Headlines at a Glance – 23rd July 2021
India, UK conduct Naval Exercise in Bay of Bengal
The aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s largest warship, and its strike task group is conducting complex maritime exercises with the Indian Navy in the Bay of Bengal as part of efforts to enhance interoperability and naval cooperation. Britain has sent the 65,000-tonne carrier and its task group to the Indian Ocean as part of the country’s moves to enhance its profile in the Indo-Pacific and to foster defence ties with nations across the region. The task group is set to sail to the disputed South China Sea on the next leg of its deployment. The three-day annual Konkan exercise between the Indian and British navies, which began on Wednesday, will see warships from both sides conducting a range of multi-ship, air, sea and sub-surface maritime drills, as well as close quarter manoeuvring.
SOURCE: Hindustan Times
Bill introduced in LS to prohibit strikes by defence services personnel
The government on Thursday introduced a bill in Lok Sabha which seeks to prohibit any agitation and strike by anyone engaged in the essential defence services. The Essential Defence Services Bill, 2021, introduced by Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt amid din created by the Opposition over three new agri laws and the alleged Pegasus snooping controversy, seeks to replace an ordinance issued in June. According to the Statements of Objects and Reasons of the Bill, Indian Ordnance Factories is the oldest and largest industrial set up which functions under the Department of Defence Production of the Ministry of Defence.
SOURCE: The Hindu
India among WTO’s 5 member nations to produce 75% of world’s Covid vaccines
Five member states of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) alone will account for three-quarters of the entire global output of COVID-19 vaccines this year, said Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Wednesday. “Production remains highly centralised – about 75 per cent of this year’s vaccines appear set to come from five WTO members – China, India, Germany, the United States, and France,” the WTO Director-General said at a high-level dialogue on “Expanding COVID-19 vaccine manufacture to promote equitable access.” Okonjo-Iweala said discriminatory access to vaccines is a root cause of the unequal recovery of the global economy, in which developed economies are rebounding quickly while the rest are lagging behind.
SOURCE: Business Standard
G20 environment and energy ministers holding talks in Naples
Environment and energy ministers from the Group of 20 rich nations made little progress on Thursday on how to reach climate goals, officials said, with a cluster of countries resisting firm commitments. Near the sumptuous royal palace in Naples where the meeting took place, thousands of flag-waving marchers protested against what they said was a lack of action on global warming. The G20 meeting discussed biodiversity and the natural environment on Thursday, while energy and climate change will be on Friday’s agenda. Diplomats have struggled for days to find meaningful common ground on both topics. Italy, which holds the rotating G20 presidency this year, said a communique on the environment had finally been agreed to the “great joy” of all 20 countries after “weeks of negotiations and a two-day non-stop session”.
SOURCE: BBC News
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