✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. The fourth Quad foreign ministers’ meeting in Melbourne Friday saw Australia, Japan, India and the United States reaffirm commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific with focus on expeditious delivery of vaccines, maritime rules-based order, humanitarian assistance, counter-terrorism efforts and to counter disinformation.
2. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday underlined the need for the four-nation Quadrilateral alliance to play a greater role in security of the Indo-Pacific, amid China flexing its military muscles in the strategic region.
3. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will co-chair with his Australian counterpart Marise Payne the 12th India-Australia foreign ministers’ framework dialogue on Saturday.
4. In November 2017, the US, Australia, India and Japan gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence, amidst China’s growing military presence in the strategic region.
5. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday gifted his Australian counterpart Marise Payne a cricket bat signed by former Test Captain Virat Kohli during a visit to the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. This came after Jaishankar attended a meeting of Quad Foreign Ministers in Australia.
5. Myanmar and Pakistan in arms deal, guided by China: Pakistan’s military partnership with India’s eastern neighbour Myanmar is gathering momentum with a senior level military delegation from the Directorate of Military Procurement from the SE Asian country scheduled to visit Pakistan for pre-shipment inspection of arms. Myanmar military is planning to purchase 60 & 81 mm mortars, M-79 grenade launchers and Heavy Machine Guns from Pakistan and a senior level delegation is planning to visit to inspect the products ahead of their shipment.
The relations between Pakistan and Myanmar have been lukewarm for around half a decade over the issue of violence against Rohingyas in Myanmar, more so due to allegations that Pakistan is arming and training some of the ethnic community members.
🌎WORLD NEWS🌍
1. Satellite images published by a private US company showed new Russian military deployments at several locations near Ukraine. Notably, Russia has already massed more than 1,00,000 troops near Ukraine and it recently launched naval drills in the Black Sea. While Russia denies any plans to attack, it is also holding joint military exercises in ex-Soviet Belarus.
2. Finland on Friday announced it signed a $9.4 billion deal to buy 64 US F-35 fighter jets. Finland’s contract with the US government and plane maker Lockheed Martin includes training services, spare parts and maintenance equipment. Finland added the deal, announced in December, was not a response to the current conflict between Russia and other Western nations over Ukraine.
3. Cash-strapped Pakistan has to return $3 billion to Saudi Arabia within a year which it had borrowed from Riyadh in 2021 to improve its dwindling foreign exchange reserves, it emerged on Friday. Under an agreement, Saudi Arabia revived its financial support to Pakistan, including about $3 billion in deposits and $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion worth of oil supplies on deferred payments. Pakistan also pledged to return the $3 billion within a year.
4. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the system of governance in his country is incapable of absorbing shocks and hence he could not bring in revolutionary changes in Pakistan.
5. US govt has cleared a possible sale of 36 Boeing F-15ID fighters to Indonesia, just hours after the Southeast Asian nation ordered 42 Dassault Rafales. The possible F-15ID sale would be worth up to $13.9 billion, according the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).
6. Russian Soyuz rocket on Thursday launched 34 new internet satellites for British operator OneWeb.
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Ch Narmada Naveen Kumar |