COUNTRY REVIEWS

South Asia

Pakistan

• Pakistan warns against international support for India nuclear programme; Pakistan, Russia in talks on tackling militancy, nuclear proliferation; Obama reviews progress on Afghan conflict; Reports: Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to set up a joint commission for reaching out to Afghan Taliban

Nepal

• Political deadlock continues in Nepal; UCPN-Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal blames external forces for the continued deadlock over the prime ministerial election; Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) makes no progress on the integration issue due to the Maoists’ demand; Nepal President Dr Ram Baran Yadav pays an official visit to India

Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka expresses concern over attacks on Sri Lankan Buddhist monks at Maha Bodhi Centre in Chennai; Sri Lanka receives flood relief and rehabilitation assistance from Thailand, Italy and China

East Asia

China

• Russia and China hold the fifth strategic security talks; Chinese State Councilor condemns terrorist attacks in Moscow; Tajik Defence Minister visits China; Chinese and Kazakh frontier agencies hold talks; Civil-defence in North China beefed up; Importance of military publicity underscored; MAMS comes to be known as “Iron Army for Epidemic Prevention”; The PLA focuses on mobility; China sends assistance to Sri Lanka to fight flood

Japan

• Prime Minister Kan calls for the launch of free-trade talks with the European Union; Japan extends SDF mission in Golan Heights for another six months; Prime Minster Kan rules out any plans to dissolve the House of Representatives for a snap election

Southeast Asia

• India- Indonesia sign 18 MoUs; Myanmar parliament session starts; Nagaland MLAs visit Myanmar; Thailand to solve border disputes peacefully; India- Lao FTA on goods implemented; China- Myanmar sign agreement on bank loans

Central Asia & Russia

Central Asia

• Kazak President expresses willingness to stay in office for as long as his health holds; Kazakh Foreign Minister visits Brussels; Kazakhstan capital Astana to host 7th Winter Asian Games; USAID presents a plan for a rail corridor linking Kyrgyzstan with China; Turkey is in negotiations with Kyrgyz government to supply jet fuel to the American military base of Manas; Kyrgyzstan trains Afghan Border Police; Tajikistan offers support to Russia on counter terrorism front; Turkmenistan beefs up its armed forces; Uzbekistan President Karimov visits Brussels to seek improved ties with NATO; EU to open office in Tashkent

Russia

• At least 35 people killed and more than 100 injured in a suicide bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport; Russian President Medvedev vows to track down and punish those responsible for the gruesome incident; International community condemns Moscow attack; President Dmitry Medvedev postpones his visit to Davos; Russia’s Rosneft reaches an agreement with Exxon Mobil; Russian President signs new START ratification document

West Asia

Iran

• Iran’s Parliament approves Ali Akbar Salehi as Foreign Minister of Iran

Iraq

• Al least 48 people killed in a massive blast in Baghdad; Iraqi Prime Minister orders arrest of the area's security chief in the immediate aftermath of the attack

USA

• US Secretary of State Clinton calls for “an orderly transition” to a more politically open Egypt but stops short of asking its embattled President Mubarak to step down