VIF Information Alerts - 28th May 2018

China Warns 2 American Warships in South China Sea
Published: The New York Times

27 May 2018

China’s military announced on Sunday that it had dispatched warships to challenge two United States Navy vessels that sailed through waters in the South China Sea that China claims as its own. The Chinese confronted the American ships and warned them to leave, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement posted on its website, but other details of the encounter were not immediately clear.Click here to read...

Philippines rebuilding runway on South China Sea island, scene of stand-off with Beijing, think tank says
Published: South China Morning Post

26 May 2018

The Philippines has started repairing a runway and upgrading other facilities on Thitu Island, the South China Sea territory that was last year the scene of a stand-off between Chinese and Philippine vessels, according to a Washington-based think tank. Satellite images taken on May 17 show two barges anchored near the western edge of the runway, one of which appears to be fitted with a grab dredger, which comprises a crane with clamshell bucket, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said on Saturday.Click here to read...

Iran warns Pakistan of Islamic State presence along Pak-Afghan border
Published: The Express Tribune

27 May 2018

Iran has warned Pakistan to careful as the Islamic State is being relocated in border region shared between Pakistan and Afgahnistan. Official sources told The Express Tribune that a senior Iranian official informed a delegation led by Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Ashtar Ausaf Ali that Iran have credible intelligence reports that the US has relocated Da’esh and its heads Abu Bakar Baghdadi to Afghanistan.Click here to read...

India launches 2nd IT corridor in China to gain access to big Chinese market
Published: The Economic Times

27 May 2018

India today launched its second IT corridor in China to cash in on the burgeoning Chinese software market which remained elusive despite the presence of top Indian technology firms.

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has established one more Digital Collaborative Opportunities Plaza (SIDCOP) platform in China in an effort to provide market access to Indian IT firms in the huge Chinese market, the NASSCOM said.Click here to read...

India protests Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan order
Published: The Hindu

27 May 2018

India on Sunday summoned the Pakistan’s Deputy High Commissioner to protest Islamabad’s order to integrate the region of Gilgit-Baltistan into the federal structure of the country. An official press release from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the region belongs to India and that Pakistan’s action has no legal support.Click here to read...

India to beat Japan this year; to have Asia’s second-largest power capacity
Published: Financial Express

26 May 2018

With a rapid roll-out of coal generation, India is all set to overtake Japan and to have Asia’s second-largest power capacity, data show. Fueled by a rapid rollout of coal-fired power generation, India will have a power capacity of 363.32 gigawatts in 2018, Bloomberg reported quoting a BMI Research report. India’s capacity will increase by a whopping 69% through 2027 and coal will remain the mainstay, making up about 75% of the mix, the report said.Click here to read...

Asia's newest drug war leaves more than 90 people dead in less than two weeks
Published: The Los Angeles Times

27 May 2018

A sweeping crackdown on alleged drug dealers has left at least 91 people dead in less than two weeks in Bangladesh, sparking fears of a Philippines-style "drug war" marked by extrajudicial killings. Most of the deaths have occurred in what the Bangladeshi news media have referred to as shootouts or gunfights, although the families of several people killed have said they were arrested by police and died while in custody.Click here to read...

‘Lucrative’ surrender deal to N-E militants
Published: The Asian Age

28 May 2018

The ministry of home affairs has formulated and introduced a new surrender policy to lure away the misguided youth from joining the militancy in trouble-torn areas of northeast, including Assam.

Informing that policy has proposed a fixed deposit of Rs 4 lakh and monthly stipend of Rs 6,000 to those who surrendered and an extra incentive for those with weapons, security sources said that home ministry has proposed that stipend would be paid in the bank account and fixed deposit would be handed over to the surrendered militant only after sighing of the memorandum of settlement (MoS) with respective militant outfits.Click here to read...

Changes to Citizenship Act stuck over inclusion of Bangladesh
Published: Hindustan Times

27 May 2018

Caught between apprehension by some Opposition parties and public protests in parts of Assam, the proposed amendments to the Citizenship Act may hit a roadblock unless the government is willing to remove refugees from Bangladesh as beneficiaries, according to people familiar with the developments. The Congress and the Left are not in support of the bill in its current form and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has made it clear that it wants Bangladesh to be excluded from the purview of the bill, the people in the know said.Click here to read...

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