Digest year-ender for international stories for month of October, 2018

Digest year-ender for international stories for month of October, 2018

Press Trust of India

Oct 1: Stockholm: Two immunologists, James Allison of the US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan, won the 2018 Nobel Medicine Prize for research into how the body's natural defences can fight cancer, the jury said on Monday.

Oct 2: Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin will oversee the signing of a USD 5 billion deal this week to supply Delhi with S-400 air defence systems, a top Kremlin aide said on Tuesday ahead of Putin's trip to India.

Oct 3: Washington: The Saudi Kingdom will collapse in two weeks in absence of American protection, US President Donald Trump has said, pressuring one of its closest allies over rising oil prices that are putting huge drain on economies like India.

Oct 4: Islamabad: The opening of the Kartarpur border crossing for Sikh pilgrims was linked with the start of dialogue between India and Pakistan, the Foreign Office said Thursday, asserting that dialogue is the only way forward to resolve issues and disputes between the two countries.

Oct 5: Lahore: Pakistan's opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif was arrested by the country's anti-graft body on Friday for his alleged involvement in a Rs 1,400 crore housing scam, the latest setback to the embattled Sharif family.

Oct 6: Ankara: Turkey has opened a probe into the disappearance of a Saudi journalist who has not been seen since he went inside the Saudi mission in Istanbul four days ago, the state-run Anadolu news agency said Saturday.

Oct 7: Seoul: Kim Jong Un has agreed to hold a second summit with US President Donald Trump as soon as possible, Seoul said Sunday, after Washington's top diplomat held "productive" talks on denuclearisation with the North Korean leader in Pyongyang.

Oct 8: Stockholm: US economists William Nordhaus and Paul Romer on Monday shared the 2018 Nobel Economics Prize for constructing "green growth" models that show how innovation and climate policies can be integrated with economic growth.

Oct 9: Washington: In a surprise move, Indian-American Nikki Haley Tuesday resigned as the US Ambassador to the United Nations, becoming the latest casualty in the dysfunctional Trump administration just weeks before the crucial mid-term elections.

Oct 10: Islamabad: Lt Gen Asim Munir, who previously served as the head of the Military Intelligence (MI), will be the new chief of Pakistan's powerful spy agency ISI, the Pakistan Army announced Wednesday.

Oct 11: Islamabad: The cancellation of the Indo-Pak foreign ministers' meeting in New York by India on "flimsy pretexts" was "disappointing", Pakistan said Thursday, asserting that it wants peaceful and good-neighbourly relations with New Delhi on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit.

Oct 12: United Nations: India was elected to the United Nations' top human rights body on Friday for a period of three years beginning January 1, 2019, getting 188 votes in the Asia-Pacific category, the highest number of votes among all candidates.

Oct 13: Washington: US President Donald Trump has warned Saudi Arabia of "severe punishment" if it is responsible for the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who is feared killed, that has resulted in global outrage against the kingdom.

Oct 14: Washington: President Donald Trump has said that he wants people with merit to enter the United States, a move that can help technology professionals from countries such as India.

Oct 15: London: British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday insisted a Brexit deal was "still achievable" despite differences with the EU, but warned against any attempt to "trap" the UK in a permanent Customs Unions, ahead of a crucial Brexit summit in Brussels later this week.

Oct 16: Riyadh: Top US diplomat Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that Saudi leaders supported a "thorough" probe into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on an outwardly friendly visit to the kingdom whose reputation has taken a beating.

Oct 17: London: Anna Burns has become the first Northern Irish author to win the prestigious Man Booker Prize for her novel 'Milkman', an "incredibly original" story of a young woman's affair with a married man set in the political troubles of Northern Ireland. By Aditi Khanna Oct 18: Islamabad: Pakistan may not have to approach the IMF for loans as it has received "positive" responses from some "friendly countries", Prime Minister Imran Khan has said, days after Islamabad formally approached the global lender for a bailout to tide over the economic crisis Oct 19: Islamabad: Pakistan said on Friday that India's decision to buy S-400 missile defence system from Russia will further destabilise stability in the region and renewed the arms race.By Sajjad Hussain Oct 20: Kabul: Nearly 170 Afghans were killed or wounded in poll-related violence on Saturday, officials said, as the legislative election turned chaotic with many polling centres opening hours late -- or not at all -- due to technical glitches and lack of staff. Oct 21: Washington: Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Sunday the kingdom did not know where the body of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi was, despite admitting to the killing and calling it a "tremendous mistake." Oct 22: Washington: President Donald Trump said Monday that his administration will cut off aid to three Central American nations for their failure to stop a migrant caravan of thousands of people from moving towards the US with the aim to enter America illegally.

Oct 23: Washington: The powerful group of G-7 countries Tuesday called for a "thorough, credible, transparent, and prompt" investigation by Saudi Arabia, in full collaboration with Turkey, in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Oct 24: Jerusalem: A leading state-run Israeli defence company said Wednesday it has signed a USD 777 million contract with India for the supply of Barak 8 long-range surface-to-air defence missiles and missile defence systems for the Indian Navy, media reports here said.

Oct 25: Beijing: China and India would hold joint military drills later this year and officials from the two sides will soon meet in Chinese city Chengdu to finalise the plans to resume the exercises, the Defence Ministry said here.

Oct 26: Colombo: Controversial Sri Lankan strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa staged a dramatic political comeback on Friday, becoming the new Prime Minister after President Maithripala Sirisena sacked premier Ranil Wickremesinghe who termed the move as "unconstitutional" and vowed to prove his majority in Parliament.

Oct 27: Colombo: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday suspended parliament till November 16 after sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe sought an emergency session to prove his majority, deepening the political crisis in the island nation.

Oct 28: Colombo: Sri Lankan Parliament's speaker on Sunday recognised Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country's prime minister, saying he has "obtained a mandate to secure democracy and good governance”, in a major relief to the embattled UNP leader who was sacked by President Maithripala Sirisena in a dramatic move on Friday night.

Oct 29: Colombo: Former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa Monday assumed charge as Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister after the surprise sacking of his predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe by President Maithripala Sirisena which plunged the island nation into an unprecedented political crisis.

Oct 30: Dhaka: Bangladesh's ailing former prime minister Khaleda Zia cannot contest the upcoming parliamentary election unless the 17-year jail term awarded to her in two separate graft cases is terminated, Attorney-General Mahbubey Alam said on Tuesday.

Oct 31: Washington: India, which jumped more than 50 spots in the ease of doing business ranking in just two years, has emerged as one of the top reformers, World Bank officials said Wednesday, but cautioned that entering the top 50 bracket is tough as the next set of reforms is difficult.

(Source PTI)