19 th July Daily Current Affairs

Transcription

1 19 th July Daily Current Affairs Turkey ends state of emergency after two years: The Turkish government has ended the nationwide state of emergency which was imposed two years ago, state media said. Under the state of emergency, tens of thousands of people were arrested or dismissed from their jobs. However, the government has decided against extending it again after seven three-month renewals.

2 The decision comes weeks after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won re-election. During the campaign, opposition candidates said that the first thing they would do if they won would be to end the state of emergency. Tueky declared a state of emergency in 2016, following a coup attempt by Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FTO). The FTO launched several attacks which left 250 people dead and nearly 2, 200 injured. In April, the government had extended the ongoing emergency for three months until June. Even the parliament passed a bill for early elections on June 24, which was touted to be a move for strengthening the democratic presidential system Coup The military has long seen itself as the "guardian of Turkish democracy", which it defines as the staunchly secular state created by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish republic. On 15 July 2016, a coup d'état was attempted in Turkey against state institutions, including the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The military has had tensions with Mr Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) over its brand of political Islamism. The attempt was carried out by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces that organized themselves as the Peace at Home Council

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4 India fastest growing economy in Asia; on track to meet FY18 target: ADB India continues tube the fastest growing economy in Asia and is on track to meet current fiscal year s projected growth of 7.3 per cent. Asian Development Bank (ADB) in a new report today said, Indian economy's growth will further accelerate to 7.6 percent in 2019, as measures taken to strengthen the banking system and tax reform boost investment. The report said, South Asia, led by India will continue to be the fastest growing sub-region despite rising tensions between the US and its trading partners. ADB said India is the dominant economy in the South Asia sub-region with its growth gaining momentum at 7.7 per cent in the last quarter ended March of , the highest rate of growth since first quarter of

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6 EU slaps $5 bn fine on Google over Android EU regulators hit Google with a record 4.34 billion ($5 billion) antitrust fine for using its Android mobile operating system to squeeze out rivals. The penalty is almost double the previous record of 2.4 billion which the U.S. tech company was ordered to pay in 2017 over its online shopping search service.

7 It represents just over two weeks of revenue for Google parent Alphabet Inc. and would scarcely dent its cash reserves of $102.9 billion. The penalty the same amount the Netherlands contributes to the EU budget every year is far higher than any other dished out by the US, Chinese or other antitrust authorities. The EU enforcer dismissed Google's argument of competition from Apple, saying the iphone maker was not a sufficient constraint because of its higher prices and switching costs for users. Android, which runs about 80% of the world's smartphones according to market research firm Strategy Analytics, is the most important case out of a trio of antitrust cases against Google. Some major Android device makers, including Samsung Electronics, Sony, Lenovo Group and TCL Corp., declined to comment on the EU case. A third EU case, which has not yet concluded, involves Google's AdSense product. Competition authorities have said Google prevented third parties using its product from displaying search advertisements from Google's competitors. Mattis, Pompeo to travel to India in September for 2+2 The first 2+2 dialogue between Defence and Foreign Ministers of India and the U.S. will take place in September 2018 in New Delhi. The dialogue was scheduled for July 6 in Washington, but was postponed due to changes in Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's schedule. Mr. Pompeo was in Pyongyang for denuclearisation talks with the North Korean regime on July 6. Defense Secretary James Mattis had offered to host Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the same day, but India did not warm up to the idea of a truncated meeting. Negotiations are under way on the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA).

8 A communications agreement is key to the forward movement of the pending proposal for India to buy armed drones from American company General Atomics. India has reservations about the standard text of the COMCASA agreement that the U.S enter into with allies. While the U.S. would prefer the standard agreement, it is open to an India-specific agreement as well. Both sides have exchanged drafts of the agreement, and negotiators are hopeful of its conclusion in time for the dialogue. Two U.S delegations are in India this week - one on Iran sanctions and the other on U.S.-India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).

9 Source: TH, BS, AIR, DD