Russian MoD Ready to Discuss START Treaty, Intensify Contacts
Published: Sputnik
17 Jul 2018
The Russian Defense Ministry is ready for the practical implementation of agreements in the area of global security reached in Helsinki between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, the ministry's spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov told reporters on Tuesday. The spokesman specified that the Russian military was "ready to intensify contacts with American colleagues at the level of the General Staffs and through other available channels of communication to discuss the extension of the START treaty, the interaction in Syria, and other topical issues of military security." Click here to read...
Mattis open to meeting with Russian defense chief: report
Published: The Hill
17 Jul 2018
Defense Secretary James Mattis is reportedly open to meeting with his Russian counterpart in upcoming months to increase cooperation and communication between the two countries' militaries. Two senior U.S. officials told Reuters that, while Mattis has indicated that he is open to talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, a first step to higher-level political talks between the two nations, Mattis is not currently actively seeking communication with Shoigu either in person or by telephone.Click here to read...
India seeks leniency in US sanctions on Iran, cities oil imports, Chabahar port venture
Published: Hindustan Times
18 Jul 2018
A US delegation led by Marshall Billingslea, US assistant secretary for Terrorist Financing in the Department of the Treasury met officials of the ministries of external affairs, home and finance on Monday to discuss various issues related to the sanctions on Iran as well as the United Nations proscribing terrorist individuals and entities, one of the persons cited above said on condition of anonymity.
The US delegation held the discussions in New Delhi a day after Iran’s deputy foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, one of the main negotiators of the Iran nuclear deal that the US has walked out of, was in New Delhi for consultations with foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale.Click here to read...
Harkat-ul Mujahideen founder Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil joins PTI
Published: The News
17 Jul 2018
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Asad Umar has announced that the founder of banned Harkat-ul Mujahideen Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil has joined his party. The news was publicized on the official Facebook page of the NA-54 aspirant in Islamabad, stating that the current leader of Ansar-ul-Umma and numerous of his allies and clerics have pledged their support for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Click here to read...
Trump sends envoys to Afghanistan to open talks directly with Taliban over peace deal
Published: The Telegraph
16 Jul 2018
President Donald Trump's administration has ordered American envoys to seek direct talks with the Taliban to end the country's longest ever war, in a major shift after years of US diplomatic policy on the conflict. The change in White House stance rolls back a long-held position that any talks must be led and controlled by the Afghan government.Click here to read...
IS suicide bomber kills 20 in Afghanistan: officials
Published: The Hindu
17 Jul 2018
An Islamic State suicide bomber on Tuesday killed 20 people in northern Afghanistan, including a Taliban commander, while in southern Helmand province a government commando unit freed 54 people from a Taliban jail, according to officials. The stepped up activity in Afghanistan comes as Washington considers a Taliban demand for direct talks in hopes of jump-starting a negotiated end to what is now the longest military engagement by U.S. forces.Click here to read...
Islamic State makes a worrying comeback, just seven months after Baghdad declared ‘final victory’
Published: South China Morning Post
18 Jul 2018
The Islamic State is creeping back into parts of central Iraq just seven months after the government declared victory in the war against the group, embarking on a wave of kidnappings, assassinations and bombings that have raised fears a new cycle of insurgency is starting again. The small-scale attacks are taking place mostly in remote areas that have been neglected by the government and are chillingly reminiscent of the kind of tactics that characterised the Islamic State insurgency in the years before 2014, when the group captured a vast swathe of territory across Iraq and Syria.Click here to read...
‘Users own data, not entities storing them’
Published: The Hindu
17 Jul 2018
Telecom regulator TRAI on Monday said each user owned his or her data collected by or stored with the entities in the digital ecosystem that includes devices and applications. The entities, it stressed, are mere custodians of the data, while pointing out that the existing framework for protecting the personal data of telecom users is not sufficient.Click here to read...
