Protests against a controversial citizenship bill in India continued Sunday despite a government ban against demonstrations.

Afghanistan’s incumbent President Ashraf Ghani has apparently won a second five-year term based on preliminary results announced Sunday for the disputed September 28 presidential vote.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy for reconciliation in Afghanistan, recently returned to Kabul to jumpstart political negotiations with the Taliban.

In a historic move, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to fulfil the demand for a chief of defence staff (CDS) during an address to the nation on India’s Independence Day. The creation of a CDS comes around 19 years after a high level committee set up to review the Kargil War with Pakistan recommended it.

The United States is allowing Pakistan to rejoin a military training program following a two-year suspension — representing one element of U.S. military assistance frozen by President Donald Trump after accusing Islamabad of not doing enough to stop terrorism.

A fresh Taliban attack in Afghanistan has killed 17 pro-government forces, even as the insurgent group is reported to be mulling over a brief cease-fire to try to seal a foreign troop withdrawal deal with the United States.

The Indian Navy is upgrading the security infrastructure of its naval airfields. As part of the plan, systems will be installed to provide continuous surveillance, real time alerting and immediate response to a threat. The Navy also plans to purchase naval guns from the US for warships.

xThe Taliban has denied press reports indicating the group was on the cusp of declaring a ceasefire in Afghanistan, saying this is “false and baseless.”

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) will facilitate the restructuring of the military command structure to optimise the utilisation of resources by working to integrate operations, including through establishment of joint or theatre-specific commands among the service branches.