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NDTV August 18, 2020 The Prime Minister's Office is "disturbed" over the standoff in the Naga peace talks between Nagaland Governor RN Ravi, who is also the centre's interlocutor, and various rebel groups over the past few months and has asked the Intelligence Bureau chief to take over, top sources have told NDTV.  Intelligence Bureau Director Arvind Kumar has been tasked to bring the apparently derailed talks back on track. "Over the last six years RN Ravi, in his capacity as interlocutor, had been talking to various Naga groups. But in the past 10 or 11 months, things have not been going well," a senior government official said. According to the official, the PMO has also asked IB Special Director Akshay Kumar Mishra to join the firefighting effort.  The centre is believed to be particularly concerned by what appears to be a three-way feud in Nagaland - between the NSCN(IM), the largest of the rebel groups, RN Ravi and the new National Naga...

The Telegraph  August 18, 2020 Internet giant Google on Monday criticised proposed Australian antitrust laws, saying its free search service would be “at risk” and users’ personal data could be shared if it is made to pay news organisations for their content.  The Alphabet-owned company said the proposed laws would also help big media companies artificially inflate their search rankings, luring more viewers to their platforms and giving them an unfair advantage over small publishers and users of Google’s YouTube streaming website. The statement, advertised on Google’s main search page, marks an escalation of tensions between big tech companies and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) which has called for sweeping changes to rein in how Google and social media titan Facebook Inc use consumer data. “You’ve always relied on Google Search and YouTube to show you what’s most relevant and helpful to you,” Google Australia managing director Me...

Hindustan Times August 18, 2020 The Chakma community in Tripura on Monday observed a ‘Black Day’ to protest the occupation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh allegedly illegally by Pakistan in 1947 and the injustices meted out to their community after that. Two days after India’s Independence from the British rule, the Chittagong Hill Tract comprising 97.5% non-Muslim population was illegally awarded to erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) as per the mandate of Bengal boundary commission headed by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, said Chakma National Council of India (CNCI), a forum to raise voice for rights of the community. After the inclusion of Chittagong Hill Tracts with East Pakistan, over 50,000 Chakmas took shelter at different relief camps in Tripura and Mizoram in 1986. Many of them also took refuge at Arunachal Pradesh. “The Chakmas became the biggest victim of Partition. Our community faced years of deprivation even after these years of independence. Li...

Hindustan Times  August 18, 2020 Malaysia’s palm oil producers are embarking on a rare recruitment drive to hire locals and accelerating industry mechanisation as they grapple with a severe shortage of foreign labour due to the coronavirus pandemic. As the September-November peak production season approaches, companies are erecting banners near plantations and posting online job advertisements boasting free housing, free water and other perks of estate life in a bid to lure workers to do everything from driving tractors to harvesting. Already, travel and movement restrictions have left the world’s second-largest palm oil producer grappling with a shortage of 37,000 workers, nearly 10% of the total workforce. The Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) believes this could blow out to 70,000 workers once borders reopen. “This is the first time we are making such a big effort to hire Malaysians, but it is also the first time we are facing Covid-19,” Imran, an estate ...

The Indian Express  August 18, 2020 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a case of money laundering against a Chinese national for allegedly running a hawala racket worth an estimated Rs 1,000 crore by floating several shell companies. Charlie Peng (42), who also goes by the name of Luo Sang, has been charged under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), sources said. Peng was first booked by the Delhi Police in 2018 — ED has filed its case based on this FIR. Peng and some of his alleged associates were searched by the Income Tax Department on August 12. At least two dozen premises, including Peng’s in Gurgaon, were searched. Peng, according to sources, is alleged to be holding a fake Indian passport and tax officials said he created a “web of sham companies to launder hawala funds to and from China” over the past two to three years. He was involved in import and export of medical and electronic goods and some other items as...

The Indian Express  August 18, 2020 Shubajit Roy       Opening a window for future interactions, officials of Nepal and India met  to discuss projects in Nepal being assisted by the Indian government. These include the Pancheshwar multipurpose project and motorable bridges over the Mahakali (Kali, Sharda) river which originates in the Kalapani area, at the centre of a boundary dispute which peaked in May and froze bilateral dialogue. At the videoconference meeting in Kathmandu, the first between officials since the border row, the Nepal delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi while Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra headed the Indian team. Sources said the conversation was “positive” and “productive” although the boundary dispute was not discussed. The meeting focused on border infrastructure projects and a cross-border oil pipeline.  The talks took place two days after Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli called up Prime Mi...

The Indian Express  August 18, 2020 THE DEPARTMENT OF Telecommunications (DoT) is set to direct all telecom operators to undertake an ‘information security audit’ of their networks and submit the report by October end. The objective of the audit, according to sources in the know of the development, is to specifically check for any ‘backdoor’ or ‘trap door’ vulnerabilities in the telecom networks, which can be exploited to extract information and pass on illegally to agencies around the world. A ‘backdoor’ or a ‘trap door’ is a bug installed in the telecom hardware which allows companies to listen in or collect data being shared on the network. “There have been reports that Chinese vendors have installed back doors and trap doors in telecom networks of other countries where they have worked on 4G and other older technologies. We just want to be doubly sure there are no such gaps in our networks,” State-owned telecom companies, BSNL and MTNL, have already been ask...

First Post  August 17, 2020 China's foreign minister Wang Yi has made a rare visit to Tibet and the border areas last week and emphasised that the security and stability of the region is important to the overall development of the country, the official media reported. Wang, who is also a State Councillor of the ruling Communist Party of China, met with Tibet's Communist Party secretary Wu Yingjie and chairman of the Tibet regional government, Qizhala and other officials on Friday. The security and stability of the region is important to the overall development of China, the Global Times quoted Wang as saying by the local Tibet Daily. Wang also visited the border areas to learn about the situation of poverty alleviation, infrastructure building and the construction of villages, the report said.  Wang goes on special "research trips" to several Chinese regions every year, the report said. Top Chinese leaders and officials visit Tibet annually, bu...

Outlook August 17, 2020 China on Monday said it is ready to work with India to enhance political mutual trust, properly manage their differences and safeguard the long-term development of bilateral ties. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said this at a regular briefing when a Western media journalist sought China's reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that the Indian armed forces have given a befitting reply to those challenging the country's sovereignty. Modi, in his 74th Independence Day address to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort, said the armed forces have given a befitting reply to those challenging the country's sovereignty "from LoC to LAC", in a veiled reference to Pakistan and China. "From LoC (Line of Control) to LAC (Line of Actual Control), anyone who casts an eye on the sovereignty of the country, the armed forces have responded in the language they understand," Modi said. Modi'...

 The Express Tribune  August 15, 2020 The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet has further empowered the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), which can now allow resident Pakistani companies overseas investment of up to $10 million. Earlier, the State Bank could authorise resident Pakistani companies investment of up to $5 million in foreign countries. In case of investment of more than $5 million abroad, the SBP had to seek approval of the ECC. Considering the case of Eastern Products (Pvt) Limited Pakistan in a meeting held last month, the ECC enhanced powers of the central bank for according approval to equity investment abroad by the resident Pakistani companies. During discussion, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar noted that at present the State Bank was authorised to approve equity-based investment of up to $5 million abroad by the resident Pakistani companies. Beyond that ceiling, investment cases were brought to the ECC for c...