VIF Information Alerts - 09 Jan 2018

Tehran Proposes Inclusive Regional Security Arrangement
Published – Financial Tribune
09 Jan 2018

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif proposed an inclusive and integrated security model for the Middle East, which can meet the needs of all regional countries, stressing that alliances and coalitions formed among certain countries have proved to be inefficient. Click here to read... [2]

New ‘Silk Road’ can’t be one-way, says Macron
Published – Tribune India
09 Jan 2018

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday China and Europe should work together on Beijing’s “Belt and Road” initiative, a project aiming to build a modern-day “Silk Road” he said could not be “one-way”. Click here to read... [3]

China shuts 128,000 ‘harmful’ websites in 2017: report
Published – Indian Express
09 Jan 2018

China shut as many as 128,000 websites that contained obscene and other “harmful” information in 2017, the official Xinhua news agency reported late on Monday, citing government data.
Xinhua said 30.9 million illegal publications were confiscated over the course of 2017, while 1,900 people were subject to criminal penalties, according to figures from the national office in charge of combating pornography and illegal publications. Click here to read... [4]

No impact of Italy court ruling on our probe of AgustaWestland case: CBI
Published – The Times of India
08 Jan, 2018

Citing insufficient evidence, an Italian appeals court on Monday acquitted Giuseppe Orsi - former chief of Finmeccanica and Bruno Spagnolini, then CEO of its subsidiary AgustaWestland - clearing them of charges that they paid bribes to Indian officials/private persons for bagging Rs 3,726 crore contract to sell 12 VVIP choppers to Indian Air Force.

The judgement comes even as Indian investigators have chargesheeted former IAF chief SP Tyagi, Orsi, and Spagnolini among others for corruption, cheating and criminal conspiracy and has claimed to find money trail in the UPA-era scam. Click here to read... [5]

Deshi Muslims seek OBC tag
Published – Telegraph India
08 Jan 2018

Any mention of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) being updated in Assam to detect foreigners angers Mozibur Rahman, a retired primary school teacher in Dhubri district.

So much so that Deshi Janagosthiyo Mancha, of which Rahman is one of 20-lakh members, has demanded OBC (other backward class) status to protect their identity at a convention in Boko in Kamrup district held over the weekend. It discussed the "identity crisis" that might arise over the NRC update. Click here to read... [6]