Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen began his three-day trip to India on Tuesday. He is scheduled to meet his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar and address CII India-Israel Business Forum.
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Monday urged Pakistan to hold talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and show “flexibility” in the discussions. In recent months, there has been a significant surge in violent attacks by the group against Pakistani security personnel.
At least five Chinese maritime militia boats crossed Indian and ASEAN warships involved in the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME 2023) while they were in the Vietnamese Exclusive Economic Zone in the South China Sea. Although no face-off occurred, observers viewed the attempt as an intimidation tactic. AIME 2023 is a two-day drill that started on 7 May and involved naval ships and aircraft from India, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Brunei. India and Singapore are jointly hosting their first AIME 2023 exercise.
The third G20 Development Working Group meeting began in Goa on 8 May, with an event on women-led development in partnership with the Observer Research Foundation. Eighty delegates representing G20 member nations, nine invitee countries and several national and international organisations will attend the meeting, which will continue till 11 May. The session will concentrate on developing all-encompassing and inclusive solutions to solve various global development concerns in line with the Indian G20 theme of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth, One Family, One Future.”
The Emirates Nuclear Energy Cooperation (ENEC), responsible for the UAE’s nuclear energy sector, signed three MoUs with China’s Nuclear Power Operations Research Institute, China National Nuclear Corporation Overseas, and China Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation to enhance low-carbon nuclear power. The agreements focus on nuclear energy operations, high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, and nuclear fuel supply and investment.
According to a report released by the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) on Monday, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022, has claimed at least 8,791 civilian lives and injured at least 14,815 others in Ukraine as of 7 May 2023. Moreover, there have been 221 civilian casualties between 1 May and 7 May. Reportedly, information from regions where hostilities are ongoing is delayed; the agency has stated that the actual number of casualties is probably far higher.
On Monday, top UN officials, health sector experts, and activists requested that the world invest more in developing new vaccines and combatting tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks driven by COVID-19 and the conflicts in Ukraine and Sudan. Executive Director of the Stop TB Partnership, Dr Lucica Ditiu, stated that Ukraine has the highest estimated number of TB-infected people living in the European area — around 34,000 — and a significant percentage of drug-resistant people with the disease. However, Ditiu added that the situation in Sudan for people suffering from TB is “probably like a ticking bomb” due to continued war and the collapse of most of the health system.
Israeli warplanes on Tuesday bombed terrorist targets in Gaza, killing at least 12 people and wounding 20 others, Hamas health officials told reporters. Per reports, the strikes killed three senior commanders of the radical Islamic Jihad group. Israel is bracing for a retaliatory rocket attack and has urged citizens to take adequate precautions.