International Current Affairs November 2015 (Part 2)

Spain and USA Signed New Accord on Nuclear Accident Clean-up Plan

• Spain and the USA signed an agreement on October 19, 2015 to further discuss the cleanup and removal of land contaminated with radioactivity after a mid-air collision in 1966 dumped four US hydrogen bombs near the Southern Spanish village of Palomares.
• The two countries will negotiate a binding agreement to further restore and dear up the Palomares site and arrange for the disposal of the contaminated soil at Ran appropriate site in the USA.
• The bombs were released on January 17, 1966, when US B-52 bomber and a refueling plane crashed into each other during a routine refueling operation, killing seven of 11 crew members.

Russia and the USA Inked MoU on Syria Sky Deconfliction

• Russia and the USA signed a Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) on October 21, 2015 on the Syrian sky deconfliction between their air forces and to avoid mid-air incidents of Understanding.
• The agreement seeks to avoid direct dashes between both air forces in the skies over Syria. It also includes steps to be taken by pilots to avoid an inadvertent dash over Syria.
• It also contains a number of rules and restrictions aimed at preventing incidents between American and Russian planes. However, both countries would not share intelligence on their targets.
• This issue is created after Russia started bombing targets in the civil war torn country in September, 2015 to target Islamic State (IS) militants.

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Typhoon ‘Koppu’ Hit Northern Philippines

• Typhoon ‘Koppu’ has hit the Northern Philippines battering the coast with powerful winds with speed of 240 km/h on October 18, 2015.
• It pounded the remote coastal town of Casiguran and nearby areas with gusts up to 210 km/h (130 mi/h) an hour and heavy rain, remaining nearly stationary hours after making landfall there before dawn.
• The national disaster council in Manila reported landslides and floods elsewhere in Northern Luzon, cutting off roads and bridges.
• US military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center has categorised this typhoon equivalent of a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
• The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms each year, many of them deadly. The deadliest and strongest on record, Super Typhoon Haiyan, destroyed entire towns in the Central islands in November, 2013, leaving more than 7350 people dead or missing.

Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay Elected as Non-Permanent Members of UNSC

• In one round of voting, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) elected Ukraine, Egypt, Japan, Senegal and Uruguay on October 16, 2015 to serve as non-permanent members on the Security Council for two-year terms beginning on January 1, 2016. They will serve until December 31, 2017.
• The five permanent Council members, which each wield the power of veto, are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the USA. The non-permanent members that will remain on the Council until the end of 2016 are Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela.
• Under the UN Charter, the Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Each of the Council’s members has one vote.

Pakistan and Russia Signed 1100 km Gas Pipeline Agreement

• Pakistan and Russia signed a major agreement on October 16, 2015 to build a 1100 km gas pipeline from Lahore to Karachi. The agreement was jointly signed by Pakistan Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
• Russia will invest $ 2 billion in the project, the first phase of which is expected to conclude by December, 2017. The pipeline with a capacity of 12.4 billion cubic metre per annum will connect Karachi’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals with those in Lahore.
• The North-South gas pipeline project would be built by Russian company RT Global Resources, a part of Russian State corporation Rostec. The project will be implemented in compliance with BOOT model (Build Own Operate Transfer).
• The pipeline will-be owned and operated by the manufacturer for 25 years. After that the pipeline will be handed over to the Pakistan government.

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