According to government statistics, the UK has ranked as the second-largest arms dealer in the world for the past decade, second only to the US.

In 2019, UK arms deals made up 16 per cent of the global sale of arms and secured £11bn worth of contracts for military equipment and services. This is down from 2018 when £14bn worth of deals were made, this was the second-highest year for the UK in arms sales since 1983.

The gang rape and murder of two Dalit women in the last recent weeks has sparked outrage across India, with calls for the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh to resign.

Both murders took place in the Northern state of Uttar Pradesh, with the two women belonging to India’s marginalised Dalit caste.

A special court in India has acquitted 32 men, including former deputy prime minister LK Advani, a sitting BJP politician, and three leaders from the party, of the destruction of Babri mosque (masjid) which led to religious riots and the massacre of 2,000 people, mostly Muslims.

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS), the principal prosecution authority in Northern Ireland, has concluded that there is “insufficient to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction of any of the 15 soldiers” who were charged with the unlawful murder of 13 civil rights activists in January 1972, during Bloody Sunday.

The PPS has only brought charges against one British soldier for his conduct. The soldier has been dubbed “Soldier F” in the case. He is to stand trial for the murder of James Wray and William McKinney in Derry as well as five counts of attempted murder.

Warring parties in Yemen have agreed to a prisoner exchange of 1081 people, the largest exchange since late 2018, as part of a trust-building programme which aims to revive peace negotiations, the UN reports.

UN Envoy Martin Griffiths told Reuters;

“It’s very rare to have prisoner releases of this scale during the conflict, that they mostly happen after a conflict,”

The UK government’s proposed legislation to restrict the ability to hold British soldiers accountable for crimes committed overseas – the Overseas Operations Bill - passed its second reading in Parliament yesterday. The law will provide a “presumption against prosecution” after five yearsfor British soldiers and veterans. The legislation forms part of the Conservative party election manifesto pledge to protect British armed forces from ‘vexatious’ claims.

Protests have erupted across the US following the news that the two officers who killed Breonna Taylor were not charged however one officer who fired shots during the incident was indicted for wanton endangerment.

Indian lawmakers approved 2 controversial farming bills on Sunday that the government claims will boost growth in the farming sector, but opposition parties and long-time ally of the ruling party called “anti-farmer.”