Current Affairs Nov 2015 - International

News 1 - Ruling party wins’ election in Turkey

Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the critical 2015 Parliamentary Elections, regaining the majority it lost in June. Adalet ve Kalkmma won 49.4% of the votes, while the main opposition CHP(Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi) won 25.4% votes.

President of Turkey − Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Prime Minister of Turkey − Ahmet Davutoğlu

News 2 - Cyclone Chapala hits Yemen

Cyclone Chapala has slammed into the war-torn Yemen triggering heavy flooding and causing damage in the coastal region. This cyclone is the most powerful storm that has hit Yemen in the last five decades. The pressure of Chapala was 922 mb. The storm produced rainfall amounts over 600mm (nearly 24 inches) in the hardest hit areas. In some areas, this amount was seven years' worth of rain in just 48 hours.

News 3 - Disarmament Committee of the UNGA adopts draft resolution backing abolition of nuclear arms

The Disarmament Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a draft resolution calling for the abolition of nuclear arms. The resolution was submitted by Japan and was adopted by 156 member countries. It aims to raise awareness of the humanitarian impact on the use of the nuclear weapons. China and Russia opposed the resolution, while the United States of America, United Kingdom and France abstained from the voting.

News 4 - State of Emergency declared in Maldives

The President of Maldives, Abdulla Yameen has declared a state of emergency for 30 days on grounds of threat to national security. The declaration with effect to emergency was made on November 4, 2015. Further on 10th November, 2015, the State of Emergency was lifted with immediate effect.

News 5 - Justin Trudeau – New PM of Canada

Justin Trudeau of the Liberal Party was sworn in as the 23^rd Prime Minister of Canada. With this Mr. Trudeau (43) became the second youngest PM of Canada after Joe Clark (40). Mr. Trudeau follows in the footsteps of his father, who held the office for nearly two decades.

News 6 - France to deploy aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in Iraq and Syria

France has deployed its largest warship aircraft carrier, Charles de Gaulle (R91) in order to further boost its operations against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. The deployment of this aircraft carrier would allow the country to be more efficient in coordination with the allies.

News 7 - WHO declares Sierra Leone Ebola free

Sierra Leone has been officially declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organization prompting nationwide celebrations. A total of 42 days had passed with no new cases reported in this West African country, where nearly 4,000 people died of the virus. Sierra Leone’s neighbor Guinea is the only western African country still having a few reported cases of Ebola, since the deadly outbreak began in December 2013.

News 8 - Philippines hosts 2015 APEC Summit

Philippines hosted the 2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on 18–19 November 2015 in its capital city, Manila. The theme of this 2015 APEC Summit was – “Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World”. Under this theme, Philippines is going to push for its inclusive growth and highlight the role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

There are also four priorities set for APEC 2015 −

Investing in Human Capital Development.
Fostering Small and Medium Enterprises’ (SMEs) Participation in Regional and Global Markets.
Building Sustainable and Resilient Communities.
Enhancing the Regional Economic Integration Agenda.

News 9 - G-20 Summit Concludes in Antalya

The leading economies across the world have concluded the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey affirming their resolve to fight terrorism and tackle global uneven economic growth. G-20 leaders noticed the risks and uncertainties in the financial markets.

The 2015 G-20 Antalya Summit −

G-20 has developed a package under the “Base Erosion and Profit System” project to tackle the problem of transferring profits to tax havens.
G20 leaders condemned terrorism and have collectively resolved to choke terror funding.

This G-20 Antalya Summit accommodates several concerns about India, which were raised in various multilateral forums.

News 10 - UNSC adopts Resolution 2249 (2015)

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously adopted a Resolution 2249 (2015), calling on all nations to re-double and co-ordinate action to prevent further attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and other extremist groups. This Resolution 2249 does not provide any legal basis for military action and does not invoke chapter seven of the UN charter that authorizes the use of force.

News 11 - State Emergency declared in Mali

Following a terrorist attack in the country’s capital city, Bamako, a 10-day state of emergency was declared in Mali by the President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The government “declared a state of emergency across the nation” following a crisis cabinet session presided over by the President giving security officials extra powers to enter homes without a warrant and to ban public rallies or marches. The president also declared three days of national mourning.

News 12 - ASEAN leaders launch EU style “ASEAN Economic Community”

The leaders of ASEAN have signed a declaration for launching ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), a regional economic bloc on the lines of European Union. The Kuala Lumpur declaration on the establishment of the AEC was signed at the 27^th Summit of ASEAN held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The summit was chaired by the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. The AEC envisages a single market with a free flow of goods, capital and skilled labor across borders. The ASEAN leaders also adopted the declaration on "ASEAN 2025, forging ahead together". ASEAN 2025 declaration is about combating challenges like terrorism, human trafficking, drug related crimes and maritime issues through various initiatives and projects. These ten members of ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

News 13 - Saudi Arabia allows women to vote and contest in local elections −

Saudi Arabia has allowed women to cast their first vote in local elections in the history of male dominated country. Women were also standing elections for the first time in the history of the country in the same elections. 978 women were running for office alongside 5938 men.

News 14 - Russia signs deal with Egypt to build Egypt’s first nuclear plant at Dabaa

Russia and Egypt have signed an agreement to build a third generation nuclear power plant at Dabaa with total capacity of 1200 MW. Russia will extend loan to Egypt to cover the cost of construction of the nuclear plant. The project is expected to be completed by 2022. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the loan from Russia would be paid off over 35 years.

News 15 - Mahatma Gandhi International Centre inaugurated by Sri Lankan President in Matale

The President of Sri Lanka, Mr. Maithripala Sirisena inaugurated the Mahatma Gandhi International Centre (MGIC) in Matale. This center was inaugurated as a tribute to the contribution of Mahatma Gandhi. It was built at a cost of $6.1 lakh. Overall Indian assistance of India in Sri Lanka amount to $2.6 billion, out of which $436 million is through full grant assistance as informed by Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Mr. Y K Sinha.

News 16 - South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise 2015 (SAADMEx - 2015) concluded

The South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise (SAADMEx) 2015 was concluded on the 26^th November 2015 by the Union Government in Delhi. This was the first-ever joint exercise to be conducted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) of India. This joint exercise was attended by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries.

It aimed to synchronize efforts to institutionalize regional cooperation on disaster response among SAARC member countries. The main focus was to test the inter-governmental coordination, create synergy and synchronize efforts to institutionalize regional cooperation on disaster response among the member countries of SAARC.