VIF Neighbourhood News Digest - 2 Feb 2018

AFGHANISTAN

Pakistan Gives Afghan Refugees Another 60 Days: Tolo News
01 Feb, 2018

The Federal Cabinet of Pakistan on Wednesday approved an extension of stay for 60 days for Afghan refugees, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. This comes after the previous extension expired on Tuesday. The Federal Cabinet of Pakistan held a meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, on Wednesday and approved the extension of the grant for 60-days for Afghan refugees. “The cabinet approved a grant of 60 days extension in the Proof of Registration (POR) cards for Afghan refugees,” said a statement issued by Abbasi. The report said that the extension would be extended to 114 districts in various parts of the country including Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, South Punjab. Under a trilateral agreement signed by Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United Nations, Pakistan has issued the PoR cards to Afghan refugees who are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Express Tribune of Pakistan reported. Click here to read... [2]

PAKISTAN

Afghan refugees: US averse to Pakistan’s repatriation plan: Express Tribune
02 Feb 2018

Amid reports that Pakistan is working on a plan for repatriating more than two million Afghan refugees in 2018, a US official has said “right now [situation in] Afghanistan is not conducive for large-scale, voluntary return of the refugees”. “Pakistan and the US share the same goal that someday all Afghans would return home with safety and dignity,” said US Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Situation Nancy Izzo Jackson. She was talking to a group of journalists on Thursday at the US embassy where she shared details of her meetings with senior civil and military officials in Pakistan about the refugees and issues surrounding them. Click here to read... [3]

NEPAL

India raises Nepal grant by 74 percent: Kathmandu Post
02 Feb 2018

Indian Government on Thursday expressed commitment to increase financial grant to Nepal by 74 percent in the next fiscal year to support the country’s development process in the newly established federal system. The Indian Ministry of Finance said it would provide a grant of INR6.6 billion (Rs10.6 billion) to Nepal in 2018-19. The announcement was made through budget for 2018-19 unveiled by Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Of the total amount that India is providing, INR6.5 billion (Rs10.4 billion) would be used for various purposes while INR118 million (Rs 188.8 million) would go towards the Nepal Police Academy, according to budget documents available on the website of the Indian Ministry of Finance. Precise information on beneficiaries of the entire grant amount is not available. Click here to read... [4]

BHUTAN

BHUTAN-1 expected to be in space by May: Kuensel
01 Feb 2018

By May this year, Bhutan’s first satellite called BHUTAN-1, a CubeSat (nano-satellite) is expected to be in space. Almost 90 percent of the works on the satellite has been completed. Four Bhutanese engineers are spearheading the country’s first venture into space technology at the Kyushu Institute of Technology (KyuTech) in Japan. Of the four, Pooja Lepcha joined the team in October last year. She is currently undergoing her masters programme at the institute through a post-graduate study on Nano-Satellite Technology scholarship offered by the institute. Click here to read... [5]

MYANMAR

Myanmar turns down UN Security Council visit: Mizzima
02 Feb 2018

Myanmar's government has told the Security Council that this month was "not the right time" for a visit by the top UN body to see first-hand the Rohingya refugee crisis, the council president said Thursday. Kuwait's Ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi said Myanmar authorities were not opposed to such a visit, which could take place in March or April. "They just think that this is not the right time for a visit," Otaibi, who holds the council presidency for February, told reporters at UN headquarters. Click here to read... [6]

MALDIVES

Maldives top court orders retrial of ex-president, opposition leaders: Daily Mirror
02 Feb 2018

The Supreme Court of the Maldives on Thursday ordered the immediate release of former president Mohamed Nasheed and eight other opposition leaders, saying their trials had violated the constitution and international law - but it also ordered new trials. The country has been mired in political unrest since Nasheed, its first democratically elected leader, was ousted in 2012. He was later sentenced to 13 years in jail on terrorism charges after a trial denounced as hasty and unfair by the United Nations human rights chief. In its ruling on Thursday, the Supreme Court said it found that prosecutors and judges had been unduly influenced “to conduct politically motivated investigations” into the allegations leveled at Nasheed, former vice president Ahmed Adeeb and the other opposition leaders who had challenged President Abdulla Yameen. Click here to read... [7]

CHINA

Xi meets May, calling for better Sino-British ties in new era: People’s Daily
02 Feb 2018

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May Thursday, calling on both countries to forge an enhanced version of the "Golden Era" bilateral ties. During their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Xi said peace, development and win-win cooperation have been the mainstream of the times with the development of a multipolar world, economic globalization, cultural diversity and great IT applications. Click here to read... [8]

Xi Jinping fails to get formal backing from Theresa May on belt and road plan: South China Morning Post
02 Feb 2018

President Xi Jinping called on China and Britain to show respect for each other’s “core interests” after Beijing failed to get a formal endorsement of its belt and road trade strategy from visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May.In talks with May on Thursday, Xi also said China and the UK should step up exchanges in areas from military to economic ties, but that the two nations must improve mutual understanding. Click here to read... [9]

Beware of ‘predatory’ Chinese investment in the Americas, warns Rex Tillerson: South China Morning Post
02 Feb 2018

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday warned countries in the Western Hemisphere to beware of Chinese investment, saying it is reminiscent of European colonialism. He also derided Russia for selling weaponry to unfriendly, authoritarian governments in the region. Click here to read... [10]

Premier Li consults public opinion on draft government work report: People’s Daily
02 Feb 2018

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday chaired a seminar to consult representatives from the education, science and technology, culture, health, and sports sectors, and members of the public, on the draft government work report. Vice Premiers Zhang Gaoli and Wang Yang also attended. Click here to read... [11]

Vow to ‘dig deep’ to find corrupt police amid Xi Jinping’s anti-mafia sweep: South China Morning Post
02 Feb 2018

China’s Ministry of Public Security has vowed to crack down on collusion between police and triads after President Xi Jinping last week launched a nationwide campaign to tackle corruption at the grass-roots level. “[We will] dig deep into the corruption problem ... and [we are] determined to break the network and the sheltering of vicious power,” the ministry’s disciplinary committee chief Deng Weiping told his colleagues, Thepaper.cn reported on Thursday. Click here to read... [12]