International Polity - Current Affairs for October, 2015

Putting aside privacy concerns, US senate on 28th October 2015 passed the cyber security bill considered a critical step forward for addressing cyber threats and ensuring tools are in place to prevent further cyber attacks. Senate passed the bill by 74-21 votes and bill now heads for reconciliation with earlier passed House cyber security bill. The bill’s proponents have said it will deter cyber attacks through increased awareness in the cyber realm.

Communist leader B. D. Bhandari of the Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist Leninist received 327 votes as against 214 from her opponent to become the first female president of Nepal. While the president is the ceremonial head of Nepal, its leader is the PM. Bhandari (54) is the deputy leader of the party led by Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, who was elected earlier this month and leads a coalition government. The new Constitution adopted in September required Nepal to name a new President. She is an active campaigner for women’s rights and this is as per the new Constitution which says that one third of MPs have to be women and either Vice President or President must also be female. She is Nepal’s second president after it turned into a republic.

The state election authority announced on 27th October that right wing and anti migrant law and Justice Party has won major share of seats in the Polish parliament and can govern alone. Party received 235 seats in 460 seat lower house of Polish Parliament and also snared a majority in the Senate. The outgoing ruling party Civic Platform was criticised for accepting refugees as part of EU resettlement plan.

Government of Andhra Pradesh in October 2015 signed a MoC for development of economic infrastructure and a MoU to develop Amaravati with the Government of Japan. The primary goal is to increase industrial development through effective policy coordination and focus on development of industry, ports and super critical power stations. AP Finance Department and JBIC have also signed an agreement to develop the state’s new capital city, Amravati.

Maldives police has arrested Vice President Ahmed Adeeb on 24th October 2015 in connection with an explosion on the presidential boat which is being investigated as an assassination attempt. Adeeb was arrested and taken to the detention centre. If the President is no more or resigns, Maldives constitution states that the Vice President will take his place. Adeeb became Vice President at the age of 33 after his predecessor Mohamed Jameel was impeached.

Britain has signed a landmark nuclear deal with China on 21st October 2015 to open the nation’s first nuclear power plant since the 80s. The agreement is between EDF and CGN to build the power plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset. During President Xi’s 4 day visit to the UK, more than 30 billion pounds worth of deals are expected to be signed.

Russia and the US have inked an MoU on preventing incidents and providing for aviation flights during Syria operation. This MoU was signed between Defence Ministries of Russia and the US. Agreement was formed to prevent clashes between air forces in Syrian skies and ensure seamless operation of the two nations’ aircrafts and mutual coordination and aid in critical scenarios. Agreement is inclusive of coalition aircraft, coalition members including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Russia commenced with airstrikes in Syria in September 2015. MoU aims at incident prevention between American and Russian planes.

Union Cabinet on 21st October 2015 approved the signing of MLAT in criminal matters with Maldives. Treaty is oriented towards boosting the role of both countries in prosecution and investigation of crime via mutual legal assistance and cooperation in anti- transnational crime and anti-terrorism investigations. Proposed treaty will be part of a broader framework for cooperation with Maldives.Mutual legal assistance treaty involves gathering information and data exchange. It is for the enforcement of public or anti-criminal laws.

Government on 21st October 2015 has approved the proposal for a maritime transport agreement with Egypt. The agreement will be signed to strengthen cooperation and render mutual assistance on merchant shipping and other maritime matters. Agreement will be signed to help the countries facilitate development of maritime relationship and cooperate for steady growth of maritime traffic.

A government spokesperson has accepted an invitation from UN Secretary General Bank Ki-moon to discuss implementation of UN resolution calling for the fighting to end. Government will attend talks in Geneva with Houthi rebels. The government will lay down a Security Council Resolution that requires the rebels to move away from areas they control and give up arms.

Hungary has closed its border with Croatia to prevent free flow of migrants from Asia, Africa and the Middle East for a better life in Western Europe. Closure has prompted migrants to seek passage through Slovenia to head towards Austria and Germany. Slovenia has indicated it would increase border controls and create entry points for migrants and keep accepting them till the borders of Austria and Germany are open. Croatia has indicated it will close the border with Serbia in case Slovenia adopts the same approach for it.

India and Israel on 15th October 2015 signed 10 MoUs during the Indian President’s state visit to Israel. Mukherjee is the first ever Indian President to visit Israel including the following:

- Protocol amending the Convention and the Protocol for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and for the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital
- Cultural Exchange Programme for the years 2015-2018
- MoU between JNU, New Delhi and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
- Agreement of Cooperation between the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and IIT, Kharagpur
- MoU for Institutional Collaboration between Indian Institute of - Technology, Kharagpur (IITKGP) and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, (BGU)
- MoU between Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
- Framework for Academic Collaboration between the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and the University of Haifa, Israel:
- MoU between the University of Delhi, Delhi and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, (BGU), Beer Sheva, Israel:
- Agreement of Cooperation between the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel and the University of Delhi, India

Myanmar has signed a peace accord with 8 ethnic armed groups in the presence of the following nations as international witnesses- India, China, Japan, Thailand, UN and EU. The 8 groups among ethnic minorities which signed the peace accord belong to the Kayin and Chin groups. This pact aims at ending decades of civil war.

Majlis, Iran’s Parliament has approved the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or Vienna Agreement on 13th October 2015 ending 12 years of wait. The agreement had been signed by Iran and P5+1 nations namely US, UK, Russia, China, France and Germany on 14th July 2015. The agreement stipulated the conventional arms embargo will last 5 years and restrictions on ballistic missile technology will last another 8 years. Violation of this deal can lead to resurgence of sanctions within a period of 65 days. UN ban on Iranian students to study nuclear physics will also be lifted as part of the agreement.

Pact on tax avoidance aims to end tax evasion and ensure taxation is levied only when Indian or Israeli companies have permanent establishments. The visit by President Mukherjee is historic because it is the first by an Indian Head of State. The Knesset (Israel Parliament) was also addressed by the president during his visit. A cultural exchange program has also been signed between India and Israel.

This is the latest in exercises conducted to advance maritime relations and mutual security issues across the 3 nations of US, India and Japan.Navies of the 3 nations will participate in the event called Complex, High-end war-fighting exercise and engage in training as well as knowledge sharing. Sessions comprise military-to-military coordination, submarine familiarisation, air defence and surface warfare exercises.

Veteran Communist leader K. P. Sharma Oli was sworn in as the 38th Nepali PM a day after he was elected in Parliament with support from small parties, as the country is grappling with political unrest as regards the new Constitution. Oli was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Baran Yadav and he formed a small cabinet with two deputy ministers and 5 ministers during his first meeting.

President Alexander Lukashenko has been re-elected for the fifth term on 11th October garnering 83.5% of the votes. Closest contender has trailed behind with lower than 5% of the vote share. Ballots cast in embassies abroad have yet to be counted. Lukashenko has been in power for over 2 decades now in Belarus.

Fiji Parliament on 12th October 2015 has elected the Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations as the next President of the country, namely Jioji/George Konrote. He was nominated by the ruling FjiFirst party gaining 31 votes in the presidential elections held at the parliament. Opposition SODELPA party candidate Ratu Epeli Ganilau received a mere 14 votes. As per the constitution of Fiji, PM and leader of opposition submit presidential candidate’s name to Parliament Speaker for voting. Konrote is an ex major general who had joined the Republic of Fiji Military Forces in the 1960s.

Nepal got its first PM under the freshly introduced constitutional system in Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist leader KP Sharma Oli. However, Madhesi leaders have opposed the appointment. Oil secured 338 votes out of 598 defeating incumbent Sushil Koirala of the Nepali Congress.

Nepal PM Suresh Koirala has resigned as Parliament makes preparations to elect a new Premier following continued protests and inability to form consensus resulting in blocked of key trade point in India with respect to the new Constitution of the country. Koirala is in the race to become PM again, filing candidacy for the premiership from his Nepali Congress (NC) party. He is running against CPN-UML Chairman K P Sharma Oli, whose name was proposed by Unified CPN-Maoist chairman Prachanda and seconded by Rastirya Prajatantra Party chairman Kamal Thapa. The latter is seen as the most likely new PM of Nepal with more than a dozen parties supporting him. The Madhesi group is against the splitting of Nepal into 7 provinces and is protesting against the new constitution.

India and Germany have signed around 18 MoUs including a land mark deal for fast tracking business approvals and other aspects to facilitate operation of German companies in Asia’s 3rd largest economy. The signing of the MoUs marks Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to New Delhi. The agreement is unique and the first of its kind which will ensure single point of contact in Indian administration for German companies. Other agreements were for enhancing cooperation in fields such as trade, intelligence, clean energy and defence manufacturing. The pacts signed included joint declaration of intent between Union HRD ministry and the federal foreign office of Germany for the promotion of German as a foreign language in India as well as the promotion of modern Indian languages in Germany.

The ruling Social Democratic Party led coalition (PSD-CDS- People’s Party coalition) has secured 37% of the votes of which share of PSD is over 32%. This win ensured that incumbent PM Pedro Passos Coelho is going to hold on to his post for the next 4 years. Present performance of the coalition marks a sharp departure from its robust win in the 2011 general election. Portugal is currently suffering from unemployment at 12% of the work force and 125 percent to GDP. This is the second highest rate in the EU next to Greece.

Israel Police on 4th October 2015 banned Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents from entering Old City for two days . However, there will also be age limitation on worship at the Al-Aqsa mosque which is holy to both Jewish and Muslim communities. The closure is focused on protecting people during the Jewish holiday of Sukkoth. Close to 3 lakh Palestinians live in east Jerusalem where the Old City is located.

Nikos Voutsis garnered 181 votes from 297 voting lawmakers on 4th October 2015. succeeding Zoe Konstantopoulou, who left Syriza in August after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accepted the third bailout deal for Greece. Voutsis is expected to be a more traditional Speaker than his predecessor.

Through the Look East and Act East policy, INS Sahyadri as part of Operational Deployment has entered Da Nang Vietnam to boost bilateral ties and inter operability between the navies of the two nations. INS Sahyadri is a warship of the Shivalik class which has been indigenously built. It is a multi role stealth frigate which is being captained by Capt. Kunal Raj Kumar. India and Vietnam have cultural and economic links from the 2nd century AD boosted by maritime commerce. A security dialogue was instituted in 2003, while India and Vietnam signed a Joint Declaration on establishing a strategic partnership in the year 2007 and an MoU on Defence Cooperation in 2009.

Regarding China’s growing assertiveness in S. China Sea, India, Japan and the IS have hosted their first ever trilateral ministerial dialogue aimed towards peaceful dispute settlement, ease of navigation and lawful commerce. Associated with a quarter of the world’s population and economic production power, 3 nations also agreed to partner each other for protecting maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region. Meeting was attended by MEA minister Sushma Swaraj, Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida and US Secretary of State John Kerry. The 3 nations represent a quarter of the population and economic production power of the world and highlighted shared support for peace, prosperity and democracy as well as rules based global order.