Turkey blasts US over plans of negotiating with Assad
Ankara : Turkey on Monday slammed a US suggestion that negotiations could be opened with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for a political transition in the war-torn country, Xinhua news agency reported citing Turkish media. “There is nothing left to negotiate with Assad and no outcome has been achieved so far from the talks with the Syrian regime,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who is on a visit to Cambodia, was quoted as saying. Cavusoglu’s remarks came in response to a statement on Sunday by US Secretary of State John Kerry that his country was exploring ways to pressure Assad into agreeing to talks. “What you will negotiate with is a regime that killed more than 200,000 people and used chemical weapons,” Cavusoglu said.
Pak now largest buyer of Chinese arms
Lahore : A study has found that Pakistan is the largest importer of Chinese weapons and buys almost 41 per cent of China’s exports. The news came as China surpassed Germany and France to become the world’s third-ranked arms exporter after the United States and Russia. A Stockholm-based think-tank said that three Asian countries accounted for more than two-thirds of Chinese exports, with Pakistan taking the lead followed by Bangladesh and Myanmar, reported the Dawn newspaper. The report was released on Monday and also showed that India topped Russia’s client list, with 70 per cent of its purchases coming from Russia. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India was far ahead of the second and third-placed Saudi Arabia and China in the list of importers, buying about 15 percent of the total volume compared with five per cent each for the next two. The annual report observed that the multi-billion dollar world arms trade grew by 16 per cent during the period 2010 to 2014 over the previous five years. SIPRI added that the data showed the volume of arms deliveries, but not the financial value of the deals.
Khaleda told to appear in court next month
Dhaka : Former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia was ordered on Monday to appear before a trial court on April 13 in a coal mine graft case. A Dhaka court issued the order for the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) chief and 15 others involved in the Boropukuria coal mine graft case, bdnews24.com reported. Khaleda and the 15 others are accused of causing the state exchequer a loss of about 1.59 billion taka (about $20 million) by signing a deal with the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) to operate, manage, and maintain the Boropukuria coal mine. The High Court on October 16, 2008, stayed the case proceedings for three months following a petition by Khaleda seeking the quashing of the case. It also issued a rule asking why the case should not be dismissed. The Appellate Division later upheld the stay order leaving the corruption case in the cold.
Chinese official facing graft charges dies
Beijing : Retired general Xu Caihou, the most senior Chinese military official to fall under President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption drive, has died of cancer. Xu Caihou, 71, a former Vice Chairman of the China’s powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) — the highest military body that commands the all three armed forces — died in a hospital on Sunday of advanced bladder cancer that had spread throughout his body and led to multiple organ failure, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Xu was put under investigation for bribery in March last year. He served as the Vice Chairman of the CMC under former President Hu Jintao, who headed the top military body. In October, the military procuratorate finished its investigation into Xu’s case and transferred all evidence in preparation for prosecution. Xu was also expelled from the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and discharged from military service with his rank as General revoked. The military procuratorate will now drop all charges against Xu following his death.
