PAKISTAN: The army said today it had killed 33 “militants” trying to enter the south-western Balochistan province from Afghanistan.
The military alleged both that the fighters it killed were part of the Pakistani Taliban and that they were backed by India. Pakistan has not offered evidence for its repeated claims that India supports the Pakistani Taliban to undermine its neighbour.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: The government has brought former opposition members into the cabinet in a bid to create a national unity government.
President Felix Tshisekedi appointed Adolphe Muzito, a former prime minister under his predecessor Joseph Kabila, vice-prime minister in charge of the budget.
Mr Tshisekedi is keen to shore up support as the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels continue to advance in the east. Peace talks due to take place in Doha today were shunned by both sides.

NEW ZEALAND: Japanese warships docked in Wellington today, making their first visit to New Zealand waters since the 1930s.
Japan’s “peace constitution” bars it from deploying troops abroad, but recent governments have sought to overturn the restriction and have ratcheted up military spending as part of the US-led encirclement of China.
The naval trip was billed as part of deepening bilateral military co-operation.

CHINA: Flash floods have killed at least 10 people and 33 are still missing in Yuzhong county in the north-west Gansu province, authorities said today.
Heavy rains are battering several parts of the country, with a flood-triggered landslide killing seven in the southern city of Guangzhou on Wednesday.
Power has been knocked out to four villages and over 4,000 people in Gansu’s Xinglong mountains.