(Current Affairs For SSC Exams) International Events | May : 2012

International Events

LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST THE SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT

AUS (United States) federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The lawsuit alleged that the human rights abuses occurred during the civil war in Sri Lanka, and it held President Rajapaksa responsible. The court noted that President is immune from lawsuits as a sitting Head of State. The court added that head of state immunity is a well-established legal principal in the

USA. REPORT ON WORLD BANK’S CRISIS RESPONSE

A phase-two study of the World Bank’s crisis response, presented in a report, titled The World Bank’s Response to the Global Economic Crisis: Phase II was released. The report noted that during its response to the worst financial economic crisis that hit the world economy in 2008, the World Bank failed to adequately modify its lending patterns as per the severity of the downturn across nations. It therefore currently finds itself with potentially insufficient headroom to respond to a second crisis of similar or greater magnitude to the one in 2008-09. The study report was unveiled by its authors at the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG), which is a member of the World Bank group of institutions but reports to the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors rather than its management. Anjali Kumar is a lead author of the report and a Lead Economist with the IEG Salient features of Report Low resource allocation at the start of the crisis and the assumption that all financing demands could be accommodated from existing patterns of lending had played arole inthe Bank’s ultimate lending decisions. The report observed that while equity-to-loan ratios of the Bank at the out set of the crisis were around37.5 percent, there cent financial figures released by the Bank for quarter closing September 2011 suggestedit had come down to 27 per cent. The lending phenomenon was driven by country demand for Bank lending, and hence countries that were most engaged with the Bank before the crisis such as India and Indonesia – tended to approach the Bank more and in some cases get loans more quickly. Other factors such as the limited fiscal capacity of certain countries and the fact that some countries went to other lenders such as Russia’s engagement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Ecuador and Venezuela’s reliance on the Inter-American Development Banks also affected the bank lending. The IEG also noted that while much of the budget-support lending that the Bank undertook in India had helped signal the strength of public sector banks in the country, yet many of these public sector banks had capital adequacy ratios conforming to Indian government norms at the outset of crisis. This aspect raised the question of Bank lending priorities during the crisis – for example whether it was a priority for the Bank to provide precautionary buffer capital to banks that were adequately capitalised.

NORTH KOREA AGREED TO SUSPEND ITS NUCLEAR PROGRAMME

North Korea agreed to suspend its nuclear and uranium enrichment programme in return for US food aid. USA had promised North Korea 240000 tonnes of nutritional assistance and food aid following breakthrough in
talks with the latter. North Korea also agreed to allow UN inspectors to monitor its reactor in Yongbyon so that compliance with themeasures could be verified and the disablement of the 5-MW reactor and associated facilities could be confirmed. This step was taken two months after Kim Jong-un came to power following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il. The move is expected to bring peace in East Asian region and ease the tension between North Korea and South Korea. At the global level, it can prevent the proliferation of nuclear armament.

INDIA AND ADB SIGNED LOAN AGREEMENT

India and ADB (Asian Development Bank) Signed the third and last tranche of loan agreement to support electricity transmission and distribution capacity in Assam under the Assam Power Sector Enhancement Investment Programme. It amounts to 120.6 million US dollars. Tranches 1 and 2 are already given. The objective of the Assam Power Sector Enhancement Investment Programme is to meet increasing demand for electricity
in the state, where the large rural population depends mainly on the agriculture and manufacturing sectors for income. The programme will help ASEB add an additional 430 MVA substation capacity and reduce system
losses by four percent. Part of the loan will be utilised to increase energy efficiency through renovation and modernization of existing 33/11 kV substations, the introduction of high voltage distribution systems, and
conversion to aerial bunched cables for some high voltage and low voltage lines inthe urban areas. The programme will help around 1 million households, hospitals, businesses, and schools in the state. The loan has a 20-year termand it includes a five-year grace period with an annual interest rate decided in accordance with ADB‘s LIBOR-based lending facility. The project will be completed by 30 June, 2014.

INDIA TOOK OVER THE CHAIR OF ASSEMBLY AND GOVERNING BOARD OF ASOSAI

India took over the chair of assembly and governing board of Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI). Vinod Rai, Comptroller and Auditor General of India is the new chairman of the 45- nation strong Asian Organization of the Institutions of the Accountants General. ASOSAI is the largest regional organisation of the government auditors. India took over the post of chairman from Pakistan. The objective of ASOSAI is to promote understanding and cooperation among member institutions through exchange of ideas and experiences in the sector of public audit. The ASOSAI is not merely an auditor of financial transactions of the Government. It is also the promoter of an organisations’ performance and to act as a powerful trustee of public good. Growing demands from stakeholders to know more about performance and results has changed the perception of the role of the Auditors General inmost nations.

UNHRC ASKED SYRIATO HALT THE ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS

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.

THE TALKS BETWEEN IAEA AND IRAN FAILED

The second round of talks between the five-member IAEA (International Atomic Energy Association) team led by its Chief weapons inspector, Herman Naeckarts and Iranian government failed. The talks were held in Tehran, capital of Iran. IAEA requested access to the military sites at Parchin, which was refused by Iran. An IAEA report in November 2011 had named Parchin as one of the military sites where Iran was suspected to work on developing an atom bomb. Iran had rejected the allegations as baseless at that time. The IAEA team had gone to Iran to seek clarifications over its dispute nuclear program and its possible military dimensions.

NEW MALDIVIAN CABINET SWORN IN

The former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, displayed admirable restraint as new President Waheed Hassan finally got his act together, named a new Cabinet, and embarked on a Himalayan task of
making the national unity government work. Even as a “unity” mantra began reverberating in the corridors of power in Male, it was clear that the country has been divided: there is now a pro- Nasheed population and an anti- Nasheed population (which is being seen, by some quarters, as people who are pro-Gayoom). Quite a few from the earlier era are back in power, including a few India baiters.

OBAMA PROPOSES TAX HIKE FOR MILLIONAIRES

In the most unmistakable sign yet that he has thrown down the gauntlet to his Republican challengers in the November presidential election,United States President Barack Obama announced a dramatic increase in the
tax rate for the wealthiest Americans, to about 30 per cent. Though even with the increase the tax rate for Americans earning over $1 million annually will only fall in line with the standard income tax rate, Mr. Obama struck a defensive note about the increase in a budget speech in Virginia, doubtless anticipating obstructionism in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

IRAN LAUNCHED 3 NUCLEAR PROJECTS

Iran launched 3 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 AtomicOrganization 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. These include a facility which will enable the plant to enrich uranium to 20 per cent. The fourth generation Ultracentrifuge will enable far higher enrichment speed than previous
models. Enriched uranium is a critical component for both civil nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons.

MARINES OF ITALIAN SHIP TO BE PROSECUTED

Themarines of Italian ship Enrica Lexie, Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone allegedly killed two fishermen Valentine Jalastine and Ajeesh Binki off the coast of Kollam in Kerala.The marines fired at the boat of
fishermen causing their death. The arrested Italian marines Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone have been charged with murder under Section 302 of IPC. The Italian authorities, however, argued that the
marines fired at the boat, mistaking it to be a pirate vessel. Syria rejected the Arab League proposal Syria rejected the Arab League proposal for deployment of a Joint UN Arab Peacekeeping mission by the UN Security Council to monitor the situation in the country, describing it as a hostile act that targets Syria’s stability and security. Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in November 2011. The UN General Assembly will take up
for discussion the situation in Syria in New York. The focus would be on humanitarian concerns. The General Assembly will discuss a Saudi draft proposal calling for support to Arab League peace plan in Syria. The draft
calls for Syrian President to step down. It says those responsible for killings of civilians in Syria should be held accountable.

PAKISTAN, AFGHAN, IS AF COORDINATION RESUMES

The Army resumed border coordination with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) stationed in Afghanistan and the Afghan National Army after a two month freeze in relations following the NATO air strike on Pakistani border outposts. The meeting at the Border Coordination Centre at Torkham was part of the tripartite engagement to discuss and improve various coordination measures along the Pak- Afghan border. Pakistan was represented by the Director-General of Military Operations. Border coordination meetings — aimed at ensuring that terrorists do not cross over to either side of the porus Durand Line whenever operations are being conducted against them in the two countries — have not been held after the November 26 NATO strike on two border outposts of Pakistan which left 24 soldiers dead. Soon after the strike, the Army had temporarily recalled personnel attached to some of the coordination posts on the border but officially it was maintained that they had not been withdrawn from the posts in protest as was reported in a section of the
press.The resumption of the border coordination meetings comes a week after Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar visited Kabul signalling a thaw in bilateral relations that had turned very bitter in the last quarter of 2011.

International Events

PRESIDENT MOHAMMED NASHEED RESIGNED

President of Maldives,Mohamed Nasheed resigned after weeks of protest. The protest was against his decision to sack a judge 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 antigovernment demonstrators. In January 2012, Nasheed ordered the army to arrest Criminal Court Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed. The government accused the judge of giving politically motivated ruling, which was biased in favour of the opposition.

IRAN-IAEATALKS FAIL TO ACHIEVE BREAKTHROUGH

Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have failed to achieve a breakthrough, after two days of talks, on a roadmap to ease nuclear tensions surrounding Iran’s atomic programme. Early, the IAEA issued a statement which said despite intensive discussions, the two sides could not sign a document which could have clarified whether Tehran’s nuclear programme had a military dimension. “Intensive efforts were made to reach agreement on a document facilitating the clarification of unresolved issues in connection with Iran’s nuclear programme, particularly those relating to possible military dimensions,” said the statement. “Unfortunately,
agreement was not reached on this document.” Iran also barred the IAEA team, led by the Agency’s deputy director Herman Nackaerts to visit a military site in Parchin, where, there are suspicions that Iran has carried out high explosives testing related to the development of atomic weapons. IAEA chief Yukiya Amano expressed disappointment over the Iran’s decision to deny the IAEA team access to the facility.

CHINA’S DEFENCE BUDGET UP TO $100 BILLION

China has announced it will increase defence spending by 11.2 per cent in 2012, for the first time taking its annual military expenditure beyond $100 billion as it puts in place plans to modernise its Army against the
backdrop of an uncertain regional environment. The planned defence budget was announced in Beijing on Sunday as 670.274 billionyuan ($106.39 billion), an increase of 67.604 billion yuan over the expenditure in 2011 and an 11.2 per cent year-on-year rise. The proposed budget is expected to be approved this week when the National People’s Congress (NPC), the top legislative body, begins its annual
session onMonday.

IRAN READY FOR IAEA INSPECTIONS AT PARCHIN

Iranhas announced that it is ready to open up its Parchin military facility for inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — a move likely to retard the growing call for military strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities. In Vienna, the office of Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s permanent representative to the IAEA, issued a statement on Tuesday that the agency’s inspectors could visit Parchin once an agreement was reached on the modalities for inspections. In a day of fast-paced developments, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany, who are demanding that Iran freeze all uranium enrichment, announced that they have accepted an offer to resume stalled nuclear talks with Tehran.

SYRIAN PRESIDENT SET 7 MAY 2012 AS THE DATE FOR ELECTIONS

In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad set 7 May 2012 as the date for parliamentary elections. This would be the third election for parliament since President Bashar Al Assad became the President of Syria in 2000.The elections would be held as per the new constitution adopted by a referendum in February 2012. As per the new constitution, Baath party will not have monopoly on power. The new charter states that the president can serve only two seven-year terms and a Supreme Constitutional Court will oversee free and fair elections. The parliamentary elections are being considered as a response from President Assad toUN Special envoy to Syria Kofi Annan’s initiative.

6.8-MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE IN CENTRAL PHILIPPINES

A6.8-magnitudeearthquake struck off the coast of the central Philippines in the narrow strait between the heavily populated islands of Negros and Cebu. Soil and rocks buried homes in a neighbourhood in Guihulngan City near the quake’sepicentre, which had also seen heavy rain in the days before the earthquake. The powerful quake which struck near Tayasan town in the central Philippine island of Negros caused buildings to collapse, resulted in ther cracking of roads and bridges, and shut down the power supply. In Cebu city, a popular tourist destination and city of 2.3 million, hotel guests scrambled to higher floors as unfounded rumours did rounds. The worst-hit area appeared to be Guihulngan, a coastal city in Negros close to the quake’s epicentre, with 39 people confirmed killed there. Another effected city Cebu is loacated 50 kilometres from the epicentre Hours
after the quake struck, a strong 6.2 magnitude aftershock hit the central Philippines, followed by another shock measuring 6.0.Over 200 less-powerful aftershocks were detected throughout the day.

PLASTIC BAG TAX TO BE IMPOSED IN N. IRELAND

A5p (GBP0.05) plastic bag tax will be imposed in Northern Ireland from next year. Alex Attwood, environment minister, said “wewant to demonstrate that the Northern Ireland government is dedicated to the green agenda.”

INDONESIA, 157TH COUNTRY TO ADOPT THE CTBT

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 Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) completed its talks on the regional weapons free zone in 2011 and the 10 member states are now completing ratification of that treaty. 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.

RUSSIA AND CHINA VETOED THE UNSC RESOLUTION

Russia and China on 4 February 2012 vetoed the UN Security Council resolution for the second time in four months. The resolution condemns the Syrian regime’s crackdown on public uprising and calls upon President
Bashar Al Assad to abide by the Arab League time-frame for political reforms in the country. 13 members of the 15- member Security Council, including India voted in favour of the resolution. The draft resolution was prepared by European Union and Arab nations and revised amidst stiff opposition by Russia. From the original draft several major demands were dropped. The time-frame for implementation of the resolution by Syria was increased from 15 days to 21 days.

U.S. PLANS TO END AFGHAN MISSION IN 2013

NATO allies discussed on Thursday U.S. plans to end combat operations in Afghanistan in 2013 and shift to a trainingmission, as the alliance seeks to wind down a war that has dragged on for a decade. U.S. Defence
Secretary Leon Panetta set out the goal as he arrived in Brussels for two days of talks with NATO counterparts on the future of the mission, clouded by a leaked document showing the Taliban confident of victory. “Hopefully by the mid-to-latter part of 2013, we’ll be able to make a transition froma combat role to a train and advise and assist role,”Mr. Panetta told reporters aboard his plane.

CONGOWARLORD CONVICTED IN FIRST ICC VERDICT

The International Criminal Court on Wednesday convicted Congolese militia chief Thomas Lubanga of war crimes for conscripting children into his army, the tribunal’s first ever verdict. Lubanga (51) was found guilty in The Hague of enlisting child soldiers as young as 11 to fight during a bloody four-year war in a gold-rich region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Rights groups hailed the verdict, saying it sent a strong message to other warlords still using children — including fugitiveUgandan rebel leader Joseph Kony. “The chamber reached its decision unanimously that the prosecution has proved Thomas Lubanga guilty of crimes of
conscription and enlisting children under the age of 15 and used them to participate in hostilities,” said Judge Adrian Fulford at the ICC, set up in 2002.

GOOGLETO DO COUNTRYSPECIFIC CONTENT FILTERING

Less than a week after a similar move by micro-blogging site Twitter, Internet major Google has unveiled plans to make content on its blogger platform selectively available, depending on the local rules of each country. Google is the latest entity to come out with the option to restrict online content amid a raging debate over moves by many countries, including India, to enforce regulations on the internet. Google, which launched its
blogging service— Blogger —in 1999, said the rules would be applicable in many countries, such as India, Brazil, Honduras, and Germany. It is understood that Google plans to roll it out the new system globally also. The
company will now be able to restrict content in individual countries pursuant to requests by the local legal authority. The move will not require blocking worldwide access to a blog. This means, for example, that if a blog
breaks an Australian law, Google can now block it in Australia but leave it up in the rest of the world, the company said. “It will allow us to continue promoting free expression and responsible publishing while providing greater flexibility in complying with valid removal requests pursuant to local law,” the company said. Google said it was deploying a country-specific uniform resource locator (URL) scheme for its blogger platform, which will be redirected to a country-code top-level domain, or ‘ccTLD’, in the coming weeks. By utilising country-specific domain addresses, content-removal can be managed on a per-country basis, which will limit their impact to the smallest number of readers. Content removed due to a specific country’s law will only be removed from the relevant page, the company said. The move comes after micro-blogging site Twitter last week announced that it had the ability to block content by country.

SOUTH-TO-NORTH WATER DIVERSION PROJECT NEARS COMPLETION

China’s ambitious $80-billion project to divert waters of southern rivers to the arid north is nearing completion and will begin supplying water next year, officials have said. The project’s eastern and central routes, which will bring waters from the Yangtze river to the Yellow river, will be fully constructed in the next two years, planners told a review of the project conducted over the weekend in eastern Shandong province. Reports of the meeting were silent about long-pending proposals for a controversial western route, which has so far been stalled over environmental and technical concerns. The western route includes a plan to divert the Brahmaputra’s waters to northern China. The south-to-north water diversion plan is one of the most ambitious construction projects embarked on by Chinese engineers, estimated to cost more than 500 billion yuan (around $80 billion). It envisages diverting 44.8 billion cubic metres of water every year from Yangtze by 2050. The water-deprived and drought affected north, home to 35 per cent of the population, has only seven per cent of the country’s water resources. The project will be partially completed this year and “will start supplying water in 2013”, water conservancy officials at meeting were quoted as saying by the State-run Xinhua news agency. Sun Yifu, deputy water resources chief in Shandong, through which much of the eastern route runs, said the entire route would become operational in the first half of 2013, with 18 water supply units coming online next year and 23 others before 2015. Construction of the eastern route began in 2002, when the whole project was given approval after decades of planning. The project was first proposed in the 1950s and backed by Mao Zedong. The central route began to be built the following year. It will be completed in 2014.Officials said last year more than 440,000 people would be relocated for the eastern and central routes, bringing criticism of project’s costs. Around 100,000 people will be displaced every year until 2014. The project has also been delayed by a number of environmental problems. Construction hasnot yet begun on thewestern route, which plans to divert water from the upper reaches of the Yangtze as well as a number of rivers on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, including the Brahmaputra and Mekong. This plan has triggered concern among many of China’s neighbours, including India, which lie downstream of these rivers and depend on their waters. Of the western route, the Xinhua report of meeting only said construction had not begun. It, however, remains unclear whether the central government has given the green light to any of the proposed diversions, amid environmental concerns of the project’s impact on the ecologically sensitive Tibetan plateau. Chinese officials have recently ruled out diverting the Brahmaputra, or Yarlung Tsangpo as it is known in Tibet.