VARUNA is the largest Naval Exercise between India and __________.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The world's tallest indoor waterfall, 131-foot-tall, opened for the general public at Singapore's Jewel Changi Airport. The waterfall is housed inside a dome-shaped complex which has gardens growing over four storeys, more than 280 retail and food outlets, a hotel and a movie theatre. The structure also has a botanical garden with 120 species of plants.

The Asia Badminton Championships began at Wuhan in China. The Championship will continue till 28 April. India will be represented by Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma in men's singles and P.V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal in women's singles.

The 1267 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) designated Pakistan based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) leader Masood Azhar as a 'global terrorist' on May 1, 2019. This could be possible because China has lifted its technical hold on the proposal to blacklist Masood Azhar. In earlier four instances, China had blocked the proposal to designate Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. This is a huge diplomatic win for India and also a symbolic victory towards the fight against terrorism. This time the proposal was moved by P3 countries (USA, France and United Kingdom), a permanent member to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), on February 27, 2019 to designate Azhar as a global terrorist. This move was the response of deadly terror attack in Pulwama by Pakistan based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) which killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans.

Jaideep Sarkar has been appointed as India's next High Commissioner to South Africa. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly. Sarkar, a 1987-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently serving as India's ambassador in Bhutan. He served in Indian Missions in Tokyo, Seoul and Bangladesh as well.

The 11th meeting of the joint working group on counter-terrorism between India and Australia held at Canberra, Australia on May 2, 2019. Mahaveer Singhvi, Joint Secretary (Counter-Terrorism) led Indian delegation while Paul Foley, Australia's Ambassador for Counter Terrorism led Australian delegation for the meeting. The objective of this meeting is to discuss the counter-terrorism challenges which both countries are facing such as financing of terrorism, the use of the internet for terror purposes, radicalisation and foreign terrorist fighters. The Joint Working Group also agreed to further deepen counter-terrorism cooperation through mutual capacity building efforts, regular exchange of information, mutual legal assistance, regular exchange of information, sharing of best practices on counter-terrorism and radicalization.