With which country India plans to build peaceful Indo-pacific region?

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.

First AH-64E (I) - Apache Guardian helicopter was formally handed over to the Indian Air Force at Boeing production facility in Arizona, USA. Air Marshal AS Butola, represented the Indian Air Force and accepted the first Apache.

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.

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.

The US Air Force Research Laboratory tested a laser system called Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD) at the US Army's White Sands Missile range in New Mexico which successfully shot down multiple air-launched missiles while in flight. The system is designed for the purpose of protecting the aircraft from incoming surface-to-air and air-to-air launched missiles. The project began in 2016 and the US Air Force issued a contract to Lockheed Martin in 2017, for designing the system with the aim of testing the system on aircraft by 2021.

India and France are all set to hold their largest-ever naval exercise with aircraft carriers, destroyers, submarines and fighters early May as part of their expanding strategic partnership. The exercise has been christened 'Varuna' and will take place off Goa and Karwar from 1 May 2019. The conduct of Varuna exercise was reiterated in the Joint Statement made by the Prime Minister of India and the President of France, on the 10th of March 2018. The two countries will be deploying their aircraft carriers INS Vikramaditya and FNS Charles de gaulle with their Mig-29K and Rafale-M naval fighter jets. The Indian participation will also include the destroyer INS Mumbai, frigate INS Trikand with their integral helicopters, IN submarine Kalvari, P8-I aircrafts and Dornier Maritime Patrol aircraft.