VIF Information Alerts - 2nd May 2019

UN designates Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as global terrorist
Published: The Economic Times

02 May 2019

In a huge diplomatic win for India, the United Nations on Wednesday designated Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist" after China lifted its hold on a proposal to blacklist the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief, a decade after New Delhi approached the world body for the first time on the issue.
The UN committee listed Azhar on May 1, 2019 as being associated with Al-Qaeda for "participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in of", "supplying, selling or transferring arms and related material to", "recruiting for", "otherwise supporting acts or activities of", and "other acts or activities indicating association with" the JeM.Click here to read... [2]

US military stops tracking key metric on Afghan war
Published: The Dawn

02 May 2019

The US military has stopped tracking the amount of territory controlled or influenced by the Afghan government and militants, a US watchdog said on Tuesday, one of the last remaining public metrics that tracked the worsening security situation in the war-torn country. The move comes as US and Taliban officials have held several rounds of talks aimed at ensuring a safe exit for US forces in return for a Taliban guarantee that Afghanistan will not be used by militants to threaten the rest of the world.Click here to read... [3]

MPs make history by passing Commons motion to declare ‘environment and climate change emergency’
Published: 01 May 2019

MPs have passed a motion making the UK parliament the first in the world to declare an “environment and climate emergency”. The symbolic move – recognising the urgency needed to combat the climate crisis – follows a wave of protests launched by the Extinction Rebellion strikers in recent weeks. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for the motion to “set off a wave of action from parliaments and governments around the globe”.Click here to read... [4]

‘Seldom uses front door’: report reveals how China spies on Muslim minority
Published: The Guardian

01 May 2019

Using too much electricity or having acquaintances abroad are among a list of reasons that prompt authorities in China’s western Xinjiang region to investigate Uighurs and other Muslims who might be deemed “untrustworthy” and sent to internment camps, according to a Human Rights Watch report. The report, released on Thursday, analyses a mobile app used by authorities in Xinjiang to collect personal data from ethnic minorities, file reports about people and objects they find suspicious, and carry out investigations.Click here to read... [5]

India working on robots that may patrol borders
Published: The Times of India

02 May 2019

As part of enhancing India's defence capabilities, scientists have been quietly working on all-terrain artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled robots that may eventually patrol the country's borders. Scientists from defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited’s (BEL) Central Research Laboratory (CRL) in Bengaluru, who began work on this first responder robot in December 2018, are confident of having the first prototype by December 2019. Click here to read... [6]