- The first in-person meeting of the Heads of State of the QUAD nations, which include India, America, Japan and Australia took place at the White House on October 24. Prime Minister Modi, who attended the meeting, thanked Biden for convening the first in-person meeting of the QUAD. He said that our Vaccine Initiative will be of great help to the Indo-Pacific countries. According to Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, India raised the issue of Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan and involvement in terrorism in the QUAD meeting. Along with India, the US also emphasized this, because both countries understand the importance of tackling terrorism in Afghanistan.
- Online freedom is on the decline around the world, including in the US. According to the Freedom House report, internet freedom has declined globally for the 11th year in a row. The democracy advocacy group said governments are cracking down on online freedom more than ever before. China tops the list, where internet freedom has declined. At the same time, Pakistan is also in the top-10 countries. Ranks are China (10), Iran (16), Myanmar (17), Cuba (21), Vietnam (22), Saudi Arabia (24), Egypt (25), United Arab Emirates (26), Ethiopia (27). India ranks 31ston this list. The points recorded with the countries indicate the level of Internet freedom. Countries in 0 to 39 show internet restrictions. Countries with 40 to 69 points are of partial freedom and more than 70 points are placed in the category of Internet freedom.
- The US signed a security agreement with Australia and Britain last week to deal with the challenges related to the Indo-Pacific. This agreement is being seen from the perspective of controlling China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific region, but the US has refused to include India and Japan in this partnership.The partnership between the US, UK and Australia was named AUKUS. It consists of the initials of the names of the three countries. On the question related to its expansion, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a press conference on Wednesday that no one else would be included in the partnership for the security of the Indo-Pacific.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit ended on 25th October. During the visit, the US has returned 157 artefacts to Modi. These artefacts are several centuries old, which were smuggled to America.Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). For this event, PM Modi had reached New York from Washington DC, America. Without naming names, the PM targeted Pakistan. He said we have to be careful that no country uses Afghanistan for its own interests.The women and children there have to be taken care of. We have to fulfil our responsibility.
- North Korea tests a hypersonic missile in the absence of Kim Jong-un. This missile is estimated to be equipped with nuclear capability. KCNA has described the hypersonic missile as a strategic weapon. Also said that this will increase the defence capabilities of North Korea. North Korea tested its newly developed Hwasong-8 hypersonic missile in Jagang province. This missile has been recently developed by the Defence Academy of Sciences. South Korea’s military said that North Korea fired missiles from its east coast towards the sea.It is being told that this missile is included in the 5 most special weapons made under the new weapon system of the Five Year Military Plan.North Korea is constantly modernizing and expanding its weapons despite the sanctions. It has conducted a missile test for the third time this month. North Korea has tested two ballistic missiles from a strategic cruise missile and a train.
- On Monday, a protester threw an egg at French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron was on a tour of Lyon at the time. Hewas there to promote French gastronomy. During this, a man threw an egg at Macron while raising the slogan ‘Vive la revolution. Vive la revolution means Long live the revolution. This slogan is used in the context of the French Revolution. Macron was interacting with supporters while attending the International Catering and Hospitality Fair at the time of the incident.
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- The political crisis in Japan is over. Moderate-liberal leader Fumio Kishida will be the new prime minister of Japan. He has been a foreign minister and diplomat. He worked at Credit Bank of Japan for a long time. He will replace current Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Kishida is considered a popular reformer of the country. He was in the fray to become the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for the second time. In Japan, whoever is the head of the ruling party, becomes the Prime Minister of the country. Kishida was seen as the leader of the future.
- In Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD) emerged as the single largest party in Germany’s parliamentary election on Sunday. This is a leftist party. The SPD has got 25.7% of the votes. It is followed by CDU/CSU party with a 24.1% vote share. The Green Party is at number three with 14.8% of the vote. However, it may take some time to elect the chancellor. After the results were out, the SPD called it a major victory over Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was in power in Germany for 16 years, is going away. Merkel made it clear before the election that she is not in the race for chancellor this time.
- A volcano that erupted on Palma Island in Spain has caused major catastrophe. Now its hot lava has reached the Atlantic Ocean. Due to this, clouds of steam are seen rising in the Playa Nueva area. This volcano erupted on 19 September. According to the satellite monitoring agency of the European Union, the lava has destroyed 600 houses and about 21 kilometers of road in its path. 637 acres of cultivated land and banana plantations have been destroyed. Due to the continuous explosion, there is a danger of spreading poisonous gas.
- After the Taliban took over Afghanistan, now its former Vice President Amrullah Saleh has formed a government-in-exile. Saleh has said that he will be the acting president of this government-in-exile, as former President Ashraf Ghani is neither with him nor is he present in Afghanistan. Saleh is currently present in Switzerland. A few days ago his brother was killed by the Taliban in Panjshir.In a conversation with Afghanistan’s Khama News Agency, Saleh said- I have formed the government-in-exile. This government will be the legally recognized government of Afghanistan for the world. The Afghanistan Embassy in Switzerland has also issued the same statement of Saleh. It was sent via fax to most of the world’s news agencies and embassies.