Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar officially announced on Sunday the establishment of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Speaking at a joint press conference with his Tanzanian counterpart Stergomena Tax, the EAM said this is the first time an IIT has been established abroad. We are “very pleased that this should take place in Zanzibar, because in many ways Zanzibar is a meeting point of African and Indian cultures,” Jaishankar noted.
In a Monday statement by the official KCNA news agency, an unidentified spokesperson from North Korea’s Ministry of National Defence accused the US of breaching its airspace through surveillance flights. The spokesperson cautioned that while Pyongyang was exhibiting restraint, any further incursions could result in the downing of these flights. The spokesperson also highlighted the utilisation of US reconnaissance planes and drones, citing their presence as escalating tensions. According to the statement, these provocative military actions by the US are pushing the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of a nuclear conflict.
Dr Anup Chandra Pandey, the Election Commissioner of India, headed a three-member delegation to Uzbekistan at the request of the Central Election Commission of Uzbekistan to observe the proceedings of the early presidential elections on Sunday. The elections featured four candidates, including the current President, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and were conducted within the framework of Uzbekistan’s new constitution, which was ratified following a referendum held in April. The international community will also closely monitor the outcome of these elections.
US President Joe Biden announced on Friday that the last of the country’s chemical weapons were destroyed at a military facility in Kentucky. The Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond, Kentucky, where the chemical weapons remained, completed the disposal of more than 500 tonnes of ammunition, including mustard gas and nerve agent, as stated by the Pentagon. Under the 1997 International Chemical Weapons Convention, the US had set a self-imposed deadline of 30 September 2023 to eliminate the stockpile.
Indian Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is expected to visit the UK from 10-11 July. The Minister’s visit will not only focus on the ongoing FTA negotiations between India and the UK, but also include a meeting with officials from European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member countries to discuss the progress of the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA). The TEPA intends to improve trade and economic cooperation between India and EFTA member nations by creating an environment favourable for more investment, lower trade barriers, and greater market access.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that Sudan was on the verge of a “full-scale civil war,” as intense clashes between competing generals raged unabated in Khartoum on Sunday. According to Farhan Haq, the UN chief’s deputy spokesperson, Guterres warned that this conflict between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful paramilitary force, would likely destabilise the entire region.
As the Ukraine-Russia War reached the 500-day mark on Friday, the UN called it “another grim milestone in the war that continues to exact a horrific toll on Ukraine’s civilians.” The UN cited a recent report, which found that approximately 25,170 civilian casualties, with over 9,000 killed and almost 16,000 injured, have been recorded since the war began last February.