VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: July 15, 2019

PAKISTAN

TCC open to negotiated settlement with Pakistan: chairman: Dawn
July 15, 2019

Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) said on Sunday it’s willing to discuss the potential for a negotiated settlement with Pakistan over an almost $6 billion damages case decided in its favour. On Friday, an arbitration tribunal of the World Bank’s International Centre for Settl­ement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) awarded about $5.9bn in damages to TCC in arbitration claims it filed against Pakistan following the denial of a mining lease for the Reko Diq project in Pakistan in 2011. Click here to read.... [2]

AFGHANISTAN

Future Political Arrangement To Make Key Part Of Upcoming Talks: Tolo News
July 15, 2019

Afghan politicians who attended the two-day intra-Afghan conference in Doha said that Afghanistan’s future political arrangement will make the main agenda of any future talks with the Taliban. Nearly 60 delegates from Kabul met with 17 members of the Taliban in Doha on July 7-8 where they issued a resolution in which the militant group promised to reduce violence by stopping attacks on civilian places, including schools, hospitals and religious centers. But despite that, the Taliban launched a complex attack on a hotel in the northwestern province of Badghis on Saturday, July 13, which left at least eight people dead and seven others wounded. President Ashraf Ghani in a statement condemned the attack and said the Taliban has broken their promise they made in Doha meeting to stop attacking civilian places. Click here to read.... [3]

NEPAL

Both Nepal and India have done little to address flooding along the border, officials say: Kathmandu Post
July 15, 2019

Every monsoon, when villages along the Nepal-India border get inundated by floods, roads and infrastructure built in the Indian territory become a lightning rod. But as rain recedes, the issue also dies down--until the arrival of next monsoon. As Nepali villages bordering India face massive flooding after torrential rains over the past few days, there are again concerns that the disaster was caused largely due to rapid road and infrastructure construction by India on its side of the border. Even though it has been a perennial problem, successive governments in Nepal have failed to seek a lasting solution. And despite some initiatives from the Nepali side, the response from the Indian government has been lukewarm, multiple officials who have closely monitored the issue over the years told the Post. Click here to read.... [4]

CHINA

China Stocks Recover as Earnings, Economic Data Boost Sentiment: Bloomberg
July 15, 2019

China’s nervy stock market got a boost Monday after a handful of firms said earnings are improving, while data also showed the economy may be stabilizing. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.8% as of the mid-day break, rebounding from its worst week in two months. The ChiNext Index of smaller companies rallied 2.3%. Official data released Monday on factory output and retail sales growth beat estimates for June, while investment in the first half of the year accelerated. That’s even as China’s economy grew at the slowest pace since quarterly data began in 1992. Click here to read.... [5]

China holds military drills after US approves arms sale to Taiwan: Reuters
July 15, 2019

China's military has recently carried out air and naval drills along its southeast coast, the defence ministry has said, in an announcement that came after Beijing demanded the cancellation of a potential arms sale from the United States to self-ruled Taiwan. In a brief statement on Sunday, the ministry described the exercises as "routine arrangements in accordance with annual plans for the military".Click here to read.... [6]