COUNTRY REVIEWS

South Asia

Bangladesh

(November 4-10)

• The International Crimes Tribunal-2 hands down death penalty to Al-Badr leaders Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan; Sixty hours hartal called by the BNP led 18 party opposition; Death penalty to 150 members of the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles and two civilians for their role in the BDR mutiny in 2009; US, UK, Canada and Australian missions in Dhaka issued travel warnings to their citizens travelling to or residing in Bangladesh; The United States expresses concern over the recent attacks on Hindus in Pabna and Lalmonirhat.

(November 11-17)

• Foreign Minister Dipu Moni made a visit to India; India stressed the importance of resolving the ongoing political crisis in Bangladesh through dialogue; India is consulting Bangladesh’s ongoing political situation with the US and other countries; PM Hasina attended the CHOGM in Sri Lanka; Bangladesh touches the milestone in power generation capacity of 10,000-megawatt; call for cancellation of coal-fired Rampal power plant’s construction; Malaysian Prime Minister visits Dhaka; US assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs visits Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka

(November 4-10)

• India’s PM Dr. Manmohan Singh will not attend the CHOGM; India’s External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid: This decision will not impact bilateral ties between India and Sri Lanka; SLINEX 2013 held in the seas off Goa; Sri Lankan Court ordered release of 22 Indian fishermen.

(November 11-17)

• Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Sri Lanka; Australia to give two Bay class patrol boats to Sri Lanka; Agreement signed between New Zealand and Sri Lanka; UK will fund £2.1 million over two years for a new demining programme in Sri Lanka; David Cameron gives ultimatum to Sri Lankan Government to set up independent investigation committee; Decline in Sri Lanka’s trade deficit.

Maldives

(November 4-10)

• Fresh Presidential election held; Run-off election will be on November 16; US and UK expressed concern on the delay of second round of election; Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Commonwealth Secretary General’s Special Envoy to the Maldives, and Joint Secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs of India were in the Maldives to guide election talks; EU excludes the Maldives from its GSP Plus scheme.

(November 11-17)

• Abdulla Yameen takes over as President of the Maldives; Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed takes over as Vice President of the Maldives; President appoints five ministers to his cabinet; India, US congratulate President Yameen; CMAG removed Maldives from its formal agenda; Maldives has been re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council for a second term.

East Asia

China

(November 4-10)

• China vows to continue supporting the developing countries; The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee started in Beijing; Xi Jinping calls for stronger ties with Brazil; The Chinese Ministry of National Defense: The United States is showing double standards with respect to cyber security; Xi Jinping meets the Cuban Foreign Minister in Beijing; China wants Singapore to be more prudent with respect to its relations with Taiwan; Xi Jinping urges the PLA to uphold the leadership of the CPC; China’s special representative for the Korean Peninsula affairs Wu Dawei visits DPRK; Chinese premier Li Keqiang: Agriculture reforms should respect the innovation and willingness of farmers; Chinese President Xi Jinping: Alleviating poverty with the help of targeted policies which should include agriculture and education.

West Asia

Iran
(November 4-10)

• The IAEA Chief visits Tehran to hold talks with Iranian officials regarding nuclear programme

Iraq

(November 4-10)

• In a series of attacks, eleven people dead and dozens wounded in Iraq

CENTRAL ASIA & RUSSIA

Cetntral Asia

Russia

(November 4-10)

• Diplomats from Russia, US and UN discuss the details of organising a conference on Syria in Geneva; Russia discusses the possibility of Syrian opposition’s participation in Geneva 2 conference on Syria; Russian and British Prime Ministers discuss developments in Syria; Russia to build new ice class patrol ships for the Arctic; Colombia protests against the flight of Russian Tu-160 bombers over its territory; Russia and Nicaragua to strengthen trade and economic relations; Russia has increased its petroleum production in 2013 by 2 per cent; Bashneft-Polyus plans to produce 900,000 tons of oil at Trebs field in 2014.

(November 11-17)

• Russia hands over INS Vikramaditya to India; Russia and India to hold joint naval exercise in Sea of Japan in 2014; Russia proposes that parts of Kamov helicopters be produced in India; President Putin pays an official visit to Vietnam; Construction of Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East to be completed by end of 2014; US opposes GLONASS stations’ deployment on US territory; Foreign Minister Lavrov declares that Syria’s National Coalition does not have a viable programme for the Syrian people; Russia to have a greater access to Sea of Okhotsk since a part of it is expected to join Russia’s continental shelf; Russia and Egypt discuss bilateral cooperation; Russia to help Council of Europe to build a united Europe; United States will not buy Russian Mi-17 helicopters for the Afghan army; Poland apologises to Russia for riots at Russian embassy in Warsaw; Russia and EU Foreign Ministers discuss the Iranian nuclear issue; Several tonnes of opiates seized in joint Russia-U.S. operation in Afghanistan; Russia and Serbia sign a military cooperation agreement; Russia’s GDP to grow at 1.5 per cent while inflation to hover around 6 per cent in 2013.