27 MARCH 2016

Ø  An arrested suspect has been charged with terrorist murder and the police are trying to confirm whether he is the third Brussels airport bomber who fled the scene, a source close to the probe said. “He has been charged with taking part in a terrorist group, terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder,”

Ø  Nearly three months after the terror attack on the Pathankot air base in which seven securitymen were killed, a Pakistani team will arrive here on Sunday to survey the airbase and meet NIA officials to discuss the evidence collected so far. This is the first time that we are allowing a team from Pakistan to carry out an investigation like this, at such a location. an official said, explaining the government’s decision to allow the five-member team, which will include ISI and Military Intelligence officials, into the sensitive installation. The team, led by chief of (Pakistani) Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and Additional Inspector General of Police, Muhammad Tahir Rai, has been given 15-day visas to complete its investigations. It will travel to Pathankot under NIA escort on Monday. In another instance of the government’s attempt to give the Pakistani team full access, official sources say the team is being facilitated without a letter rogatory (LR). An LR is a request sent by a country’s judicial officers for permission to take evidence in a foreign country. Officials say India has already sent its LR to Pakistan, and hopes to receive an invitation to visit Pakistan to collect evidence soon. “All courtesies that are being extended are on the basis of reciprocity,” a source said.

Ø  India and Russia are on track to conclude two helicopter deals together worth over $ 2 billion by year end for which discussions are in an advanced stage, a senior official of Rostec said. These include the final deal for Kamov utility helicopters and additional Mi-17 medium lift helicopters. The two countries had signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow in December last year for joint production of the Kamov-226T utility helicopter in India. Recently there was a big delegation from Russian Helicopters and Rostec in India for technical discussions on how to implement the agreement and modalities of the joint production. Russia has already selected Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as the Indian partner for the deal. HAL has begun constructing a new helicopter manufacturing facility which will cater to the utility helicopters. While the agreement states that a minimum of 200 helicopters will be produced the number is expected to go up significantly given the large requirement. Mr. Kladov said the first 40 would be assembled in Russia for faster deliveries and the rest would be done in India.

Ø  China is set to unveil another offshoot of its One Belt, One Road ( OBOR) connectivity network by investing in a Grand Canal that would link landlocked countries of Central Europe with the sea. If everything goes according to plans, Chinese President Xi Jinping will push for the construction of the Danube- OderElbe Canal during his visit next week to the Czech Republic. The strategic canal — a pet project of Czech President Milos Zeman — would connect three major European rivers and provide ships an outlet to the sea. The Y- shaped canal would link with the North Sea at Hamburg. The Black Sea would be accessed at the Romanian port of Constanta, and Poland’s Szczecin port would provide an outreach to the Baltic Sea. The construction of the Grand Canal would see the merger of the land and the maritime hubs of OBOR, which is rapidly advancing in Eurasia.