COUNTRY REVIEWS

South Asia

Pakistan

• Lahore High Court debars A.Q. Khan from speaking to the media; Defence Minister Mukhtar: US to provide drones to Pakistan; Blake: Pakistan should take action against the Taliban in Punjab; Qureshi: Pakistan is in “no hurry” to conduct dialogue with India; NWFP to be renamed as Pakhtoonkhwa

Bhutan

• 18 Bhutanese products given duty free access to Bangladesh; Main themes of SAARC Summit to be climate change, poverty alleviation among others; Bhutanese PM in Kathmandu meets with his Nepalese counterpart

East Asia

China

• China pledges continued cooperation with Afghanistan and Nepal: China-ASEAN Defense and Security Dialogue held in Beijing: China and DPRK to deepen bilateral military exchanges

Korean Peninsula

• US says reports of North Korean leader visiting China “speculation”; Seoul to bolster control of Dokdo; South Korean Navy ship sinks off the Yellow Sea, nearly 50 sailors reported missing; US to consider restarting food aid to North Korea

Southeast Asia

• Peace talks between Thai government and UDD end in stalemate; Thailand to urge Myanmar to make upcoming elections ‘open’ for all political opponents and ethnic minorities; Indonesia signs science and technology cooperation agreement with the US; Indonesia urges Israel to halt its military activities in Gaza Strip

West Asia

Iran

• Ahmadinejad: New sanctions will not work; Iran’s President says he saw no change in hostile US attitude after Mr. Obama delivers another Iranian New Year message

Iraq

• Allawi blames Iran for trying to prevent him from becoming prime minister; Suicide bombs outside three embassies kill 32

DEFENCE REVIEW

National Defence

• India launches third indigenous destroyer, INS Chennai
• HAL’s Light Combat Helicopter makes successful maiden flight
• ISRO aims for low-cost access to space