COUNTRY REVIEWS

South Asia

Sri Lanka

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha raises objections to training being given to Sri Lankan Defence personnel at Wellington; Twenty four Indian fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan Navy; US grants waivers to Sri Lanka and eight other nations for another six months on Iranian oil sanctions; Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam re-elected to the UN Committee on Migrant Workers; Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni meets President Rajapaksa during his stopover in Sri Lanka en route from a trip to East Asia; New Zealand supports Sri Lanka to conduct CHOGM

Maldives

• Audit Report of the Ministry of Finance: Maldivian government incurred a loss of $150,000 due to its agreement with India’s Apollo Hospital; Global Hospitals Group, India opens an Information and Assistance Centre in Maldives; Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom visits India; Maldives-China signs road project agreement; Prime Minister of Thailand visits Maldives; President Dr. Waheed visits Palestine and Jordan

East Asia

Southeast Asia

• Indian Defence Minister visits Australia, Singapore and Thailand; Naval hotline between China and Vietnam established; Indonesian government to grant China preferential treatment in handling horticultural import rules; Indian airlines allowed access to Myanmar; World Economic Forum on East Asia held in Myanmar

Russia

• Russia remains committed to peaceful settlement in Syria; Foreign Minister Lavrov and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon discuss ways to settle the Syrian crisis; President Putin: S-300 systems have not been delivered to Syria till date; Russia has said that there are close to 200 militants who are involved in hostilities in Syria under Al-Qaeda flag; Russia to contribute an additional US$ 10 million to UN to help solve Syrian refugee problems; President Putin: Russia is ready to replace Austrian peacekeepers on Golan Heights; President Putin calls for establishing CSTO-NATO anti-drug cooperation; Prime Minister Medvedev: Russia’s goals in Euro-Arctic region are peaceful and pragmatic

West Asia

Yemen

• At least seven people killed and several injured as Houthi rebels try to storm National Security Agency building

UAE

• UAE and Saudi Arabia raise safety concerns of Iranian nuclear plants

Turkey

• Turkish PM Erdogan calls for immediate end to protests; Kurdish rebel leader voices support for protests

INTERNAL SECURITY REVIEW

Jammu & Kashmir

• Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh: The security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has shown a marked improvement during last year with various steps being taken by the Government; Police detain youths in connection with Sherbagh blast; A top Jaish-e-Muhammad militant killed an encounter with security forces in Pulwama

North East India

• Firing at Assam-Nagaland border leaves one person dead; Imphal and Agartala to become international airports; Tripura reduces area under AFSPA; Transportation of food grains for Northeast via Bangladesh begins

Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) News

• Prime Minister to inaugurate Chief Ministers’ conference on internal security