Posts

Showing posts from March, 2021

Quad’s 3rd Ministerial Meeting: Foreign Ministers of India, Australia, USA and Japan to meet today

Image
  The 3rd ministerial meeting of India-Australia-Japan-US will have the participation of the respective foreign ministers. The Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue will hold its 3rd ministerial meeting on February 18, 2021, to interchange the views on global and regional issues. The meeting will particularly focus on the practical areas of cooperation for maintaining an open, free, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. As per the official statement by the Ministry of External Affairs, the 3rd ministerial meeting of India-Australia-Japan-US will have the participation of the respective foreign ministers presenting different agendas. This meeting will be a continuation of the views which were exchanged in the last QUAD meeting which was held in Tokyo on October 6, 2020. The first meeting of QUAD took place in New York in 2019. What can be expected from QUAD’s 3rd meeting? During the Quad meeting, the Foreign Ministers of Australia, India, the USA, and Japan apart from exchanging views on

China supports India in hosting BRICS Summit 2021

Image
  China will work with India for strengthening the cooperation between the 5-members grouping of emerging economies. China expressed its support for India on February 22, 2021, in hosting BRICS Summit this year. The Chinese official stated that the country will work with India for strengthening the cooperation between the 5-members grouping of emerging economies. While answering the question on India assuming the Chairmanship of BRICS, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman of China, Wang Wenbin stated that Beijing backs India in hosting the BRICS summit 2021. India has undertaken the Chairmanship of BRICS- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa for the year 2021 and is all set to hold the summit. The External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar On February 19, 2021, also launched India’s BRICS 2021 website at BRICS Secretariat New Delhi. Beijing backs New Delhi for BRICS Summit 2021: Wang Wenbin while explaining China’s position on India hosting the summit, mentioned that BRICS is a coopera

Saudi Arabia allows women to join armed forces

Image
  The plan to allow entry of women into the military was first announced in 2018, the same year when the Arab nation allowed women to open their businesses without the need of showing consent from a husband or male relative. In a landmark decision, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has allowed  Saudi Arabian women to take up arms  and  enter the military.  Saudi Arabian women can now be employed as soldiers, lance corporals, corporals, sergeants and staff sergeants. The Military is the latest profession in the Kingdom that has opened up to female recruits. Key Highlights  • Jobs have been gradually opening up for Saudi women in the Kingdom. The increased participation of women in the workforce is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to transform the Arab world’s largest economy.  • Saudi Arabian women have been allowed to take up several roles that were previously limited to men such as working as cashiers in shopping malls, brewing coffee in coffee houses and waiting tables in r

Nepal’s Supreme Court re-establishes dissolved House of Representatives

Image
  Nepal was facing a political crisis after President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the House of Representatives and announced fresh elections in the country at the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli.  The Supreme Court of Nepal in a historic decision on February 23, 2021, reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives. The verdict is a major setback for the embattled Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli who was preparing for the snap polls. According to a notice issued by the apex court, a constitutional bench of 5-members led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher reversed the government’s decision of dissolving the 275-member lower house of Parliament. The Constitutional bench comprising Anil Kumar Sinha, Bishwombhar Prasad Shrestha, Tej Bahadur KC, and Sapana Malla had conducted the hearing on the case from February 17 to February 19. The Supreme Court further termed the dissolution of the House of Representatives as ‘Unconstitutional’ and also ordered the government to summon t