News in Short

• Joe Biden has invited Taiwan to a virtual summit on democracy alongside more than 100 countries – a move bound to anger China.
• The conference was a campaign pledge by the US president, who has placed the struggle between democracies and “autocratic governments” at the heart of his foreign policy.
• The “Summit for Democracy” will take place online on December 9 and 10 ahead of an in-person meeting at its second edition next year.

• Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman has been awarded the Vir Chakra by President Ram NathKovind in an investiture ceremony.
• The then Wing Commander Varthaman demonstrated “exceptional air combat acumen and knowledge of the enemy’s tactics.”
• He then had to eject over the enemy territory and was held captive for three days by the Pakistani army. The Pakistani Army released him on March 1, 2019.

• Indiais set to release 5 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic reserves as part of a coordinated move along with the US, China, Japan and South Korea.
• The US will release 50 million barrels of crude oil from its reserves as part of the effort. The move is being seen as a strategic step to rein in spiralling global crude oil prices and to keep them under check.
• In response, the OPEC+ group of oil exporting countries has indicated that it may reconsider plans to restore production over the coming months.
• India stores about 38 million barrels of crude oil in underground caverns at three locations on the east and west coast.

• Apple has filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent NSO Group from targeting the over one billion iPhones in circulation.
• The Israeli spyware maker has been embroiled in controversy over reports that tens of thousands of activists, journalists and politicians may be targeted by its Pegasus spyware.
• The United States blacklisted NSO, restricting exports from American groups over claims that the Israeli firm “enabled foreign governments to conduct transnational repression.”

• A U.S. warship sailed through the strait separating Taiwan and China, the first such passage since leaders from the two rival superpowers held a video summit.
• The passage through the Taiwan Strait by the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Milius was a routine transit.
• The voyage is the 11th declared freedom of navigation exercise of the year that demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
• U.S. warships periodically conduct freedom of navigation sailings through the strait, often triggering angry responses from Beijing.