PAKISTAN
Imran Khan's candidature as Pakistan prime minister approved by PTI, may take oath on 14 August: Firstpost
August 7, 2018
Imran Khan, set to open a new innings as Pakistan's next prime minister after his party unanimously approved his candidature to the top post, vowed to live up to the people's mandate and steer the country out of the current financial crisis. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) parliamentary committee officially nominated Imran as the party's prime ministerial candidate on Monday, 12 days after it emerged as the single largest party in the National Assembly in the 25 July general elections. Click here to read...
AFGHANISTAN
US-Taliban Talks ‘Delegitimizes’ The Afghan Govt: Ex US Envoy: Tolo News
August 7, 2018
Former US ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan C. Crocker has said that peace talks between representatives of the Taliban and US officials in Qatar further undermines the credibility of the Afghan government. This comes in the wake of reports that US officials met with Taliban officials in Doha, Qatar, to discuss the possibility of peace talks to end the war in Afghanistan. According to Crocker, no representative from the Afghan government was in the room during the talks between the Taliban and the US. Click here to read...
SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka may allow visa-free entry for Indian tourists soon: Livemint
August 6, 2018
Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka may soon be exempted from visa requirement as the government is mulling granting visa -free entry to visitors from countries like India and China, Sri Lanka’s tourism minister John Amaratunga said today. He said that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a task force to study the possibility of granting visa-free entry to visitors from certain tourist-friendly nations to boost arrivals. India and China along with some other European and West Asian nations can benefit from it, he said. Following recommendations from the task force, this proposal may be implemented in the off season months of October to November and March to April, the minister said.Click here to read...
CHINA
Xi-led reforms picking up speed in new era: China Daily
August 07, 2018
About 40 years after China set sail on its voyage of reform and opening-up, the journey is still going full speed and heading toward ever greater goals. At the 19th Communist Party of China National Congress in October, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, president, and chairman of Central Military Commission, outlined new moves to deepen reform in all areas. In his report to the Party congress, Xi listed "continuing to comprehensively deepen reform" in the basic policy to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era. Click here to read...
China’s hypersonic aircraft, Starry Sky-2, could be used to carry nuclear missiles at six times the speed of sound: South China Morning Post
August 07, 2018
China has successfully tested a new hypersonic aircraft that could one day be used to carry missiles at such speeds as to make them unstoppable, according to scientists involved in the project. Click here to read...
China's restrained new tariff 'rational': People's Daily
August 06, 2018
China's latest restrained tariff measure against the United States is rational, and aims to safeguard the multilateral trading system, experts said. Taking into full consideration the interests of its people and companies, as well as the global value chain, the Chinese government made the decision to impose differentiated tariff rates targeting $60 billion worth of US goods. That's in stark contrast to the US' one-size-fits-all tariff approach, which was ill-considered, they said. Click here to read...
