Beijing this week.

The countries will discuss raising the speed of Indian trains

and improving heavy haul operations and rail stock.
* Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia will arrive
on Monday for the strategic economic dialogue to be held on 18th March. Besides
attending SED, Ahluwalia would call on Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on 19th March.
* The Chinese delegation will be headed by chairman of the National Reforms Deve
lopment Commission (NDRC) Xu Shaoshi.
* Five working groups, appointed for finalizing details for the bilatreral dialo
gue, have covered areas such as infrastructure, mainly the railways, and operati
onalizing agreement for service centres to be set up in India for Chinese power
equipment, environment and resources protection, water management and policy coo
rdination, collaboration on planning and urbanization, and cooperation in high t
echnology, including the IT sector.
South Korean officials said that North Korea fired 18 short-range rockets into
the sea off its east coast Sunday. The move is perceived to be an apparent conti
nuation of protests against ongoing U.S. South Korean military drills.
* Such short-range rocket tests are usually considered routine, as opposed to No
rth Korean long-range rocket or nuclear tests, which are internationally condemn
ed as provocations. North Korea has conducted a string of similar short-range la
unches in recent weeks that have coincided with the annual military drills by al
lies Washington and Seoul.
* North Korea considers the drills as preparatory measures for an invasion. The
allies rubbish this view and say the exercises, which last year prompted North K
orean threats of nuclear war against the South and the United States, are routin
e and defensive in nature.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin more Orga
nisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observers should be sent
to Ukraine. Putin has welcomed the plan.
* The chancellor proposed swiftly expanding the existing OSCE presence in Ukrain
e and sending a bigger number of observers into hot spots, especially in East Uk
raine.
* The Russian president viewed responded positively. He promised he would instru
ct Foreign Minister (Sergei) Lavrov accordingly. This should be agreed with as b
road as possible support at an OSCE meeting in Vienna on March 17th.
Malaysia has formally appealed for help and international coordination in a sea
rch for its missing passenger jet.
* Malaysian officials briefed envoys from about 20 countries on progress in the
investigation after calling off a search in the South China Sea for the jet that
vanished from radar screens more than a week ago, with 239 people on board.
* Although countries have been coordinating individually, the broad formal reque
st marks a new diplomatic phase in an operation expanding across two hemispheres
and overshadowed by mounting Chinese criticism of Malaysian-led search efforts.
March 17
Crimea's regional assembly declared independence from Ukraine and applied to jo
in Russia. Adocument approved by Crimeas assembly read: The republic of Crimea app
eals to the United Nations and to all countries of the world to recognise it as
an independent state.
* The document was approved by all 85 deputies present in the 100-seat assembly,
after a disputed referendum yesterday in which Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to
join Russia.
* In a tweet, Crimeas local Prime Minister said that the region would switch to M
oscow time (GMT+4), two hours ahead of the current time.
Following a referendum in Crimea, in which officials said 97% of voters backed
breaking away from Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree rec
ognising Crimea as a sovereign state. With this, Crimea has moved one more step
closer to becoming a part of Russia.
* The EU and US have called the referendum illegal and imposed sanctions on 21 o
fficials from Russia and Ukraine. Crimea has been part of Ukraine since 1954, bu
t much of its population is ethnic Russian.
British forces handed over two more military bases to Afghan national security
forces in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan.
* This has reduced the number of British bases operational in Helmand to two. Th
ey are: Camp Bastion, which serves as the main base for UK personnel, and Observ
ation Post Sterga 2.
* British forces are due to end their combat role at the end of the year. The co
untry has lost 448 soldiers in Afghanistan since the first casualty in 2002.
* From a peak of 137 UK bases, just Camp Bastion, which remains the main base fo
r UK personnel and Observation Post Sterga 2 are now under UK control.
* According to officials, the majority of the former UK bases are now in the han
ds of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). Afghan forces are now leading
97% of all security operations across the country and are carrying out over 90%
of their own training.
Reports by Japanese media said that Japan and North Korea will come to the tabl
e again to discuss Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes and the issue of J
apanese citizens abducted decades ago.
* The media reports come after the parents of a Japanese girl who was abducted b
y North Korea more than three decades ago met their child's daughter for the fir
st time.
* Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared his government's commitment to find closure
for families who were the victims of kidnapping. However, Japan is yet to confi
rm the resumption of talks.
* Meanwhile, North Korea test-fired 10 short-range missiles into the sea off the
east of the Korean peninsula, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing
unidentified South Korean government officials.
* Japan's ties with North Korea have been fraught due to Japan's 1910-1945 occup
ation of the Korean peninsula, Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programmes, and J
apanese anger over the abduction of its citizens by North Korean agents decades a
go.
March 18
Frances foreign minister Laurent Fabius said that leaders of the Group of Eight
world powers have suspended Russia from the G-8 in the aftermath of tensions ove
r Ukraine and Russias incursion into Crimea.
* The other seven members of the group had already suspended preparations for a
G-8 summit that Russia is scheduled to host in June in Sochi.
* G-8 countries are U.S., Britain, Germany, Japan, France, Russia, Italy and Can
ada.
The Global Freedom Network, a global network to tackle human trafficking, force
d prostitution and child labour, will bring together Catholics, Anglicans and Mu
slims in a fight against social evils.
* The network, which was launched in Vatican, is the brainchild of billionaire A
ustralian magnate Andrew Forrest, will pressure governments and businesses to fr
ee millions of men, women and children held in bondage around the world by 2020.
* The Vatican, the Anglican Communion and Cairo's Islamic al-Azhar University ar
e leading the initiative, which "brings together faith communities of almost thr
ee billion people -- nearly half of the world's population -- and will invite al
l faiths to join its leadership.
Italy has appealed to the United Nations (UN) to help free its two marines who
are being tried in India for killing two Indian fishermen in 2012.
* Italy has been trying to rally international support among the European Union
(EU), the US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries to bring ho
me marines.
* Marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone shot dead two fishermen off
the Kerala coast in February 2012, sparking diplomatic tensions between India an
d Italy. The marines, deployed on the Italian-flagged oil tanker MT Enrica Lexie
, said they mistook the fishermen for pirates. They are now staying in the Itali
an embassy in Ne