On May 30, 2024, China successfully deployed a communications satellite destined for Pakistan. The PakSat MM1, a versatile communication satellite, was launched atop a Long March 3 B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan province. The satellite is positioned in a geosynchronous orbit and is slated to commence operations by August 2024.

Do we have the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment? One of the most obvious questions, even the cycle of heat waves engulfing India this summer, has been missing during the largest democratic practices as 834 million Indians are voting in the 2024 General Elections. Ironically, the election manifestos of both national and regional political parties have failed to commit to ensuring the right to a healthy environment for all Indians if they are elected to power on June 4, 2024. At best, environmental well-being is a non-issue in this General Election.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully carried out its second Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Landing Experiment, named RLV-LEX-02, at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Chitradurga, Karnataka on March 22, 2024. This follows the trailblazing success of the first landing test, RLV-LEX-01, on April 2, 2023. The vehicle showcased in these tests is expected to be pivotal in a ground-breaking reusable two-stage orbital launch system by 2030.

The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China is in the news again. In the fourth week of December last year (2023), Chinese authorities in the strategic northwestern region of Xinjiang brought about a set of new Chinese rules, norms and regulations on religious affairs. These measures, duly approved by the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Xinjiang on  December 22, have subsequently come into effect on  February 1, 2024.

The transboundary water dispute between Iran and Afghanistan is historical. Both neighbouring countries have been dealing with the water-sharing dispute somewhat without progressing towards a permanent solution. The problem is centred around the Helmand River, which starts from the Hindu Kush Mountains near Kabul and streams into Iran's Hamoon wetlands in Sistan and Balochistan province (southeast of Iran). This river was defined as the territory of Iran. Until 1857, Herat was part of Iran, and only after Iran and Britain signed the Paris Treaty of 1857 did Iran abandon its claim.

No one would have wildly imagined that a few stunning pictures of a coastal island could trigger cascading diplomatic short-fuse between two asymmetrical neighbouring countries. The truth is that both governments and social media of India and Maldives have been engaged in a severe tug of words and diplomatic row respectively for whose coastlines are better after the Indian Prime Minister visited the Indian archipelago Lakshadweep and shared a series of scenic pictures on January 4. Was it a calculated strategic move by India to expose the months-old pro-China government in Maldives?

After hosting a successful G20 Summit, India is more than willing to host a climate summit meeting in 2028. On the second day (December 1) of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP 28) meeting to the UN Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Prime Minister Modi, during his speech in the high-level segment, offered to host COP 33 in India. What has prompted the PM to offer to host such a significant environmental summit in 2028?

On November 27, 2023, the Twenty-Eighth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CSP-28) opened in The Hague, Netherlands. This five-day meeting discusses various aspects associated with implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which has been in effect since April 29 1997. Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is responsible for fulfilling the Convention’s mandate.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India, is organizing the second edition of the CII India Nordic Baltic Business Conclave from 22-23 November 2023 in New Delhi.

Under the UN guidance, a transitional committee on loss and damage due to climate emergency has clinched an agreement of recommendations on operationalising a global fund for vulnerable countries and communities on November 4, 2023, in Abu Dhabi (UAE). Despite a formal objection from the US and reservations from other members in the 24-member transitional committee (TC), the final approval is set for the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the UNFCCC that will be held from November 30 - December 12 at the Expo City, Dubai (UAE).