prosecution at this time. The allegations in the case pertain to the role that the plaintiffs perceived Mr. Modi to have played in presiding over the anti-Muslim pogrom that occurred in Gujarat in 2002.

  • Previewing some of the likely subjects of discussion between the two leaders the officials recognised that their summit would occur at a “remarkable time in international affairs,” including the fight against IS in West Asia and the challenge of tackling Ebola in West Africa.

  • The officials also reiterated the summit meeting’s intention to address a broad spectrum of policy issues including security cooperation, defence, trade, and India’s positive role in numerous trilateral contexts.

Bamiyan (Afghanistan) will be SAARC cultural capital for 2015

  • Bamiyan, the Afghan town which shot into prominence when the Taliban blew up two ancient statues of the Buddha in 2001, has been selected to be the SAARC cultural capital for a year beginning April 2015. Dhaka will be the SAARC cultural capital in 2016-17.

  • This was decided at the SAARC Culture Ministers Conference. Finalising the cultural capitals for the next two years was part of the Delhi Resolution which was adopted at the conference while preparing a road map on cultural ties till 2017. The year 2016-17 will also be declared the SAARC Year of Cultural Heritage.

  • The SAARC countries also agreed to formulate proposals for transnational nominations for the World Heritage List and a regional list of heritage sites. India’s Project Mausam got a fillip as the Delhi Resolution agrees to recognise the impact and contribution of maritime routes and the monsoon as also other inland relations through centuries of trade, migration and colonialism.

  • In a measure aimed at promoting literature produced in local languages of the region, the Ministers decided to make them accessible to readers across the world through translations in not just English but SAARC languages.

Global Arms Trade Treaty to take effect in December

  • A global Arms Trade Treaty to regulate the $85 billion industry and keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers and criminals will come into force on December 24 after the 50th country ratified the agreement, the United Nations said.

  • The 193-member U.N. General Assembly adopted the treaty in April 2013. Argentina, Bahamas, Portugal, Czech Republic, St. Lucia, Senegal and Uruguay deposited their ratifications with the world body, taking the total to 52.

  • The Arms Trade Treaty aims to set standards for all cross-border transfers of conventional weapons ranging from small firearms to tanks and attack helicopters.

Mars mission success pride of Asia”, says China

  • China has hailed India’s success in positioning a satellite in the Martian orbit, calling the interplanetary triumph of the Mangalyaan as “the pride of Asia”.
  • With the success of Mangalyaan, India has boosted its credentials as a potential launch pad for its resource-strapped neighbors.
  • Among India’s neighbours, it is becoming a symbol of national pride to launch satellites independently rather than hire transponders from other nations. The previous government had highlighted the ISRO’s relative lack of initiative.

Climate gathering: focus will be on “Right to grow”

  • UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the UN Climate Summit on 23rd september, as world leaders and several business executives gathered to announce their commitments to reduce the effects of climate change.
  • The summit is not part of the negotiations that are taking place in the build up to a 2015 summit in Paris in 2015, in which a comprehensive deal is set to be decided. Mr. Ban has instead convened the event to build political momentum in favour of an agreement.
  • The UN chief called on governments and private institutions to invest in climate solutions designed to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. He also urged the implementation of carbon taxes.

US responsible for the delay in India Japan nuclear deal

  • India’s nuclear deal with Japan is not going to happen in a hurry. Neither will its nuclear agreement with Australia which was signed just weeks ago. The reason lies in Washington.
  • India and the US are yet to complete the last bit of their nuclear deal, known as “administrative arrangements.” This is necessary to operationalize the deal, but has been hanging fire.
  • India says the US is responsible for the delay, but US officials say they are holding firm on their demand for end-user verification visits to Indian nuclear plants and more important, to track externally sourced fuel through Indian plants.
  • This demand is at the heart of Japanese refusal to sign the nuclear agreement with India. Before Modi’s visit, MEA had put a lot of pressure on the Japanese side to complete the deal.
  • Japan has indicated clearly that it would wait for India to complete administrative arrangements with the US before they would consider the Indian deal.

Citizenship to some Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar

  • Myanmar gave citizenship to 209 Muslims displaced by sectarian violence, after the first phase of a project aimed at determining the status of about a million Rohingya whose claims to nationality have been rejected in the past.
  • Meanwhile Myanmar government’s chief negotiator said that efforts to secure a historic ceasefire agreement with ethnic armed groups are “at a crucial moment” at the start of a fresh round of negotiations
  • The Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine State need permission to move from their villages or from camps, where almost 140,000 remain after being displaced in deadly clashes with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in 2012.
  • Some of the 209 who received citizenship were members of the Kaman Muslim minority, who are recognised by the government as indigenous to Myanmar, but there were also Rohingya.

Ashraf Ghani as the next Afghan President

  • Former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani was declared Afghanistan’s next President on Sunday, hours after signing a power-sharing deal with his rival Abdullah Abdullah that ended a prolonged standoff over the disputed result.
  • Mr. Abdullah will now nominate his choice for the new post of “Chief Executive Officer” (CEO), which will be similar to Prime Minister — setting up a tricky balance of power as Afghanistan enters a new era.
  • The White House welcomed Sunday’s power-sharing deal, which it said “helps bring closure to Afghanistan’s political crisis”. “We look forward to... the conclusion of the Bilateral Security Agreement,” it added in a statement. Gaza truce talks with Hamas on September 23rd
  • Israel said it would send a delegation to attend indirect Gaza truce talks with Hamas in Cairo next week, although a Minister said they would likely achieve nothing.
  • Egypt, which has played a key role in the talks, had initially invited both sides to resume talks on September 17 but it was pulled forward

<< Go Back To International Events Main Page

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