MILITARY TRAINING

South Korean health authorities have reported 833 infections nationwide, while eight people have died.

SEOUL: Hit South Korean boy band BTS will not be given exemption from mandatory military service, the defense ministry has said, reaffirming its policy of no exceptions for pop stars.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani military officers will receive training in Russian Federation military institutes under a recent agreement signed between the two countries. The deal underscores Pakistan’s increasing reliance on Russia for its military needs amid strained relations with the US. It was signed earlier this week during a visit by Russian Deputy Defence Minister Col Gen Alexander Fomin. The agreement comes as local media reported the US has stopped financing military training in the US for Pakistani soldiers — a step…

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration has quietly started cutting scores of Pakistani officers from coveted training and educational programmes that have been a hallmark of bilateral military relations for more than a decade, US officials say. The move, which has not been previously reported, is one of the first known impacts from Trump’s decision this year to suspend US security assistance to Pakistan. The Pentagon and the Pakistani military did not comment directly on the decision or the…

LONDON: Britain said on Tuesday (Sept 19) it had suspended its educational training courses for the Myanmar military due to the ethnic violence in Rakhine state. London said it had "deep concern" about human rights abuses and would not be resuming the military courses unless there was an "acceptable resolution" to the ongoing Rohingya crisis. Communal violence has torn through Myanmar's western Rakhine state since Muslim minority Rohingya militants staged deadly attacks on police posts on Aug 25. An army-led…