International Polity - Current Affairs for June, 2015

In the first phase India will be giving 88 Ambulances which will be deployed in Western and Southern provinces, he added. A total of 297 ambulances will be given by India to Sri Lanka and 2 thousand health workers will be trained for providing emergency health services.

Bobby Jindal is the first Indian-American ever to enter the race of US Presidential election. He is the first Indian American to have been elected as a Governor of a US State. A two-term Governor from Louisiana, Jindal is the vice chairman of the powerful Republican Governors Association.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesman said it was timed to coincide with the appearance in parliament of Afghanistan’s new defence minister Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai.

EU NAVFOR Med is abbreviated as European Union Naval Force Mediterranean Sea.

Ravi Thapar is India’s High Commissioner to New Zealand, was recalled after allegations of assault were levelled against his wife, Sharmila, by a member of the couple's domestic staff.

India has agreed to Nepal's request for allowing the movement of vehicles imported from a third country into Nepal through four border points by amending the bilateral Treaty of Transit. According to the press release, the movement of vehicles on their own power to Nepal has been allowed through Raxaul-Birgunj, Jogbani-Biratnagar, Sunauli-Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj Road-Nepalgunj border points.

Ahmed Mansour, who works for the channel's Arabic-language service, was detained as he tried to board a flight from Berlin to Qatar. A court in Egypt's capital Cairo sentenced him to 15 years in prison in absentia last year on torture charges. The news channel claims that charges made against Mr Mansour, who has dual British and Egyptian citizenship, are absurd and false.

Mount Sinabung volcano is situated on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. It had witnessed a series of volcanic eruptions in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

India slipped by two positions this year. In South Asia Bhutan has been ranked as the most peaceful country.

Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17th June’15 approved the agreement between India and Spain on abolishing visa requirements for the holders of diplomatic passports.

The bill that seeks revision of the public office election law was passed by the House of Councilors (upper house) after being approved in the House of Representatives (lower house).

The agreement will not only reduce transport costs but also foster development of multi-modal transport and transit facilities. As per the agreement, the four SAARC countries will carry out a six-month work plan from July for the implementation of the BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement. According to the statement, India will work on signing a similar motor agreement with Myanmar and Thailand.

The MoU signed under ‘Make in India’ initiative of Government of India will enable the Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation Ltd (BIBCOL), a Central PSU under Department of Biotechnology, to develop Measles – Rubella vaccine at its plant at Chola, Bulandshahr, U.P.

Notun Projonmo- Nayi Disha means New Generation- New Direction. In the statement both the Prime Ministers underscored the need to strengthen and reform multilateral financial institutions and enhancing the participation of developing countries in international economic decision making.

The Cabinet has approved signing of the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement for the Regulation of Passenger, Personal and Cargo Vehicular Traffic amongst BBIN. The agreement will be signed on 15th June at the BBIN Transport Minister’s meeting in Thimpu, Bhutan.

She is the first woman to hold the ceremonial position in the Indian Ocean island nation. Gurib-Fakim, 56, is the first female president of Mauritius, which gained independence from Britain in 1968 and replaced Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state in 1992. She has also worked with the World Bank and other international institutions.

Jayasuriya was sworn in as Deputy Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Development. The appointments come just a week after 5 MPs of President’s party joined the Council of Ministers. The expansion of the Ministry is being done to secure support for the government lead by UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. Last week 112 MPs in a house of 225 had signed a no confidence motion against Prime Minister Wickremesighe and called for installation of a SLFP Prime Minister. UNP has only 48 MPs in the house, but is supported by a faction of SLFP controlled by President Sirisena.

In the first such cross-border operation, Special Forces of the army in coordination with the air force carried out a surgical strike inside Myanmar, killing nearly 20 insurgents of the groups believed to be responsible for the deadly ambush in Manipur that killed 18 soldiers.

The agreement was signed between Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and visiting US Defence Secretary Dr. Ashton Carter in New Delhi. India and US also agreed to continue their efforts to enhance bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest such as maritime security and knowledge partnership in the field of Defence.

The bill was passed with 104 votes in support and three against. It still needs to be signed by the President to become law. It was named after Rosa Elvira Cely, a woman who was attacked, raped and murdered by a man in a park in the capital, Bogota, in May 2012. Under the new law, those found guilty could face up to 50 years in jail. It imposes longer sentences on crimes where women are targeted specifically because of their gender, including psychological, physical and sexual attacks.

The US Senate has voted to limit the government's ability to collect phone data, a policy that had been in place since the attacks of 11 September 2001. The USA Freedom Act extends the government's ability to collect large amounts of data, but with restrictions. The bill, which replaces the Patriot Act, had been backed by President Obama as a necessary tool to fight terrorism. The new law replaces a National Security Agency program in which the spy agency collected personal data en masse.

These include agreement on Textiles, protocol to amend the agreement between two countries for avoidance of double taxation, MOU between Prasar Bharati and National State TV and Radio company of Belarus Broadcasting Corporation in the presence of Indian President and his Belarussian Counterpart.

He is scheduled to meet Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

The President Mr Pranab Mukherjee announced this while addressing a business seminar on India and Sweden co - creating a brighter future at Stockholm.

The US on 29 May 2015 removed Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, signed an order removing Cuba from the terrorism blacklist as part of the process of strengthening ties between the former Cold War foes.

Union government will file an affidavit in the Supreme Court and after getting permission will take the matter into International Court of Justice. Captain Kalia, along with five other soldiers, was taken prisoner by Pakistani troops during the Kargil war in 1999. They were held captive and allegedly tortured before their bodies were handed back to India in 1999.

These include Memorandum of Understandings on sustainable Urban Development, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, health and visa waiver programme for diplomatic passport holders. The agreements were signed in presence of President Pranab Mukherjee and Swidish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven at Stockholm.

The "Arumbu" app was launched at the opening of the 14th Tamil Internet Conference on 30thMay’15, which is being attended by 150 Tamil speaking delegates from Singapore and 200 from 10 countries.