VIF Information Alerts - 11 Jan 2018

Regulator probes Marriott for violating China's cybersecurity law following Tibet incident
Published: Global Times
11 Jan 2018

Chinese netizens called on Thursday for an investigation of global hotel chain Marriott International for allegedly listing China's Tibet Autonomous Region as a country in an email sent to members, after a Twitter account affiliated to Marriott "liked" a "pro-independence of Tibet" tweet. Click here to read... [2]

U.S. places India at Level 2 in its new travel advisory for citizens
Published: The Hindu
11 Jan 2018

The United States on Wednesday issued a new travel advisory for countries including India, which its officials said is “user friendly” as it is based on ready-to-understand level of advice ranging from one to four.

India has been ranked Level 2 (exercise increased caution) while Pakistan has been places in Level 3 (reconsider travel). Level 1 advises travellers to exercise normal precaution, while Level 4, which has countries like Afghanistan, recommends “Do Not Travel“.Click here to read... [3]

Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed incited jihad in UK in 1990s: BBC report
Published: The Times of India
10 Jan 2018

Hafiz Saeed, the founder of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, toured the UK in the 1990s to incite Muslims to become jihadis, according to a media report.

During the tour, Saeed spoke in Birmingham where he denounced the Hindus and urged his audience to "rise up for jihad". In Leicester, he spoke at a conference attended by 4,000 young people, according to the BBC Radio 4 documentary, titled 'The Dawn of British Jihad', aired last night. Click here to read... [4]

Vicious propaganda against Kashmiris by some TV channels affecting peace process, says Special Representative
Published: The Hindu
10 Jan 2018

The Centre’s Special Representative on Jammu and Kashmir, Dineshwar Sharma, has requested Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to convene a meeting with authorities of certain television news channels to ask them to be careful against spreading “vicious propaganda” against Kashmiris.Click here to read... [5]

Prison population: China tops in Asia, US in World
Published: The Statesman
10 Jan 2018

China has the largest prison population in Asia, more than four times as large as India. However, when it comes to prison population rates, Thailand has the highest incarceration rate in the region.

Around the world more than 10.35 million people are imprisoned either as pretrial detainees or having been convicted and sentenced, according to the report of UK-based Institute of Criminal Policy Research.Click here to read... [6]

Army kills 138 Pak soldiers in 2017 in tactical ops
Published: Daily Pioneer
10 Jan 2018

The Indian Army killed 138 Pakistan Army personnel in 2017 in tactical operations and retaliatory cross-border firings along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, government intelligence sources said today. The Indian Army lost 28 soldiers during the same period along the LoC, the sources said. Click here to read... [7]

How Not to Engage With Pakistan
New York Times
09 Jan 2018

By Richard G Olson, former US Ambassador to Pakistan (2012-2015) and Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (2015-2016)

President Trump’s decision last week to suspend almost all security aid to Pakistan, which quickly followed his accusation that Pakistan had “given us nothing but lies and deceit,” suggests that his administration is carrying out the hard-line approach that the president foreshadowed in August. Click here to read... [8]

Bangladesh court upholds ban on Rohingya marriage
The Times of India
08 Jan 2018

A Bangladesh court today upheld a government ruling banning marriage between its citizens and refugees from Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya minority, who have fled ethnic violence in the neighbouring country.

The High Court in Dhaka dismissed a legal challenge from a father whose son married a Rohingya teenager in a Muslim ceremony in September despite laws forbidding such unions.Click here to read... [9]