The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN on Tuesday elected India as a member of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, which supervises international drug control treaties; the UN Statistical Commission, which is responsible for standard setting for statistical studies; and the Programme Coordinating Board of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, which provides strategic directions for an international response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. India last served as a member of the Statistical Commission in 2004 and will return after almost two decades.
India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan were among the 17 countries that abstained from voting on the Russia-Ukraine war in the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday. Meanwhile, China and Eritrea were the only nations to vote against the resolution.
Pakistani Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik announced on Wednesday that the shortage of commodity reserves is preventing the government from providing gas 24 hours a day. As the country celebrates the month of Ramadan, this is particularly concerning for citizens, most of whom use natural gas for cooking.
Referring to the prospect of nuclear war, North Korea said on Thursday that the “reckless military confrontational hysteria” created by the US and South Korea through their joint military drills against the North, was “driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to an irreversible catastrophe.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that he would “engage China toward a shared responsibility for peace” in Ukraine when he meets his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this week.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Wednesday criticised the criminal charges against ex-US President Donald Trump. “Supposedly legal issues should not be used for electoral, political purposes,” he said, referring to Trump’s arraignment as a political vendetta.
Minister of State for Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that during the 2021-2022 period, nuclear reactors in India generated 47,112 million units of electricity, accounting for 3.15% of the total.
Finland’s PM, Sanna Marin, on Wednesday resigned as the leader of the Social Democratic Party after suffering a major defeat in last Sunday’s parliamentary election.