New tariffs take effect as China accuses US of 'economic hegemony'
Published: The Guardian
24 Sep 2018
The United States and China have imposed new tit-for-tat tariffs against each other’s goods, the latest escalation in a heated trade war between the world’s two largest economies. US tariffs on $200bn worth of Chinese goods and retaliatory tariffs by Beijing on $60bn worth of US products took effect at 0400 GMT. The two countries already exchanged tariffs on $50bn worth of each other’s goods earlier this year.Click here to read....
China cancels military talks with U.S. in protest at sanctions over Russia military equipment
Published: The Hindu
23 Sep 2018
China summoned the U.S. ambassador in Beijing and postponed joint military talks in protest against a U.S. decision to sanction a Chinese military agency and its director for buying Russian fighter jets and a surface-to-air missile system. Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang summoned Ambassador Terry Branstad to lodge “stern representations”, the foreign ministry said. China's Defence Ministry said in a statement it would recall navy chief Shen Jinlong from a visit to the United States and postpone planned talks in Beijing between Chinese and U.S. military officials that had been set for next week.Click here to read....
India to launch radio service to counter Radio Pakistan's cross-border reach
Published: The Express Tribune
23 Sep 2018
India is set to launch ‘Des Punjab’- a state-run radio programme that will reach Pakistan’s airwaves on September 24. TheFM service will be transmitted from Indo-Pak border in Attari, Amritsar, Times of India reported on Sunday. According to All India Radio (AIR), the programme is meant to ‘counter’ the audience of ‘Punjab Darbar’- a show operated by Radio Pakistan – being aired in India and Pakistan for the past three decades.Click here to read....
Maldives Opposition Declares Election Victory
Published: The New York Times
23 Sep 2018
The Maldives, the isolated scattering of islands caught in a geopolitical struggle between China, India and the West, were thrust into more uncertainty Sunday when voters appeared to have ousted the country’s autocratic president.
With votes still being tallied, local news organizations reported that Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the opposition candidate, had beaten President Abdulla Yameen. Mr. Solih won 58 percent of the vote with about 97 percent of ballots counted, according to the independent news website mihaaru.com. Transparency Maldives, an election watchdog, said he had won “by a decisive margin.”Click here to read....
Indian Mujahideen facilitator shot dead in Nepal
Published: The Indian Express
24 Sep 2018
Maulana Khurshid Ansari, a teacher in Nepal’s Sunsari district who was suspected of providing safe passage to Indian Mujahideen suspects, was shot dead by unknown assailants on Thursday. Ansari was a member of the ruling Nepal Communist Party. Soon after he was killed, the Nepal government declared him a martyr and announced Rs 1 million compensation for his family.Click here to read....
Nepal restores $2.5 billion hydropower plant contract to Chinese firm
Published: The Economic Times
23 Sep 2018
Nepal’s new government has reversed its predecessor's decision and has asked China Gezhouba Group Corporation to build the nation’s biggest hydropower plant, an official said on Sunday, as it seeks to woo Chinese investment in its ailing infrastructure.
The $2.5 billion deal with the Gezhouba Group to build the Budhi Gandaki hydroelectric project was scrapped last year by the previous government, citing lapses in the award process. State-run Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) was to have built it. But Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, seen as China-friendly, pledged to revert the project to the Chinese company if he was elected to power in last year’s elections. Oli became prime minister in February after his Nepal Communist Party scored a landslide poll victory.Click here to read....
