VIF Information Alerts - 15th May 2018

Jerusalem Embassy is a Victory for Trump, and a Complication for Middle East Peace
Published: New York Times
14 May 2018

President Trump and senior members of his administration exulted on Monday over the opening of the United States’ new embassy in Jerusalem, dismissing the violence raging along the border with Gaza as the ceremony unfolded as “unfortunate propaganda.”

For Mr. Trump, the opening of the embassy was an opportunity to keep a campaign promise, and was yet another example of his willingness to upend decades of conventional thinking on foreign policy and to do what other American presidents had not dared.Click here to read... [2]

As U.S. Demands Nuclear Disarmament, It Moves to Expand Its Own Arsenal
Published: The New York Times
14 May 2018

For the White House, these have been dramatic days for nuclear disarmament: First President Trump exited the Iran deal, demanding that Tehran sign a new agreement that forever cuts off its path to making a bomb, then the administration announced a first-ever meeting with the leader of North Korea about ridding his nation of nuclear weapons.

But for the American arsenal, the initiatives are all going in the opposite direction, with a series of little-noticed announcements to spend billions of dollars building the factories needed to rejuvenate and expand America’s nuclear capacity.Click here to read... [3]

Singapore not joining US, Japan-led free and open Indo-Pacific for now: Vivian Balakrishnan
Published: The Straits Times
14 May 2018

Singapore will not be signing on for now to the free and open Indo-Pacific strategy being touted by the United States, Japan, India and Australia, said Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan at a lecture on Monday(May 14). Asked if Singapore would join "the Quad" of four countries, he replied that the strategic concept does not adequately address whether Asean would continue to be central to the region's architecture, and whether multilateralism and the rule of law would remain the order of the day.Click here to read... [4]

China clears USD 1 billion road in Sri Lanka, countering India influence
Published: The Asian Age
15 May 2018

China has approved a USD 1 billion loan to revive a long-delayed expressway in central Sri Lanka, the island's government said on Monday. Construction of the first phase of the road linking the capital Colombo with the hill resort of Kandy had been delayed for more than two years due to a lack of foreign funding, according to local media reports.Click here to read... [5]

Treason petition in Pakistan court against Sharif over Mumbai attack remarks
Published: Greater Kashmir
15 May 2018

A petition was submitted in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday to register a treason case against ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif following his controversial remarks on 2008 Mumbai attacks. The petition, filed by political party Pakistan Awaami Tehreek's (PAT) Khurram Nawaz Gandapur, stated that Sharif's statement was against national security and state institutions. "Nawaz Sharif's statement is tantamount to treason. Instructions should be given to register a treason case against him," it said.Click here to read... [6]

J&K govt lands in soup over 'permit system' order for Kashmiri pandits
Published: DNA
15 May 2018

Even as the issue of Kashmiri pandits in the valley remains raw, the Mehbooba Mufti-led government on May 10 issued a controversial notice, asking the exiled Kashmiri pandit pilgrims to "give consent" before undertaking pilgrimages to the holy shrines in the terror-plagued valley. However, following an uproar on Monday, wherein the government was accused of "imposing permit system" to visiting shrines, the order was revoked and the officer in question was shunted out. A high-level probe has also been ordered into the fiasco.Click here to read... [7]