India Celebrated its 73rd Republic Day on 26 January 2022. The celebrations this year are special as India is in the 75th year of Independence - being celebrated as 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav'. Republic Day marks the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950.

Multiple developments in Pakistan’s recent polity has generated a debate about the weakness of the State and its ability to enforce its writ. One such development was Pakistani State’s negotiations with Tehreek Taliban Pakistan, a loosely connected group of Pashtun militants, who had fought the Pakistani State for more than a decade.

The United States Congress recently approved a $777.7bn defense budget, a five percent increase from last year. This move came after they pulled the last American troops out of Afghanistan and was justified as a way of dealing with the intensifying competition with China. (Al Jazeera) The budget approval had bipartisan support and supports the USA’s current stance that China poses a significant threat to its global supremacy.

 COP26 will urge the 195 countries to deliver on the promises they made when agreeing on the Paris Agreement during COP21 in 2015