Commerce Ministry, Indian High Commissions and embassies of how many African nations jointly organised an interaction to improve India-Africa trade?

Two Indian Navy ships - Guided Missile Destroyer INS Kolkata and Fleet Support Ship INS Shakti carried out a 6-day long exercise 'Group Sail' with naval ships of Japan, Philippines and the United States of America (USA) in the disputed South China Sea from 03 May to 09 May 19. The aim of the Group Sail is to deepen the existing partnership and foster mutual understanding among participating navies. The ships undertook various exercises enroute which included formation manoeuvering, underway replenishment runs, cross-deck flying and exchange of Sea Riders. The Group Sail exercise with naval ships of Japan, Philippines and United States showcased India's commitment towards operating with like-minded nations to ensure safe maritime environment through enhanced interoperability.

The Parliament of Singapore on May 8, 2019 passed new laws to fight the menace of fake news. The laws will empower the authorities to order the removal of any content reported to be fake despite fierce criticism from tech giants and the media and rights groups. The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill will enable the government to order social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to put up warnings next to posts that the authorities deem to be false or get them taken down in extreme cases.

Iran's lawmakers approved a bill labeling U.S. forces in West Asia (Middle East) as terrorist. This move comes a day after the U.S. terrorism designation for Iran's Revolutionary Guard formally took effect. Iran's Defense Minister Gen. Amir Hatami introduced the bill authorizing the government to act firmly in response to terrorist actions by U.S. forces. It demands authorities use legal, political and diplomatic measures to neutralize the American move, without elaborating. The U.S. move aims at thwarting Iran's influence and shows that America's longstanding sanctions against Iran have become ineffective.

The Modern Slavery Innovation Fund (MSIF) supports international projects to trial innovative ways of stopping modern slavery, It is in news recently because Britain has pledged £4 million to support global anti-slavery projects. Six organizations - Anti-Slavery International and the United Nations University, Stronger Together, The Freedom Fund , Retrak and Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) - will share the aid money from MSIF. The funding will also be used to run workshops on modern slavery in South Africa, improve support for survivors in India, and develop an online data hub to boost anti-slavery policies. The MSIF was announced in 2016 and previously gave £6 million to schemes such as awareness-raising campaigns in Nigeria, the Philippines and Vietnam. The Freedom Fund will work in India and Nepal to enhance victim care of frontline workers.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has imposed a fine of 170,000 Euros on Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) for not honouring the Pro League commitments and has given PHF a time-limit till 20th June, on failure of which PHF would have to pay double of penalty.The PHF was fined because it did not send the national team for the Pro League matches in Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.Shahbaz notified that since PHF lacks funds, the FIH has been requested to reduce the fine and allow it to be paid in instalments. PHF Secretary General Shahbaz Ahmed is a former Olympian and captain of Pakistan National Hockey Team and is a member of the FIH Executive Board, chaired by India's Narinder Batra.

The Netherlands has emerged as the third largest foreign direct investor in India during 2017-18, with investments pegged at about $2.67 billion across sectors. The Netherlands was also the second largest destination for foreign investment by Indian companies, after Singapore, with investments worth $12.8 billion in 2017.

Defence Ministry Nirmala Sitharaman approved Indian Navy's proposal to acquire 10 Kamov-31 choppers from Russia at a cost of around Rs. 3,600 crore to strengthen its capability against aerial threats to its aircraft carriers and large warships. They cleared the Rs. 3,600 crore proposal for buying around 10 Kamov-31 Airborne Early Warning and Control choppers for the aircraft carrier operations and deployment on future warships. Indian Navy already has a fleet of 12 of these Kamov-31 choppers which sanitise the air space around the aircraft carriers and destroyers operating in open seas.

India was re-elected as Observer to the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum. The decision was taken during the 11th Arctic Council ministerial meeting at Rovaniemi, Finland. The Council also appointed the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as a new Observer. India successfully got the Observer status in 2013 during the Kiruna Ministerial meeting held in Sweden. India has its Arctic research station 'Himadri' in Svalbard, Norway since 2008. Located at the International Arctic Research base, the research station was set up by India's National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, an institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

The Government of Malawi has launched the pilot tests for the world's first malaria vaccine - RTS,S (or Mosquirix) -to give partial protection to children up to 2 years of age. The other two African countries - Ghana and Kenya - will introduce the vaccine in the coming weeks. This move is part of World Health Organization (WHO)-coordinated three country pilot programme where the risk of malaria is high and there has been previous success with other childhood vaccines. It aims to reach 360,000 children per year across the three countries. The vaccine has been developed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in partnership with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative. According to WHO, Malaria kills some 435,000 people around the world each year, the majority of them children. Most of these deaths are in Africa, where more than 250,000 children die from the disease every year.

Indonesia has released a special commemorative stamp on the theme of Ramayana on April 23, 2019 to mark the 70th anniversary of establishment of its diplomatic ties with India. A specially signed version of the stamp will be on display at the Philately Museum in Jakarta. The stamp, designed by renowned Indonesian sculptor Padmashri Bapak Nyoman Nuarta, featured a scene from Ramayana in which Jatayu valiantly fought to save Sita, said a statement issued by the Embassy of India.