VIF Information Alerts - 28 January 2020

Govt signs Bodo peace accord, ends decades-old armed movement for separate state
Published: Hindustan Times

28 Jan 2020

The Union government on Monday signed a peace accord with all four factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and two other influential regional outfits in an agreement aimed at ushering in political and economic stability in the Bodo-dominated regions of Assam by bringing an end to a decades-old armed movement for a separate state.
The All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU), which was once part of the movement for a separate Bodoloand, and the United Bodo People’s Organisation (UBPO) were among the signatories of the accord, which did not accede to the demand for a new state but pledged more powers for the Bodo-dominated regions in the North-east state.Click here to read... [2]

Islamophobia rampant on social media, not in real life: Study
Published: The Tribune

28 Jan 2020

With an aim to dispel the myth that the vast majority of people in the US are anti-Muslim, researchers say that the hatred Muslim candidates see online may be different than what they experience on the campaign trail. Islamophobia was rampant on social media during the 2018 US midterm elections.
In a study, the researchers found that the majority of anti-Muslim tweets related to the 2018 midterm elections were sent by either a select few thought leaders with large followings on social media, or by bots—software that autonomously tweets or retweets content.Click here to read... [3]

ED finds 'financial link' between PFI and CAA protests; organisation denies
Published: Business Standard

27 Jan 2020

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has found that the recent violent protests in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) had an alleged "financial link" with the Kerala-based Popular Front of India (PFI), a claim termed as "baseless" by the organisation.Click here to read... [4]

Taliban says it shot down American aircraft in Afghanistan — report says two survivors being hunted
Published: National Post

27 Jan 2020

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the downing of a “special American aircraft” flying over Afghanistan on what it described as an intelligence mission. The crash happened on Monday in the Taliban-controlled Sado Khel area of the Deh Yak district in Ghazni province, the militant group’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said in a message via WhatsApp.Click here to read... [5]

DPR of Nepal-China cross-border transmission line near completion
Published: The Himalayan Times

27 Jan 2020

The detailed project report (DPR) of the first Nepal-China 80-kilometre-long Galchhi-Rasuwagadhi-Kyirong 400 kVA high-voltage cross-border transmission line, which has been planned with an aim to transmit country’s surplus energy to the northern neighbour, is about to be completed. As per an agreement signed between Nepal and China in 2017, the joint technical team and consultants are conducting the DPR works for the project.Click here to read... [6]