INTERNATIONAL JUNE 2010

INTERNATIONAL JUNE 2010

• Nepal's Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned. The resignation was part of an agreement among the three major political parties,the opposition UCPN (Maoist) and the Nepali Congress and the CPN (UML). 
• Taiwan and China signed a historic trade pact “The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA)”, hailed by both sides as a milestone and the culmination of a Beijing-friendly policy introduced by Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou after assuming power in 2008. 
• Kyrgyzstan voted for a national referendum on a new Constitution. If approved, the Constitution would transform Kyrgyzstan from a presidential to a parliamentary republic, with main powers shifted from a nationally elected President to a Prime Minister chosen by Parliament. This would make Kyrgyzstan the first parliamentary democracy in former Soviet Central Asia. 
• The two-day G-20 summit or the meeting of the heads of the world's major industrialised powers was held in Toronto, Canada. 
• India has joined the Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT) project, the next generation astronomical observatory that will be located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. 
• Guinea, the West African country is holding in its first free election since independence in 1958. 
• Julia Gillard was sworn in as Australia's first woman Prime Minister after Kevin Rudd was toppled as the leader of the ruling Labour party. 
• A 500-kg bronze sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights (CMHR) in Winnipeg city. 
• According to the findings of the United States Geological Survey, Afghanistan has nearly one trillion dollars in mineral deposits and could become one of the richest in the world. 
• Iran and Pakistan finalise gas pipeline project without India to supply 21 million cubic metres of natural gas daily from 2014 to Pakistan. 
• The Bangladesh government shut down Bengali daily Amar Desh, citing that it has no authorised publisher. Mahmudur Rahman, owner and acting-editor of the anti-government daily, was arrested on a cheating charge.