Reuters, Beijing
China’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday that it would beef up patrols along a disputed stretch of its border with India but would also “adjust” deployments, after the two countries ended a more than two-month standoff.
Indian and Chinese troops had been confronting each other at the Doklam plateau near the borders of India, its ally Bhutan and China in the most serious and prolonged standoff in decades.
ME conflicts boost Bulgarian arms exports
AFP, Sofia
Conflicts in the Middle East boosted Bulgaria’s arms exports by almost 60 percent in 2016 to record levels not seen since the end of communism, official data showed Thursday.
Bulgaria, which specialises in the production of light-weight Soviet-style weapons and munitions, exported over 1.0 billion euros’ ($1.2 billion) worth of arms in 2016 compared to 642 million in 2015 and 402 million in 2014.
China’s Communist Party to hold congress
Reuters, Beijing
China’s ruling Communist Party will hold a once-every-five-years congress starting on Oct. 18, state media said on Thursday, at which President Xi Jinping will look to further stamp his authority on the party.
The brief dispatch by the official Xinhua news agency did not say how long the congress would go on for.
10 civilians killed in joint Somali-US raid
Reuters, Mogadishu
Somali government officials said on Thursday that 10 men and boys killed in a joint U.S.-Somali raid were civilians and that blood money will be paid to the families. “The 10 people were civilians. They were killed accidentally… The government and relatives will discuss about compensation. We send condolence to the families,” said lawmaker Mohamed Ahmed Abtidon at a public funeral held for the 10, who were killed in a raid in Bariire village on Friday..
