PAKISTAN
US warns ICC against probing its troops for excesses in Afghanistan: Dawn
September 11, 2018
The United States threatened on Monday to arrest and sanction judges and other officials of the International Criminal Court if it moves to charge any American who served in Afghanistan with war crimes. White House National Security Adviser John Bolton called the Hague-based rights body “unaccountable” and “outright dangerous” to the United States, Israel and other allies, and said any probe of US service members would be “an utterly unfounded, unjustifiable investigation”. “If the court comes after us, Israel or other US allies, we will not sit quietly,” Bolton said. He said the US was prepared to slap financial sanctions and criminal charges on officials of the court if they proceed against any Americans. Click here to read....
AFGHANISTAN
Security Chiefs Defy MPs As Taliban Attack Northern Districts: Tolo News
September 10, 2018
The three heads of security were summoned to parliament to answer questions on the security situation but failed to appear before MPs. The heads of Afghanistan’s security institutions on Monday defied a call by members of the Lower House of Parliament to brief them on the deteriorating security situation in the country. This comes amid a concerted effort by the Taliban to expand offensives in some northern regions of the country. Defense minister Tariq Shah Bahrami, minister of interior Wais Ahmad Barmak and head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) Masoom Stanekzai had been asked to brief lawmakers about the situation but the three lawmakers refused to appear in parliament. The denial sparked a strong retaliation from the MPs. Lawmakers said the security chiefs insulted them by not attending the session and in turn called on the three leaders to step down. But other MPs went even further and called for the resignation of President Ashraf Ghani and the reexamination of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) between Afghanistan and the United States. Click here to read....
NEPAL
Joint steering committee to discuss energy cooperation: Kathmandu Post
September 11, 2018
The first ever meeting of the Nepal-China joint steering committee (JSC) is slated to be held later this month in Kathmandu to explore areas where the two countries can work together for the development of the energy sector. The JSC is an energy secretary-level mechanism established to promote collaboration between Nepal and China. The planned meeting is an initiative to implement the energy cooperation agreement signed with China during Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to the northern neighbour in June. As per the accord, the two countries need to form a mechanism co-led by their respective energy secretaries which will organise periodic meetings. After Prime Minister Oli’s visit, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation formed a seven-member team under the leadership of Energy Secretary Anup Kumar Upadhyaya to represent Nepal in the committee which invited Chinese officials to Kathmandu for the first ever meeting. Click here to read....
BANGLADESH
Bangladesh to get 500MW more power from India: Hindustan Times
September 11, 2018
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her Tripura counterpart Biplab Kumar Deb on Monday jointly inaugurated a 500 MW additional power supply line to the neighbouring country and two key railway projects via video conference. The 500 MW additional power supply from India to Bangladesh will be through the existing Bheramara (Bangladesh) -- Baharampur (West Bengal, India) interconnection. Currently, India exports 660MW of power to Bangladesh, 500MW of which are transferred through the Baharampur-Bheramara connection and 160MW through Tripura to the Cumilla power grid. Click here to read....
CHINA
Beijing rebuts human rights allegation: People’s Daily
September 11, 2018
Beijing said on Monday that the Human Rights Watch NGO has always been full of prejudice against China and distorted the facts when it accused the Chinese government of suppressing Uygurs. The organization said in a report on Monday that the Chinese government conducts mass arbitrary detention, torture, mistreatment and daily pervasive controls on Uygurs. Click here to read....
Xi calls on building China into education powerhouse: China Daily
September 11, 2018
President Xi Jinping called on Monday for respecting teachers and valuing education, stressing the importance of stepping up efforts in educational modernization in a bid to build China into an educational power. Click here to read....
