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Russia-Ukraine tensions
Biden announces deployment of 3,000 US troops to Eastern Europe
On 2 February 2022, The United States announced that they will send approximately 3,000 additional troops to the Poland and Romania to bolster NATO forces in Eastern Europe. US President Joe Biden said that "As long as he is acting aggressively, we're going to make sure we can reassure our NATO allies and Eastern Europe that we're there," claiming that troops deployment is to shield Eastern Europe from a potential spill over, amidst the fears of an invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, in response, called the actions "destructive steps, which increase military tension and reduce scope for political decision." Meanwhile, on a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, it was agreed that "peaceful resolution" of the Ukraine crisis was the only way forward.
Putin has accused the US and NATO of attempting to "contain" Russia and failing to respect its security concerns in its border area. Ahead of Putin's visit to Beijing on 4 February 2022 for Winter Olympics, the Kremlin said that China and Russia are on the same page on global security and that China would back Russia over its security concerns.
With rising tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian border, dozens of public figures of Russia have started a quiet anti-war movement in a country where protests are severely restricted and tightly monitored. Diplomatic efforts are still underway to mitigate the emerging crisis.
By Aarushi Gupta - Batch 20-22
'Brexit Freedoms' Bill to amend outdated EU law
Source: https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1369/1920_brexit-debate.jpg?10000
As part of a drive to "cut £1 billion of red tape" for UK businesses, the UK Government intends to introduce a "Brexit Freedoms" Bill to make it easier to amend the outdated EU law. In the plans released last weekend, PM Boris Johnson called Brexit a truly historic moment and the beginning of a new chapter for the United Kingdom. "We have made significant progress in capitalising on our newfound freedoms and restoring the UK's status as a sovereign, independent country capable of determining its own future." "The plans we've laid out today will help businesses spend more of their money on investing, innovating, and creating jobs," he added.
The Government has previously stated that it intends to amend, replace, or repeal all remaining legislation that seems "not right for the UK. "The Bill will impact the handling of the retained EU law - Brussels-made regulations that were kept in the UK statute book for legal continuity after the Brexit transition period ended in 2020. While on the other hand, the Scottish and Welsh governments have expressed concern that the move will impact devolved powers.
By Priyanka Rane - Batch 20-22
Pakistan's First National Security Policy
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/world/pm-imran-khan-launches-pakistans-first-ever-national-security-policy-7722805/
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, launched the country's first National Security Policy (NSP) for the next five years on 14 January 2022. This policy talks about traditional security threats like wars and ways to deter them including maintaining a modern, cost-effective and adaptive military force. It also maintains Pakistan's "right to self-defence" in instances of aggression and threat to its "territorial integrity" from external forces.
The 110-page doctrine is mainly classified, barring some 40 to 60 odd pages made available for publishing. The unclassified documents mention Kashmir a total of 113 times. Interestingly, there has been no demand for the reversal of actions by the Indian government with respect to Article 370 in Kashmir, at least in the document available for public viewing. Rather, NSP proposes reaching a "peaceful resolution" in consonance with the UNSC resolutions, with India. The NSP also places a strong emphasis on the economic security of its citizens.
While the document has highlighted Pakistan's ambitions of developing space technology, countering extremist activities, improving trade ties in the Asian region and settling its differences with India, it remains to be seen how well the strategies would translate in execution.
By Aishwarya Nagar - Batch 20-22
The First Female President and a New Hope for the Honduras
Source: CNN. https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220127125354-01-honduras-inauguration-exlarge-169.jpg
On 27 January 2022, Xiomara Castro of the left-wing Libre Party was sworn in as the 56th- and the first woman - President of the Republic of Honduras in the capital, Tegucigalpa. She took office at a time when the country is grappling with a substantial amount of debt. Honduras also faces the challenges of corruption, drug trafficking and poverty that eventually leads to citizens fleeing north, to the United States of America.
Incidentally then, the presence of Vice President Kamala Harris at the Inauguration acted as a booster to the Castro administration amid the internally disputed Honduran Congress and symbolized US support. The US and Honduras would be working together to fix issues of illegal immigration and economic and infrastructural challenges faced by the Republic.
Honduras maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the US leverage against China, making it a strategic ally to the US. A working relationship between the three countries might offer plausible solutions to a flailing economy, control the inflow of illegal migrants and pose a counter to the Chinese influence, diplomatically. It would be interesting to see then whether, coincidently, the women leadership of these countries acts in the best of their national interests and shape the course of history.
By Riddhi Kothawale - Batch 20-22
