Trump administration announces new strategy in the Pacific and it's a big warning to China
Published: Business Insider
04 Apr 2018
President Donald Trump's State Department laid out a new approach, as well as a new name, for its Asia-Pacific policy on Monday. Alex N. Wong, the deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, defined "the strategic concept of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy" before reporters at a briefing on Monday. Without using any strong language it lays out a confrontational path towards China's regional ambitions. Click here to read... [2]
The U.S. State Department's Briefing on the 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy'
Click here to read... [3]
PM should take notice of 'suspicious' activities in Balochistan, says Nawaz
Published: Geo News
04 Apr 2018
Former premier Nawaz Sharif termed suspicious on Wednesday the recent changes in Balochistan’s politics as well as the election of the Senate chairman. He also called on the prime minister to take notice of these suspicious things.
Interacting with reporters inside the accountability court hearing corruption cases against him and his family, Nawaz said he does not know the inside story but what [PPP co-chairman] Asif Zardari is doing is shameful. Click here to read... [4]
China acting like a ‘Spoilt Big Brother’, says Tibetan PM Lobsang Sange
Published: India Today
03 Apr 2018
Even as the government showed continuum in its policy on Tibet and the Dalai Lama, there have been minor hiccups in the events organised to mark the 60th anniversary of the arrival of the Tibetan spiritual leader in India.
Lobsang Sange, the Prime Minister of the Tibetan government in exile, spoke to India Today about the (Indian) government circular which led to the cancellation of the Thank You India event in New Delhi. Click here to read... [5]
China to develop Bangladesh industrial zone as part of South Asia push
Published: Channel News Asia
04 Apr 2018
China is developing a 750-acre industrial park in Bangladesh which will largely be used by Chinese manufacturing firms, a Chinese official said on Wednesday, part of its push to expand links with South Asia and beyond.
State-run China Harbour Engineering Company will hold a 70 percent share in a joint venture being formed for the park with the Bangladesh Special Economic Zone Authority (BSEZA), Li Guangjun, the economic and commercial counsellor at the Chinese embassy in Dhaka, said. Click here to read... [6]
India-Maldives strain deepens as island nation steps up military ties with Pak
Published: Hindustan Times
05 Apr 2018
The Maldives stepped up counter-terrorism cooperation and military ties with Pakistan and defaulted on the mandatory payment to the South Asia University, an initiative led by New Delhi, increasing the strains in ties between India and the island nation, persons familiar with the development said. After the first visit ever to the Maldives last week by Pakistan’s army chief, General Qamar Bajwa , steps are taken to boost counter-terrorism cooperation that could help Pakistan gain a larger role in Indian Ocean region.
Maldives declines India's offer to participate in Defence Expo Maldives has declined an invitation by India to send a ministerial-level delegation to the Defence Expo, a biennial exhibition of weapons and military hardware, which will be held in Chennai next week, official sources said. The decision by Maldives is seen as an apparent snub to New Delhi which was critical of the Abdulla Yameen government for imposing emergency in the island nation earlier this year. Click here to read... [7] India third most vulnerable country to cyber threats India emerged as the third most vulnerable country in terms of risk of cyber threats, such as malware, spam and ransomware, in 2017, moving up one place over previous year, according to a report by security solutions provider Symantec. In 2017, 5.09% of global threats detected were in India, slightly less than 5.11% in 2016. The U.S. (26.61%) was most vulnerable to such attacks, followed by China (10.95%), according to ‘Internet Security Threat Report’. Click here to read... [8] Data of 5 lakh Indians shared with Cambridge Analytica: Facebook Personal information of about 87 million users, mostly in the US, may have been improperly shared with the UK-based political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, Facebook has said as it announced a slew of measures to address its users' privacy concerns. Over half a million of the users whose personal data might have been compromised are from India. Click here to read... [9] ‘The business of war’: Google employees protest work for the Pentagon Thousands of Google employees, including dozens of senior engineers, have signed a letter protesting the company’s involvement in a Pentagon program that uses artificial intelligence to interpret video imagery and could be used to improve the targeting of drone strikes. The letter, which is circulating inside Google and has garnered more than 3,100 signatures, reflects a culture clash between Silicon Valley and the federal government that is likely to intensify as cutting-edge artificial intelligence is increasingly employed for military purposes.Click here to read... [10]
Published: The Economic Times
04 Apr 2018
Published: The Hindu
05 Apr 2018
Published: The Tribune
05 Apr 2018
Published: The Economic Times
05 Apr 2018
Links:
[1] https://www.vifindia.org/vifinformationalert/2018/april/05
[2] https://www.businessinsider.in/Trump-administration-announces-new-strategy-in-the-Pacific-and-its-a-big-warning-to-China/articleshow/63602433.cms
[3] https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/04/280134.htm
[4] https://www.geo.tv/latest/189419-pm-should-take-notice-of-suspicious-activities-in-balochistan-says-nawaz
[5] https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/china-acting-like-a-spoilt-big-brother-says-tibetan-pm-lobsang-sange-1203617-2018-04-03
[6] https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/china-to-develop-bangladesh-industrial-zone-as-part-of-south-asia-push-10104764
[7] https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-maldives-strain-deepens-as-island-nation-steps-up-military-ties-with-pakistan/story-M0oiyPdo1ZaIH5XQTyxZVK.html</p
[8] http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-third-most-vulnerable-country-to-cyber-threats/article23437238.ece
[9] http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/data-of-5-lakh-indians-shared-with-cambridge-analytica-facebook/569112.html
[10] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/the-business-of-war-google-employees-protest-work-for-the-pentagon/articleshow/63623035.cms
[11] http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?title=VIF Information Alerts - 05 April 2018&desc=&images=&u=https://www.vifindia.org/vifinformationalert/2018/april/05
[12] http://twitter.com/share?text=VIF Information Alerts - 05 April 2018&url=https://www.vifindia.org/vifinformationalert/2018/april/05&via=Azure Power
[13] whatsapp://send?text=https://www.vifindia.org/vifinformationalert/2018/april/05