Current Affairs in Short: 17 August 2020

Senior Indian, Nepali diplomats conduct high-level talks amid border row

• Senior Indian and Nepali diplomats held a virtual meeting on August 17 to review the progress made on various India-aided developmental projects being implemented in the Himalayan nation.
• The meeting came a day after Nepali PM K P Sharma Oli called his Indian counterpart PM Narendra Modi to greet him on the occasion of India's 74th Independence Day. The telephone exchange was the first high-level contact between the two nations after bilateral ties came under severe strain following the launch of Nepal’s new political map in May. 
• The current high-level meeting was held between delegations led by Nepalese Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra. The virtual meeting was assessing the progress made on various India aided development projects being implemented in Nepal.

Taliban refuses to recognise Afghan govt

• The Taliban on August 15, 2020 said that it does not recognise the Ashraf Ghani government as a legitimate system, serving a major blow to the Afghan reconciliation process.
• The Taliban was quoted saying that it does not recognise the Kabul administration as a government but instead sees it as a western imported structure that is working for the continuation of the American occupation.
• The Presidential Palace responded to the statement saying that the Taliban were simple wasting time and making irrelevant excuses. The Afghan government officials have called on the Taliban to accept the government as the main side of the negotiations.
• The Taliban statement came just a few days after the Afghan government released 400 Taliban prisoners as a goodwill gesture in a major breakthrough, which was expected to pave the way for intra-Afghan talks. This was considered as the last hurdle before the resumption of talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban under the new peace deal brokered between the group and the United States. 

98-year-old Indian war veteran recovers from COVID-19

• The Indian Navy informed on August 16, 2020 that a 98-yr-old retired war veteran Sepoy Ramu Laxman Sakpal had recovered from the novel coronavirus.
• Sepoy Ramu Laxman Sakpal (Retd) was admitted to Naval Hospital Ship Asvini in a critical state after being diagnosed with Pneumonia due to COVID a few weeks ago. 
• However, his condition was successfully managed, leading to him recovering from the deadly infection. The war veteran was accorded a warm farewell at INHS Asvini upon his release after his battle with COVID-19. 

Kamala Harris appoints an Indian-American as press secretary

• Joe Biden’s Vice Presidential running mate, Senator Kamala Harris has appointed an Indian-American Sabrina Singh as her press secretary.
• Singh previously served as the spokeswoman of two Democratic presidential candidates-New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg. She will now be leading Harris’ vice-presidential campaign.
• With this, Singh has become the first-ever Indian-American press secretary to a vice presidential nominee of a major political party in the United States. 
• Democrat’s Presidential nominee Joe Biden had chosen 55-year-old Indian origin, Kamala Harris, as his running mate last week.

Pakistani army chief visits Saudi Arabia to revive strained ties

• Pakistan's Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant, General Qamar Javed Bajwa arrived in Saudi Arabia on August 17, 2020 amid a row between the two countries that have threatened Riyadh’s financial lifeline to Islamabad.
Saudi Arabia had terminated its loan and oil supply to Pakistan last week, ending the decades-long friendship between the two countries. 
• A traditional ally, Saudi Arabia had given Pakistan a $3 billion loan and $3.2 billion oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis in late 2018.
• However, Pakistan’s demands forcing Saudi Arabia to convene a high-level meeting to highlight India’s alleged human rights violations in the disputed Kashmir region forced the nation to withdraw its support from Pakistan. The Gulf nation also forced Pakistan to pay back $1 billion prematurely and is demanding another $1 billion of the loan.
• The Pakistani Army Chief’s visit to Saudi Arabia aims to calm the situation and reverse Saudi Arabia’s stance, as it could badly hurt Pakistan’s central bank foreign reserves.