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 Hindustan Times  December 23, 2020 NIA probing Khalistani funding for protests against India overseas According to the case registered last week, Khalistani elements based in India are also receiving funds through non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the people added, requesting anonymity. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered a case to investigate alleged funding of Khalistani terrorist groups abroad for organising on-ground campaigns, and demonstrations outside Indian missions in the UK, the US, Canada, Germany and other countries, people familiar with the development said. According to the case registered last week, Khalistani elements based in India are also receiving funds through non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the people added, requesting anonymity. The agency has named as accused US-based Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, UK- based Paramjit Singh Pamma and Canada resident Hardeep Singh Nijjar who, under the banner of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), are colle...

 Hindustan Times September 23, 2020 By: Shishir Gupta The change of Gilgit-Baltistan’s status fits in well with Pakistan NSA Moeed Yusuf’s long-standing project to turn the Line of Control with India into an International Border. Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has fronted Pakistan’s exercise to  create a province in disputed Gilgit-Baltistan  (GB) in the occupied Northern Areas, holding a quiet meeting with the country’s politicians on the topic before a minister went public with Islamabad’s plans last week. But the army, people familiar with the matter said, isn’t driving the creation of the fifth province alone. A 39-year-old has also been hard at work. Moeed W Yusuf. Yusuf, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on National Security Division and Strategic Planning, has been a principal player in Islamabad’s decision to revoke the notional autonomy granted to Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and incorporate the disputed region as one of Pakistan’s five provinces, Pak...

The Indian Express June 23, 2020 Posted by Vijay Gokhale At a time when China’s pre-meditated military moves along our northern boundary are drawing the nation’s attention, it is important that we don’t lose sight of our surrounding seas. Our navy has interdicted Chinese maritime research and survey vessels that entered our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Continental Shelf (CS) without our prior consent in 2018 and 2019. India has legislation (Act No. 80/1976) that requires foreign marine scientific vessels to seek licence prior to undertaking activities. The Chinese claim that they are serving the interests of global scientific research. That may well be one purpose; but it is well-known that China uses civilian research vessels to gather crucial oceanographic data, such as sub-sea and sea-bed conditions, for military purposes. It has done so in the South China Sea without heed to protests by claimant states or international law. To put this into perspective, one rec...

The Indian Express 14 June 2020 Written by: Shubhajit Roy New Delhi finds itself in a difficult position, as Kathmandu has etched the red lines on stone. This may force Delhi to draw its own red line and ask its counterparts in Nepal to walk back on the boundary issue and then come to the table. Hours after Nepal moved a step forward towards giving legal sanctity to the new map as it passed the Constitutional Amendment bill in the lower house of its Parliament, India and Nepal were staring at a diplomatic crisis on Saturday. Responding to Kathmandu’s decision, New Delhi made it clear that this “artificial enlargement of claims” is “not tenable”, and it “violates the bilateral understanding to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues”.  Read in Malayalam The government now faces a tough choice in dealing with an increasingly assertive Nepal government, led by Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli. So far, the government has not responded to Nepal’s requests for a...

The Hindu January 04, 2020 Amid the epidemic levels of youth use of e-cigarettes and the popularity of certain products among children, the United States Food and Drug Administration has issued a policy prioritising enforcement against certain unauthorised flavoured e-cigarette products that appeal to kids, including fruit and mint flavours. Under this policy, companies that do not cease manufacture, distribution and sale of unauthorised flavoured cartridge-based e-cigarettes (other than tobacco or menthol) within 30 days risk FDA enforcement actions, the regulator said. “By prioritising enforcement against the products that are most widely used by children, our action seeks to strike the right public health balance by maintaining e-cigarettes as a potential off-ramp for adults using combustible tobacco while ensuring these products don’t provide an on-ramp to nicotine addiction for our youth,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. Gates foundation gets new head Refere...

Business Line May 29, 2019 Foreign policy in an uncertain world Prime Minister Modi’s first-term was marked by his placing his own distinctive stamp on the conduct of Indian foreign policy. Just a few weeks preceding commencement of the general election campaign, he received a message of greetings from President Putin, who conferred the “highest decoration” of the Russian Federation on him. This was accompanied by his being conferred with the highest award of the UAE by its ruler, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed. The personal rapport that characterised Modi’s relations with other leaders like Presidents Obama and Trump, French President Macron and Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, is also widely acknowledged. Days before election results were officially announced, China’s Global Times, praised Modi’s policies in an article entitled: Modi’s Reelection Further Reinforces China-India Trust. The Global Times lauded his meeting with President Xi Jinping in Wuhan and his r...

Saudi Gazette May 22, 2019   Saudi tech investments to hit $135b by 2030 Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt will gain the most from AI AI is going to be a big game changer in the global economy, and much of the value potential is up for grabs. A PwC 2018 report estimated that AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030, more than the current output of China and India combined. Of this, $6.6 trillion is likely to come from increased productivity and $9.1 trillion is likely to come from benefits to consumers. The annual growth in the contribution of AI is expected to range between 20-34% per year across the Middle East, with the fastest growth in the Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt. To meet the demand for having a global platform gathering world class technology experts, the Saudi Emerging Technologies Forum will take place from 11-13 of November 2019 in Kempinski Hotel in Riyadh to be the first conference in the Kingdom to address the deploymen...

CNN Business May 22, 2019 Saudi Arabia wants to buy tons of American natural gas Saudi Arabia has placed a huge bet on American natural gas. In a sign of shifting energy fortunes, Saudi Aramco announced a mega preliminary agreement on Wednesday to buy 5 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year from a Port Arthur, Texas export project that's under development. If completed, the purchase from San Diego-based Sempra Energy (SRE) would be one of the largest LNG deals ever signed, according to consulting firm Wood Mackenzie. "This is a major statement about the Saudis entering the LNG market and about how price competitive the outlook is for US gas," said Ira Joseph, head of gas and power at S&P Global Platts. Although the agreement calls for Saudi Arabia to purchase LNG from the United States, Joseph said it's unlikely the fuel would end up being used to meet the kingdom's vast electricity needs. More likely, Aramco will try to s...

Aljajeera May 20, 2019 Saudi, UAE see sufficient oil supplies despite Iran tensions Saudi official says OPEC+ nations favour 'gently' driving down oil inventories despite uncertainty over Iran exports. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said OPEC members would not make hasty decisions about output before a meeting of the cartel scheduled for June. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said OPEC members would not make hasty decisions about output before a meeting of the cartel scheduled for June.   Top officials from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have said oil supplies were sufficient and stockpiles were still rising despite anticipated drops in output from Iran and Venezuela. Speaking at the start of a meeting of top crude producers in Jeddah on Sunday, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said the market was in a "delicate situation" but "inventories are rising and supplies are plenty". ...