VIF Information Alerts - 02 July 2018

China lends $1 billion to Pakistan
Published: The Express Tribune
02 Jul 2018

China has lent Pakistan $1 billion to boost the South Asian country’s plummeting foreign currency reserves, two sources in Pakistan’s finance ministry told Reuters, amid growing speculation of another International Monetary Fund bailout.

The latest loan highlights Islamabad’s growing dependence on Chinese loans to buffer its foreign currency reserves, which plunged to $9.66 billion last week from $16.4 billion in May. The lending is the outcome of negotiations for loans worth $1-$2 billion that was first reported by Reuters in late May, the two sources told Reuters.Click here to read... [2]

Iran eyes private exports to help beat US oil sanctions
Published: The Tribune
02 Jul 2018

Iran will allow private companies to export crude oil, part of a strategy to counter US sanctions, and is urging fellow OPEC members, including regional rival Saudi Arabia, not to break output agreements, state media and officials said on Sunday.

Iran is looking at ways to keep exporting oil as well as other measures to counter sanctions after the United States told allies to cut all imports of Iranian oil from November. “Iranian crude oil will be offered on the bourse and the private sector can export it in a transparent way,” First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri told an economic event in Tehran broadcast live on state television.Click here to read... [3]

Maldives opposition gets new leader, vows to restore democracy
Published: The Times of India
01 Jul 2018

The Maldivian opposition have chosen a new candidate to run against strongman President Abdulla Yameen in elections this year and promised to allow dissidents to return from exile if they win, officials said Sunday. The Maldivian Democratic Party nominated its parliamentary leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to lead a coalition of opposition groups, party spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor told AFP. Solih will replace veteran opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed, who withdrew his candidacy last week after being told by the national electoral commission that he was disqualified from running in the September poll.Click here to read... [4]

Chinese firm did not fund my campaign: Rajapaksa
Published: The Hindu
01 Jul 2018

Following a recent New York Times report that revealed a $7.6-million money transfer from a Chinese firm to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s campaign aides during the 2015 presidential election, the ex-leader has dismissed the report as “a smear campaign”. In a statement on Sunday, Mr. Rajapaksa said: “No contribution was made by China Harbour Co to my 2015 presidential election campaign,” and said the report was “intentionally vague”.Click here to read... [5]

Sri Lanka to move naval unit to China-run Hambantota port
Published: Livemint
30 Jun 2018

Sri Lanka will move its southern naval headquarters to the Hambantota port which is now leased to China, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Saturday. In his talks with Chinese leaders, Wickremesinghe made it clear that the port will not be allowed to be used for any military purposes, the prime minister’s office said.

In December last year, Sri Lanka handed over the control of the southern sea port of Hambantota to China on a 99-year lease for $1.12 billion, amid concern over Beijing’s efforts to expand influence in the region. Opposition leaders have dubbed the deal as a sell out to China. Today’s announcement came amid India’s concerns that Hambantota could be used by China for military purposes.Click here to read... [6]

Join Naga areas: NSCN(IM)
Published: The Hindu
01 Jul 2018

The Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) has ruled out any progress in the Naga peace process without the issue of integration of Naga-inhabited areas being factored in. The outfit also criticised Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio for allegedly saying — after a meeting with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi last month — that integration of all Naga-inhabited areas around Nagaland is impossible.Click here to read... [7]

CRPF women commandos all set to deal with stone throwers
Published: The Tribune
02 Jul 2018

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is all set to launch a special unit of over 800 women commandos to deal with stone throwers, among whom women are increasingly figuring, in Jammu and Kashmir from mid-July, say officials of the force. The CRPF, which is handling internal security in Jammu and Kashmir along with the state police, took the step to launch a special women’s unit as the number of women stone throwers is rising in the strife-torn region.Click here to read... [8]