Kolkata, Aug 25; PTI: Stepping up attack on the government over the Rafale fighter jet issue, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram today accused the Centre of ignoring the defence procurement procedure and "bypassing" several committees to secure the deal.

The former finance minister also alleged the Cabinet Committee on Security was not taken into confidence by the government before signing the deal.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- A senior U.S. Navy official said Friday that the U.S. 2nd Fleet will expand its operation space past the Arctic Circle and reach close to Russia.

"A new 2nd Fleet increases our strategic flexibility to respond - from the Eastern Seaboard to the Barents Sea," Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson said aboard the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush, which is currently at Norfolk in the U.S. state of Virginia.

By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Aug 25 (PTI) Pakistan's new government has banned the discretionary use of state funds and first-class air travel by officials and leaders, including the president and the prime minister, as part of its austerity drive.

The decisions were made at a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday, according to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's foreign ministry on Saturday expressed regret over the cancellation of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

From the South Korean side, it was sorry for Pompeo's "delayed visit" to the DPRK, the ministry said in a statement.

The statement said it would be significant to continue to seek ways to make talks between the DPRK and the United States contribute to the common goal of the Korean Peninsula's complete denuclearization and the permanent peace settlement.

XICHANG, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China on Saturday successfully sent twin BeiDou navigation satellites into space on a single carrier rocket.

The Long March-3B carrier rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 7:52 a.m.. It was the 283rd mission of the Long March rocket series, said a source of the launch center.

The twin satellites entered orbit more than three hours after the launch. After a series of tests, they will work together with 10 other BeiDou-3 satellites already in orbit.

CANBERRA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Two of Australia's big four banks have been accused of criminal offences over their treatment of superannuation customers.

In a submission to the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, Michael Hodge, senior counsel assisting the commission, recommended that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and National Australia Bank (NAB) face criminal charges.

The CBA is Australia's largest bank while NAB is the second largest.

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) In a major decision, the Defence Ministry today gave its nod to acquisition of 111 utility helicopters for the Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crore besides approving separate procurement proposals worth nearly Rs 25,000 crore, according to officials.

A meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the ministry's highest decision-making body on procurement, cleared the proposals.

New Delhi, Aug 24 (PTI) Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said that the rupee has not depreciated to 'too worrying levels', though the government needs to take care of the widening current account deficit (CAD).

The rupee on August 16 had slumped to a life-time low of 70.32 on strong demand for the US dollar.

The rupee today staged a good recovery to end higher by 20 paise at 69.91 against the US currency on bouts of dollar selling by exporters and corporates.

Karuna Shukla, a former BJP cadre but now a Congress leader, says that BJP is trying to cash in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s death.

Shukla, Vajpayee’s niece,  accused the BJP of trying to capitalise on her uncle’s death for “political gains” in Assembly elections.

“I am stunned and pained to see the way BJP is trying to use the name of Atal-ji after his demise for political gains,” Shukla said in a statement.

GENEVA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A meeting between U.S. National Security Advisor John R. Bolton and his Russian counterpart, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, concluded Thursday afternoon here in Geneva without reaching a joint statement though both sides cited "progress".

Speaking to journalists at a press briefing inside the U.S. mission in Geneva, Bolton said that they had made some progress, and identified specific areas "in which it is possible to restore communication lines and conduct more work within the relevant departments".

Washington, Aug 24 (AP) US and Chinese negotiators ended two days of meetings without breaking a deadlock over trade that has unnerved financial markets and disrupted global commerce.

The delegations "exchanged views on how to achieve fairness, balance and reciprocity in the economic relationship," Lindsay Walters, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement. She did not mention further talks.

A Chinese Commerce Ministry statement said the talks were "constructive and frank" but gave no details. It said the two sides would "maintain contact."

Hyderabad, Aug 23; PTI:  If the Centre wants to reject the Rs 700-crore offer of the UAE to Kerala for flood relief operations, it should give a Rs 2,600-crore interim assistance as sought by the southern state, the Communist Party of India (CPI) said today.

Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, the national general secretary of the CPI -- the second biggest constituent in the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala -- also accused the Centre of "standing on false prestige" on the issue of foreign aid at times of natural disasters.