What's Happening Today - Tuesday 21 September

India:

All-party delegation headed by Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram visits Indian-administered Kashmir to assess situation after recent violence

Pakistan:

Right-wing Islamist Jamaat-i-Islami political party begins 10-day campaign to show solidarity with ongoing protests in Indian Kashmir

Pakistan:

The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) is in talks with Pakistan regarding the building of a one-gigawatt nuclear plant, according to CNNC Vice President Qiu Jiangang (NB The two countries have already signed contracts to build the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors of about 300 megawatts each in Chashma, Pakistan)

Nepal:

Nepali Congress, second largest party in parliament, holds 12th General Convention, postponed from 26-30 August; fifth and final day

Nepal:

Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has directed security agency heads to prepare and plan for integration of Maoist rebels into the national army

Russia:

Moscow City Court hears lawsuit filed by Memorial human rights organization over classified Katyn files; around 22,000 members of Polish elite killed by Soviet forces in Katyn in 1940

Kyrgyzstan:

Russian Defence Ministry delegation visits for talks on status and continued use of military bases in Kyrgyzstan (-23)

Tajikistan:

The brother of Alovuddin Davlatov (also known as Ali Bedakwhich), who leads the group that attacked a Tajik Defence Ministry vehicle on the afternoon of Sept. 19, has been arrested by Tajik State National Security Committee officers

Iran:

Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Mahmoud Bahmani said Tehran will withdraw all of its assets from any country that imposes financial restrictions on, or behaves in an unfriendly manner to, Iran, Fars News Agency reported

Iraq:

Iraq and Syria have signed a preliminary agreement to build two new pipelines linking Iraq to ports on the Mediterranean Sea via Syria. The pipelines will have a combined capacity of 2.75 million barrels per day of crude

Oman:

India is considering building a deepwater pipeline to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan, Iran and Qatar to India via Oman. In addition to easing transportation issues of the three natural gas-producing countries, the pipeline will meet the gas requirements of the United Arab Emirates, Oman and India, Director of South Asia Gas Enterprise Pvt. Ltd. (SAGE) Subodh Kumar Jain has said.

Kuwait:

Russia and Kuwait have signed a memorandum of intent to cooperate in thel use of nuclear energy in the areas of nuclear medicine and the nuclear fuel cycle, as well as in developing a nuclear power plant.

Bahrain:

Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar visits ahead of tomorrow's meeting of interior ministers from countries neighbouring Iraq

Bahrain:

The Bahraini government has revoked the citizenship of Ayatollah Hussein al-Najati, an influential Shia cleric with close ties to Iraq, AP reported

Yemen:

Yemeni government forces have launched an assault in the southern Yemeni province of Shabwa, causing more than 8,000 residents to flee from the town of Huta.

Lebanon:

Following up after Israel troops fired over the heads of Lebanese soldiers who were constructing fortifications in the village of Dhayra near the Lebanon-Israel border

Egypt:

Opposition party "Ghad" holds a demonstration to call for a boycott of parliamentary elections expected in November. Other political movements such as Kefaya are likely to participate as well as the Communists.

Southern Sudan:

Southern Sudanese President Salva Kiir is urging the United States, the United Nations and the Southern African Development Community, also called the Troika, to intervene in the event a conflict arises during or after the January 2011 referendum

Libya:

Douglas Oriali, a Canadian citizen suspected of industrial espionage on behalf of the United States, has been prevented from leaving Libya. Oriali, who also has Australian and Irish citizenship, is accused of gathering information "to ensure the failure of a drilling project off the Libyan coast by BP."

South Africa:

Third National General Council of ruling African National Congress (ANC) held in Durban (-24)

Niger:

France has established a Niger operational base with 80 troops in Niamey to try to locate seven hostages. The hostages are thought to be held in northeast Mali in a mountainous desert region close to Algeria.

Ghana:

Ghanaian President John Evans Atta Mills and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, have signed an agreement whereby Beijing will give a $3 billion loan to Accra to develop Ghana's energy sector

Moldova:

Chisinau hosts informal talks on settlement in Moldova's breakaway Dniester region in five-plus-two format (i.e. involving Moldova, Dniester region, Russia, Ukraine, OSCE, EU, USA)

Slovakia:

Leaders of the centre-right ruling coalition led by Prime Ministre Iveta Radicova will meet to debate further details of an agreed 1.7 billion euro austerity package (1500).

Poland:

The Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) has written secret documents to its partners stating that it will not be able to meet supplies needed for the Polish economy, Warsaw Business Journal reported, citing Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

Czech Republic:

Public sector employees to protest against job and wage cuts.

Bosnia:

Gunshots were fired at a number of locations in the cities of Orasje and Ugljare, Bosnia-Herzegovina, BH Radio 1 has reported Sept. 20. The houses of Minister Perica Jelecevic and chairman of the Agency for the Sava River Basin steering committee Ivo Vincetic came under gunfire, as did a Croatian Culture Club library. Two Croatian Democratic Union facilities were also fired upon

Spain:

Hardliners within Basque seperatist group ETA could form a new, more violent splinter group, Patxi Zabaleta, head of non-violent Basque separatist group Aralar, has warned.

UN: Second day of UN Development Millennium Goals summit focusing on ending poverty, attended by world leaders (-22); Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, Afghanistan's Hamed Karzai address meeting today

UN:

Middle East Quartet meeting held on sidelines of Development Millennium Goals summit; attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Quartet representative Tony Blair, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton

US:

Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting continues in New York (-23); attendees include Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak; Qatar Prime Minister Hamad Bin-Jasim Bin-Jabr Al Thani; Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan; Rwandan President Paul Kagame; Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili (-23)

US:

The sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear program are weakening its leaders, who have become more dependent on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to U.S. Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey

US:

Eight former trade officials from the previous two US presidential administrations have sent a letter to Congress opposing legislation against China and insisting that duties may violate World Trade Organization rules and would not bring about currency reform

Ecuador:

Ecuadorian Defense Minister Javier Ponce Cevallos has  asked the United States to pressure Colombia to send more troops to the border with Ecuador, as Colombian cooperation to share the $100 million annual cost of maintaining approximately 10,000 troops at the border.

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