NAMASKAR! A warm welcome to 'World News: an Indian perspective on AKASHVANI. This is RESHMA TIWARI bringing glimpses of the major developments of the day from across the globe. Over the next half an hour, we shall bring to you the latest from the world of politics, economy, sports, entertainment and more.

<><><>

THE HEADLINES:

⦁ External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar says, multipolar world is feasible only by a multipolar Asia.

⦁ First Ministerial meeting of India-European Union Trade and Technology Council to be held in Belgium on Tuesday.

⦁ In Odisha, four-day long Culture Working Group meeting under India's G2O Presidency begins at Bhubaneshwar.

⦁ Counting underway for Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Turkiye and General Election in Thailand.

⦁ Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Mocha makes a landfall in Myanmar's western coastline causing widespread destruction.

⦁ And in IPL, Royal Challengers Bangalore blow away Rajasthan Royals in the biggest defeat of tournament history in Jaipur.

<><><>

JAISHANKAR-EU INDO-PACIFIC

India's External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar has said, a multipolar world is feasible only by a multipolar Asia. Addressing the EU-Indo Pacific Ministerial meeting at Stockholm in Sweden, he said, the more European Union and Indo-Pacific deal with each other, the stronger will be their respective appreciation of multi-polarity. In his address, Dr. Jaishankar called on the leaders to consider six points, which include globalisation, Indo-Pacific and leveraging of market shares. On globalisation, he said, the European Union has major stakes in Indo-Pacific developments, especially as they pertain to technology, connectivity, trade and finance and it has to, in respect for, and observance of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The External Affairs Minister said that India and European Union need a regular, comprehensive and candid dialogue, especially with regard to the Indo-Pacific.

Dr. Jaishankar arrived in Sweden for a three-day visit to participate in the EUIndo-Pacific Ministerial meeting on Saturday.

<><><>

HOTSPOT

In today's hotspot section, we bring you a discussion on EU-Indo Pacific Ministerial Meeting: India's role in emerging dynamics of Indo-Pacific. In conversation are Expert: Skand Ranjan Tayal, Former Diplomat and Simran Sodhi journalist.

<><><>

INDIA EU

The first Ministerial meeting of India- European Union Trade and Technology Council will take place at Brussels in Belgium on the 16th of May. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is one of the co-chairs along with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

The EU side will be co-chaired by Executive Vice Presidents Mr. Dombrovskis and Ms. Vestager. The formation of the Trade and Technology Council was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen in New Delhi last year. On Monday, Mr Goyal will have a bilateral meeting with Mr Dombrovskis followed by Working Group-3 Stakeholder consultations in the presence of business leaders from both the EU and India. The Working Group-3 meeting will focus on Trade, Technology and Resilient supply chains and would have six business leaders from the EU and India.

<><><>

INDO-EU COUNCIL

Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar will be on a two-day visit to Brussels from Monday. He will participate in the 1st Ministerial Meeting of the Indo-EU Trade and Technology Council (Indo-EU TTC), which will take place on 16th May. Mr. Chandrasekhar is part of a Ministerial delegation comprising India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal that will also attend thes same council.

The Minister will be participate in the Working Groups’ several sessions including Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance and Digital Connectivity, Green and Clean Energy Technologies, Trade, Investment and Resilient Value Chains. The objective of the discussion is to share perspectives on policies that can create a more favorable environment for technology investment and collaboration between EU and India.

Ministry of Electronics and IT said that the meeting will discuss collaboration between both sides in the fields of microelectronics and supply chain resilience, digital skills, Digital Public Infrastructures (DPI), High Performance Computing and Quantum Technologies, Telecom and IT standardization, Artificial Intelligence. Both sides will also work towards an MoU on various issues related to IT sector.

Along with Dr S Jaishankar and Piyush Goyal, Mr. Chandrasekhar will also hold separate meetings with Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Ursula von der Leyen. The TTC was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in April last year.

 <><><>

MANDAVIYA-G7 MEETING

India's Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya has stressed on the need to focus on an enabling framework to bridge the digital divide across countries specifically amongst low-and-middle-income countries. Dr Mandaviya was addressing the G7 Ministerial meeting on Health Innovation in Nagasaki, Japan on Sunday. The meeting was held to discuss the priorities, implementation and utilization of health innovation like digital health towards ensuring Universal Health Coverage. Dr Mandaviya said that use of technology and Digital Health Tools are an enabler and equalizer which can facilitate strengthened health service delivery.

He said, the COVID-19 pandemic has catalysed the use of technology in health service delivery. The Minister said, India has already taken a policy decision to provide all such digital tools free of cost to the world as Digital Public Goods.

<><><>

PM-CEO WALMART MEET

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a meeting with CEO of Walmart, Doug McMillon. Replying to a tweet by Walmart, the Prime Minister said, the meeting with Mr. McMillon was a fruitful one. Mr Modi said, he had insightful discussions on different subjects. The Prime Minister said, he is happy to see India emerge as an attractive destination for investment.

<><><>

DEFENCE MINISTRY

The Defence Ministry of India has approved the fourth Positive Indigenisation List of 928 strategically-important Line Replacement Units, Sub-systems, Spares and Components. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the fourth Positive Indigenisation List, with an import substitution value worth 715 crore rupees. It will promote ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence and minimise imports by Defence Public Sector Undertakings. Details of these items are available on SRIJAN Portal. The Defence Public Sector Undertakings will undertake the indigenisation of these items through different routes under the ‘Make’ category and in-house development through the capabilities of MSMEs and private Indian industry.

<><><>

ODISHA-G20 MEET

In Odisha, the four-day long Culture Working Group meeting under India's G2O Presidency kicked off at Bhubaneshwar on Sunday. The meeting will emphasise 'Culture Unites All' in a campaign mode to highlight India's unwavering belief in multilateralism based on peaceful coexistence among diverse cultures and communities.

Briefing media persons jointly at Bhubaneswar, Union Minister for Culture and Tourism, G Kishan Reddy and Minister of State for Culture and Parliamentary Affairs, Arjun Ram Meghwal said, culture plays a critical role in driving collaborative outcomes and promoting inclusivity and harmonious living. They said, culture provides pathways to collaborate and develop sustainable and balanced solutions to contemporary global challenges.

To mark the occasion, Padma Shri Sudarshan Patnaik of Odisha has created sand art on the theme at Puri Beach as part of the 'Culture Unites All' campaign.

<><><>

G20 - ENERGY TRANSITION GROUP

The 3rd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting (ETWG) under India’s G20 Presidency will be held in Mumbai from Monday. The three-day meeting will see over one hundred delegates representing G20 member countries, special invitee countries and International Organisations such as International Energy Agency, Word Bank and World Energy Council India. The discussions and deliberations will focus on six priority areas, including energy transition through addressing technology gaps, low-cost financing for energy transition and Fuels for Future.

<><><>

J&K- G-20 TOURISM

In a run-up to the upcoming G-20 Tourism Working Group meeting scheduled to be held in the Kashmir Valley, Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta has impressed upon the officers that the success of the international event is the collective responsibility of all of them. He urged them to fulfill the responsibility fully. The meeting was attended by all the high-ranking officers from the Civil and Police administration either virtually or in person. Dr Mehta urged the Divisional and District Administration to keep the concerns of people in mind while giving final shape to the traffic, boarding, lodging and other logistic plans. He urged the involvement of the local population in the event.

<><><>

J&K-INFILTRATION

In Jammu and Kashmir, an infiltration bid by terrorists across the Line of Control in the Uri Sector of Baramulla district was foiled by the Indian Army during the Sunday morning. According to Defence Spokesperson in Srinagar, a group of armed terrorists while attempting to cross the Line of Control were engaged in an exchange of fire with the alert troops resulting in a failed attempt to intrude into Kashmir Valley. A quadcopter flown by the Pakistan Army to aid the terrorists was also spotted across the Line of Control and was fired at, causing it to withdraw. This desperate action by the terrorists, duly abetted by Pakistan Army, is yet another failed attempt to disrupt the G20 Summit and create disturbance in the Valley.

<><><>

TURKIYE VOTING

In Turkiye, counting of votes is underway in presidential and parliamentary elections. Voting was held on Sunday. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's two-decade rule is facing a tough challenge from main rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who heads an alliance of six opposition parties.  Kilicdaroglu, a 74-year-old former bureaucrat, has promised to fix Turkiye's faltering economy and restore democratic institutions. On the other hand, Erdogan has been extolling the virtues of his long rule, independent Foreign Policy and his efforts to bolster Turkiye’s defense industry continuously. Recently, he raised the wages of government workers by 45 per cent and lowered the retirement age.

The vote will decide not only who leads Turkiye, a NATO-member country of 85 million, but also how it is governed, where its economy is headed amid a deep cost of living crisis, and the shape of its foreign policy. In a Presidential election, a candidate must win over 50 per cent of the vote  in order to be elected. Otherwise Turkiye will head to a run-off on the 28th of May.  

The Parliamentary election also took place at the same time as the Presidential elections. Turkiye follows a system of proportional representation in Parliament. Parties must obtain not less than seven per cent of votes - either on their own or in alliance with other parties - in order to enter Parliament.

<><><>

THAILAND-COUNTING

In Thailand, counting of votes for the general election is under way. The first unofficial results are expected. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, the army general who led the last coup in 2014, is seeking another term. In Thailand’s bicameral system of the National Assembly, 52 million eligible voters are taking part in electing 500 members to the House of Representatives.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is facing a strong challenge from anti-military parties. Leading the race is Pheu Thai, led by Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The 36-year-old is harnessing her father's wide patronage network while sticking to the populist message for rural, low-income regions of the country.

Another party, Move Forward, led by Pita Limjaroenrat, a 42-year-old former tech executive, has also been rising fast in opinion polls. Its young, progressive, and ambitious candidates have been campaigning on a simple but powerful message: Thailand needs to change.

The election is the first since youth-led mass pro-democracy protests in 2020 and only the second since a military coup in 2014 ousted an elected government.

<><><>

MOCHA CYCLONE

Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Mocha made a landfall along the western coastline near Sittwe in Myanmar. Country's meteorological department said, wind speeds of up to 120 miles per hour are expected in Rakhine coastal areas over the next 24 hours, while tides could rise up to 20 feet. Communication services in Rakhine province were disrupted in some areas as a major telecom tower fell due to strong winds. Mobile phone connection has been lost in Sittwe, Kyauktaw, Maungdaw, Minbya and other areas in northern Rakhine area.

The Myanmar authorities have launched a massive emergency plan.

Meanwhile, the main body of Cyclone Mocha crossed Bangladesh Sunday evening. Bangladesh Meteorological Department Chief in Dhaka said, the risk to Bangladesh has now decreased. More from our correspondent:

"Close to 1 lakh people were evacuated and thousands others took shelter in monasteries and schools for safety as the cyclone raged on on the western coast of Myanmar. Though official figures are awaited, local media in Myanmar reports at least 3 people died due to the cyclone. In Bangladesh, the St. Martin Island reported the most severe impact of Mocha. At least 10 people are reported injured and over 300 houses were damaged as the cyclone crossed over the popular tourist destination. In Teknaf also, near Cox’s Bazar wind speed of up to 200 kilometres per hour was experienced during the period the cyclone passed over this area. Rajesh Jha, Akashwani Samachar, Dhaka."

<><><>

PM EXHIBITION  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Jana Shakti Art Exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi on Sunday. The exhibition has been organised to mark the 100th episode of Prime Minister’s popular radio programme Mann ki Baat. Thirteen renowned modern and contemporary artists have utilized various mediums to express themselves and present an artistic representation of the Prime Minister's message on twelve themes.

<><><>

INDIA-CANNES FESTIVAL

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L.Murugan will lead an Indian delegation to Cannes International Film Festival from 16th to 27th May. He will be accompanied by filmmaker Guneet Monga of The Elephant Whisperers fame, Indian actresses Manushi Chillar, Esha Gupta and acclaimed Manipuri actor Kangabam Tomba. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur will address the inaugural session through a video message to showcase India as a global hub for content creation.

<><><>

IPL

In IPL Cricket, Rajasthan Royals suffered the tournament's biggest defeat as they were crushed by Royal Challengers Bangalore by 112 runs in Jaipur. After winning toss and electing to bat, Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 171 runs losing five wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. In response, the Rajasthan Royals were bundled out for a paltry 59 in 10.3 overs.

Meanwhile, chasing a target of 145 runs set by Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders were 126 for 3 in 16 overs in Chennai when reports last came in. Opting to bat first, Chennai made 144 runs losing six wickets in 20 overs.

<><><>

BADMINTON- SUDIRAMAN CUP

In Badminton, India made a dismal start to their Sudirman Cup campaign, going down to the formidable Chinese Taipei 1-4 in their group-C opening round tie in Suzhou, China, on Sunday.

In the opening mixed double contest, the Indian pair of Tanisha Crasto and K Sai Prateek lost 21-18, 24-26, and 6-21 to world no. 30 Yang Po-Hsuan and Hu Ling Fang.

World Number 9 HS Prannoy then lost 19-21, 15-21, to World No. 5 Chou Tien Chen as India lagged 0-2 after the first two matches.

<><><>

FPR

Now let us take a look at the major developments around the world, as reported in the Foreign Press.

⦁ Washington Post writes Ukraine’s Zelenksy visits Germany, turning a page on fragile ties.

⦁ The Guardian reports South Africa summons US ambassador over his claims it is arming Russia.

⦁ The Japan Times reports Possible snap election after G7 summit unclear despite Kishida's popularity rebound.

⦁ The Wall Streeet Journal reports Having Established Turkey on the World Stage, Erdogan Faces Risky Vote at Home.

⦁ The Financial Times reports Turkey goes to the polls as Erdoğan faces his sternest test.

<><><>

REPEAT HEADLINES

⦁ External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar says, multipolar world is feasible only by a multipolar Asia.

⦁ First Ministerial meeting of India-European Union Trade and Technology Council to be held in Belgium on Tuesday.

⦁ In Odisha, four-day long Culture Working Group meeting under India's G2O Presidency begins at Bhubaneshwar.

⦁ Counting underway for Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Turkiye and General Election in Thailand.

⦁ Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Mocha makes a landfall in Myanmar's western coastline causing widespread destruction.

⦁ And in IPL, Royal Challengers Bangalore blow away Rajasthan Royals in the biggest defeat of tournament history in Jaipur.

<><><>

And now, before we end, let us listen to Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajanVaishnav Jan, by artists from DENMARK.

And With That, We End This Bulletin. We'Ll Be Back At The Same Tomorrow With The Next Edition Of World News.

<><><>