PAKISTAN
PM Khan says India, Pakistan 'must dialogue', resolve differences: Dawn
August 21, 2018
Prime Minister Imran Khan's official Twitter account tweeted twice on Tuesday afternoon to once again invite India to dialogue and pursue peace, terming it the "best way to alleviate poverty and uplift the people of the subcontinent". The tweets, which included a note of gratitude to longtime friend Navjot Singh Sidhu for attending PM Khan's inauguration on a special invitation, reiterated the new prime minister's belief that "without peace our people cannot progress." Click here to read...
AGHANISTAN
Taliban Reject Afghan Ceasefire, Kidnap Nearly 200 Bus Passengers: News18
August 21, 2018
The Taliban rejected on Monday an Afghan government offer of a ceasefire and said they would persist with their attacks, militant commanders said, while insurgents ambushed three buses and nearly 200 passengers travelling for a holiday. Two Taliban commanders said their supreme leader rejected President Ashraf Ghani's Sunday offer of a three-month ceasefire, beginning with this week's Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday. In June, the Taliban observed a government ceasefire over the three-day Eid al-Fitr festival, leading to unprecedented scenes of government soldiers and militants embracing on front lines, and raising hopes for talks. But one of the Taliban commanders said the June ceasefire had helped U.S. forces, who the Taliban are trying to drive out of the country. Taliban leader Sheikh Haibatullah Akhunzada rejected the new offer on the grounds that it too would only help the American-led mission. Click here to read...
BANGLADESH
Bangladesh Official: Myanmar is not Conducive for Rohingya Return: Radio Free Asia
August 21, 2018
The situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine state still is not conducive for the return of Rohingya refugees sheltering in Bangladesh, according to Bangladesh officials who accompanied their foreign minister on his first visit to the troubled state recently. The official said the conditions in Rakhine’s capital Sittwe and in Maungdaw and Buthidaung – from where most of the Rohingya Muslims fled following violence – raised questions over safety, security and employment opportunities for the refugees if they opted to return home. “I would say the situation for a sustainable return of the Rohingya is yet to be created,” Habibul Kabir Chowdhury, chief of a Ministry of Disaster Management unit that handles Rohingya-related matters, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. This is the first media comment by a Bangladesh official following the Aug. 9 to 12 visit by the Bangladesh delegation led by the Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali. Click here to read...
CHINA
President eulogizes Annan as multilateralism advocate: China Daily
August 21, 2018
President Xi Jinping expressed deep condolences and sympathy on Monday to the family of Kofi Annan and the United Nations, describing the diplomatic veteran as an active promoter of multilateralism. Annan, 80, who served as UN secretary-general from 1997 to 2006, died on Saturday in a Swiss hospital. Annan is an old friend of the Chinese people, and China's cooperation with the UN was comprehensively boosted during his term, Xi said in a condolence message sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Click here to read...
Beijing denies military presence in Syria: China Daily
August 21, 2018
There is no Chinese military presence in Syria, and Beijing firmly supports the peaceful settlement of the Syrian issue, a Chinese envoy said on Monday. Some media reports on China's participation in military operations in Syria misunderstand and misinterpret Beijing's policies, Xie Xiaoyan, special envoy on the Syrian issue, said at a news briefing in Beijing after his visit to Syria, Saudi Arabia and Israel last month. Media covering the issue have since clarified their reports, Xie added. "Resolving the Syrian issue by political means is the common aspiration of the global community, and there is no way out through military operations," the envoy said. Click here to read...
China names former internet tsar Xu Lin as new international propaganda chief: South China Morning Post
August 21, 2018
China has officially appointed its former internet tsar Xu Lin, a trusted aide to Xi Jinping, as its new international propaganda chief. The appointment confirms an earlier report by the South China Morning Post that Xu would take charge of the State Council Information Office, the government press office which doubles as the Communist Party’s international propaganda office. The appointment is the latest move in a shake-up of China’s propaganda and internet leadership, as the country tries to improve its image abroad and push the party’s line at home. Click here to read...
China pledges to lift ties with Malaysia to new high: People’s Daily
August 21, 2018
Premier Li Keqiang held talks with visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in Beijing on Monday, saying China will work with Malaysia to promote neighborly friendship to a new high. With new governments established in the two countries this year, the development of bilateral relations was standing at a new starting point, Li said. He said that China will follow the friendly policy towards Malaysia, and will work with Malaysia to score the long-term healthy development of bilateral ties on the basis of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit. China and Malaysia have strong economic complementarity and great potential for cooperation. China is willing to better integrate the Belt and Road Initiative with Malaysia's development strategy, while promoting China-Malaysia industrial cooperation and construction of industrial parks, and strengthening cooperation in economy, trade, investment, agriculture, fisheries, and transportation infrastructure, said Li. Click here to read...
Chinese president meets senior Vietnamese official: People’s Daily
August 20, 2018
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday met with a senior official of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), calling for efforts to further promote bilateral ties. During the meeting with Tran Quoc Vuong, Politburo member and permanent member of the CPV Central Committee's Secretariat, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Xi said that complicated and profound changes are currently taking place concerning the international and regional situation. Xi, also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said that bilateral ties and the socialist causes of both countries have entered into a new phase of development and face new opportunities and challenges. Xi said he and Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the CPV Central Committee, again made mutual visits to each other's countries within a year in 2017 and reached a series of important consensus on deepening relations between the two parties and the two countries. Click here to read...
