International Affairs
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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS • The fifth edition of the World Future Energy Summit was held in Abu Dhabi, capital of UAE from 16 to 19 January 2012. The theme of this year’s World Future Energy Summit was - Sustainable Energy for All. The summit discussed the need to exploit the alternative sources like solar, wind, tidal energy etc. • Pakistan's Supreme Court issued a contempt of court notice to Prime MinisterYousuf Raza Gilani for failing to re-open graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The Apex Court also asked the Pakistan Prime Minister to appear before it on 19 January 2012. A seven-judge bench led by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk issued the order. • UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has recognised the efforts of the tribal community of Koraput to conserve biodiversity and develop climate resilient farm practices as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS). Mentioning this at the inauguration of the 99th Indian Science Congress, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lauded the Koraput tribals for the achievement. He honoured Raita Maduli and Chandra Pradhan of Koraput for preserving the traditional agricultural system of the region. The recognition of the Koraput Traditional Agricultural System as a GIAHS site is expected to guarantee local and international efforts for the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of its genetic resources. • Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi became Yemen's new president on 26 February, formally removing autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh from power. • Iran on 15 February 2012 launched three nuclear projects including a fourth generation Ultra Centrifuge, which is capable of enriching the Uranium faster than its earlier models. The first one was at the Iranian Atomic Organization Research Center in Tehran where Iran's first home-made nuclear fuel rods were loaded into a medical reactor. This would be used for production of isotopes used in treatment of cancer patients.Iran unveiled two other projects in the Natanz plant in central Iran. Enriched uranium is a critical component for both civil nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons. • President of Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed resigned on 7 February 2012 after weeks of protest, which was against his decision to sack a judge that, he had accused of favouring the opposition. Vice President Mohammed Waheed Hassan was sworn in as President, following Nasheed’s resignation. It is alleged that police officers sided with anti-government demonstrators. Nasheed was elected in 2008 when Maldives held its first democratic election, following three decades of rule by autocratic leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom • Indonesia became the 157th country to adopt the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.Indonesia formalised ratification of the nuclear test ban treaty on 6 February 2012 at the United Nations.The Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone treaty commits ASEAN's 10 member states not to develop, manufacture or otherwise acquire, possess or have control over atomic weapons. • Iran on 3 February 2012 successfully launched an observation satellite called Navidinto orbit above Earth. It will be placed into an orbit at an altitude between 250 and 370 kilometres. The weight of the satellite is 50-kilogram and it is meant to stay in orbit for 18 months. • India will provide a grant of $1.5 million to the University of Chicago to establish aVivekananda Chair for Indian studies, as part of the initiatives to mark the 150th birth anniversary of the 19th century luminary, Swami Vivekananda. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in this regard between Dean of University of Chicago (UOC) Martha Roth and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Culture Sanjiv Mittal, in the presence of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The grant is meant to honour Swami Vivekananda's life and legacy and facilitate exchange of research scholars from/to India. • The Arab league summit was held in Baghdad from 27 March 2012 to 29 March 2012. The three-day summit was hosted by Iraq for the first time since 1990. 22 Arab league states participated in the summit. The Baghdad summit discussed the uprising in Syria and the Iraqi debts to its neighbours. The previous Arab league summit was held in Sirte. Syria didn’t participate in the Summit. It was suspended in the midst of the uprising against the Assad regime. • The second Nuclear Security Summit was held in Seoul, on 26-27 March 2012. 53 heads of state and government, as well as representatives of the United Nations (UN), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), European Union (EU) and INTERPOL, attended the 2012 summit.The first Nuclear Security Summit was held in Washington in April 2010. It was initiated by US President Barack Obama. • Rebel troops in Mali ousted its President Amadou Toumani on 22 March 2012. The rebels blamed the government for failing to control an ethnic Tuareg insurgency in the Northern part of Mali. The Tuareg insurgency includes fighters who supported Mummar Gaddafi in Libya. The army leaders who staged the coup called themselves the National Committee for the Reestablishment of Democracy and the Restoration of the State (CNRDR). USA suspended military aid and other funds directed to Mali’s government in its response to military coup in Mali. It called for immediate restoration of constitutional rule. • Syria on 27 March 2012 accepted the 19-point UN peace plan to end violence in the country. The 19-point plan was handed over by Kofi Annan to Syrian President during his recent visit to the Syria. The plan calls for a cease- fire by Syrian forces and to commit to a daily two-hour halt in fighting to allow humanitarian access and medical evacuations. It also calls for a full cease-fire to be supervised by the UN so that all parties can discuss a political solution. • UN Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted a resolution about human rights violations committed by the Sri Lankan army in its war with LTTE, which concluded IN 2009. 24 countries including India voted for the resolution and 15 voted against it. However, India emphasised that resolutions of this nature should fully respect the sovereign rights of states and contribute to Sri Lanka’s own efforts in this regard. • World Water Day is observed annually on 22 March with an objective to focus attention on the importance of freshwater as well as to advocate sustainable management of freshwater resources. In 2012, the International World Water Day is observed with the theme The World is Thirsty because we are Hungry. • Vladimir Putin from United Russia Party won the Russian Presidential Election with 63.75 percent of votes on 5 March 2012.Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov came second with 17.18 percent of the votes. Putin has already served eight years as President (2000-2004 and 2004-2008) and four years as PM (2008-2012). This will be his third term as President. • The UN Human Rights Council asked Syria to immediately stop the attacks on civilians by the security forces. The death toll in the ongoing violence in Syria has crossed 7500.The UNHRC is likely to approve resolution for indicting the Syrian officials who are responsible for attacks on the civilians. • North Korea agreed to suspend its nuclear enrichment programme in return for US food aid. USA had promised North Korea 240000 tonnes of nutritional assistance. North Korea also agreed to allow UN inspectors to monitor its reactor in Yongbyon .This step was taken two months after Kim Jong-un came to power following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il. It is expected to bring peace in East Asian region and ease the tension between North Korea and South Korea. • The Dubai Metro, comprising the red and green lines, has entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest driverless metro network in the world spanning 74.695 km. • Qatar has been ranked as the world's wealthiest country in a new list compiled by the prestigious US magazine Forbes. The second and third positions were occupied by Luxemburg and Singapore. Liberia and Congo took the last positions. NATIONAL AFFAIRS • The Indian Coast Guard ship ICGS Rani Abbakka, the 1st of a series of five inshore patrol vessels (IPV) built at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd, was commissioned at Visakhapatnam on 20 january. The ship, incidentally, is named after Abbakka Mahadevi, the legendary queen of Tulunadu, Karnataka who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th Century. • The International Conference on Nanoscience and Technology (ICONSAT - 2012)will be held from January 20 to 23, 2012 at Hyderabad, India. The conference is being organized by International Advanced Research Center for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad. The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India is the official sponsor of this conference and the above event is a regular biennial feature under its Nano Mission initiative. • The first batch of RICs (Resident Identity Cards) was launched by the home ministry at Porthrapur village in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 21 January 2012. The RIC cards were distributed to all persons above the age of 18 residing in the nine coastal states and four union territories under the National Population Register (NPR) scheme. The NPR scheme is aimed to provide valid identity to all people in these areas to strengthen the security along the country's coastline. • The Government of India and the World Bank on 20 January 2012 signed an IDA credit of 130 million US dollars to finance the project NERLP (North East Rural Livelihoods Project), to empower rural communities in the North East region to improve their livelihood opportunities.The NERLP will enhance the livelihoods of the rural poor, especially women, unemployed youth of the four participating states of Mizoram, Nagaland,Sikkim and Tripura.