International Current Affairs August 2015 Part 2

European Union Countries Approved € 7 Billion Short-term Loan to Greece

• The European Union approved a short-term loan of 7.16 billion ($ 7.8 billion) to Greece on July 17, 2015 which allow it to meet a huge payment to the ECB and repay the IMF. But a new bailout is still being ratified.
• The loan will be given through the EFSM, a rescue fund set up at the time of Greece’s first bailout in 2010 but that involves the whole of the 28-nation EU, not just the 19 euro zone members. The loan will officially be for three months, but only provide enough cash to hold Greece over until August 20, 2015 when the country owes the ECB another huge debt payment.
• The use of the EFSM risked causing a headache for Cameron as he seeks to renegotiate Britain’s membership of the EU ahead of an in-out referendum by 2017.

Read Also –  India & World Current Affairs Nov 2015 (Part 2).

Typhoon ‘Linfa’ and ‘Chan-hom’ Affected China

• Typhoon ‘Linfa’ hit South China’s Guangdong province after it made landfall on July 9, 2015. Linfa landed in the coastal area of Shanwei city, with winds of up to 126 km h. More than 130 townships in five cities were affected by torrential rainstorms and downpours.
• Chan-hom, the second major typhoon hit the Chinese coast South of Shanghai on July 11. 2015 with winds of up to 160 km i.e.,100 miles/h. The storm made landfall in Zhoushan. a city just east of the port of Ningbo in Zhejiang rrovmce.
• Earlier, Chan-hom moved over islands in southern Japan. The storm dumped rain on the northern Philippines and Taiwan also. The third storm, Nangka is the mosupow erfiil among them and has reached super typhoon strength with winds of 250 km/h. But, it has strong presence far out in the Pacific Ocean and not expected to hit any land with high strength.

UNESCO Named 24 New World Heritage Sites

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee concluded its annual meeting in Bonn, Germany, on July 8, 2015. The committee inscribed 24 new sites into the World Heritage List there.
• This year total 36 sites were examined. 24 sites were granted world heritage status for their ‘outstanding universal value’. With this, the total number of world heritage sites increased to 1031.
• The World Heritage Committee also announced on July 8; 2015 that its next annual meeting will be held in Istanbul (Turkey) from July 10 to 20, 2016.

Controversial Meiji Sites in Japan got World Heritage Status

• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has decided on July 7, 2015 to grant world heritage status to more than 20 old industrial sites in Japan. Decision in this regard was taken during the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee.
• The 23 Meiji period (1868-1912) sites include coalmines and shipyards have received World Cultural Heritage status. Japan says the site is contributed to its transformation from feudalism into a successful modern economy.
• Meiji-era site is located in the South-West of Japan. It includes series of eleven properties that comprises Iron and Steel, coalmines and shipyards industries. It represents the first successful transfer of Western industrialisation to a non-Western nation in 19th century.

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