The 16th meeting of the 'India-Nepal Bilateral Consultative Group on Security Issues' was held in Pune on June 23 and 24. Led by Additional Secretary Munu Mahawar from India and Joint Secretary Gahendra Rajbhandari from Nepal, the talks saw participation from defense and Foreign Ministry officials, along with representatives from both armies.

The two sides held wide-ranging discussions on defense and security cooperation including training, joint exercises, equipment supplies, and disaster relief. They also visited key defense manufacturing facilities to explore avenues for collaboration. Established in 2003, the INBCGSI remains the primary institutional mechanism steering India-Nepal defense ties.

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India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the joint command system upgrade on Tuesday.

The first such Joint Order, titled ‘Approval, Promulgation and Numbering of Joint Instructions and Joint Orders’, was issued and it focuses on streamlining procedures and eliminating redundancies across the three Services. Singh has authorized the Chief of Defence Staff and the Secretary, Department of Military Affairs to issue Joint Orders for the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

The new approach replaced the earlier system where individual Services issued their own orders for matters involving more than one forces, often leading to duplication and inefficiencies.

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The UN nuclear watchdog chief called for diplomacy and a return to negotiations over Iran's nuclear ambitions. "Otherwise, violence and destruction could reach unimaginable levels, and the global non-proliferation regime that has underpinned international security for more than half a century could crumble and fall," said Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He also called for a cessation of hostilities.

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China announced on Tuesday that it will stage a major military parade in September to mark 80 years since the end of World War II. President Xi Jinping will preside over the event at Beijing's Tiananmen Square on September 3, a senior military official said at a news conference.

"The Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Central Military Commission have decided to hold a grand military parade at Tiananmen in the capital on September 3 this year," Wu Zeke from China's military commission announced.

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A suicide bomber stormed a crowded church in the Syrian capital Damascus during Sunday mass, opening fire on worshippers before detonating his explosives, killing at least 20 people and injuring dozens more, security sources and a monitoring group said.

The blast ripped through the Mar Elias Church in the Dweilaa district, a predominantly Christian neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Damascus, leaving behind blood-stained pews, shattered icons, and scenes of chaos, according to eyewitnesses and local media.

Emergency responders cordoned off the area as ambulances rushed the wounded to Damascus hospitals. Authorities urged citizens to avoid the vicinity to allow medical teams to operate freely and prevent further casualties amid fears of additional attacks. The blast is the first of its kind targeting a church in Damascus in several years, sparking renewed concerns about sleeper cells operating in the capital.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a deal with NATO exempting it from the alliance's five-percent of GDP target for defence spending as demanded by US President Donald Trump.

Multiple diplomats at NATO said the agreement had gone through with the approval of all 32 nations and that there was no exemption for Madrid. Spain has been one of the lowest-spending NATO countries on defence in relative terms. The country is only set to hit the alliance's current target of two percent this year after a 10-billion-euro injection.

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Iran’s Pir Hossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, confirmed that there were no fatalities in the recent U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities his organization “reported no deaths,” indicating that evacuation and precautions were effective. 

On June 22, the U.S. launched precision airstrikes on Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites, using B-2 bombers with bunker-buster bombs and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles.  Iran confirmed the strikes hit the facilities, with some damage visible but unclear if full disruptions occurred.

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday warned of "a rat hole of retaliation" in the wake of U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

The U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities marks a perilous turn in a region that is already reeling, Guterres told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

To avoid further escalation, diplomacy must prevail, civilians must be protected, and safe maritime navigation must be guaranteed, Guterres said. Guterres called for a credible, comprehensive and verifiable solution to restore trust, including inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog.

He stressed that the Non-Proliferation Treaty is a cornerstone of international peace and security, adding that Iran must fully respect it. He also urged the Security Council and all UN member states to act with reason, restraint and urgency for peace.

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The US defense chief said Sunday that strikes ordered by President Donald Trump overnight had "devastated" Iran's nuclear program and urged Iranian leaders to seek peace to avoid further attacks, adding that the operation did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people.

The president authorized a precision operation to neutralize the threats to national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program and the collective self-defense of troops and ally Israel, he added.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said Sunday that the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities were "outrageous" and "will have everlasting consequences.  "Tehran "reserves all options" to retaliate, said the minister. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces said it has detected the launch of missiles from Iran after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

The Israeli army added that an air raid alert has been declared in some regions of Israel and ordered residents to take shelter in protected areas. The Israel Airports Authority said in a statement earlier that Israel has closed its airspace after the U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear sites, although land crossings with Egypt and Jordan are operating normally.

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