US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter made his final trip to Afghanistan on 9 December as President Barack Obama winds down his presidency
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter, left, and U.S. Army Maj. Gen. James C. McConville
Photo: Sgt. Mark VanGerpen
COUNTRY REPORTS
Afghanistan
Ash Carter visits US troops
United States Secretary of Defence Ash Carter made his final trip to Afghanistan on 9 December as President Barack Obama winds down his presidency. Carter, who arrived unannounced, met with US soldiers at the Bagram Air Base thanking them for their service and meeting with President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul. In a joint appearance Ashraf Ghani, Carter said the U.S. cannot afford to give up on Afghanistan after more than 15 years of involvement, adding that “the interests we are pursuing here are clear and enduring”.
For more information, see: “Defence Secretary Carter offers assurances to Afghan leaders”, ABC News
Vice President Dostum accused of torture
Afghan Vice-President Abdul Rahid Dostum is being accused of kidnapping and torturing political rival Ahmad Ishchi. Ishchi said that after being badly beaten Dostum allegedly stood on his throat and raped him with a weapon. Multiple witnesses reported seeing General Dostum personally beating Mr. Ishchi and having his men drive away in northern Afghanistan last month. Despite repeated requests, General Dostum and his staff would not comment on the accusations.
For more information, see: “Afghanistan vice president accused of torturing political rival”, The New York Times
30 refugees return home
Thirty Afghan asylum seekers arrived back in the country after being deported from Germany in a contentious new agreement between both governments. A plane carrying 34 Afghans from Germany touched down in Kabul on 15 December, making them the first to be affected by the deal that allows EU to deport unlimited numbers of rejected Afghan asylum seekers.
For more information, see: “First wave of Afghans expelled from EU states under contentious migration deal”, The Guardian
Bangladesh
PM to identify terror sources
Reiterating her determination to eradicate militancy and terrorism, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for identifying their cause and source of money to defeat these social vices. “Militancy and terrorism is a global concern … to eliminate such an evil practice against civilization, we need to identify the reason and sources of money. We also have to find out a way for preventing these menaces,” she said. Prime Minister made her comments while addressing the Graduation Ceremony of National Defence Course (NDC) and Armed Forces War Course (AFWC) -2016 in Dhaka.
For more information see: “PM seeks to identify cause, resources of militancy”, The Daily Star
Bank ‘responsible’ for $81-m heist
The Philippine’s Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC), the bank through which $81 million stolen from Bangladesh’s central bank was channelled in February, informed that the central bank was responsible for the heist and so any liability should not be passed on. Earlier Bangladesh Bank had demanded RCBC to compensate for the loss. In February this year, the unidentified hackers used the SWIFT network to send fake orders requesting the transfer of nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank’s account at the New York Federal Bank.
For more information, see: “Bangladesh Bank responsible for $81 million heist: RCBC”,The Daily Star
No comments:
Post a Comment