Briefly

AUSTRALIA

Government mulls leasing warships

The Australian government is exploring leasing its warships from shipbuilders to alleviate budget pressures on the Defense Department. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has told shipbuilders that they must come up with "innovative" financing proposals if they want to receive military contracts. One such proposal, according to The Australian Financial Review, would see the Australian Defense Force lease military equipment under whole-of-life contracts rather than buy it, allowing the government to spread out the upfront cost. The government has committed to spending $59.4 billion on the construction of warships and submarines under a new naval shipbuilding plan.

AFGHANISTAN

US wants Ghani to delay inauguration

The United States wants Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to defer his second-term inauguration over concerns it could inflame an election feud with his political rival and jeopardize US-led peacemaking efforts, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. Ghani claimed victory last week in a Sept 28 election and plans to take the oath of office on Thursday, an Afghan official said. His opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, Ghani's former deputy, also proclaimed himself the winner and is planning a parallel inauguration, according to Afghan media reports. The claims, neither of which Washington has recognized, threaten a US-led peace process that got a boost on Saturday with the start of a weeklong reduction in violence that is to culminate on Saturday with the signing of a US-Taliban deal on a US troop withdrawal.

THAILAND

Roadside bomb hurts 8 in restive south

Two school children were among eight people injured by shrapnel from a roadside bomb near a park in Thailand's restive southern province of Songkhla on Monday. Among the injured were a district assistant chief, a defense volunteer and villagers. The Thai Army's Region 4 Forward Command said it believed that southern insurgents detonated the device when a converted pickup truck passed the spot. The explosion blew the vehicle off the road. The explosion came after Sunday night's clash between the Thai Army and a group of insurgents. Five suspected southern insurgents were shot dead by security forces on a mountain in Narathiwat Province.

Agencies - Xinhua