The 1st Apache Helicopter formally handed over to IAF in __________.

India and Sweden have recently launched the India-Sweden Collaborative Industrial Research and Development Programme on the occasion of the Sweden-India Innovation Partnership AI for All Summit in New Delhi. The programme will address a range of global challenges through technology and innovation. The Joint programme is co-funded by Indian Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Sweden's Innovation Agency - Vinnova. The new programme brings together the world class excellence of Sweden and India to address challenges in the area of Smart Cities and Clean Technologies and Digitalization / Internet of Things (IoT). Vinnova will provide funding to Swedish side participants upto 2,500,000 Swedish Krona as grant. On the Indian side, conditional grant of upto 50% with a limit of INR 1.5 crores per project to Indian project partners to be provided. This Programme is technically and administratively managed by the Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA) on behalf of DST in India and Vinnova in Sweden.

The WHO (World Health Organization) has published a research paper titled 'Forecasting the future need and gaps in requirements for public health professionals in India upto 2026' in the 'WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health', in which it states that India faces critical shortage of healthcare professionals, especially in Bihar, Jharkhand, U.P. (Uttar Pradesh) & Rajasthan which have the worst hit ratio as compared to Delhi, Kerala, Punjab and Gujarat which are in a relatively better position. Health workforce includes all those people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance and improve the health of the general public affected with any kind of health issue.

INS Kolkata and Shakti are scheduled to participate in the International Fleet Review in Qingdao, China as part of 70th Anniversary celebrations of People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy). International Fleet Review (IFR) is a parade of naval ships, aircraft and submarines, and is organised by nations to promote goodwill, strengthen cooperation and showcase their organisational capabilities.

Malaysia resumed a China-backed rail link project after the Chinese contractor agreed to cut the construction cost by one third to 10.6 billion US dollars. The Malaysian government will also take up a multibillion-dollar property and transportation project in Kuala Lumpur involving a Chinese state company, calling it a contribution to China's global "Belt and Road" infrastructure initiative.

For the second year in a row, Iraq has become India's top crude oil supplier in 2018-19 fiscal year and meet more than a fifth of the country's oil needs. According to official data sourced from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Iraq sold 46.61 million tonnes (mt) of crude oil to India during April 2018 and March 2019, which is 2% more than 45.74 mt it had supplied in 2017-18 fiscal. Saudi Arabia also maintained its position as the 2nd-largest crude supplier to India during the year followed by Iran and United Arab Emirates (UAE) which toppled Venezuela to become India's fourth largest crude supplier. Despite US sanctions on Iran, the country's crude oil supply to India increased 6.24% to 24 MT in 2018-19. India managed to import a sizeable amount of Iranian crude last year primarily due to waivers and winding down period provided by US.

Iran announced it will pull out of some commitments under 2015 international nuclear agreement signed with world powers, called Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA). Iran said it will stop suppressing its stocks of enriched uranium and heavy water, as these are needed by certain types of the reactor for nuclear fission to take place. It mentioned that such actions are required from Iran as the European Union (EU) and other countries did not have the power to resist US pressure. The move is to secure Iran's rights and bring back the balance after the United States exited from an agreement in 2018.

India and Vietnam reiterated their commitment to build a peaceful Indo-pacific region, with respect to each other's national sovereignty and international law. The announcement regarding the same was made after delegation level talks between Indian Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and his Vietnamese counterpart Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi. Vice President Naidu is on a 4-days visit to Vietnam. During the talks, both the sides deliberated on cooperation in various areas and anticipated for a consensus of concerned countries on a code of conduct in the South China Sea.

United Nations honoured 150 Indian peacekeepers serving with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) with medals of honour for their dedicated service and sacrifice. UNMISS is working to deter violence against civilians by providing a safe and secure environment for South Sudanese people who have fled violence and sought sanctuary at Protection of Civilian sites across the country. It aims to provide a safe and supported environment so that these people can return to their former homes and communities to live safely and with dignity. UNMISS peacekeepers are also working to facilitate the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance, such as food, clean water, shelter and healthcare, to the millions of displaced people. It also protects, monitors, investigates, and reports on human rights violations and abuses with a strong focus on the most vulnerable, such as women and children and those who are subjected to sexual and gender-based violence.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a "sovereign internet" bill that will allow Russian authorities to isolate the country's internet to expand the Government Control of the Internet. This move is being publicly denounced by all rights groups in Russia and will lead to censorship over large parts of the Internet. The new move requires Internet providers to install equipment for routing Russian web traffic through servers in Russia which will allow the Russian intelligence agencies of state authorities to control public information. Roskomnadzor's chief (Roskomnadzor is Russia's chief media regulator), Aleksandr Zharov, notified that the measures would also target the Telegram app widely used by Russians.

The Arab League has pledged $100 million per month to the Palestinian Authority (PA) to make up for funds withheld by Israel because of payments made to the families of Palestinian attackers and prisoners. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the Arab League in Cairo, as part of a diplomatic effort to rebuff the Trump administration's Middle East peace plan. Israel collects taxes on behalf of the PA but withheld $138m in transfers in February over Palestinian payments to political prisoners jailed for attacks against Israelis. In 1967, Israel illegally occupied the eastern half of Jerusalem, as well as the West Bank and the Gaza Strip - and in 1980, passed a law declaring Jerusalem as the eternal and undivided capital of Israel. The Palestinians seek those territories for a future state.