The United States and Iraq held their first round of talks on the future of the US military presence in Iraq. Meanwhile, Baghdad discussed its expectations for creating a timeframe for the withdrawal of US troops. On Saturday, high-ranking officials of the US-led coalition and the Iraqi military forces met with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudas in Baghdad. PM Al-Sudani said in a joint statement, “the commencement of the first round of bilateral dialogue between Iraq and the United States of America to end the coalition in Iraq.” He further added that military experts will be in
India and France have solidified their dedication to joint ventures in defence equipment development, fortifying bilateral ties across a spectrum of sectors, including defence production, nuclear energy, space exploration, and harnessing artificial intelligence for public services. The collaboration encompasses the provision of helicopters and submarines to the Indian armed forces, marking significant progress in defence cooperation. Nevertheless, the precise financial details of these agreements remain undisclosed at present. On January 26, Emmanuel Macron and PM Narendra Modi held discus
On Wednesday, Tshering Tobgay, the liberal politician and leader of Bhutan's People’s Democratic Party (PDP), secured his second term as prime minister. At 58, Tobgay becomes the nation's fourth freely elected prime minister since its transition to democracy fifteen years ago. Previously serving from 2013 to 2018, Tobgay led the opposition in the newly established parliamentary system. A former bureaucrat, Tobgay staunchly supported Bhutan's Buddhist culture. Situated between China and India, Bhutan is renowned for pioneering the Gross National Happiness (GNH) index, a holistic economic
US billionaire Elon Musk calls India's not being a United Nations Security Council member ‘absurd.' Musk’s statement comes after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded reforms in the institutions of global governance. Guterres further questioned the African Union's lack of representation in the UNSC and said that institutions must reflect today’s world and not that of 80 years ago. According to him, India and Africa should be added to the permanent member seat as they are two of the most populous countries in the world. He stated that the UNSC is unjustly divided, and the
On Saturday, Felix Tshisekedi was sworn in as the president of the second-largest country in Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The 80,000-seat Martyrs sports stadium in Kinshasa was chosen by the leader known as "Fatshi" for the inauguration event. Despite the political unrest in the country, he will take on the position for a second five-year term. He won reelection with more than 70% of the votes, but the opposition parties refused to acknowledge his win due to several election irregularities in December. However, the authorities swiftly refuted the allegations of fr
On Thursday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Kampala, Uganda, for a two-day summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). His visit is part of a two-nation tour of Uganda and Nigeria. Dr. S. Jaishankar will lead the Indian delegations to the 19th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement on January 19–20. It is expected that he will meet with Ugandan leaders and counterparts from several other NAM members. Later, Minister of State for External Affairs V Miraleedharan will represent India at the G-77 Third South Summit on January 21 and 22. On his arrival today, Dr S Jaishankar sha
Bangladesh's newly appointed Foreign Minister, Hasan Mahmud, is scheduled for a three-day visit to New Delhi on February 7. It will be Mahmud’s first bilateral visit to India after his appointment. On Monday, the Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma, extended the invitation on behalf of the Indian External Affairs Minister, and in return, Memon accepted the invitation. His first diplomatic meeting was with the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka. After the meeting with the new FM, the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka said that India is very hopeful and confident to achieve
On Wednesday, Kuwait formed its first cabinet under the new Emir and prime minister. It is Kuwait's first cabinet under the new emir, Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmed al-Sabah, formed to implement reforms under his guidance. Emir Meshal came to power in December after his predecessor, Sheikh Nawaf, died. He appointed Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al Salem as Kuwait's new prime minister. Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah appointed new ministers for the ministries of oil, foreign affairs, and finance. In the 13-member cabinet, Emad Mohammed al-Atiqi was appointed as the new oil minister,
On Monday, Bernardo Arevalo was sworn in as Guatemala’s president. After a chaotic inauguration that Congress delayed to undermine his legitimacy, the anti-corruption activist took the oath. Arevalo has promised to implement broad reforms to tackle the rising cost of living and control the violence. He won the elections in August; however, since then, Arévalo and his party have faced a series of legal challenges, fraud allegations, rallies, and riots that tried to stop him from taking office. On Sunday, hundreds of his fans were calling on lawmakers to preserve the constitution
On Thursday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged for stronger relations with Europe and improved immigration policies. Khan is from the opposition Labour Party and will seek his third term in May. He referred to Brexit as a “key contributor” to the country's cost-of-living crisis and said that Britain’s 2020 departure from the bloc isn’t working. According to him, Brexit is not a peripheral concern of the past, and its exit is resulting in lost opportunities, business, and income. He argued for a new settlement to bolster the UK's economy and improve living standards. In addition, he emp