1. International News
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1. INTERNATIONAL NEWS 1.1. Korea set to hold ASEAN maritime drills Two warships of the Indian Navy have reached the South Korean port city of Busan after participating at an international maritime parade off the coast of Qingdao in China. The Indian Navy said INS Kolkata and INS Shakti are in Busan as part of a deployment of the eastern fleet to the South China Sea. "In a demonstration of India's Act East policy and the Indian Navy's increasing footprint and operational reach, Indian naval ships Kolkata and Shakti have arrived at Busan, South Korea on a three-day visit as part of deployment of the Eastern Fleet to the South China Sea on April 28," it said in a statement. The two ships had gone to China to participate in the International Fleet Review (IFR), organised to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Navy. The Navy said the two ships will participate in the ADMM-Plus Maritime Security Field Training Exercise (FTX) at Busan. The ADMM-Plus is a platform of the 10-member bloc, ASEAN, and its eight dialogue partners. The aim of the ADMM-Plus is to strengthen the security and defence cooperation among the member countries of the grouping. In the United States, Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden has accused President Donald Trump of abusing the powers of his office and ignoring everyone but his political base. 1.2. SCO Defence Ministers' meet in Bishkek Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a bilateral meeting with her Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' Meet in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan. The two sides discussed regional and bilateral security issues during the meeting. The Defence Minister is in Kyrgyzstan on a three-day visit to attend the SCO meet, along with holding bilaterals with other member-countries on the summit's sidelines. She is scheduled to attend the SCO ministerial meeting later . The eight member-states will discuss ways to increase cooperation in combatting terrorism, among other issues, during the meet. The current SCO meeting is being held in the run-up to the SCO summit, which is expected to take place from June 14 to June 15 this year. In 2018, India participated in the SCO Defence Ministers meeting for the first time. Speaking at that meeting, Ms Sitharaman had highlighted India's keen interest in developing an expanded partnership with the broader Eurasian region. In 2018, India for the first time participated in the SCO defence exercises. The joint exercise was conducted by the Central Military Commission of Russia at Chebarkul, Chelyabinsk. The exercise involved tactical level operations in an international counterinsurgency or counter-terrorism environment under the SCO Charter. 1.3. International Dance Day International Dance Day is a global celebration of dance, created by the Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute (ITI), the main partner for the performing arts of UNESCO. The event takes place every year on 29th April, the anniversary of the birth of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727–1810), the creator of modern ballet. Every year a message from an outstanding choreographer or dancer is circulated throughout the world. This year message has been created by Karima MANSOUR of Egypt, who is a Dancer, Choreographer & Educator 1.4. Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) According to the 2019 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR), rural areas continue to be in a state of crisis and threatening to slow the progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, global climate targets, and improved food and nutrition security due to hunger, malnutrition, poverty, environmental degradation. 821 mn people in the world are facing chronic food deprivation. The report was prepared by the Washington DC- based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Rural transformation and revitalization have been the pre-eminent goal of India’s development efforts since independence, according to the report. It also points out the changing consumption patterns due to urbanization, increasing income, growing integration of food supply chains and food systems in India which offer new opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment in rural areas. 1.5. US: Joe Biden accuses President Trump of abusing powers of his office In the United States, Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden has accused President Donald Trump of abusing the powers of his office and ignoring everyone but his political base. In his first public rally as a Presidential candidate in Pennsylvania, Mr Biden called Mr Trump the only President who has decided not to represent the whole country. The former Vice President said, strengthening unions and promoting social and economic unity can restore Democrats to the White House. Mr Trump stepped up his criticism of Mr Biden and stated on Twitter about his own strong support among union members. 1.6. Pervez Musharraf unlikely to return to Pakistan Pakistan's former military dictator Pervez Musharraf, who is facing a high-profile treason case for suspending the Constitution, is unlikely to return to the country due to his family pressure and medical board's recommendations The development came a day after his lawyer Salman Safdar told reporters that the 75-year- old former president, despite his deteriorating medical condition, is determined to appear before the court that had summoned him for the hearing scheduled for May 2. However, Dawn news reported that General Musharraf might not return to Pakistan because of his medical board's recommendation and family pressure. 1.7. Pentagon to send 320 more troops to US- Mexico border The US Defence Department has announced that it would deploy around 320 additional troops to the southern border with Mexico to support immigration officials. The troops, set to deploy until the end of September, will add to around 2,900 active duty military and 2,000 National Guard members currently posted to the border. The Pentagon spokesman said, the troops would assist with transporting migrants, monitoring the welfare of migrants in custody and providing heating and meals. In recent months, thousands of migrants have arrived in Mexico, primarily Central Americans fleeing poverty and violence at home. President Donald Trump has described them as a threat to national security. 1.8. US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein submits his resignation US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller to investigate links between Russia and Donald Trump's campaign in the Presidential elections, has submitted his resignation. In a letter to Mr Trump, Rosenstein said, he will leave his post on the 11th of next month. Attorney General William Barr confirmed in a statement that the letter had been submitted. 1.9. Sri Lanka suicide bombers had clear links to ISIS: President Maithripala Sirisena Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has said, the country’s intelligence services believe the Easter Sunday suicide bombers had very clear links to the Islamic State terror group. In an interview to an international news channel, Mr Sirisena said, the terror group had provided training to the perpetrators of last week's attacks, and that links between ISIS and extremists in Sri Lanka could be traced back to 15 years. The President had, earlier, said there could be up to 140 ISIS sympathisers in the country and hunt is on to nab them all. 1.10. Sri Lankan security forces continue operations against fundamentalist groups Sri Lankan security forces continue with their operations against fundamentalist groups and suspects close to the suicide bombers involved in last Sunday attacks as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremsinghe has urged parliament to speed up the enactment of law against terrorist activities. Security forces raided the headquarters of National Thoweed Jamaath (NJT) in Kattankudy of eastern province after it was banned . Police also arrested two main suspects and the elder brother of a suicide bomber who carried out the attack on the Shangri-La hostel in Colombo last Sunday. Two brothers and father of main perpetrator Zahran Hashmi, were reported killed in Friday night raids which killed upto 15 people. ISIS claimed that three of its members were among those killed. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Wickremsinghe has said, Sri Lanka's existing anti-terrorism laws were enacted in 1979 to combat domestic activities and in 2018, a draft bill was presented to parliament but a committee in charge was still sitting on it. He said in a statement that the third article of the bill prevents any individual or group that threatens or acts against the laws of a foreign government or its operations. Sri Lankan Prime Minister had earlier accepted that some of fundamentalists could not be arrested for their links with ISIS because there is no law to such effect in the country. 1.11. Spain votes in snap general election marked by far-right resurgence Spain voted in an uncertain snap general election marked by a resurgence of the far-right after more than four decades on the outer margins of politics. Opinion polls give outgoing socialist premier Pedro Sanchez a win but without the necessary majority to govern alone, meaning he will have to seek alliances in a political environment that has soured since Catalonia's failed secession bid. The novelty of these elections is the emergence of far-right party Vox, which burst onto the scene in December regional polls in southern Andalusia and looks set to make its first-ever entrance into the national parliament. Polls predict it could take more than 10 per cent of the votes in a country that had no far-right party to speak of since the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, in what is likely to cause further concern in Europe.