Nitish switched sides yet again , takes oath as CM

Nitish Kumar switched sides again , to join BJP led NDA . On Sunday he resigned as CM and took Oath  as CM a record ninth time .

With this JD( U) has snapped ties with INDIA bloc .

Two deputy CMs has been made from BJP , they are Smart Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha.

Nitish says that he acting ‘ in the interest of Bihar ‘ adds that he has ‘ got freedom from where he was ‘

Ease of Justice right to every citizen , SC its medium : PM

PM Modi on Sunday said that ₹800 crore has been approved for expansion of Supreme Court building complex , at an event marking Supreme Court’s diamond Jubilee celebration .

PM Modi on this occassion underlined that “ ease of Justice is right to every citizen and Supreme Court it’s medium .”

Germany seeks intergovernmental deal for submarines with India

Germany has presented an intergovernmental proposal to sell six advanced conventional submarines to India for the Navy’s P75I procurement programme .

Diplomatic sources confirmed . A senior delegation  was recently in New Delhi to take the discussion forward .

The race for the deal is expected to cost ₹45,000 crore , is between Germany and Spain .

Project 75 ( I) – P75I is a acquist initiative by Ministry of Defense .

Under this currently Indian Navy will procure six conventionally powered attack submarine for the Indian Navy Submarine Arm  , as a replacement of Sindhughosh Arm of submarines .

The cost of the project will be ₹43,000 crore .

France , South Korea , Russia , Germany and Spain are the main contenders to get the order .

INSAT 3DS satellite to launch port in Sriharikota

The Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO ) , had said that INSAT 3DS . It will replace currently functional INSAT 3D ..

The satellite will be launched next month .

INSAT 3DS is an exclusively meterological satellite .

The satellite is designed for enhanced meterological observation and monitoring of Land and Ocean surfaces for whether forecasting .

World

3 US troops killed of the drones hit in Jordan : Biden blames Iranian backed militants

A drone attack on a base in Jordan killed three American soldiers on Sunday .

US Joe Biden blamed Iran backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq for this , he vowed to help perpetrators  to account .

UN seeks reversal of funding pause for Palestinian agency

At least nine countries including USA and Germany have stopped funding to UNRWA .

The UN chief has requested countries to resume the funding ,  as the lives of 2.3 million people are at stake .

The funding was paused after Israel accused 12 UNRWA staff of helping Hamas in the October 7  attack on Israel .

UNRWA( UN Reliefs and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East )  works in countries like Palestine , Syria , Lebanon . Here it provides education , health , microfinance and other social facilities .

UNRWA was created in 1948 to aid Palestinian refugees in the area after the formation of Israel.

 Burkino  Faso , Mali , Niger quits West Africa bloc

The military regimes in Burkina Faso , Mali , Niger announced on Sunday their immediate withdrawal from West Africa bloc ECOWAS ( Economic Community of West Africa States ) .

The leaders of these states in a statement said that the decision was a “ sovereign decision “ .

The three Sahel Province states have faced coups in recent times . Following the coup , all the three were suspended from ECOWAS with Mali and Niger facing heavy sanctions .

North Korea fired several cruise missiles on Sunday , Seuol’s military said .

Text / Context

Analyzing China’s ties with Africa

From January 13-18 Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs , Wang Yi visited four African countries , Egypt , Tunisia ,Togo and Ivory Coast .

The major agenda of this visit was to implement the outcomes of China Africa leadership dialogue , held in Johannesburg in 2023 .

China is Africa largest trading partner , over one fourth of raw.material from Africa is expected to China. Africa supplies 90% of world’s cobalt and Platinum , and 75% Coltran

that are essential for electronic items   . China has given massive loans to African Nations for infrastructure development .  The loans given are more than 170 billion dollars to 49 African countries .

Australian Open

Jannik Sinner  ( Italy ) bt Alexander Mendvedev ( Russia ) in finals .