Junior Digest

Khartoum, Apr 19,2023: As many as 30 civilians were killed and 245 were injured in Sudan on April 18 as a result of armed clashes between the armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said on Wednesday.

Clashes between the Sudanese regular army and the RSF broke out on Saturday in Sudan’s capital of Khartoum and elsewhere in the country. Government forces accused the RSF of mutiny and launched airstrikes against their bases.

“The number of dead and injured among the civilian population on this day, April 18, was: 30 deaths, 245 injured,” the committee wrote on social media.

April 13,2023:Group of Seven (G7) finance leaders have pledged to take action to maintain the stability of the global financial system after recent banking turmoil and to give low- and middle-income countries a bigger role in diversifying supply chains to make them more resilient.

Their communique did not mention China by name but the supply-chain language fits in with “friend-shoring” efforts by industrial democracies to work with each other to become less reliant on the Asian manufacturing powerhouse for battery minerals, semiconductors and other strategic goods.

“We commit to jointly empowering low- and middle-income countries to play bigger roles in supply chains through mutually beneficial cooperation by combining finance, knowledge, and partnership, which will help contribute to sustainable development and enhance supply chain resilience globally,” the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors said in the statement on Wednesday.

The finance chiefs of G7 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – met on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings in Washington, DC. They said they discussed recent financial sector developments after the failure of two United States banks and the forced sale of troubled global lender Credit Suisse.

Shunichi Suzuki, the finance minister of G7 host Japan, said stability had returned to the financial system after strong action by policymakers

“We will continue to closely monitor financial sector developments and stand ready to take appropriate actions to maintain the stability and resilience of the global financial system,” the G7 finance leaders said.

The ministers said supply chains needed to achieve efficiency and resilience, helping to maintain macroeconomic stability and make economies more sustainable. The statement cited the need to diversify the “highly concentrated” supply chains for clean energy technologies.

“In this endeavor, we will stand firm to protect our shared values, while preserving economic efficiency by upholding the free, fair and rules-based multilateral system and international cooperation,” the G7 finance leaders said, using language often employed to exclude China and other undemocratic nations.

Suzuki said the language was not specifically aimed at China but added that the G7 group viewed a high concentration of supply chains in a single country as undesirable, noting that many supply chains were highly concentrated in China.

The IMF warned in its latest economic forecasts that fragmentation of the global economy into geopolitical blocs was a significant factor in reducing longer-term growth potential, with only 3 percent growth expected in 2028. That is the lowest five-year projection since the IMF started issuing such forecasts in 1990.

New Delhi, Apr 06,2023: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ has been the Mantra and goal of the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) and it is committed to the welfare of the people.

Addressing the Party workers on BJP’s 44th foundation day, coinciding with the festival of Hanuman Jayanti Prime Minister said, “BJP was born from the idea of democracy and “gets inspiration from lord Hanuman to fight corruption”.

PM Modi went on to say, “BJP is working day and night for India, and our party is dedicated to Maa Bharti.”

“We are committed to rid India of corruption, nepotism, and law and order challenges. The BJP has resolved to a ‘can do’ attitude like Lord Hanuman, it is determined to fight corruption.”

The Prime Minister said, “All we had was ‘Maatr Bhumi Ki Bhakti’ and ‘Lok Tantra Ki Shakti’,” (the ‘Devotion for the Motherland’ and ‘Power of the Democracy’).

“The BJP’s political culture is to have big dreams and put all efforts to fulfill them. Unlike Congress, our political culture is to improve the lives of women” he said.

Congratulating the “Karyakartas” of the party, Modi said “we must not limit ourselves to winning the elections. We must ensure winning the hearts of the people!”.

“We have to fight each and every election with the same levels of energies and hard work as we have been having since the 1980s…adding that today BJP is leading a new political culture in the country while other are hostages of familyism, dynasty, casteism and regionalism”.

Modi said that while the Opposition only thinks about family, the BJP has given crores of people benefits under PM Anna Yojan, Jan Dhan Yojana, and other schemes.

“We have made the mantra of ‘Nation First’ our motto. BJP working with the mantra of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas’ (everyone’s support, everyone’s development, everyone’s faith and everyone’s effort),” he said.

The Prime Minister said that in 2014 there was not only a change of government but in that year the people of India started a new journey of India’s renaissance.

“After coming out of the slavery of more than 800 years, a nation has risen again to regain its lost glory” he added.

The Prime Minister said “Many political parties, in the name of Social Justice, have played with the country. They ensured the welfare of their families, not of the people. On the other hand, Social Justice has not been a political slogan, but an ‘Article of Faith’ for the Bharatiya Janata Party.”

Recalling the birth of BJP, Modi said, “When the Jana Sangh was born, we did not have much political experience, nor did we have the means… nor the resources, but we had devotion towards the motherland and the power of democracy. ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ has been the Mantra and goal for the Bharatiya Janata Party” he said.

“Our dedication is to Mother India… Our dedication is to the crores of people of the country… Our dedication is to the Constitution of the country. Today BJP is synonymous with development and faith… it is synonymous with new ideas and is playing its role as a main servant in the country’s victory journey” Prime Minister said.

Citing the abrogation of Article 370, Modi said that governments prior to the BJP could not take the step. “They (Opposition) cannot digest the work BJP is doing. Today, they have become so desperate that they have openly started saying ‘Modi teri kabr khudegi‘ (Modi, your grave will be dug),” he added.

April06,2023:Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to follow up on arrangements to reopen their diplomatic missions to Tehran and Riyadh respectively, to encourage visits of official and private delegations and to facilitate visas for Iranian and Saudi citizens. They also agreed to discuss resuming flights between them.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, shook hands in the Chinese capital, Beijing, on Thursday in the first formal meeting of the two senior officials after a years-long rift between Tehran and Riyadh that fuelled instability in the region.
“The technical teams will continue coordination to examine the ways of expanding cooperation including the resumption of flights and bilateral visits of official and private sector delegations and facilitating the granting of visas for the citizens of the two countries,” read a joint statement.

The statement comes after the two regional powers agreed in March to restore ties in a landmark agreement brokered by China – a move that experts say demonstrated Beijing’s increasingly influential role in the region in contrast to the diminishing role of the United States.

“The two sides emphasised the importance of following up on the implementation of the Beijing Agreement and its activation in a way that expands mutual trust and the fields of cooperation and helps create security, stability and prosperity in the region,” said the statement.

Abas Aslani, senior fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, told Al Jazeera that Iran and Saudi Arabia were previously “mostly focused on rivalry and tensions, but now they are talking about focusing on common ground … stressing cooperation.”
“But on the bilateral level, to what extent they can go ahead depends on how Saudis act because Iran has been under economic sanctions by the West; that’s why we have to see how they will proceed,” he added, referring to sanctions placed on Iran over its nuclear programme.

April 18,2023:President Vladimir Putin has visited the Russian military headquarters in the eastern regions of Ukraine and discussed the war with a general in charge of airborne troops who reportedly took up a powerful new role in the invasion.

Putin attended an army command meeting in the southern Kherson region and heard reports on the situation there, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. He also visited the headquarters in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region.
The Kremlin also released a video of the visit showing Putin – dressed in a heavy blue jacket – taking a helicopter to Luhansk, but did not say when any of the meetings took place. On Sunday, Putin was in Moscow for a meeting with Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu.

Russia’s leader heard reports from commanders of the airborne forces and the “Dnieper” army group and other senior officers on the situation in Kherson and Zaporizhia regions – both of which Moscow has proclaimed part of Russia.

“It is important for me to hear your opinion on how the situation is developing, to listen to you, to exchange information,” Putin told the commanders.
British military intelligence said on Sunday that Teplinsky had been given a major role in the war.
Kherson and Zaporizhia are among four Ukrainian regions Russia annexed last September, although it does not fully control any of the areas, in a move condemned as illegal by Kyiv and its allies.

Kibithoo (Arunachal Pradesh) , April 10,2023: Highlighting the paradigm shift in the government’s approach towards the Northeast, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that the Narendra Modi government has changed the image of the region in the last nine years from “disturbed region” to an area contributing to the nation’s progress.
The Home Minister said that the disputes and extremism in the region are at a diminishing stage and there is peace and development in the region.
“Before 2014, the entire Northeast region was known as a disturbed region but in the last 9 years, because of PM Modi’s ‘Look East’ policy, the Northeast is now considered an area which contributes to the progress of the country,” Shah said while launching ‘Vibrant Villages Programme’ in Arunachal’s Kibithoo.
“Due to the laziness of the leaders in Delhi at some point, this area was disputed. There was no peace, development and connectivity. Today, the disputes are coming to an end, extremism is coming to an end. There is a new dawn of development and peace,” he added.
The Home Minister laid down the statistics in comparison to 2014 and said that there has been a significant reduction in violent incidents in the northeast today.
“Over 8,000 extremists have surrendered in the nine years. In comparison to 2014, there is a fall of 67 per cent in violent incidents in 2022. There has been a decrease of 60 per cent in the injuries of the security forces and an 83 per cent fall in the deaths of the citizens,” Shah said.
“Under the ‘Vibrant Village Programme’, 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts along the northern border in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Ladakh have been identified for comprehensive development,” he added.
Shah said that there will be no village in the border areas of the country without electricity, internet and road facilities. “Along with this, employment facilities will also be made available in every village,” he said.
Stating that the security of the border is the security of the nation, Shah said that the Modi government is continuously working on increasing the infrastructure on the border.
Shah is on a two-day visit to the Northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

United Nation, Apr 17,2023: Lenka White – US billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has lowered expectations before the Monday SpaceX Starship launch and has encouraged people to study the history of the Soviet N1 rocket.

“Success is not what should be expected tomorrow – that would be insane,” Musk told the Twitter space participants on Sunday. “So I would encourage people to review the history of the Soviet N1 rocket, which has really a very impressive rocket design. But it never reached orbit.”

This is especially relevant if what is meant by success is reaching the orbit, Musk added. But what matters here is that SpaceX is building rockets rapidly, he said.

The Soviet N series rocket was meant to bring Soviet cosmonauts to the Moon and Mars, and to launch huge space stations into orbit. However, the end result was four launch failures and the project’s cancellation.

According to Elon Musk, “scrub” or postponement of the Starship launch will probably happen on Monday. The entrepreneur said that he was not sure what exactly could go wrong or else the support team would have tackled it.

But one of Musk’s biggest wishes is that his rocket does not blow up the launch pad – this would take several months to rebuild. Musk also mentioned that the most challenging part was probably the engines – if one fails, there will be a domino effect, and it can also happen on the launch pad.

SpaceX is planning to launch the Starship rocket from its Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, on Monday at 8 a.m. EDT (12:00 GMT) . This will be the first test flight of Starship and and Super Heavy rocket. The main goal of SpaceX is to have a fully reusable launch system for long-distance missions to the Moon and Mars. NASA plans to use Starship for its Artemis 3 mission to the moon in 2025 – the first manned crew landing on the moon since 1972.

April 16,2023:Germany will switch off its last three nuclear reactors on Saturday, exiting atomic power even as it seeks to wean itself off fossil fuels and manage an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.

While many Western countries are upping their investments in atomic energy to reduce their emissions, Germany is bringing an early end to its nuclear age.
Following years of prevaricating, Germany pledged to quit nuclear power definitively after Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster sent radiation spewing into the air and terrifying the world.

But the final wind-down was delayed from last year to this year after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine prompted Germany to halt Russian fossil fuel imports. Prices soared and there were fears of energy shortages around the world – but now Germany is confident again about gas supplies and expansion of renewables.

The exit decision was popular in a country with a powerful anti-nuclear movement, stoked by lingering fears of a Cold War conflict and atomic disasters such as Chernobyl in Ukraine.

“The risks of nuclear power are ultimately unmanageable,” said Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, who this week made a pilgrimage to the ill-fated Japanese plant in advance of a G7 meeting in the country.
But the challenge caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which put an end to cheap gas imports, and the need to quickly cut emissions has upped calls in Germany to delay the withdrawal from nuclear power.

Greenpeace, at the heart of the anti-nuclear movement, organised a celebratory party at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to mark the occasion.

“Finally, nuclear energy belongs to history! Let’s make this April 15 a day to remember,” the organisation said.

In contrast, conservative daily FAZ headlined its Saturday edition “Thanks, nuclear energy,” as it listed the benefits it said nuclear had brought the country over the years.

April 16,2023:The sounds of gunfire and heavy artillery reverberate across Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, for a second day as doctors say at least 56 civilians have been killed in fighting between the army and a powerful paramilitary force.

Sunday’s fierce fighting came as the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates called for the opposing sides to “immediately end hostilities without precondition”.
Witnesses told the Reuters news agency that the sounds of heavy artillery firing across Khartoum, the adjoining city of Omdurman and nearby Bahri continued early on Sunday while an Al Jazeera television feed showed clouds of smoke billowing over the capital.

The Sudanese Doctors Union said at least 56 civilians had been killed and 595 people, including combatants, have been wounded since the fighting between the military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted on Saturday.

The two sides have been competing for power as political factions negotiate forming a transitional government after a 2021 military coup. The tensions stem from a disagreement between the military, headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, about how the paramilitary force should be integrated into the armed forces and what authority should oversee that process.
Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, said the situation in the capital remained tense with civilians caught in the middle of the fighting.
“It doesn’t look like the situation is de-escalating,” she said late on Saturday. “In fact, the army has put out a statement saying that it will not negotiate with the Rapid Support Forces until those forces are dismantled and the rebel troops are dealt with.”

“We are continuing to see fighting in Khartoum near the vicinity of the presidential palace,” she said.

“We can hear shots being fired. We can hear heavy artillery being fired. It’s not clear who is in control of the palace, and there are battles over the state television. The army says it is in control of its headquarters and also the Khartoum International Airport.”

Global powers – the US, Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Nations, European Union and African Union – all appealed for an immediate end to the hostilities.

Aprl 11,2023:Myanmar’s military has launched air attacks on a central town known to be a bastion of opposition to the coup carried out two years ago.

Witnesses and local media said dozens of people were killed and wounded in the attack on Tuesday – one of the worst since the military seized control of the country.
Citing residents in the Sagaing area – about 110km (45 miles) west of the main city Yangon – news reports said ­­­­­­­­at least 50 people, including children, died in the barrage on the town of Pazigyi.

The air raids occurred as residents gathered for the inauguration of an administrative office, Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng reported from Thailand’s capital Bangkok.

“At 7:35am the crowd was attacked by jets and those were followed by Mi-35 helicopters,” said Cheng, citing one rescuer at the scene.

“He confirmed 40 dead but he suspects the death toll will rise considerably – the carnage there was terrible. All the reports we’re seeing is that these were civilians, and far from being a legitimate military target.”
No immediate response from Myanmar’s military rulers was available.

Three first responders were killed in a second attack while rescue work was being carried out, Cheng reported.

New Delhi, Apr 17,2023:Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has demanded that the BJP-led government at the Centre should immediately conduct the decennial Census and that a comprehensive ‘Caste Census’ be made its integral part.

In his letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, he wrote, “In the absence of an updated Caste Census, I am afraid a reliable data base so very essential for meaningful social justice and empowerment programmes, particularly for OBCs, is incomplete. This Census is the responsibility of the Union Government.”

Citing that the regular decennial Census was to be carried out in 2021 but it has not yet been conducted, Kharge said, ” We demand that it be done immediately and that a comprehensive Caste Census be made its integral part.”

The Congress president said he and his colleagues raised this demand earlier in both House of Parliament on a number of occasions also the leaders from other Opposition parties.

“You are aware that for the first time the UPA Government conducted a Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC during 2011-12 covering some 25 crore households. For a number of reasons, however, the caste data could not get published even though Congress and other MPs demanded its release after your government came to power in May 2014,” Kharge added.

Geneva, Apr 7,2023: On the eve of its 75th anniversary, the World Health Organization (WHO) marked the occasion on Thursday by calling for a renewed drive for health equity in the face of unprecedented threats.

Seventy-five years ago, after years of war, the nations of the world agreed to set up a new organization and “debated and agreed what this organization would be and do in a document called the Constitution of the World Health Organization,” the organization’s Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, recalled at a press briefing here on Thursday.

“Tomorrow marks the 75th anniversary of the day that Constitution came into force. It was, and is, a landmark document,” he said.

The past decades have witnessed extraordinary progress in protecting people from diseases and destruction, including smallpox eradication, reducing the incidence of polio by 99 percent, saving millions of lives through childhood immunization, declines in maternal mortality, and improving health and well-being for millions more.

“And for the past three years, the WHO has coordinated the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic – the most severe health crisis in a century. We can’t claim sole credit for these achievements, but we have played a leading role in all of them,” Tedros said.

Despite the achievements, the WHO chief said that the world is still faced with many old and new challenges, particularly vast inequities in access to health services, major gaps in defense against health emergencies, and threats from health-harming products and the climate crisis.

To meet these challenges, the WHO urges countries to take urgent action to protect, support and expand the health workforce as a strategic priority. To avert a shortage of 10 million health workers globally by 2030, primarily in low and middle-income countries, the WHO recommends that investments in education, skills and decent jobs for health should be prioritized.

It has recently initiated a global education program on basic emergency care targeting 25 percent of nurses and midwives in 25 low and middle-income countries by the end of 2025. The program will provide nurses and midwives with the skills and competencies needed to make a major difference in saving lives.

“The WHO’s own story began 75 years ago, and it is still being written. The challenges we face today are very different to those in 1948, but our vision remains unchanged: the highest possible standard of health, for all people,” Tedros said.

New Delhi, Apr 12,2023: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan on Tuesday called for greater collaboration to augment space-based defence capabilities in India.

The CDS made the statement after inaugurating the ‘Indian DefSpace Symposium 2023’, being organised by Indian Space Association (ISpA).

In his address, Gen Chauhan said, “Today’s symposium will assist all of us to center our national security, while identifying possible solutions to address future challenges. The aim for all of us should be towards developing dual-use platforms with special focus towards incorporating cutting-edge technology and we must expand our NAVIC constellation, provide agile space-based ISR and ensure secure satellite assisted communications.”

“ We also need to explore the field of miniaturisation of satellites and reusable launch platforms to mitigate cost, challenges and accelerate the pace of augmenting our space-based capabilities. The populating of space domain and the emergence of dynamic threat environment to our space assets also demands that we enhance our space situational awareness capability. There’s also a requirement to safeguard our assets with counter space capabilities. We must build resilience and redundancy in a space-based infrastructure,” a release quoted the CDS as saying.

Samir V Kamat, Chairman, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said, “We at DRDO have started increasing our focus on the very critical space domain with focus on space-based surveillance, space situational awareness, protecting our space-based assets. ”

‘We are now looking at working very closely with industry as well as academia right from the development stage and have started DRDO industry-academia centers of excellence in about 15 institutions mostly within the country. We request academia, startups, MSMEs and larger companies to work with us closely so we can help our country achieve these capabilities much faster than what we have been able to do for all other systems,” Kamat said.

The Indian Space Symposium is the first of its kind event focused on creating a platform for all stakeholders who have a keen interest in boosting India’s military space capability and plans. The platform will bring together experts from multiple domains to discuss the latest trends and challenges in the field of defence, making it an excellent networking opportunity for attendees from the defence, DRDO, and government sectors, as well as industry professionals, a statement said.

It will focus on delivering space domain awareness and satellite communications to enhance military operations, and address issues related to securing funding for new space capabilities, expanding international partnerships, and developing a Defence Space Strategy in line with the National Space Strategy, the release said.

Guangzhou, Apr 8,2023: Chinese President Xi Jinping held an informal meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province in south China.

Xi warmly welcomed Macron’s visit to Guangzhou, expressing great pleasure to meet him again. The two leaders strolled through the Pine Garden close to Baiyun Mountain, chatting and stopping at times to enjoy the unique scenery of the southern Chinese garden. They had tea by the water, enjoying the view and discussing the past and present. Xi and Macron listened to the Guqin melody “High Mountain and Flowing Water” at Baiyun Hall. Xi then invited Macron to dinner.

Xi said that to understand today’s China, one must begin by understanding its history. Guangzhou is the cradle of China’s democratic revolution and the vanguard of China’s reform and opening-up. Now Guangzhou is actively promoting the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, continuing to play its role as a locomotive for high-quality development.

Briefing Macron on the essential features and core elements of Chinese modernization, Xi noted that China is advancing Chinese modernization in an all-round way. This is a socialist modernization theory and practice with Chinese characteristics, which has gradually come into being through repeated reform, opening up and innovative development. It conforms to the general laws of modernization and has unique characteristics.

“We have full confidence in China’s future development. We welcome France to continue to actively participate in the China Import and Export Fair, the China International Import Expo, and the China International Fair for Trade in Services to further expand the Chinese market,” Xi told Macron.

Macron said true friendship means mutual understanding and mutual respect. France appreciates China’s consistent support for France and Europe to be independent and united, and is ready to work with China to respect each other’s core interests such as sovereignty and territorial integrity, open their markets to each other, and strengthen technological and industrial cooperation, as well as cooperation in artificial intelligence, to help each other achieve development and prosperity.

On the Ukraine crisis, Xi noted that its cause is complex and a prolonged crisis serves no one’s interests. He said a ceasefire as soon as possible would serve the interests of all parties concerned, and a political settlement is the only correct solution.

China will never handle the Ukraine issue out of selfish interests, but always stands for fairness and justice. All relevant parties should shoulder their responsibilities and make joint efforts to create conditions for a political settlement, Xi said.

China welcomes France’s concrete proposal for a political solution to the crisis, and stands ready to support it and play a constructive role, Xi added.

Macron said France also believes that a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis needs to take into account legitimate concerns of all parties. France attaches great importance to China’s international influence and is willing to work closely with China to facilitate an early political settlement of the crisis.

Xi said the in-depth and high-quality exchanges he had with Macron in Beijing and Guangzhou over the two days have enhanced mutual understanding and mutual trust, and set the course for future cooperation between the two sides at the bilateral and international levels.

Xi said he is glad that they have the same or similar views on China-France relations, China-EU relations and many international and regional issues, which demonstrates the high level and strategic nature of China-France relations. He said he would like to maintain close strategic communication with Macron and elevate the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership to a new height.

Macron thanked Xi for his hospitality and elaborate arrangements, and said that in addition to the friendly, in-depth exchanges between the two leaders, he is able to appreciate China’s long history and splendid culture, and has a better understanding of the concepts of modern Chinese governance.

Macron said the visit was successful and rewarding, which will boost bilateral relations toward greater development. He said he is willing to maintain close strategic communication with Xi and welcomed the Chinese president to visit France next year.

New Delhi, April 10,2023: The Supreme Court on Monday posted for hearing in July, a plea of the Meghalaya government challenging the High Court’s order which had put a stay on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Meghalaya and Assam to resolve the long-standing interstate boundary dispute between the States.
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala said the plea was wrongly listed today by the Registry and will take it up for hearing in July.
The bench said, “We will keep this in July.”
The Meghalaya High Court on December 8, 2022, had put an interim stay on the execution of the Assam-Meghalaya border pact, which was entered into between the two states subsequent to the signing of the MoU on March 29, 2022.
The MoU was signed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Chief Minister of Meghalaya Conrad Sangma to resolve the long-standing interstate boundary dispute, particularly in respect of six areas.

The Meghalaya government while approaching the top court against the High Court’s order has said that the issues concerning the alteration of boundaries or exchange of areas between two states are a purely political question within the “sole domain” of the Executive.
It stated, “The MoU signed by the two states is a sovereign act between the states to demarcate the boundaries in a fair and transparent manner which cannot be interfered with by way of a writ petition and much less by passing an interim order.”
The arrangement dictated Assam keeping 18.51 square kilometres of land, with Meghalaya keeping 18.28 square kilometres of land, for the 36.79 square kilometres of total land.
Meghalaya was carved out of Assam as a separate State in 1972, but the new State challenged the Assam Reorganisation Act, of 1971, leading to disputes in 12 border locations.
The interim order was passed by the High Court on a plea moved by some residents claiming that the MoU violates provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution which relates to ‘Administration of Tribal Areas’ in North East States.
Earlier, the apex court had stayed the High Court’s order which had put a stay on the MoU between the states.

Washington [US], April 12,2023: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its flagship World Economic Outlook projected that India will be the fastest growing economy in the world amid financial sector turmoil, high inflation, ongoing effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, and three years of COVID.
IMF on Tuesday lowered its growth projection for 2023-24 to 5.9 per cent from 6.1 per cent earlier but despite a significant drop, India continues to be the fastest-growing economy in the world, the World Economic Outlook figures revealed.
The IMF projects India’s inflation to slow to 4.9 per cent in the current year and further to 4.4 per cent next fiscal year.
IMF growth forecast is lower than the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) projection. The central bank predicted 7 per cent GDP growth for FY 2022-23 and 6.4 per cent in the ongoing fiscal that started on April 1.
The government is yet to release full-year GDP numbers for 2022-23.
Meanwhile, the international lender flagged concerns about inflation, debt and risks to the financial sector from rising interest rates. It warned that if banks cut lending further, the global output will reduce by another 0.3 percentage point in 2023.
“Despite the fillips from lower food and energy prices and improved supply-chain functioning, risks are firmly to the downside with the increased uncertainty from the recent financial sector turmoil,” the report said.
The IMF projects growth to bottom out at 2.8 per cent in 2023, picking up to 3 per cent in 2024. Inflation is expected to stay elevated at 7 per cent for the rest of the year, before declining to 4.9 per cent next year.
Supply-chain disruptions and rising geopolitical tensions have brought the risks and potential benefits and costs of geoeconomic fragmentation to the center of the policy debate, added the report.
FDI flows are increasingly concentrated among geopolitically aligned countries, particularly in strategic sectors.
Several emerging market and developing economies are highly vulnerable to FDI relocation, given their reliance on FDI from geopolitically distant countries.
In the long term, FDI fragmentation arising from the emergence of geopolitical blocs can generate large output losses, especially for emerging market and developing economies, added the report.
Tentative signs in early 2023 that the world economy could achieve a soft landing–with inflation coming down and growth steady–have receded amid stubbornly high inflation and recent financial sector turmoil.
Although inflation has declined as central banks have raised interest rates and food and energy prices have come down, underlying price pressures are proving sticky, with labor markets tight in a number of economies.
Side effects from the fast rise in policy rates are becoming apparent, as banking sector vulnerabilities have come into focus and fears of contagion have risen across the broader financial sector, including nonbank financial institutions.
Risks to the outlook are heavily skewed to the downside, with the chances of a hard landing having risen sharply, added the report.
Public debt as a ratio to GDP soared across the world during COVID-19 and is expected to remain elevated, posing a growing challenge for policymakers, particularly as real interest rates are rising across the world.
China’s growth rate is projected to be 5.2 per cent in 2023 and 4.5 per cent in 2024 against its growth rate of three per cent in 2022.
The US’s growth forecast for 2023 is 1.6 per cent, France 0.7 per cent, while Germany and the UK are a dismal -0.1 per cent and -0.7 per cent, respectively.
Most countries will, however, avoid recession in 2023 despite the COVID pandemic lingering and tightening financing conditions as the Russia-Ukraine war continues.