Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin held a phone call on Monday to discuss a range of bilateral, regional security, and defence cooperation issues. During the conversation, Austin lauded India for its anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean Region. Additionally, the two sides discussed recent bilateral events, like the INDUS-X summit and the bilateral tri-service military exercise - Tiger Triumph - which commenced on Monday. They also discussed defence industrial cooperation issues like the repair of US naval ships in Indian shipyards.
According to reports, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is scheduled to visit India later this month. This will be his first visit to the country since the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out in February 2022. Kuleba is expected to meet several Indian officials, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, with whom he will co-chair a meeting of the India-Ukraine intergovernmental commission. He will also seek New Delhi’s support for the peace summit being planned in Switzerland within the next couple of months.
Another Indian student, Abhijeeth Paruchuru, died in the US on 11 March, making it the ninth such incident this year. Paruchuru, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, was a 20-year-old Indian student in Boston. The Indian Embassy in New York expressed condolences at the incident and informed that it had rendered assistance in the documentation and transportation of the mortal remains to India. The embassy said that Puruchuru’s parents, based in Connecticut, are in direct touch with detectives, and initial investigations have ruled out any foul play.
A report released by a UN-backed body on Monday warned that around 300,000 people in northern Gaza may experience famine-like conditions as soon as this month. The report also stated that more than 1.1 million people in Gaza have depleted their food reserves entirely. This situation represents the largest-ever recorded number of individuals facing severe hunger, as assessed by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
The US and Japan co-sponsored a UN Security Council resolution on Monday urging all nations to refrain from deploying or developing nuclear weapons in space. US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, emphasised that the placement of nuclear weapons in orbit around the Earth would be without precedent, hazardous, and intolerable. The joint resolution comes after the White House confirmed last month that Russia had acquired a “troubling” anti-satellite weapon capability, though such a weapon is not currently operational.
In a congratulatory message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on his re-election, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the relationship between the two countries will continue to strengthen. “We firmly believe that under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Putin, China-Russia relations will continue to move forward,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters. “China and Russia are each other’s largest neighbours and comprehensive strategic partners in the new era.”