PTI report in The Indian Express online July 21, 2017 at 1.11pm Washington : Pakistan created terror groups such as the Taliban, the Haqqani network and the Lashkar-e-Taiba to keep India “off balance” and protect Islamabad’s interests in war-torn Afghanistan, according to former US diplomats and officials. William Milam, a former US ambassador to Pakistan, and Philip Reiner, a former senior director for South Asia at the National Security Council during the Obama administration, said…
Posts published in July 2017
AFP report in Dawn, July 21, 2017 The US Defense Department withheld $50 million in Pakistan military payments after Pentagon chief Jim Mattis accused Islamabad of not doing enough to counter the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network, an official said Friday. “Secretary Mattis told congressional defense committees that he was not able to certify that Pakistan took sufficient actions against the Haqqani network to permit full reimbursement of the fiscal year 2016 Coalition Support Funds,” Pentagon Spokesman…
by Wendy Wu in South China Morning Post, July 21, 2017 at 11.26 pm Rising local government and state firm borrowings are stalling Beijing’s efforts to contain debt risks in the Chinese economy, according to a government-backed research institution. The national leadership, headed by President Xi Jinping, listed “deleveraging” as a top economic priority in late 2015, but local authorities and state-owned enterprises continued to rely on debt for economic expansion, amplifying financial risks for…
Xinhua report in Global Times, July 21, 2017 at 18:50:36 Zhang Yujun, former assistant chairperson of China Securities Regulatory Commission, has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and dismissed from public office for “severe disciplinary violations,” the top anti-graft body said Friday. Zhang was found to have seriously violated political and organizational discipline and attended banquets that could influence the fairness of official duty, according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection…
by Rozina Islam in Prothom Alo, July 21, 2017 at 23:44 hrs Awami LeagueExtremists are infiltrating Khulna Awami League and some of them have even managed posts in the committees and have contested in elections on the ruling Bangladesh Awami League’s (AL) ticket. Rumours have it that deputy ministers, members of parliament and local influential leaders are patronising such moves, much to the discomfit of the grassroots AL leaders and activists. To make things worse,…
Report in bdnews24.com, July 22, 2017 Former law minister Abdul Matin Khasru has been made a member of the Awami League Presidium, its highest policymaking forum. The newest Presidium member, Khasru, had been serving as legal affairs secretary in the Central Working Committee for the past six years. He served as law minister in Sheikh Hasina’s 1996 cabinet. Supreme Court lawyer SM Rezaul Karim will replace the four-time Comilla-5 MP as new legal affairs secretary.…
Report in The Daily Star, July 22, 2017 Two women surrendered to police, who cordoned off a suspected militant hideout in Gangni upazila of Meherpur since this morning. Meanwhile, a man was also arrested during the raid at Bamondi village in the upazila, Akram Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC), of Gangni Police Station, told The Daily Star this morning. Law enforcers cordoned off a single-storey house around 11:00am, the OC said adding that the raid is taking…
by Mahadi Al Hasnat in Dhaka tribune, July 21, 2017 The National Curriculum and Textbook Board’s (NCTB) much-hyped attempt at fixing the school textbooks criticised for their content may end in nothing, as board officials say they are not bringing any major changes to the books. Faced with protests from cultural activists and secular groups, who deemed several changes brought to texts this year as a compromise to placate religious pressure groups, the government announced…
by Huang Xiaodong in Global Times Published: 2017/7/20 19:58:40 (the author is executive vice president of the Institute for Advanced Research of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. The article was compiled based on his speech in early July) While there is much concern among the public about China’s local government debt and corporate debt, which are considered key sources of risk, the rising household debt and the consequent liquidity constraint should not be underestimated.…
by He Huifeng in South China Morning Post, July 21, 2017 At least two people were killed and 55 injured in gas explosions at restaurant in eastern China on Friday morning, according to a news website report. The blasts occurred at about 8.35am at the building in Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Zjol.com.cn reported Police believe the explosions were caused by gas cylinders in the restaurant.Windows were blown out and the street was littered with debris…
By Nuruzzaman Labu in Dhaka Tribune, July 19, 2017 at 8.18 pm According to counter terrorism officials, Arabic words are quite common in the code language used by terrorists Militants have started using encrypted language to communicate among themselves, making it harder for law enforcement agencies to track their activities. Terrorism experts say extremist groups are sending coded messages, which appear gibberish to the untrained eye, through telephone or messaging apps. According to law enforcement…