US-Venezuela Standoff Escalates

1 December 2025National

The US sharply escalated pressure on Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, declaring airspace around Venezuela closed; Venezuela wrote to the UN Security Council on 17 December citing 'US aggression'.

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Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri Hosts Quad Sherpas' Meeting in New Delhi

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri hosted a Quad Sherpas' Meeting in New Delhi, convened to carry forward the outcomes of the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in New Delhi on 26 May 2026. The Sherpas of India, the United States, Japan and Australia reaffirmed the importance of focusing on concrete, action-oriented initiatives, and agreed to continue consultations ahead of the next Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting. The meeting comes as New Delhi anchors a dense season of plurilateral diplomacy, including India's 2026 BRICS chairship and the BRICS Chief Justices' Forum, underlining India's positioning across both Indo-Pacific and Global South groupings.

GK ByteThe Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) comprises India, the United States, Japan and Australia; it was revived at leaders' level in 2017 and held its first leaders' summit in 2021 | A 'Sherpa' is a leader's personal representative who negotiates the agenda ahead of a summit | The Foreign Secretary heads the Indian Foreign Service and the Ministry of External Affairs' bureaucracy

📅 5 Sept 2026InternationalRead complete →

India and Belgium Sign Defence Letter of Intent, Target Doubling of Bilateral Trade in Five Years

India and Belgium signed a defence cooperation Letter of Intent and agreed to double bilateral trade within five years during Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever's official visit to India from 2 to 4 September 2026. India will post a resident defence attache in Brussels. The two sides widened cooperation to semiconductors and micro-electronics, pairing Indian institutions with the Belgian research centre imec, renewed an MoU on renewable energy focused on green hydrogen and solar, and added critical minerals and fintech, moving the relationship beyond its traditional diamond trade base. The visit also framed the KSSL-Thales 70-mm rocket agreement announced the same week.

GK ByteBelgium: capital Brussels, currency Euro, King Philippe, Prime Minister Bart De Wever | Brussels hosts the headquarters of the European Union institutions and NATO | imec, the Belgian nano-electronics research centre, is based at Leuven

📅 5 Sept 2026InternationalRead complete →

UN General Assembly Adopts African-Led Resolution Backing Equal Earth Map Projection

The UN General Assembly on 4 September 2026 adopted an African-led resolution promoting maps that show continents in accurate relative sizes, endorsing the Equal Earth projection and moving away from the 16th-century Mercator projection in education and public mapping. Led by Togo and backed by the African Union, it passed with 164 votes in favour, 6 abstentions and 1 against — the sole opposing vote cast by the United States. Togo framed the issue as one of "cognitive justice", since Mercator maps make Greenland appear far larger than its true area relative to Africa. Togo plans to revise school textbooks by end-2026.

GK ByteThe UN General Assembly is the UN's main deliberative organ with all 193 member states, each having one vote | The African Union was founded in 2002 (succeeding the OAU of 1963) and is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Togo's capital is Lomé and its currency is the West African CFA franc

📅 4 Sept 2026InternationalRead complete →

PM Modi's Uzbekistan Visit Yields 11 Agreements and Uzbekistan's Highest State Honour

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a two-day state visit to Uzbekistan on 29-30 August 2026 at the invitation of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev - his fourth visit, coinciding with the 15th anniversary of the India-Uzbekistan strategic partnership and Uzbekistan's 35th Independence Day. The two sides signed 11 MoUs and agreements spanning culture, education, health, mining, tourism, finance, digital payments and Digital Public Infrastructure, and set a bilateral trade target of USD 5 billion by 2030. Modi was conferred Uzbekistan's highest state honour, the Order of 'Oliy Darajali Do'stlik' (Order of Highest Friendship), his 36th international honour. The visit immediately preceded the 26th SCO Summit at Bishkek.

GK ByteUzbekistan's capital is Tashkent and its currency is the Uzbek som; it is one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world | Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been President of Uzbekistan since 2016 | India and Uzbekistan elevated their ties to a strategic partnership in 2011

📅 2 Sept 2026InternationalRead complete →

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