Algeria is hosting the 31st summit of the 22-member Arab League that held its last summit in 2019, before the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. In the last three years, new challenges have emerged and significantly reshaped the region’s agenda, especially after a string of normalisation deals with Israel that have divided the region and the consequences of the ongoing war in Ukraine. The summit presents an opportunity for Algeria, Africa’s largest country by territory, to display its leadership in the Arab world. The nation is a major oil and gas producer and a potential supplier to Europ
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in an election, making a comeback to the top post. The leader won 50.8% of votes compared with 49.2% for Mr. Bolsonaro. This will be the third term for the senior leader, who has challenges of a slow economy, hunger crisis, climate change and budget constraints to overcome. Mr da Silva, in his victory speech, highlighted the need for “a Brazil of peace, democracy, and opportunity.” He also emphasized on gender and racial equality and the pressing need to deal with a hunger crisis that is a
On October 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with the new British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. Leaders discussed the issue against the backdrop of the arrival of James Cleverly to attend a special meeting of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee in Mumbai and Delhi. Mr Modi posted on his Twitter account, "Glad to speak to Rishi Sunak today. Congratulated him on assuming charge as U.K. Prime Minister. We will work together to further strengthen our comprehensive strategic partnership. We also agreed on the importance of the early conclusion of a compreh
Following the appointment of Rishi Sunak as prime minister of the United Kingdom, S Jaishankar and his British counterpart James Cleverly discussed bilateral relations and the fallout of the Ukraine conflict on Tuesday. According to Jaishankar in a tweet, he received a call from Cleverly during which they discussed counter-terrorism, bilateral relations, and the Ukraine crisis. Meanwhile, in a Twitter post, Cleverly said the two ministers had discussed the Russia-Ukraine crisis and that the UK would challenge Russian rhetoric and allegations at a UNSC meeting. There was an apparent refe
On Tuesday, Rishi Sunak, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer and Britain's youngest Prime Minister in recent memory became the first non-white Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He is of Indian descent and was born in Britain to parents who emigrated from East Africa. It is going to be a difficult task for the former investment banker and hedge fund manager to restore the British economy while attempting to unite a Conservative Party that has produced three prime ministers in two months. However, Mr Sunak pledged to bring stability to a country beleaguered by a cost of living cris
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in her first address to parliament, firmly established her government's support for the European Union, NATO, and Ukraine on Tuesday. A month back, her far-right party had won a historic election victory. The 45-year-old, who was sworn in as Italy's first woman prime minister on Saturday, also refuted any connection with her country's fascist past, saying she had "never felt sympathy or closeness to undemocratic regimes... including fascism". The possibility of a Eurosceptic, populist government leading the Eurozone's third-largest economy has caus
On Thursday, Rajnath Singh said that India cannot remain dependent on arms imports forever; the government is aiming to achieve $22 billion in defence production by 2025. He said, "Sharing the government’s future plans for the defence sector, he asserted that the target is to increase defence production in India from USD 12 billion to USD 22 billion by 2025." As a result, there are unprecedented opportunities for growth in the coming years for the industry. Rajnath Singh commented on the enthusiastic participation of the domestic industry and businesses in the defence sector, saying i
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he "very strongly" hopes that India's G20 presidency will allow for the building of effective systems of debt restructuring, cautioning that the developing countries are facing a "perfect storm" amid the impact of the pandemic and the escalating food and fuel prices due to the Ukraine conflict. India will assume the Presidency of the G20 from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023. Ahead of his three-day India visit starting Tuesday, Guterres also said that he has been strongly supporting the need for reforms in "our international economic
The foundation stone of a new IAF base was laid at the inaugural ceremony of the Defence Expo 2022 in Gujarat's Deesa by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The event's theme is "Path to Pride", and this will be the 12th edition. PM Modi is expected to launch several other developmental projects during his two-day trip to the poll-bound state. PM Modi described the Defence Expo as a symbol of a new beginning. The PM was speaking at the inauguration ceremony when he said that Defence Expo displays the grand picture of the new India, which is a picture of youth power, young dreams, and young coura
A three-day visit by United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres to India will begin on Tuesday. Having just begun his second term, this will be his first appearance As per the ministry of external affairs, UN chief will first pay a tribute at the Taj Mahal Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai in honour of the victims of the 26/11 attacks. Post which he will speak at the Indian Institute of Technology on 'India @75: UN-India Partnership: Strengthening Southern Cooperation'. In addition, Guterres will meet bilaterally with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to discuss 'issues of