RUSSIA ACCUSES UKRAINE OVER CAR BOMB ASSASSINATION

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) on Monday accused Ukraine’s secret services of killing Darya Dugina, the daughter of a Russian ultra-nationalist, Russian news agencies reported.

Dugina, whose father Alexander Dugin is a prominent ideologue, was killed on Saturday, when a suspected explosive device blew up the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving, investigators said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday expressed his “sincere condolences and words of support” following Dugina’s death.

“A vile, cruel crime ended the life of Daria Dugina, a bright, talented person with a real Russian heart — kind, loving, sympathetic and open,” Putin said in a message to Dugina’s family released by the Kremlin.

The FSB said the attack was carried out by a Ukrainian woman identified as Natalya Vovk, born in 1979, who left Russia for Estonia after the killing. The FSB said the woman arrived in July, spent a month preparing the attack by renting an apartment in the same housing block and researching Dugina’s lifestyle. Vovk and her teenaged daughter were at a nationalist festival, which Alexander Dugin and his daughter attended just before the killing. Ukraine's presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied any Ukrainian involvement in the bombing. In a tweet, he dismissed the FSB claims as fiction. Alexander Dugin, Darya’s father, is an ultra-nationalist ideologue who has advocated violence to achieve the unification of Russian-speaking and other territories in a vast new Russian empire.

Darya, who appeared regularly on Russian state TV, broadly endorsed her father’s ideas and was a supporter of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine, which Kyiv and the West cast as an imperial-style war of conquest. Wednesday will mark six months since Russian troops crossed the border into Ukraine.

Dugin’s influence in Russia and proximity to President Vladimir Putin has been the subject of speculation. Some ascribe him significant sway over Moscow's foreign policy and say he helped lay the intellectual groundwork for Putin to adopt a more aggressive and expansionist foreign policy. Others said his impact and influence are minimal. The 60-year-old has never held an official Kremlin role.

COURT GRANTS IMRAN KHAN INTERIM PROTECTIVE BAIL IN 'TERRORISM' CASE

The Islamabad High Court on Monday granted Pakistan's ousted prime minister Imran Khan protective bail till Thursday in a terrorism case registered against him for threatening police, judiciary and other state institutions at his Islamabad rally on Saturday.

Khan was booked on Sunday under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Earlier in the day, Khan moved the court seeking pre-arrest bail in the case.

The petition filed by his lawyers Babar Awan and Faisal Chaudhry stated that Khan was a target of the ruling PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) for his fearless criticism, and extremely bold and blunt stance against corruption and corrupt politicians, the Dawn newspaper reported.

And to achieve this malicious agenda, acting in a most unfortunate and clumsy manner, a false and frivolous complaint has been registered against him by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police at the behest of the incumbent government, it added.

The plea further alleged that the government had decided to cross all limits to arrest Imran under false accusations and was hell-bent to sort out the petitioner and his party at all costs.

CHINESE ‘SPY’ SHIP LEAVES SRI LANKA

A high-tech Chinese research ship docked at the Hambantota port departed from Sri Lankan waters on Monday after a controversial six-day visit.

The ballistic missile and satellite tracking Yuan Wang 5 was scheduled to arrive at the Chinese-run port on Aug 11, but was delayed in the absence of nod by Lanka after security concerns raised by India.

China said it was used for scientific research, but the US Defence Department said it was under the command of China’s PLA and was capable of tracking satellites and missile launches.

It arrived in the southern Sri Lankan port on August 16 and was docked for replenishment.

Officials said, as agreed, there was no rotation of personnel during the call.

Sri Lanka provided assistance sought by the Chinese embassy during the ship’s visit.

ANTHONY FAUCI, BIDEN’S COVID ADVISER, TO RESIGN

Top infectious disease expert in the US, Dr Anthony Fauci, who became a household name during the Covid-19 pandemic, announced that he will step down in December for the "next chapter" of his career. Fauci (81) has been the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director since 1984 and the chief medical adviser to US President Joe Biden. “I am announcing that I will be stepping down from the positions of Director of the NIAID and Chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, as well as the position of Chief Medical Advisor to President in December to pursue the next chapter of my career,” Fauci said, calling it “the honour of his lifetime.”

CHINA CEMENTS INFLUENCE IN IRAQ THROUGH OIL, INFRA DEALS

Baghdad : China has gained a major foothold in oil-rich Iraq, shaking up Western domination in fields from energy to construction, even as some warn that infrastructure projects could leave Baghdad in debt. After decades of conflict, Iraq is “badly in need of foreign investment, and specifically investment in energy sector infrastructure”, said John Calabrese of the Middle East Institute in Washington. China, with its soaring energy needs, has stepped in to fill that gap, and is expanding its presence in Iraq under a 2019 “oil for construction” deal.

Beijing has become one of the largest importers of Iraqi crude, and in 2021 accounted for 44% of Iraq’s oil exports, according to prime ministerial adviser Muzhar Saleh. And state firm PetroChina has partnered with France’s TotalEnergies and Malaysia’s Petronas to exploit the Halfaya oilfield in southern Iraq. “China is just getting started,” ambassador Cui Wei told journalists in a recent videoconference. But Beijing is interested in more than just Iraq’s trade potential, Calabrese said. Beyond the “obvious commercial incentives” are China’s ambitions to “deeply entrench itself in a country and a region that the West, and especially the US, has dominated,” he said.

Iraq is among the many partners in China’s vast “Belt and Road” infrastructure initiative, which Western leaders say risks saddling poorer countries with debt. Baghdad is an “important cooperation partner” in the project, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said, adding that Beijing had “actively participated in the reconstruction of Iraq’s economy”.

FINNISH PM TESTS NEGATIVE FOR DRUGS

Finnish PM Sanna Marin has tested negative in a drug test she took following the publication of video footage last week that showed her partying with friends, her office said on Monday.

The screening carried out on Friday showed no indication of drugs, according to a statement from the government in Helsinki. The urine test was screened for cocaine, opiates and amphetamine as well as a number of other substances, Marin’s office said. The PM took the test to refute speculation of drug use prompted by leaked video footage that showed her dancing and partying with friends at a private residence earlier in August. Marin, who became the world’s youngest serving leader in December 2019, had said on Friday that she had never taken drugs and that she had not seen anyone doing so at the party she attended.

Social Democrat leader Marin also said her ability to perform her official dutieshad remained unimpaired on the Saturday night in question and that she would have left the party had she been required to work. Some Finns have voiced support for Marin and others have raised questions about her judgement.

Meanwhile, women from around the world are sharing videos of themselves dancing online in a gesture of support for Marin. The women, including those in neighbouring Denmark, have been trending #solidaritywithsanna. “We should all dance a little more! I stand in solidarity with Sanna,” a tweet read.

SRI LANKA DETAINS STUDENT LEADERS UNDER ANTI-TERROR LAW

The Sri Lankan police on Monday confirmed the detention of three student activists under a dreaded anti-terrorism law, four days after arresting them at a protest held in capital Colombo.

Local and international rights advocates have slammed the move, accusing the government of construing dissent as terrorism, even as Sri Lanka’s controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act comes under sharp focus yet again.

On August 18, the police arrested nearly 20 protesters at a march held in Colombo, organised by the Inter University Students’ Federation, where participants highlighted many issues, including “state repression” and the spiralling cost of living.

While a majority of those arrested were soon granted bail, Federation convener Wasantha Mudalige, student activists Hashan Jeewantha and Galwewa Siridhamma — who leads the universities’ monk federation — were in police custody for over 72 hours, amid reports of their detention under the PTA.

In a letter to the Inspector General of Police on Monday, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka said it was “deeply concerned about the resurrection of the PTA by the police on suspects who do not fall within the definition of the Act.”

CHINA RESUMES STUDENT VISA FOR INDIANS AFTER 2 YEARS

China announced plans to issue visas to Indian students stranded at home for over two years due to Beijing’s strict Covid restrictions, besides various categories of travel permits including business visas.

“Warmest congrats to #Indian #students!...I can really share your excitement & happiness. Welcome back to #China!” Ji Rong, Counsellor, Department of Asian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China tweeted.