SOURCE: ANI

 The C-17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force executed a precision air-born drop of two boats along with Indian Navy MARCOS in the Arabian Sea in support of ongoing anti-piracy ‘Operation Sankalp’. The operation was carried out to rescue the crew of the bulk carrier vessel MV Ruen that was hijacked by Somali pirates near the Yemeni island of Socotra recently.

In a post on X, the Indian Air Force, hailing the operation, stated, “In a remarkable display of Jointness & Integration, an IAF C-17 aircraft executed a precision Airborne Drop of two Combat Rubberised Raiding Craft (CRRC) boats, along with Indian Navy MARCOS in the Arabian Sea in support of ongoing anti-piracy Op Sankalp.”

SOURCE: ANI

 Following a 40-hour-long operation in the Arabian Sea, the Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata is set to bring 35 apprehended pirates to India.

“The Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata has taken 35 sea pirates into custody and is being brought to India along with the 17 crew members rescued after the major operation,” officials said on Sunday. During the operation, the Indian Navy forced the pirates to surrender and rescued 17 crew members from the distressed merchant vessel MV Ruen on Saturday. The merchant vessel is also being brought to India.

SOURCE: PTI

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a fresh bail plea of Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman who is being probed by the CBI and the ED in the alleged ? 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper scam cases relating to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters.

It was argued that James cannot be charged under any other offences apart from those mentioned in the extradition decree and he be granted the benefit of the doctrine of speciality. He was arrested in December 2018 after being extradited from Dubai.

SOURCE: PTI

The ballot boxes for Maldives’ upcoming parliamentary elections will be placed in India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, after around 11,000 Maldivians submitted re-registration requests to relocate their polling stations, the country’s election commission announced on Sunday.

The six-day window for people to relocate their voting stations for the April 21 parliamentary elections expired on Saturday, media reports said, citing an Elections Commission notification. The top electoral body said that ballot boxes for the island nation’s elections will also be placed in Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram), the capital of Kerala, Sri Lanka’s Colombo and Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur after at least 150 people re-register to vote in each of the three countries.

SOURCE: IDRW.ORG

The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) has secured a $23.27 million USD loan from the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) to acquire two Dornier Do-228 aircraft manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) of India. This agreement marks a significant step forward in the GDF’s ongoing modernization efforts.

The financing deal was signed on Friday by Guyana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, and Deputy General Manager of EXIM Bank, Sanjay Lamba. The Guyana Ministry of Finance credits President Ali’s visit to HAL in January 2023 as the impetus for this agreement. While the official announcement did not specify the aircraft model, previous pronouncements by the Guyanese government had indicated their interest in acquiring two Dornier 228 planes.

SOURCE: AFI

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up for the future of human spaceflight. While the current astronaut training facility in Bengaluru prepares the “Fabulous Four” – Group Captains Prashanth Nair, Ajit Krishnan, Angad Prathap, and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla – for Gaganyaan’s first mission, plans are already underway for a much larger training center.

Sources close to ISRO reveal that the new facility, likely to be located in Devanahalli with Challakere still in consideration, will be built to accommodate a significantly larger astronaut corps. This expansion reflects India’s long-term commitment to human space exploration and could see the capacity grow to house 25-30 astronauts, potentially even including their families.

SOURCE: AFI

In a recent statement, C Uday Bhaskar, the Director of the Society for Policy Studies, pointed out an intriguing paradox in India’s defense narrative. Despite the jubilation surrounding India’s recent Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) success, the latest annual report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) delivers a sobering reality check: India maintains its position as the world’s largest importer of arms. The report, released in March 2024, reveals a 4.7 percent increase in India’s arms imports between 2014-18 and 2019-23.

This revelation echoes the findings of SIPRI’s 2023 report, emphasizing India’s persistent status as the top global arms importer. The 2023 report underscored India’s dominance in this regard, with an 11 percent share of total global arms imports during 2018-22, a position it has maintained since 1993.

SOURCE: PTI

The Chinese military has reiterated its claim over Arunachal Pradesh, calling the area an “inherent part of China’s territory”, days after India rejected Beijing’s objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state. The Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang said that the southern part of Xizang (the Chinese name for Tibet) is an inherent part of China’s territory, and Beijing “never acknowledges and firmly opposes” the “so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India”, official media reported. 

Zhang made the remarks in response to India’s enhancement of its military readiness through the Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh, according to a report posted on the Chinese Defence Ministry’s website on Friday. China, which claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, routinely objects to Indian leaders’ visits to the state to highlight its claims. 

SOURCE: PTI

India and the Maldives on Sunday reviewed the ongoing deployment of Indian civilian technical personnel to enable the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms in the island nation.

Both sides carried out the review at the third meeting of the high-level core group held in Male with a focus on withdrawal of Indian military personnel from the island. India on Friday said its first team of military personnel that was operating an advanced light helicopter in the Maldives has returned from that country.

SOURCE: ANI

Prominent activist and spokesperson of the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP), Sardar Nasir Aziz Khan, has lambasted the Pakistan at the United Nations for ‘inflicting atrocities’ on the people of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB).

While speaking at the ongoing 55th United Nations Human Rights Council Session, the UKPNP leader expressed concerns about the grim human rights situation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB).

SOURCE: PTI

 An influential American Senator on Friday asked the US social media companies as to what preparations they have made for elections in India, where social media platforms, including Meta-owned WhatsApp, have a long track record of amplifying misleading and false content.

The letter, written by Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Intelligence and Rules Committees, which has oversight over US elections, comes on the eve of the announcement of elections in India by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

SOURCE: ANI

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, responding to Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel for thanking the Indian Navy for rescuing seven Bulgarian nationals in a successful anti-piracy operation in the Arabian Sea, has said that it is exactly what friends are for.

In a post on X, Mr Jaishankar wrote, “That’s what friends are for”. Bulgarian Foreign Minister, Mariya Gabriel on Sunday expressed gratitude to the Indian Navy for successfully carrying out a rescue operation to take back control of a hijacked merchant vessel and its 17 crew members including seven Bulgarian nationals in the Arabian Sea.

SOURCE: ANI

Highlighting Pakistan’s heinous crimes, prominent Baloch rights activist Hakeem Baloch has urged the Unitied Nations to recognise the legitimate aspirations of the Balochistan people for self-determination.

In his address at the 31st meeting of the ongoing 55th United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session on Saturday, the leader underscored that the people in Balochistan have been experiencing oppression, exploitation and denial of fundamental rights under the Pakistani regime.

SOURCE: IANS

The last rites of Mohammed Asfan, who died in the Russia-Ukraine war after being duped into working as a helper for the Russian Army, were performed in Hyderabad on Sunday. Asfan, 30, whose body was brought to Hyderabad late on Saturday, was laid to rest at the graveyard adjacent to Masjid-e-Qutub Shahi in Bazar Ghat.

AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi attended the funeral prayers of Asfan and consoled the family members. Relatives, friends and other residents of the Bazar Ghat area participated in the last rites.

SOURCE: PTI

 An alleged Bangladeshi smuggler was killed during a clash with the BSF in Tripura’s Unakoti district on Sunday, an official said. BSF troops were on duty near the border outpost of Magroli in Kailashahar when they observed a group of 15-20 men approaching the border fence from the Indian side carrying suspicious articles, the official added.

Despite being challenged by the BSF jawans to stop, they ignored the warnings, became aggressive, and surrounded the BSF personnel on duty.