On Saturday Li Keqiang, the Chinese PM, paid a two-day visit to Cuba. The aim of the meeting was to strengthen bilateral relations on the line Havana-Beijing and deepen economic ties. It is one among many international trips made to Havana in the recent months by various world leaders. Only last week Shinzo Abe was the first Japanese Prime Minister to come to communist Cuba. The country has become significantly more attractive to foreign investment since the opening up to business-like relations with Washington in the past two years. China is, however, Cuba’s second largest trading partner and strives to keep that position.

China is in close communication with the Philippines about the possible visit of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to China, - said on Friday at a news briefing by a Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang. Previously, the agency Reuters, citing sources in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines reported that Philippine diplomats are negotiating with counterparts from Japan and China about the possible visit of President Rodrigo Duterte to these countries at the end of October.

Today the Afghan authorities signed a long-expected peace deal with a party led by one of the country's most notorious Islamist warlords. The ceremony was broadcast live on television in the presence of the Ahman Gilani, the Kabul's High Peace Council, Mohammad Hanif Atmar, national security adviser and Amin Karim, representative of Hekmatyar who was not present at the signing. To bring the agreement into force it has to be signed by the President Ashraf Ghani and Hekmatyar later on. The deal grants Hekmatyar amnesty for the past offences, release of certain Hezb-i-Islami prisoners and the pressure of Kabul's government onto lifting of international sanctions on Hekmatyar. It would allow him to stop hiding and to make a political comeback.

India and the United States are negotiating on the allocation by the US Export-Import Bank (Export-Import Bank of the United States) credit line amount of 8-9 billion dollars for the construction of nuclear power plant in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Reuters reported, citing its sources. Earlier, the Government of India in principle approved the four sites for NPP construction with foreign participation: Jaitapur in Maharashtra, where the NPP is planning to be built with the assistance of France, Chhaya Mithi Virdi in Gujarat and Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh, and at each site it is planned to build six reactors with capacity of 1000 megawatts with the assistance of the United States. The fourth area defined for the construction of nuclear power plants in cooperation with Russia, and the place for NPP will be agreed.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has raised the issue of Kashmir at the UN General assembly, expressing his support for Kashmir’s independence. Sharif’s speech is undoubtedly a response to the recent developments in the region, the killing of 18 Indian soldiers and many more injured and wounded, as well as Narendra Modi’s accusations against Pakistan (calling it a terrorist state). Indian officials have instantly called the UN speech into doubt and criticized PM Sharif.

As results of the September meeting and the large-scale review of the monetary policy, The Bank of Japan decided to abandon the monetary base reference point as one of the main targets. Instead, the regulator will begin to target the yield on 10-year government bonds at the current level of about 0%. Japan's stock market responded positively to the review of the monetary policy. The Nikkei 225 stock index during trading on Tuesday rose by 1.2%. Rate of the yen declines in all major currency pairs. In particular the yen fell 0.7% against the US dollar, 0.9% against the euro and the pound sterling.