“It’s very important to maintain this unity. We will think about the future of our great Motherland,” said Putin.

China on Monday unveiled its largest defence spending increase in three years, fuelling an ambitious military modernisation programme and making its neighbours, particularly Japan and self-ruled Taiwan, nervous.

As far as the geo-economics of OBOR are concerned, as many as 60 countries will be connected to China through a network of roads, highways, railways, pipelines, fibre optics and grids.

Three people with knowledge of the talks told the paper that Beijing had been in direct contact with militants in Balochistan, where many of the CPEC-related schemes are located.

President Yameen’s financial fortunes have improved remarkably since he came to power. He has had no sources of funds or resources.

In the backdrop of an escalating political crisis and a purge initiated by Maldives’ President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, former speaker of the People’s Majlis, Abdulla Shahid, speaks to Hardnews about the island nation’s growing proximity to China and the plight of its democratic system

In 2008, Maldives national Ali Assham, alleged to have been involved with the Lashkar-e-Taiba network and accused of attacking the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore in 2005, was deported from Sri Lanka to Maldives.

The large tanker Sanchi (IMO:9356608) sank in the worst oil ship disaster in decades on Sunday, raising worries about damage to the marine ecosystem.

The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 tonnes of condensate, an ultra-light crude oil that becomes highly volatile when exposed to air and water, to South Korea.

China’s excess production capacity of both metals has emerged as a major trade irritant for the United States and Europe, prompting them to consider new steps to protect domestic industries and jobs from a flood of Chinese imports.