1. PM reached home on Sun, after concluding his 2 states visit in 6 days: US and Egypt
2. Defense ministry says attempts being made to derail drone deal with US, ‘price discovery’ yet to be done:
3. Manipur Violence: Indian govt orders Manipur state chief to ‘work harder’ to end violence
4. Opposition leaders discuss roadmap for 2024 Lok Sabha polls in mega meet in Patna
5. 8 wagons of goods train overturn in West Bengal

What Else

6. Over 100,000 hacked ChatGPT accounts sold on dark web, India, Pak top the list
7. Indian education agent arrested in Canada in connection with fake admission letters scam
8. Pakistan: NA passes budget to secure crucial IMF funding
9. Bilawal, Zardari in UAE to ‘discuss important matters’ with Nawaz
10. “China Supports Russia”: Chinese Ministry After Wagner Group’s Mutiny
11. US-India statement dangles FATF sword over Pakistan, again
12. US aircraft carrier’s Vietnam port call ‘positive expression’ of commitment to peace in SCS

PM reached home on Sun, after concluding his 2 states visit in 6 days: US and Egypt

• My visit will add renewed vigor to India-Egypt relations: PM Modi: PM Modi on Sun called his 2-day State visit to Egypt a “historic one”, stating that it will add renewed vigor to the relations between the two and will benefit the people of the two nations.
• Earlier, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi conferred PM Modi with the country’s highest state honor, ‘The Order of the Nile’. It was the 13^th of its kind in 9 years.
• On Suny, PM Modi held a meeting with Egyptian President El-Sisi during which they signed an agreement to elevate the bilateral relationship to a “Strategic Partnership”.
• The two leaders discussed ways to deepen the partnership, including trade, investment, defense, security, renewable energy, cultural and people-to-people ties.
• 3 MoUs in the fields of Agriculture, Archaeology & Antiquities, and Competition Law were signed (here)
• PM, during his official visit to Egypt, extended an invitation to President El-Sisi to attend the upcoming G20 Summit scheduled to take place in New Delhi in Sept. (here)
• PM wrapped up his state visit to the US on Fri: The 3-day state visit, his 1^st in 9 years, included at least 3 meetings with President Joe Biden, an address to members of the US Congress, and interactions with some of Silicon Valley’s top CEOs.
• PM delivers a goodbye speech to the diaspora on Fri said, “Together India and US are not just forming policies and agreements, we are shaping lives, dreams, and destinies“.
• A joint statement is issued: India and the US have agreed on a broad sweep in ties, declaring that “no corner of human enterprise is untouched by the partnership between our two great countries, which spans the seas to the stars”.
• A 58-paragraph joint statement (here)was issued after the bilateral meeting between PM Modi and President Joe Biden.
• The statement called on Pakistan to take action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks.
• There was no mention of Russia or the US formulation of the Russian invasion (here)
• ‘What’s happening in India’, PM Modi asks BJP chief Nadda after returning from foreign visit: PM Modi asked BJP president J P Nadda and other leaders what was happening in India, party leaders, who had gone to receive him at the airport here, said.
• Modi returned to India in the early hours of Mon after his six-day visit to the US and Egypt during which several landmark agreements were signed.
• He was received at the Delhi airport by MoS for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi and BJP chief Nadda.
• BJP leaders and party MPs from Delhi such as Harsh Vardhan, Hans Raj Hans and Gautam Gambhir were also present.
• Speaking to reporters, BJP MP Parvesh Verma said PM asked what was happening in the country and how was the party’s public outreach programme going on. (here)

Defense ministry says attempts being made to derail drone deal with US, ‘price discovery’ yet to be done:

• The ministry hit back Sun stating that attempts were being made to “derail the deal” of “overpriced” MQ-9B drones from the US.

• The drones are part of the $3 billion deal for 31 HALE drones, which will realize the desire to have unprecedented surveillance and attack capability.
• While the deal is yet to be inked formally, it was part of the joint statement.
• Under the deal, the Navy will get 15 MQ-9B drones in maritime and anti-submarine warfare kits, while the Army and the Air Force will get 8 each of the land versions.
• “The AoN [Acceptance of Necessity] noted the estimated cost of 3,072 million US dollars provided by the US Government. However, price will be negotiated once policy approval of the US Government is received,” it added.
• TMC leader Saket Gokhale Sat put out a series of tweets challenging the pricing. ( here)
• India will negotiate a higher element of ToT in a drone deal it is pursuing with the US on Sat.
• The acquisition of 31 MQ-9B General Atomics unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is estimated to be worth $3 billion.
• The country’s apex weapons procurement body had on Jun 15 given the clearance for buying. (here)

Manipur Violence: Indian govt orders Manipur state chief to ‘work harder’ to end violence

• Federal govt on Sun ordered the CM to “work harder” to restore peace as violence between ethnic groups has not subsided for over 50 days despite heavy security.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah and N. Biren Singh, chief minister, both belong to the same political party.
• At least 80 people have been killed and more than 40,000 forced to flee their homes after clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3 between rival ethnic groups.
• Violence between the two groups erupted as a result of resentment over economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education reserved for hill people.
• Several rounds of peace talks between the groups have failed and sporadic incidents of violence and arson continue to deepen the crisis in the state. (here)
• Opposition attacks Modi govt at all-party meet chaired by Shah, says ‘sack’ CM
• An all-party meeting held to discuss the ongoing Manipur crisis Sat saw opposition criticizes the BJP-led state govt and demand the resignation of CM
• A development that comes even as violence continues for the 52^nd straight day.
• While attending the meeting called by Shah, opposition leaders demanded that an all-party delegation be sent to initiate peace talks and that a reconciliation commission be set up to record atrocities in the state, especially against women and children.
• PM Modi, who landed in Egypt earlier in the day after an official state visit to the US, also came under attack for his “continued silence on the violence”.
• The meeting took place hours after a mob set fire to a warehouse owned by L. Susindro Meitei, the state’s public health engineering and consumer and food affairs minister.
• Shah briefed them about his visit to Manipur earlier this month.
• He said that not only had he met many stakeholders but Nityanand Rai, Dy Home Minister, also stayed back in the state for 21 days “to bring normalcy”.
• Significantly, CMs of neighboring Sikkim, Meghalaya, and also attended the meeting, although both Manipur and Assam CM were absent. (here)

Opposition leaders discuss roadmap for 2024 Lok Sabha polls in mega meet in Patna

• More than 30 top leaders of 15 Opposition parties held deliberations on Fri to chalk out a roadmap for the formation of an anti-BJP front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
• The meeting is being hosted by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD.
• The meeting was being seen as a starting point for the Opposition parties to come together to take on the Narendra Modi-led BJP, the sources said.
• A basic outline and roadmap for Opposition unity are likely to be deliberated upon with the contentious issue of seat sharing and leadership questions have to be avoided. (here)
• While Mayawati (BSP), Naveen Patnaik (BJD), K Chandrashekar Rao (BRS), and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (YSRCP) were not invited, RLD Jayant Chaudhary did not attend.
• The BJP reacted strongly to the Opposition meeting, calling it a “multi-headed selfish alliance” and compared it with wolves hunting in packs.
• next conclave in Shimla to forge agenda (here)

8 wagons of goods train overturn in West Bengal:

• In a major collision, 8 wagons overturned after it derailed and collided with a maintenance train on Jun 25.

• Around 4 a.m. on Sun, a goods train overshot the red signal and hit a stationary maintenance train, causing the derailment.
• This is the 2^nd such incident raising doubts about railway safety in Jun in Southeastern Railway Division.
• On June 2, in an accident involving two passenger trains and one goods train, nearly 290 passengers died and over a thousand were injured. (here)
• Concrete debris placed on rly tracks near Ambur; driver stops train A possible rail accident was averted when a loco pilot of the Kaveri express train stopped the train near Ambur, Tirupattur after he spotted debris tracks.
• Rly police said that the concrete slab debris could have been placed by a ‘mentally retard person’.
• Eyewitnesses also confirm that that person was seen by 1 am near the track.
• Following the incident, the Chennai Railway Investigation team along with local police reached the spot to investigate the incident. (here)

Over 100,000 hacked ChatGPT accounts sold on dark web, India, Pak top the list

• A new report by Group-IB, a Singapore-based cybersecurity firm has found that 101 K stealer-infected devices with ChatGPT credentials are being sold in the dark web from Jun 2022 to May 2023.
• Last month alone, they claimed more than 26,800 credentials
• The Group-IB has revealed that India (12,632), Pakistan (9,217), and Brazil (6,531) were among the top countries where users were impacted by the cyberattack.
• The report further mentions that most of these credentials were traded in the Asia-Pacific region.
• It said that the ChatGPT credentials were accessed due to popular Raccoon malware. (here)

Indian education agent arrested in Canada in connection with fake admission letters scam

• Canadian authorities have arrested Brijesh Mishra, an Indian education agent allegedly involved in a scam of counterfeit Canadian college admission letters.
• Mishra, who was attempting to enter Canada, was found inadmissible by border agents and subsequently taken into custody.
• On Fri the Canada BSA charged him with offering immigration advice without a license and counseling individuals to misrepresent or withhold information from authorities
• Only licensed lawyers and consultants registered with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants are authorized.
• Neither the Law Society of Ontario nor the consultants’ college has any records indicating his membership, as education agents are not regulated in Canada. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Pakistan: NA passes budget to secure crucial IMF funding

• The budget for the fiscal year sailed in the National Assembly on Sun, a day after the govt made several changes, with tightening measures, dictated by IMF in a final step
• The revised budget aims for an additional Rs 215 billion in tax revenue alongside a cutback of Rs 85 billion in public spending for the upcoming fiscal year.
• However, this does not affect the federal development budget or the salaries and pensions of govt personnel.
• The Rs14.48 trillion budget was passed during a session that lacked a quorum, with only 70 lawmakers on the treasury benches and 2 on the opposition benches.
• Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, his father Asif Ali Zardari, and the leader of the opposition, Raja Riaz, were also absent.
• At the outset of the session, Fin Min Ishaq Dar defended the govt’s move to implement various reforms in the pensions scheme. (here)

Bilawal, Zardari in UAE to ‘discuss important matters’ with Nawaz

• PPP top leaders — Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his father Asif Ali Zardari — have arrived in Dubai via special plane, Geo reported on Sun citing sources.
• Zardari would stay in Dubai for a few days during which he is likely to meet PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, who arrived in UAE a day earlier.
• Bilawal, who is also the foreign minister of the country, and Zardari’s visit to the UAE came amid reports that Nawaz is planning to return to the country.
• The PML-N supremo has been living in London since Nov 2019 after he was allowed by a court to travel to the UK on medical grounds.
• The bigwigs of the PML-N-led coalition govt are likely to discuss important matters including prevailing economic challenges and upcoming elections. (here)
• NA on Sun passed a bill to limit the lifetime disqualification of lawmakers to 5 years, possibly paving the way for the return of former PM Nawaz Sharif.
• Sharif, 73, was disqualified for life in 2017 by the Supreme Court and later convicted in corruption cases by the accountability courts. (here)

US-India statement dangles FATF sword over Pakistan, again

• The US-India joint statement has not only urged Pakistan to take ’immediate action“ against all terrorist groups but also left open the option of asking the FATF.
• The statement, “called upon the FATF to undertake further work identifying how to improve global implementation of its standards to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.”
• Opens up possibility of Indian-influenced ‘designations’ to press Islamabad into action
• Mir was on the FBI’s list of most-wanted terrorists and was wanted by both the US and India over the Mumbai attacks. (here)

“China Supports Russia”: Chinese Ministry After Wagner Group’s Mutiny

• China on Sun said it supported Russia in “protecting national stability”, in Beijing’s 1^st remarks on a short-lived armed uprising led by the head of the Wagner Yevgeny.
• “As a friendly neighbor and a new era comprehensive strategic cooperative partner, China supports Russia in protecting national stability and achieving development and prosperity,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
• The issue was Russia’s “internal affair”, the ministry added.
• Beijing had until late Sun refrained from commenting on the weekend’s turmoil in Russia.
• On Sun, China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with Russia’s deputy foreign minister Andrey Rudenko in Beijing.
• The two diplomats discussed “China-Russia relations,” Beijing said, as well as “international and regional issues of common concern”. (here)

US aircraft carrier’s Vietnam port call ‘positive expression’ of commitment to peace in SCS

• An American aircraft carrier made a port call in Vietnam on Sun amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, in what analysts said was a “positive expression” of the US’ commitment to peacekeeping in the disputed waters.
• The USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, docked in Da Nang for a 6-day visit, with cultural activities such as a US Navy band concert and a culinary exchange on the itinerary.
• Analysts told This Week in Asia that geopolitics factored heavily in both countries’ motivations.
• The port call marks the 3^rd visit of an aircraft carrier since the end of the Vietnam War, with the 1^st ship arriving in Mar 2018 and the second in Mar 2020. (here)
• A trip planned for last year was abruptly canceled without an official explanation.