VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: 3rd January, 2018

PAKISTAN

Trump 'looks forward to' meeting Pakistan's new leadership: Dawn
January 3, 2019

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he "looks forward to meeting the new leadership in Pakistan" but not without accusing Islamabad of "housing the enemy", CNN reported. Trump's remarks came when he was making a point about his ongoing disagreement with Congressional lawmakers over allocation of finances that has led to a partial shut down of the US government. Click here to read.... [2]

AFGHANISTAN

Russia, Pakistan Should Fight In Afghanistan: Trump
January 3, 2019

Amid reports on a possible withdrawal of American troops, the US President Donald Trump at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday insisted on regional countries' role in Afghanistan and said that Russia and Pakistan should be fighting in Afghanistan, not the United States. “So you take a look at other countries—Pakistan is there. They should be fighting. But Russia should be fighting. The reason Russia was in Afghanistan was because terrorists were going into Russia. They were right to be there. The problem is it was a tough fight,” Trump said. Trump seemed to misstate the former Soviet Union's involvement in Afghanistan that "Russia used to be the Soviet Union. Afghanistan made it Russia because they went bankrupt fighting in Afghanistan," Trump said. Click here to read.... [3]

NEPAL

India, China yet to rebuild school buildings: Kathmandu Post
January 3, 2019

Reconstruction of 13 schools in Dolakha district, which were damaged by the 2015-earthquake, has been left in limbo as the donor countries that had pledged to rebuild the infrastructure have yet to initiate the project. Indian authorities had promised to reconstruct 10 quake-damaged schools while the Chinese government had pledged to rebuild three schools. However, it has been more than three years since the earthquake and the Indian authorities have yet to start the project while the Chinese authorities have just prepared the building design. Click here to read.... [4]

MYANMAR

Thousands flee clashes between Buddhist group and Myanmar army: Al Jazeera
January 3, 2019

Intensified fighting between a Buddhist armed group and Myanmar's security forces has driven thousands of people from their homes in the country's western Rakhine State over the past month, amid rising tensions in the area where the Rohingya crisis broke out in 2017. Farhan Haq, United Nations spokesperson, said on Wednesday that about 2,500 people had been displaced since early December when clashes broke out with the Arakan Army, one of the several groups fighting Myanmar's military that want more autonomy for ethnic minorities. Click here to read.... [5]

CHINA

‘China, China, China’: Trump’s new Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan sets US defence priorities: South China Morning Post
January 3, 2019

Patrick Shanahan, the acting US defence secretary, singled out China as a key priority in a “great power competition” on his first full day in his new role at the Pentagon on Wednesday, continuing a course set by his predecessor. Click here to read.... [6]

Xi envisions peaceful reunification: China Daily
January 3, 2019

China must be and will be reunified, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday, warning against external interference in the Taiwan question. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a gathering in Beijing to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Message to Compatriots in Taiwan. Click here to read.... [7]