VIF Information Alerts - 02 April 2018

PM-in-exile urges Tibetans to make Dalai Lama's return 'a reality'
Published: The Guardian
01 Apr 2018

Tibetans should redouble their efforts to “reunite” the Dalai Lama with compatriots inside the Chinese-ruled region, the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile has urged. Lobsang Sangay said Tibet has seen 60 years of destruction of its civilisation, culture and identity by the Chinese since the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959.

Sangay and the Dalai Lama were speaking on Saturday at a public event in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala to mark the beginning of the 60th year of the Tibetan spiritual leader’s exile.Click here to read... [2]

China taking first steps to use yuan instead of the dollar to pay for oil this year
Published: The Hindu
31 Mar 2018

China is taking its first steps towards paying for imported crude oil in yuan instead of the U.S. dollar, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, a key development in Beijing’s efforts to establish its currency internationally.

Shifting just part of global oil trade into the yuan is potentially huge. Oil is the world’s most traded commodity, with an annual trade value of about $14 trillion, roughly equivalent to China’s gross domestic product last year. A pilot programme for yuan payment could start as early as the second half of this year, two of the people said.Click here to read... [3]

Indian Navy informs government about the fleet's reoriented mission pattern
Published: The New Indian Express
01 Apr 2018

Ten months since it reoriented the mission pattern of its fleet, the Navy has told the government it has the Indian Ocean covered with an alphabet soup of acronyms. GULFDEP to MALDEP is the new naval lingo to describe the Indian Navy’s area of responsibility.

The re-orientation to “Mission based deployments” (MDP) has meant that nearly 15 warships of the Indian Navy are patrolling seven areas of the waters around India, beyond the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), keeping an eye on all entry and exit routes to and from the Indian Ocean.Click here to read... [4]

China, Vietnam vow to dovetail development strategies, create new prospects for partnership
Published: Xinhua
01 Apr 2018

China and Vietnam promised on Sunday to seek closer synergy between their development strategies and continue to carry forward their traditional friendship. The pledge came during a meeting here between Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi who is currently on an official visit to the country.Click here to read... [5]

Nacta chief says IS poses real threat to Pakistan
Published: The Dawn
31 Mar 2018

ISLAMABAD: National coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) Ihsan Ghani said on Friday that the militant Islamic State (IS) group posed a real threat to Pakistan.

Addressing a press conference here in connection with a three-day event titled “Islamabad International Counter Terrorism Forum” commencing from April 3, he said IS had a significant presence in Afghanistan, which threatened a spillover into Pakistan.Click here to read... [6]

Four from Kerala killed in Afghanistan
Published: The Hindu
31 Mar 2018

Four persons from Kerala’s Kasaragod district, including a child, who all travelled to Afghanistan two years ago, are said to have been killed there. They had reportedly joined the Islamic State terror group, and died in U.S. bombing attacks.

Elcy Vincent, step mother of two missing Keralites who were suspected to have joined the IS — Bexen and Bestin Vincent — received a message on March 22 that four members of the 21-member group, which had travelled to Afghanistan, were killed a few days ago.Click here to read... [7]

Survey reveals new information about 1971 genocide by Pakistan in Bangladesh
Published: BD News
31 Mar 2018

A new survey report has revealed that 1,752 incidents of mass killings were carried out by the occupying Pakistani forces in 10 districts of Bangladesh alone. Prof Muntasir Mamun, Chairperson of the Genocide and Torture Archive and Museum Trust, disclosed the information at a seminar at the Bangla Academy on Friday. He said existing literature had shown only 905 of such incidents throughout Bangladesh but the new survey showed the number is higher than the figure in 10 districts alone.Click here to read... [8]

Myanmar opens new page with new gov't leader coming into being
Published: Xinhua
01 Apr 2018

Myanmar's newly elected President U Win Myint, along with two other vice presidents, was sworn into office on Friday, pledging to carry out his duties with righteousness, seriousness and steadfastness. He also pledged to pursue three objectives as his priorities which are law enforcement and people's socio-economic development, national reconciliation and domestic peace and amendment of the constitution for the establishment of a democratic federal union. The pledge was included in his inaugural speech at the Union Parliament.Click here to read... [9]

White paper paints bleak economic scenario
Published: The Himalayan
30 Mar 2018

KATHMANDU: The government today issued a white paper depicting a gloomy picture of the country’s economy. Presenting the white paper at the Ministry of Finance, newly appointed Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada stated that a majority of Nepal’s economic and development indicators at present were negative and economic activities were increasingly shrinking due to lack of a favourable business environment.Click here to read... [10]