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India likely to vote in favour of Ethiopia’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in the upcoming election of the next Director General of global public health body World Health Organization. The crucial election will decide the fate of the public health body which has suffered after gross mishandling of the Ebola outbreak, where WHO was too slow and ineffective to respond the outbreak, leading to 11,000 preventable deaths. After closed door sessions at the WHO Executive Board meeting in January, WHO released names of three director-general nominees: Ethiopia’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Pakistan’s Sania Nishtar, and Britain’s David Nabarro. Dr. Ghebreyesus is the former foreign affairs and health minister, Ethiopia. David Nabarro, was the special advisor to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on sustainable development, United Kingdom and third candidate Dr. Nishtar is the former health minister of Pakistan. The WHO DG election is an important geo-political race as it comes at a time when t...

It was the second confirmed port visit by a Chinese submarine, following a visit to Sri Lanka in 2014, the People’s Daily Online reported on Monday. For the first time, a Chinese submarine has docked at a port in Malaysia, signaling deepening military ties between the two countries, which are already partners in the development of the Beijing- led Maritime Silk Road (MSR). The four day stopover of the submarine from January 3 at the port of Kota Kinabalu, is being seen as a trigger for elevated tensions in the South China Sea (SCS). The Malaysian port has a naval base facing the SCS. According to the information office of China’s Ministry of Defence, the submarine and support ship arrived at the port for “rest and recreation” after completing an escort mission to the Gulf of Aden and Somalia. It was the second confirmed port visit by a Chinese submarine, following a visit to Sri Lanka in 2014, the People’s Daily Online reported on Monday. Analysts say that docking of Chinese s...

Reflecting a new bonhomie of Indo-US defence ties, the Pentagon today announced that outgoing Defence Secretary Ashton Carter would be visiting India next week on his final around the world trip. Slated to be in India on December 8, Carter would travel to Japan, Bahrain, Israel, Italy and Great Britain before returning to the US on December 16. This is for the first time that an outgoing American Defence Secretary has included India in his itinerary for the final overseas trip. Plans In Place To Take On Any Force Indian Navy On Deployment Of Chinese Navy Ships On Gwadar Port “He (Carter) will look to build on the strategic handshake between the two nations and to continue the momentum in the relationship over the past decade, including expanded defence cooperation during his time as Secretary,” the Pentagon said in a statement. Carter among others would meet Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. Ahead of his visit, informed sources said India has made maritime security a significant prio...