Last week, China renamed 19 seabed features in the Indian Ocean, around 2,000 kilometres from India’s coast. While China defended the announcement saying that it shows Beijing’s “soft power” in the region, experts believe it reflects China’s expansionist intentions in the region.
Around 25,000 private Norwegian workers will go on strike today after negotiations for a pay raise with employers lapsed without any conclusion. The trade unions argue that the cost of living has increased more than the appraisals in real wages.
US warship USS Milius sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, just days after China ended its live-fire drills around the island. The Chinese military’s Eastern Theatre Command said Monday that it had followed and monitored the guided-missile destroyer’s transit. Meanwhile, the US Navy described the transit as “routine.”
The Pentagon’s leaked documents showed that the Chinese spy balloon, which was shot down by the US in February, carried solar panels capable of generating electricity to power a radar that could generate images at night and through clouds.
At least 97 people were killed and 365 injured in fighting between the Sudanese military and paramilitary forces across the African country. The conflict began on Saturday between units loyal to military leader Gen. Abdel Fattah El Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces. The reason for the clashes remains unclear. The international community, including the US, China, Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UN Security Council, the EU, and the AU, has called for a quick end to the hostilities.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) released a statement on Friday announcing the first meeting of the India-Central Asia Joint Working Group on the Chabahar Port. The meeting, held in Mumbai on 12-13 April 2023, was chaired by India and attended by senior officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The agenda included the importance of Chabahar Port for providing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and enhancing trade and commerce between India and Central Asian countries. The participants reaffirmed the need for connectivity initiatives to respect international commitments and comply with international norms and mutually agreed principles.
A late Saturday night “Sweet 16” birthday celebration at a dance studio in Dadeville, Alabama, turned deadly as four people were killed and 28 wounded due to a shooting. Some of the injured were critically hurt, and no official word has been given on the cause of the shooting. Although officials stated that there was no longer a threat to the community, they did not reveal whether any suspect had been killed or apprehended. Concerningly, gun violence has become common in the US, with over 163 mass shootings recorded in 2023 so far, according to the non-profit organisation Gun Violence Archive.
Ukrainian troops are discovering more Chinese components in Russian weaponry deployed against Ukraine, according to Vladyslav Vlasiuk, a senior advisor in the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Vlasiuk said the troops “continue to find different electronics” in the weapons recovered from the battlefield. According to Ukrainian intelligence, Chinese components were discovered in the navigation system of Orlan airborne drones, which previously used a Swiss system, and in the firing control system of Russian tanks, which previously used French-made parts.
On Sunday, the UK formed a strategic partnership with Canada, Japan, France, and the US to develop joint supply chains to meet energy demands using nuclear fuel. The agreement, announced during the Nuclear Energy Forum in Sapporo, Japan, as part of the G7 talks, intends to use the resources and skills of each participating country’s civil nuclear power industries. The fundamental goal of the deal is to eliminate Russia’s participation in the nuclear market and obstruct Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to finance his “special military operation” in Ukraine. The deal will also enhance the nuclear energy industry in the UK by increasing domestic energy security and reducing electricity bills.