Haiti PM Henry Resigns as Transitional Council Takes Over
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry quit from his post following which a transitional council came to power in a bid to bring back stability to the country wracked by gang violence.
Henry's former Finance Minister, Michel Patrick Boisvert, took over as the interim Prime Minister.
The transitional government's mandate runs until February 2026.
Apr 26, 2024
Italian PM Meloni Invites PM Modi to G7 Summit Outreach Session in June
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received an invitation from his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni to attend the G7 Summit Outreach Session in Italy on June 13-15.
Modi thanked Italian Prime Minister Meloni for the invite to the G7 Summit Outreach Sessions to be held in Italy's Puglia.
Indonesia's electoral commission officially declared Prabowo Subianto as the President-elect after the country's highest court rejected challenges to his landslide victory lodged by two losing presidential candidates. Subianto, currently serving as the Defence Minister, secured 58.6% of the votes, amounting to more than 96 million ballots, which is more than twice the number received by either of his rivals.
However, Subianto's victory was not without controversy, as his opponents alleged widespread fraud and state interference in the electoral process. Authorities deployed over 4,200 police and soldiers to maintain order during the declaration ceremony held at the General Election Commission compound.
Prabowo Subianto, a longtime commander in Indonesia's Kopassus special forces, was discharged from the military in 1998 after Kopassus soldiers tortured activists who opposed dictator Suharto, his father-in-law. Although he denies any involvement, several of his men were tried and convicted.
Subianto went into self-exile in Jordan before returning and founding the Gerindra Party in 2008. He has previously worked closely with hard-line Islamists to undermine his opponents and made three unsuccessful bids for the presidency, challenging his own losses to Widodo in 2019, which led to violence that claimed nine lives in Jakarta.
Russia Vetoes UN Vote on Stopping Arms Race in Outer Space
Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space, describing it as 'a dirty spectacle'.
The draft resolution, put forward by the US and Japan, sought to reaffirm a principle already set out in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
It also called on countries to uphold the Outer Space Treaty, under which all parties agreed 'not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction'.
Of the council's 15 members, 13 voted in favour, while Russia - one of five permanent members with a veto - voted against and China abstained.
Apr 25, 2024
India's Gita Sabharwal Appointed as UN Resident Coordinator in Indonesia
The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, appointed Gita Sabharwal of India as the new UN Resident Coordinator in Indonesia. Sabharwal brings with her nearly three decades of experience in development, supporting climate transition, sustainable peace, governance, and social policy, while leveraging digital technology and data to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
With the host government's approval, Sabharwal's appointment as the UN Resident Coordinator in Indonesia came after her previous roles as the UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand and as the Peacebuilding and Development Adviser for the United Nations in Sri Lanka. Before joining the UN, she served as The Asia Foundation's Deputy Country Representative for the Maldives and Sri Lanka and held positions as the Poverty and Policy Adviser for the United Kingdom's Department for International Development in India and Vietnam.
The UN Resident Coordinator is the highest-ranking representative of the UN Development System at the country level. Resident Coordinators lead UN country teams and coordinate UN support to countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Apr 24, 2024
India Calls for Regional Observation Centre at 2024 Ocean Decade Conference
India, led by Earth Sciences Secretary M. Ravichandran, advocated for the establishment of a region-specific ocean observation center during the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference held in Barcelona, Spain.
The conference, organised by the Spanish government and UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, aimed to assess progress toward the goals of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) and foster collaboration among stakeholders.
Apr 23, 2024
Sweden Becomes 38th Signatory to the Artemis Accords
NASA welcomed Sweden as the 38th country to sign the Artemis Accords. The accords are a series of non-binding arrangements aimed at setting down norms to be followed in outer space.
The Artemis Accords were initially announced by NASA and the US Department of State in 2020 and it now has 38 signatories, including India and Japan. It provides for the implementation of key obligations from the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and reinforces commitment to the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement and also best practices of responsible behaviour, including the public release of scientific data.
The Artemis Accords come at a time when a new space race is heating up but this time, with different members. While the United States continues to maintain its leading edge in space exploration, China is catching up quickly. While Russia has inherited the position of the Soviet Union, it is failing to replicate the success of its predecessor and this was made clear during the failure of the Luna-25 mission and with many issues on Russian sections of the International Space Station.
India Fourth in Military Spending Globally: SIPRI
India was the fourth largest military spender globally in 2023, according the latest report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a leading conflict think-tank. At $83.6 billion, the country's military expenditure was 4.2 per cent higher than in 2022.
As per the report, the 10 largest spenders in 2023, led by the United States, China and Russia, all increased their military spending.
The largest percentage increase in military spending by any country in 2023 was seen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
+91-85588-96644
