Current Affairs Dec 2015 - International

---

---

News 1 - 2nd World Internet Conference concluded in Wuzen, China.

The three-day long 2nd World Internet Conference was concluded on 18 December 2015 at Wuzen in China. The theme of the conference was “An Interconnected World Shared and Governed by All — Building a Cyberspace Community of Shared Destiny.”

It was jointly organized by the Cyberspace Administration of China and the People's Government of Zhejiang Province. This conference focused on facilitating strategic-level discussions on global Internet governance, cyber security, the Internet industry as the engine of economic growth and social development, technological innovation and philosophy of the Internet.

News 2 - International Migrants Day observed across the world.

18 December: International Migrants Day.

About International Migrants Day.

The UN General Assembly on 4 December 2000 declared 18 December as the International Migrants Day. The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families was adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 1990.

News 3 - UN-brokered Libyan Political Agreement on National Unity Government signed.

The United Nations-brokered Libyan Political Agreement on formation of a national unity government was signed on 17 December 2015 in Skhirat, Morocco.

In finalizing the agreement, Martin Kobler played a key role. He is the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

News 4 - China 1st manned electric aircraft gets licence for production.

China has granted a license for production of its first manned two seater electric aircraft known as RX1E by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The aircraft has been designed by Shenyang Aerospace University and Liaoning General Aviation Academy in northeastern Liaoning province.

Key facts

• RX1E is an electric light-sport aircraft and it is China’s first manned electric light aircraft. This plane is powered by lithium batteries and is capable of flying a maximum altitude of 3000 meters.

 

• This plane has a 47-foot wingspan and has a charging time of 90 minutes, enabling it to fly for 45 to 60 minutes.

This light aircraft can take the maximum takeoff weight of 480 kgs.

News 5 - UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution to cut-off supply of funds to ISIS group.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) on 17 December 2015 unanimously adopted a resolution to increase sanctions against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS) group and other terrorist groups. The resolution seeks to cut off its revenue flows including ransom payments, no matter by whom.

This resolution was adopted at the first-ever meeting of Finance Ministers of the UNSC. This meeting was presided over by Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew of the United States, which holds its monthly presidency.

News 6 - 14th Meeting of Heads of Governments of SCO Member States concluded in Zhengzhou, China.

The two-day 14th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Governments of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States was concluded on 15 December 2015 at Zhengzhou, China.

India, which is an acceding state at present, was represented by Minister of State for External Affairs, Gen V K Singh.

At the end of the meeting, the leaders issued a joint statement on regional economic cooperation, which emphasized the importance of China’s One Belt, One Road initiative for developing infrastructure in the region.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) or Shanghai Pact is an inter-governmental organization founded in Shanghai on 15 June 2001 by six countries, People’s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

• In July 2015, India and Pakistan were accepted as the full members of this organization.

• There are four observer states at present – Afghanistan, Belarus, Mongolia and Iran.

News 7 - EC adopted proposal for a European Border and Coast Guard to protect Schengen area.

The European Commission (EC) on 15 December 2015 adopted the proposal for a European Border and Coast Guard Force to protect Europe’s external border and Schengen area without internal border.

The creation of this new border force was a part of proposals to manage migration more effectively, improve the internal security of the European Union, and safeguard the principle of free movement of the people.

News 8 - Saudi Arabia launched 34-nation Islamic Military Coalition to counter terrorism.

Saudi Arabia on 15 December 2015 announced the launch of Islamic Military Coalition to counter terrorism. The coalition will be led by Saudi Arabia and it has the participation of 34 nations.

It was established in pursuance of the principles and objectives of the charter of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It will have a joint operations center based in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh.

Member Nations includes Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Turkey, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Djibouti, Senegal, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Gabon, Guinea, Palestine, Comoros, Qatar, Cote d'Ivoire, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mali, Malaysia, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Yemen.

News 9 - Saudi voters elected women candidates for first time in Municipal council polls.

Saudi Arabian voters on 12 December 2015 voted to elect women in at least 18 municipal council seats. This was a historic local elections in Saudi Arabia in which women were allowed to vote and run for office for the first time. This event occurred for the first time in the history of this country. The results of the election were declared on 13 December 2015.

 

News 10 - Afghanistan becomes 163rd member of WTO.

WTO has formally approved Afghanistan’s membership (163rd member) proposal at its ongoing 10th ministerial conference in Nairobi, Kenya. In this regard, Protocol of Accession (PoA) was signed by WTO Director, General Roberto Azevedo and Afghanistan’s First Deputy Chief Executive Mohammad Khan Rahmani. The final accession to become a full member will come into effect after PoA is ratified by Afghanistan Parliament till June 2016. It will be the 36th least developed country (LDC) to join the global trade body.

News 11 - US Security Council unanimously adopts resolution on Syria peace plan.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously adopted a resolution No. 2254 outlining a peace process in Syria. The resolution endorses an international roadmap for a Syria peace process to end Syria’s five-year-long civil war.

News 12 - UN launched 2016 International Year of Pulses.

2016: International Year of Pulses

The UN has declared year 2016 as International Year of Pulses. The UN on 10 November 2015 announced it at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy. It was launched with the theme nutritious seeds for a sustainable future.

The purpose of this launch is to raise awareness of the many benefits of pulses, boost their production and trade, and encourage new and smarter uses throughout the food chain.

News 13 - World Bank released Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016.

World Bank Group’s Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD) initiative on 18 December released the Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016. As per the report, the number of international migrants is expected to surpass 250 million in 2015, an all-time high.

And, India was the largest remittance receiving country, with an estimated 72 billion US dollars in 2015, followed by China (64 billion) and the Philippines (30 billion US dollars). The United States was the largest remittance source country, with an estimated 56 billion US dollars in outward flows in 2014, followed by Saudi Arabia (37 billion) and Russia (33 billion).

News 14 - Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach crowned Miss Universe 2015.

Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach was on 20 December 2015 crowned Miss Universe 2015 at the final of 64th edition of Miss Universe held in Las Vegas, the USA. She was crowned by Miss Universe 2014 winner Paulina Vega of Columbia. Pia is a Filipino-German actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder.

Urvashi Rautela who represented India in the contest couldn’t make it to top 15 semi-finals round.

News 15 - Miss Spain Mireia Lalaguna Royo crowned Miss World 2015.

Miss Spain Mireia Lalaguna Royo on 19 December 2015 was crowned Miss World 2015 at the Beauty of Crown Theater in Sanya, China. Rolene Strauss of South Africa crowned Mireia Lalaguna as her successor at the end of the event. It is the first time Spain has won the title of Miss World.

Mireia is a 23-year-old medical college student and a pianist from Barcelona. Miss Russia Sofia Nikitchuk was the runner-up, while Miss Indonesia Maria Harfanti stood third in the pageant. Miss India Aditi Arya won the People’s Choice Award, which ensured her direct entry in the competition.

News 16 - Australia passes Anti-Terrorism Law to strip citizenship.

Australia’s Federal Parliament passed Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Bill, 2015 to strip citizenship of convicted persons on terrorism charges. This new legislation allows government to strip dual nationals of their citizenship, if they are convicted of terrorism offenses. Those who are found to have fought for banned terrorist group overseas, their citizenship will be automatically terminated.

News 17 - DuPont and Dow Chemical Company announced to merge to form DowDuPont.

The Board of Directors of DuPont and Dow Chemical Company on 11 December 2015 unanimously approved a definitive agreement to merge the two companies in an all-stock deal. The merged company will be named as DowDuPont.

DuPont is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill. The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States.

News 18 - 10th WTO Ministerial Conference adopted Nairobi Package.

The 10th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference, attended by trade ministers of 162 member countries, concluded on 19 December 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya. India was represented by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce & Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman. The Nairobi Package contains a series of six Ministerial Decisions on agriculture, cotton and issues related to least-developed countries.

News 19 - Conservative People’s party won Spain election; but falls short of majority.

Governing conservative People’s Party (PP) of Spain’s Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy on 20 December 2015 won the most seats in the general elections of the country. People's Party was on 28.7 percent. The Socialists which received 90 seats was on 22 percent. Anti-austerity Podemos along with its allies received 69 seats and was 20.6 percent. Liberal Ciudadanos party that won 40 seats had 13.8 percent of the vote.

News 20 - Miss Iraq beauty pageant held for the first time since 1972.

Miss Iraq beauty pageant was held for the first time since 1972. It was held on 20 December 2015 in Baghdad and involved eight contestants. Shaymaa Qasim Abdelrahman was crowned Miss Iraq.

The contest was held successfully despite the death threats from Islamic militant organistaions like ISIS. It, now, allows Iraq to send its representative for the international Miss Universe contest.

News 21 - US Senate ratified IMF reforms in budget bill to boost representation of emerging economies.

The Senate of United States (US) on 19 December 2015 ratified reforms to boost the representation of emerging economies at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of Budget Bill. The legislation will now go to President Barack Obama.

If adopted, it will allow emerging economies and industrial powerhouses like India and China to have a greater say in how the IMF is managed.

Changes under the Reforms

• China's voting rights will rise to 6 percent from 3.8 percent and the nation will become the third-largest shareholder, from its previous sixth position.

• It would also double the IMF resources to about 660 billion dollars.

• As China's voting rights rise, the US will see its share drop from 16.7 percent to 16.5 percent.

• Under the new proposals, the IMF board will be entirely elected.

• India's voting rights will also rise to 2.6 percent from the current 2.3 percent.

• The biggest losers are European economies, which will see their voting rights diminished.

• The US retains its veto power.

News 22 - India-Pakistan agreed to replace 8-point Composite Dialogue with 10-point Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue.

India and Pakistan on 9 December 2015 agreed to replace 8-point Composite Dialogue Process (CDP) with 10-point Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue (CBD).

The decision was stated in the joint statement that was issued after a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in Islamabad.

News 23 - Luxembourg became the 10th country to ratify AoA of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Luxembourg on 8 December 2015 became the 10th country to ratify the Articles of Agreement (AoA) that will lay the legal framework for the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Apart from Luxembourg, Australia, Austria, Brunei Darussalam, China, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Singapore and United Kingdom ratified the 60-article agreement so far.

These 10 countries are among the 57 founder-member countries of the multilateral bank that has its headquarters in the Chinese capital, Beijing. Among the 57 founder-member countries, except the Philippines all other 56 countries have signed the AoA and 46 countries are yet to ratify it.

News 24 - 2016: UK-INDIA Year of Education, Research and Innovation launched.

India and United Kingdom on 9 December 2015 launched a joint initiative 2016: UK-INDIA Year of Education and Research in New Delhi. It was launched by visiting Secretary of State, Business Innovation and Skill of the UK, Sajid Javid along with Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister, Smriti Irani.

Main Highlights of 2016: UK-INDIA Year of Education and Research.

• In 2016, it will allow UK academicians to come to India under Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) programme.

• It will enhance partnership in research work in ten research priority areas under IMPRINT (IMPacting Research Innovation and Technology).

Apart from 2016: UK-INDIA Year of Education and Research, Sajid Javid also announced the launch of 20th year of Chevening Gurukul Fellowship programme for Leadership and Excellence.

UK-India Education and Research Initiative-III.

Javid also said that he looks forward to launch third phase of UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI-III), which could build upon good work already done under earlier phases of UKIERI.

The third phase of UKIERI-III, with higher budgetary allocation of 3 million Pounds per year from each side, will commence on 1 April 2016.

News 25 - TIME Magazine named German Chancellor Merkel as 2015 ‘Person of the Year’.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was named as 2015 Person of the Year on 9 December 2015 by Time Magazine. The magazine cited her role in Europe’s crisis over migration and Greek debt.

Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was named runner-up and third place went to US Presidential Candidate, Donald Trump.

TIME's Person of the Year since 2000

This is an annual honour bestowed by Time magazine since 1927. It goes to the person, who most influenced the news during the year for better or worse.

News 26 - New Zealand formally becomes member of AIIB.

New Zealand has formally become a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Finance Minister Bill English said Tuesday. New Zealand's ratification would contribute to the AIIB reaching the 50-percent threshold of the needed for the AIIB to establish operations, English said in a statement.

The move followed the passage of the International Financial Agreement Amendment Act in the New Zealand Parliament in November. New Zealand was the ninth country to formally become a founding member. The AIIB would have around 100 billion U.S. dollars of initial capital to promote sustainable development in the region. New Zealand's paid in capital will be around 125 million NZ dollars (83.05 million U.S. dollars), paid over five years.

News 27 - UN agencies launched $1.98 billion Sahel humanitarian appeal for 2016.

The United Nations agencies and partners on 9 December 2015 launched the Sahel Humanitarian appeal for 2016. The purpose of this initiative is to mobilize international support to tackle triple crisis of poverty, insecurity and climate change that plagues the Sahel region in Africa (It is a vast belt in northern Africa dividing the Sahara desert and the Savanna's to the south. It covers parts of Northern Senegal, Southern Mauritania, Central Mali, Northern Burkina Faso, extreme South of Algeria, Niger, extreme North of Nigeria, Central Chad, Central and Southern Sudan, and Northern Eritrea).

Highlights of Sahel humanitarian appeal for 2016

• It includes a regional plan that calls for 1.98 billion US dollars to provide vital assistance to millions of people in nine countries across the region.

• It will focus on tackling dire effects of climate change, abject poverty, fast population growth and a tormenting rise in violence and insecurity in Africa’s Sahel region.

• It will ensure millions are afforded the most basic assistance and protection they deserve to survive and live a dignified life in the region.

News 28 - Zimbabwe announced to adopt Chinese currency Yuan.

Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa on 21 December 2015 announced that the country has planned to adopt the Chinese Yuan as legal tender. It will be done in return for debt cancellation worth 40 million dollars in the second week of December 2015.

As per this decision, Yuan will be a function of trade between China and Zimbabwe and acceptability with customers in Zimbabwe.

News 29 - Philippines became first Asian country to approve world's first-ever dengue vaccine.

The Philippines on 22 December 2015 became the first Asian country to approve the sale of the world's first-ever dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia. The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration approved the dengue vaccine for the prevention of disease caused by all four dengue types in individuals from 9 to 45 years old living in endemic areas.

Earlier on 9 December 2015, Dengvaxia, manufactured by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, secured its first regulatory approval in Mexico.

News 30 - World Bank to give $35mn to Pakistan for Indus River Basin.

The World Bank has approved an additional financial assistance to Pakistan of $35 million to support improved management, planning and development of water resources in the Indus River Basin in Pakistan. This $35 million is in addition to the $38 million given earlier towards improvement of water resources management in the Indus River system, the Bank said.

News 31 - China adopted Anti-Terrorism Bill, 2015; First counter-terrorism law in history.

China’s National People's Congress Standing Committee, country’s top legislature, on 27 December 2015 approved Anti-Terrorism Bill, 2015 to address terrorism at home and help maintain world security. It is country’s first counter-terrorism law and will enter into force in January 2016.

News 32 - China amended One Couple, One Child Policy.

China’s National People's Congress Standing Committee on 27 December 2015 gave its approval to amend the One Couple, One Child Policy. This amended policy will come into force on 1 January 2016, will lift the restrictions on couples from having only one child.

News 33 - 18th India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting held in New Delhi.

The 18th Session of the India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was held on 28 December 2015 in New Delhi. This session was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister of India (EAM) Sushma Swaraj and Ali Tayebnia, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of Iran. Both the leaders reviewed the progress in trade and economic cooperation and a number of related matters. They also discussed the possibilities in cooperation in railways, including by supply of rails, rolling stock and signaling.

News 34 - WHO officially declared Guinea Ebola-free

The World Health Organization (WHO) on 29 December 2015 declared the end of Ebola virus transmission in the Republic of Guinea. The organization took the decision after observing that 42 days have passed without any new case coming in.

News 35 - Japan and South Korea reached Agreement on Issue of Comfort Women.

Japan and South Korea on 28 December 2015 reached an Agreement on Issue of Comfort Women. It aims to resolve a decades-old dispute over Korean women, who were used as sex slaves by Japanese soldiers during World War II.

News 36 - Brazil entered longest recession, since the 1930s.

Brazil’s economy contracted by 1.7 percent during July-September 2015 compared to April-June period in 2015. It was Brazil's third consecutive quarter of contraction starting from January 2015 and thus, making it the country's longest recession since the 1930s.

The reasons for this recession in Brazil are multiple. They range from continuing global economic slowdown, shrinkage in exports and unprecedented scandal at the government-run oil company, Petrobras.

News 37 - Roch Marc Christian Kabore elected president of Burkina Faso.

Roch Marc Christian Kabore on 30 November 2015 was elected as the President of the West African Country, Burkina Faso. Kabore is a Burkina politician. He served as Prime Minister of Burkina Faso between 1994 to 1996, and as President of National Assembly of Burkina Faso from 2002 to 2012.

News 38 - UN chief launched Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape Initiative to build climate resilience.

The United Nations (UN) Chief Ban Ki-moon along with the agencies of the UN system on 30 November 2015 launched an initiative titled Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape to build climate resilience in the world’s most vulnerable countries.

The initiative was launched during the United Nations climate change conference (COP21) in Paris.