The next episode of friction between Beijing and Washington could be staged in Iran, where a top Chinese energy firm, defying latest U.S. sanctions, is likely to expand its stake in a giant Iranian gas field.
No war, No Negotiations with the U.S.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that there would be neither war nor negotiations with the United States, and that the country's problems were the result of government mismanagement more than renewed sanctions.
Third Summit of North and South Korea
North and South Korea have agreed to hold a summit in Pyongyang in September after high-level talks in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula.
Pakistan Assembly Members Sworn In
Imran Khan was among the 329 newly-elected members of the National Assembly who took the oath, setting the stage for him to form the next government, only the second democratic transition of power in the country.
The maiden session of the 15th National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, concluded after outgoing Speaker Ayaz Sadiq administered the oath to the leaders.
Aug 13, 2018
Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul Passes Away
British novelist and Nobel Prize winner for Literature, Sir V. S. Naipaul died at the age of 85. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001 with an extraordinary career spanning half a century. Overall he wrote more than 30 books, and was one of the first winners of the Booker Prize, now Britain's leading literary award, in 1971 for "In A Free State."
Aug 12, 2018
Promise of Korea Peace for China
Northeast China has high stakes in North Korea. A durable peace on the Korean Peninsula could mean much needed jobs for China's industrial rust belt. China's northeast, historically known as Manchuria, was among the first to industrialise. The region's plentiful reserves of iron ore and coal premised the rise of its heavy steel-based industry. At one time, Tsarist Russia's advances, as well as the northeast's occupation by imperial Japan before the Second World War, spurred the first phase of industrialisation.
UN Confronts China
UN human rights experts have expressed alarm over what they said were many credible reports that China had detained one million or more ethnic Uighurs in the western region of Xinjiang and forced as many as two million to submit to re-education and indoctrination.
In the name of combating religious extremism, China had turned Xinjiang into "something resembling a massive internment camp, shrouded in secrecy, a sort of no-rights zone," said Gay McDougall, a member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Aug 11, 2018
Doubling of Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum
US President Donald Trump has doubled steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkey, adding to pressure on that nation's troubled economy amid a diplomatic row with Washington.
Withdrawal of Indian Military Helicopters and Personnel
The Maldives wants India to withdraw military helicopters and personnel posted there following the expiry of an agreement in June, the latest snub to New Delhi by President Abdulla Yameen's China-backed government.
Aug 10, 2018
Pakistani Soldiers to Get Training in Russia
Pakistani soldiers and officers will soon be able to train at Russian military training institutes, in yet another indication of the deepening defence ties between the two countries who till a few years ago were in the opposing camp of world politics. The two countries signed the Contract on Admission of Service Members of Pakistan in RF's (Russian Federation) Training Insti¬tutes, paving the way for Pakistani troops to undergo training in Russia, a country which has been India's biggest ally and suppliers of weapons and defence equipment.
Michelle Bachelet Nominated as UN Rights Chief
Michelle Bachelet, Chile's first woman President and prominent rights advocate, has been nominated by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to be the global body's next human rights chief.
Bachelet, 66, will succeed Jordanian diplomat Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, who had been one of the most outspoken critics of alleged abuses by the governments in many countries.
Her name now goes forward for consideration and approval by the 193-member UN General Assembly.