US president-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that the cost of building the US military’s next-generation fighter jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, had spiralled “out of control”. “The F-35 programme and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th,” Trump wrote on his Twitter account, referring to the day he will be sworn in as president. Trump’s criticism amid a sluggish…
Posts published in “Day: December 15, 2016”
Chinese authorities are putting on a brave face about possible interest rate increase by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday, but it is probably the worst-kept secret in Beijing that the nation’s policymakers are anxiously watching the fallout from the Fed’s much anticipated decision. The Fed is tipped to raise interest rates at the end of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday. Beijing has a good reason to be nervous because of happened to China…
WASHINGTON: China appears to have installed weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, on all seven of the artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea, a US think tank reported on Wednesday, citing new satellite imagery. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) said its findings come despite statements by the Chinese leadership that Beijing has no intention to militarise the islands in the strategic trade route, where territory is claimed by several countries.…
SHANGHAI: The former party chief of Nanjing city has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for accepting bribes, a Chinese court said on Wednesday, two years after he was sacked amid a national crackdown on corruption. Yang Weize received a 12 and a half year sentence for taking over 16 million yuan ($2.3 million) as head of the eastern city´s Communist Party office as well as other positions in Jiangsu province.https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/171988-China-jails-former-Nanjing-party-chief
Just how far will the Communist Party’s propaganda machine go to reassure its people that the Chinese economy is heading towards a glorious future, despite losing growth momentum? Using its mouthpiece to quote another official state media as “foreign media” to back the economy seems to be a new yardstick. Wednesday’s front page of the top party mouthpiece People’s Daily quoted “foreign media” to help boost confidence in the “new normal” of China’s slower economic…
China hopes Myanmar will strengthen its border control and prevent stray bullets from entering Chinese territory, a senior Chinese military official said. Zhao Zongqi, commander of the Chinese PLA Western Theater Command, visited Myanmar from December 11 to 14 upon the invitation of the Myanmar Army, China’s defense ministry said on Wednesday. The ministry said Zhao met with senior Myanmar military leaders during his visit, including Soe Win, deputy commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s defense services and…
YANGON: A group of Rohingya Muslims that attacked Myanmar border guards in October is headed by people with links to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said on Thursday, citing members of the group. The coordinated attacks on October 9 killed nine policemen, and sparked a crackdown by security forces in Muslim-majority Rakhine State in northwest Myanmar. At least 86 people have been killed, according to state media, and the United Nations…
Lately a consignment of goods has become a hot topic of discussion in India and China. The consignment in question, worth $2.8 million, was dispatched from China to Nepal on Friday, leading to deliberations about the possible effect it could have on Indian businesses reaching out to Nepal. Reports of Indian and Chinese competition in Nepal have become common in the recent past. The two have a unique relationship with Nepal and inimitable advantages of…
ISLAMABAD: Germany-based engineering company Siemens has offered a credit facility of around $2.5 billion on the supply of compressors for Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, a vital development in efforts to press ahead with the project at a fast pace. According to officials having knowledge of the development, TAPI Company, established by the four countries with the task of laying and operating the pipeline, will need to install nine compressors for transmitting gas from energy-rich Turkmenistan…
KARACHI: Claiming elimination of 368 ‘terrorists’ over the past one year, a report compiled by the Sindh home ministry shows that a significant number of those killed in encounters with law enforcement agencies were ‘religious’ or ‘sectarian’ militants, Dawn learnt on Tuesday. The portion of the report is dedicated to the action against armed militias, including the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and its affiliates and sleeper cells, al-Qaeda, Baloch Liberation Army, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Sipah-i-Mohammad Pakistan, Lyari gangs,…
LANDIKOTAL: The transporters from Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday observed wheel-jam strike against the tax collection by Pakistan and Afghan border authorities at Torkham border. Hundreds of loaded and empty trucks were parked on both sides of the Torkham border to protest the tax collection from the trucks entering Afghanistan. Afghan Transporters Union President Tila Muhammad told The News that Afghan border authorities charged Rs10,000 from each truck entering Afghanistan. Sources said one transporter was…