INTERNATIONAL
Zoe Konstantopoulou Elected As new President Of Greece
Greece Parliament has elected Zoe Konstantopoulou, a member of the left wing party Syriza as its new President on 6 February. She was elected after receiving a record number of 235 of 300 deputies’ votes in the Parliament. With this win, she has the record of more votes a President of parliament received after the restoration of democracy in Greece in 1974. This will be the second time that a woman is elected as the Greece Parliament President, with the first being Anna Psarouda-Benaki in 2004. However, Konstantopoulou also set another record, since the 38-year-old politician is the youngest Parliament President that has ever been elected in Greece.
Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott Survives Confidence Vote
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on 9 February survived a vote of confidence motion on spilling the top leadership of Liberal Party. Tony Abbott was elected as the Prime Minister of Australia in September 2013.
Russia – Ukraine Signed Ceasefire Agreement
The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France signed a Ceasefiredeal on 12 February after marathon talks at Minsk, the capital of Belarus. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko hosted these talks which were held in the background of new attacks in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions on 12 February. At the end of the talks, both Russia and Ukraine agreed to bring into effect a ceasefire in the warring zone of eastern Ukraine from 15 February 2015.
Sri Lanka Parliament Enacts witness Protection Law
Sri Lankan Parliament has passed the Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Bill on 20 February. This bill aims at protecting the rights of criminal victims and witnesses especially in human rights accountability.