VIF Information Alerts - 23 April 2019

Trump puts India in a fix over Iran oil and regional strategy
Published: The Economic Times

23 Apr 2019

The Trump administration has put India in a tight energy fix and strategic tangle, ending the waiver that allowed New Delhi to buy Iranian oil even as it whittled down supplies from Teheran, a long-term source and partner in the region.

"The current waivers expire on May 2. There are no SRE (Significant Reduction Exemption) waivers that extent beyond May 2. Full stop," US secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced at a state department briefing on Monday, signaling an end to a nearly year-long breathing room the Trump administration had given to eight countries, including India and China, after putting them on notice to stop buying Iranian oil.Click here to read... [2]

High-level revamp: Anti-hijack panel to now include PMO brass
Published: The Economic Times

23 Apr 2019

The government has revamped its high-level anti-hijack panel to include top officials the Prime Minister’s Office, especially National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who will be empowered to coordinate any immediate military response.

ET has reliably gathered that this freshly reconstituted panel called the Committee of Secretaries on Aircraft Hijack (COSAH) will also have Nripendra Mishra, principal secretary to the prime minister and P K Mishra,additional principal secretary as its members.Click here to read... [3]

India to work with Sri Lanka on counter-terrorism
Published: Deccan Herald

22 Apr 2019

India is set to work with Sri Lanka and other Bay of Bengal nations for early ratification of a counter-terrorism convention to step up regional cooperation against terror in the wake of the series of terror strikes in the island nation on Sunday. With the string of attacks in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday underlining the need for greater cooperation in combating terror, India will give a renewed push within the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) to build a regional architecture to take on the menace, sources in New Delhi told the DH on Monday.Click here to read... [4]

Sri Lanka grants army sweeping powers after blasts
Published: The Telegraph

23 Apr 2019

Sri Lanka's president gave the military sweeping police powers starting Tuesday in the wake of the Easter bombings that killed nearly 300 people, while officials disclosed that intelligence agencies had warned weeks ago of the possibility of an attack by the radical Muslim group blamed for the bloodshed.Click here to read... [5]

Iran, Pakistan announce setting up of border 'reaction force' after attacks
Published: The New Indian Express

22 Apr 2019

Iran and Pakistan have agreed to set up a joint border "reaction force" following a number of deadly attacks by militant groups on their frontier, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced Monday after talks with visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. "We agreed to create a joint rapid reaction force at the borders for combatting terrorism," Rouhani told a joint news conference, following months of increased tensions over attacks on both sides of the frontier.Click here to read... [6]