August sees record killings in Pakistan since 2018

Today's news: 2.3 billion deal between Emirates and Jordan for a railway line. Beijing ‘warns’ students with access to sensitive data about national security risks. Over 100,000 people at the torchlight procession in Kolkata a month after the rape and murder of a female doctor. One thousand civilians ‘trapped’ in a Buddhist monastery by fighting in the Sagaing region of Myanmar.

PAKISTAN
August was a bloody month in Pakistan, with the highest number of casualties in attacks launched by militant groups - largely linked to Islamic extremism - since July 2018. At least 254 people, including 92 civilians and 54 security personnel, were killed in attacks and bombings. According to the latest report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (Picss), an Islamabad-based think tank, the country is experiencing an escalation of violence especially in Baluchistan.

EAU - JORDAN
The investment ministries of the United Arab Emirates (Eau) and Jordan have signed four agreements worth USD 2.3 billion on a railway that will connect the Red Sea port of Aqaba with the mining regions of Al Shidiya and Ghor es-Safi. The work will take five years and will initially transport 16 million tonnes of phosphate and potash products.

CHINA
China's main spy agency has warned students with access to sensitive data to be wary of ‘good-looking men or women’ who might feign feelings to induce them to transfer information to foreign entities, compromising national security. This year, Beijing was particularly ‘sensitive’ to the issues of espionage and data leakage.

INDIA
A torchlight procession was held in the streets of Calcutta this morning, attended by more than 100,000 people according to police sources, to demand justice one month after the rape and murder of a female trainee doctor, Moumitha Debnath. The death of the 31-year-old had rekindled the spotlight on violence against women. Similar demonstrations were held in Delhi and other cities.

MYANMAR
Fighting in central Myanmar, in the region of Sagaing, has trapped about a thousand people inside a Buddhist monastery, where food supplies are running out while the sick and injured are without medical assistance. According to humanitarian agencies, the civil war since the military's return to power in February 2021 has already displaced around three million people.

TURKEY - IRAQ
At least three people died in the northern province of Sulaimaniya during a drone attack by Turkey yesterday. According to Kurdish-Iraqi sources in the area, a vehicle was set on fire and the three occupants - whose identity remains unknown - inside it died. Ankara has been regularly attacking Pkk targets in northern Iraq for some time.

RUSSIA
Russian banks are looking for new solutions for increasingly difficult international payments. For this reason, the main savings bank Sberbank has set up the possibility for individuals to open current accounts in Indian rupees, starting from a minimum of 100 thousand rupees with no ceiling and no need to buy currency, but only by transferring sums from accounts in roubles.

KAZAKHSTAN
The coordinator of the Kazakhstan Water Partnership Foundation warned that ‘irrational use of water’ for irrigating rice and cotton fields in Central Asia can lead to the drying up of the Syrdarja, the region's main river. In response to the criticism, the expert called for stricter adherence to mutual agreements, especially between Astana and Tashkent.

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