COUNTRY REVIEW

South Asia

Afghanistan

• Karzai leads presidential vote count by significant margin; Dr. Abdullah states that he will not accept the results; Bashardost in third and Gilani in fourth position; 45 US soldiers lose their lives in August, as against 44 in July

Bhutan

• Bangladesh urges India to provide a trade corridor through West Bengal in return for transit facilities; Nepal PM urged to speed up the process of repatriation of Bhutanese refugees

Maldives

• Indo-Maldives defence agreement triggers controversy; Pakistan and Maldives agree to establish ‘Friendship Caucus’ of parliamentarians

Sri Lanka

• Police foil assassination attempt on Defence Secretary; Colombo condemns Solheim’s comments blaming the Sri Lankan armed forces for extra-judicial killings

East and Southeast Asia

China

• Defence Minister urges high level of military preparedness for the Chengdu Military Area Command; Legislation giving armed police statutory authorization to respond to riots, terrorist attacks and other social security emergencies passed; Troop transport exercises conducted successfully

Japan

• DPJ secures a landslide victory; Yukio Hatoyama to be PM; Taro Aso accepts responsibility for LDP defeat; Obama looks forward to work closely with Hatoyama, “on a broad range of global, regional and bilateral issues"

Korean Peninsula

• Former President and Nobel Laureate Kim Dea-jung passes away; South Korean satellite launch a failure; Australia: Rocket-propelled grenades among other weapons found on an Australian-owned ship seized by the UAE traveling from North Korea to Iran

SouthEast Asia

• Pak frigate makes a port call in Malaysia; NLD calls for release of political prisoners and amendment of 2008 constitution ahead of 2010 elections; Myanmar authorities and Kachin representatives meet

West Asia

Iran

• NTPC Chairman: India considering building a 6,000 MW gas based power plant in Iran; Rafsanjani rebuts remarks of Presidential chief of staff on election unrest; Khamenei

Iraq

• New Shiite alliance against al-Maliki formed; At least 11 killed in bomb attacks in Kut; Abdul Aziz al-Hakim dies at a Tehran hospital

MISSILES, SPACE, DEFENCE AND NUCLEAR REVIEW

Missiles And Space

• South Korea’s first satellite launch effort fails; Pyongyang calls for imposition of same penalties that it faced in the aftermath of its April launch attempt

• Contact lost with Chandrayaan-I

Nuclear Issue

• Gen: Aslam Beg: Bhutto asked PAF to be ready to bomb Indian N-sites

INTERNAL SECURITY REVIEW

Jammu And Kashmir

• Tarigami favours regional councils in J and K

North East Development

• Tarun Gogoi: No further division of Assam