(Current Affairs) International Events | October : 2017

::International Events::

Women given driving rights in Saudi Arabia

  • Saudi Arabia’s historic decision to allow women to drive won plaudits internationally and inside the conservative kingdom on Wednesday, as euphoria mixed with disbelief among activists who long fought the ban.

  • King Salman’s decree, which takes effect next June, is part of an ambitious reform push that runs the risk of a backlash from religious hard-liners.

  • Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world to impose a ban on women driving and its maintenance was seen as a symbol of repression in the Gulf kingdom around the world.

  • U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed the decision to end the ban as “a positive step toward promoting the rights and opportunities of women in Saudi Arabia”.

  • British Prime Minister Theresa May hailed it as an “important step towards gender equality”.

  • Saudi Arabia will use the “preparatory period” until June to expand licensing facilities and develop the infrastructure to accommodate millions of new drivers, state media said.

  • Conservative clerics in Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy ruled according to Islamic sharia law, have long opposed lifting the ban, arguing that it would lead to promiscuity. One of them even claimed that driving harmed women’s ovaries.

  • The announcement comes after decades of resistance from women activists, many of whom were jailed for flouting the prohibition.

  • Human rights watchdog Amnesty International said: “It is a testimony to the bravery of women activists who have been campaigning for years that... Saudi Arabia has finally relented and decided to permit women to drive.”

  • Saudi Arabia has some of the world’s tightest restrictions on women.

  • Under the country’s guardianship system, a male family member normally the father, husband or brother must grant permission for a woman’s study, travel and other activities.

  • It was unclear whether women would require their guardian’s permission to apply for a driving licence.

  • The policy could socially liberate women — heavily reliant on foreign drivers and ride-sharing apps — and also boost the economy at a time of low oil prices by increasing their participation in the workforce, analysts say.

Twitter doubles character limit

  • Twitter announced that it is doubling its character limit to 280 for all languages except Japanese, Chinese and Korean.

  • At its inception, a tweet, modelled after an SMS message, was restricted to 140 characters. Over the years, Twitter found ways to sneak in a few more characters, first by excluding any form of media and later the @reply from the character count.

  • The company had also flirted with the idea of 10,000 character tweets, according to technology website Re/Code. however, Jack Dorsey, the company’s co-founder and CEO, pulled the plug on it.

  • Twitter has explained that its current update is meant to even out the difference caused by the idiosyncrasies of the scripts of different languages. For instance, in

  • Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, 140 characters can convey a lot more information as compared to English or Spanish — it is this unevenness that Twitter currently aims to iron out.

Initiative to encourage SMEs in Britain to invest in India

  • The Indian High Commission in London has begun an initiative to encourage small and medium sized British businesses to invest in India, in a renewed focus away from the larger firms that aims to match the success of the relationship between India and Germany which has seen strong partnerships in this area.

  • The high commission is working to identify 50 companies that have the strength and interest in working in India initially that it can work with, as part of the Access India, which will provide necessary market entry support, and work with organisations such as the U.K. India Business Council.

  • This programme is designed to provide market entry support services, strategy advisory, legal and financial advisory, product financing, location services and mergers and acquisition advisory as well as support through the process of states and central government approval.

  • The defence, pharmaceutical and food sectors would be particularly ripe for investment under the programme.

  • There is a small negative risk but that is mainly in railways, atomic energy and gambling.

  • The SME sector is the backbone of the U.K. but they don’t have international exposure,” said Deputy High Commissioner Dinesh Patnaik.

China to help in resolving Rohingya crisis

  • China has said it would play a “constructive role” in resolving the Rohingya crisis. “We sincerely hope this issue will be settled as soon as possible.

  • China is willing to play a constructive role towards this,” Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka Ma Mingqiang said.

  • The envoy, who expressed China’s “heartfelt sympathy” for the refugees in Cox’s Bazar, also announced that some 150 tonnes of relief material provided by China would reach Chittagong within a couple of days.

  • Mr. Ma’s statement comes at a time when many are suggesting that Bangladesh should lobby with China to exert pressure on Myanmar to stop violence and take back the refugees.

  • A delegation from the Awami League is on a trip to China to discuss the Rohingya issue. The state news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) reported that Beijing on Monday assured Dhaka that it will provide help in finding a permanent solution.

  • China will convince the Myanmar government to hold talks with Bangladesh as we think a permanent solution to the Rohingya problem is a must for ensuring peace in the region.

Regulatory review committee to review industrial policy

  • The Centre will soon set up a ‘regulatory review committee’ to address policy-related roadblocks and other factors inhibiting the country’s industrial growth as well as impacting the ‘ease of doing business’ and private investments.

  • The government is also mulling a new mechanism to monitor domestic and foreign investment proposals. The idea is to fast-track decisions on such proposals, in coordination with State governments and the Centre’s investment facilitation and promotion arm, ‘Invest India’.

  • In addition, the Centre is looking at ways to ensure use of the industry’s unutilised capacity. Currently, the country-wide average unutilised capacity is about 26% (In other words, average utilisation of industrial capacity is only 74%).

  • Measures will soon be taken soon to increase domestic demand as well as boost exports to ensure the entire capacity is utilised.

  • The proposal to constitute the committee, which will be chaired by the Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, and include India Inc. representatives, comes in the backdrop of a slowdown in industrial growth and sluggish private investment.

  • These decisions followed a meeting that Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu held with industry bodies including the CII, FICCI and Assocham, as well as senior government officials including Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian.

  • Official sources said the Minister would soon hold another meeting with the representatives of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and exporters to address their problems, including those related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

High level panel to work on plans for 5G roll-out by 2020

  • The government has formed a high-level panel to evaluate and approve road maps and action plan to achieve the target of rolling out 5G technology in India by 2020. The Centre has created a support fund of about Rs. 500 crore to facilitate research and development for 5G.

  • ‘We missed the opportunity to participate when the standards were being set for 3G and 4G, and don’t want to miss the 5G opportunity. Now, when the standards are being set for 5G across the world, India will also participate in the process,” Minister of State for Communications Manoj Sinha told reporters.

  • As per the OECD Committee on Digital Economic Policy, it has been stated that 5G technologies roll-out will help in increasing GDP, creating employment and digitising the economy.

  • The forum, which comprises secretaries of the ministries of Communications, Information Technology and Science and Technology, and representatives from the industry and academia, will aim to have Indian participation in the process of defining global standards for the next generation of wireless technology.

  • The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which will finalise the standards, has already proposed key performance requirements for the fifth-generation mobile technology.

  • Under the 5G technology, the government aims to deliver about 10,000 megabit per second (10 gbps) in urban areas and 1,000 mbps (1 gbps) in rural areas.

  • The ‘5G 2020’ forum will also aim to strengthen domestic telecommunication equipment manufacturing that is necessary for the technology, with the aim that local manufacturers should be able to capture 50% of the Indian market and 10% of the global market over the next five to seven years.

Putin to send special representative for Afghanistan to Delhi

  • Close on the heels of U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis, who held talks in Delhi, and the arrival of Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, Russia is sending President Putin’s special representative for Afghanistan, ZamirKabulovto Delhi in October.

  • Mr. Kabulov’s visit, when he is also expected to discuss Moscow’s new position on talks with Taliban, will come amid growing concerns in India over Russia’s ties with Pakistan.

  • The tough predictions are in sharp contrast to the U.S.’s new Afghanistan policy, that will see at least 3,000 more troops sent to fight in Afghanistan, and offers India an increased role in development projects while pushing Pakistan to act against terrorist “safe havens”.

  • Moscow has already criticised the U.S. plan as a “dead-end policy”, and warned against “putting pressure” on Pakistan. Another sign of the growing shift in Russian policy came as Russian and Pakistani special forces began military exercises in the MineralnyeVody region. The exercises will be a precursor to a visit by Pakistan’s Army Chief General Bajwa to Moscow in October.

  • Regular high-level exchanges between the two sides in the past few years have set the stage for translating political goodwill into a substantial partnership in particular, in the field of defence

  • During the visit to Delhi, Mr. Kabulov would also talk about the “Moscow format” for talks on Afghanistan, which was started last year with only Russia, China and Pakistan, and then expanded to include Afghanistan, Iran and India.

  • However, after the U.S. rejected an invitation to join, the talks have been shelved “temporarily” according to officials, as the Ghani government now wants all such processes to be held in Kabul and led by the Afghan government.

  • Russian officials told that they are already in discussions with India about the possibility of security cooperation for Afghanistan. This would include facilitating an ongoing proposal to refurbish Soviet-era planes and repair Russian Mi-25 helicopters donated by India, along with talks on providing spare parts and ammunition to Afghan forces, but conceded that the talks had not yet been concluded.

Iran is in reconciliation mode with Syria and Hamas

  • Iran is working to restore a lost link in its network of alliances in West Asia, trying to bring Hamas fully back into the fold after the Palestinian militant group had a bitter fall-out with Iranian ally Syria over that country’s civil war.

  • Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah are quietly trying to mediate a reconciliation between Syria and Hamas. If they succeed, it would shore up a weak spot in the alliance at a time when Iran has strengthened ties with Syria and Iraq, building a bloc of support across the region to counter Israel and the United States’ Arab allies.

  • But when Syria tipped into civil war, Hamas broke with President Bashar al-Assad and sided with the rebels fighting to oust him. The rebels are largely Sunni Muslims, like Hamas, and scenes of Sunni civilian deaths raised an outcry across the region against Mr. Assad, who belongs to the minority Alawite sect.

  • Iran, meanwhile, has been one of Assad’s strongest backers since the crisis in Syria began in 2011, pumping billions of dollars into the economy and sending advisers as well as Iranian-backed fighters to help him stay in power. Hezbollah sent thousands of fighters, helping tip the war in Assad’s favour against the rebels and is now helping in the fight against the Islamic State.

  • The reconciliation attempt comes after Hamas elected a new leadership and its main backers — Qatar and Turkey, both strong supporters of the rebels in Syria — have sought to improve relations with Iran. Since

  • YehiyehSinwar took over Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip in February, the group has been rebuilding those relations.

  • In August, a Hamas delegation visited Tehran and took part in President Hassan Rouhani’s inauguration.

  • They also met with the Parliament Speaker and senior aides to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This year, Hamas officials have held three meetings with Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and relations have reportedly returned to normal.

Iran test-fires medium range missile

  • Iran said that it had successfully tested a new medium-range missile in defiance of warnings from Washington that such activities were grounds for abandoning their landmark nuclear deal.

  • State television carried footage of the launch of the Khoramshahr missile, which was first displayed at a high-profile military parade in Tehran.

  • It also carried in-flight video from the nose cone of the missile, which has a range of 2,000 km and can carry multiple warheads.

  • “As long as some speak in the language of threats, the strengthening of the country's defence capabilities will continue and Iran will not seek permission from any country for producing various kinds of missile,” Defence

  • Minister Amir Hatami said in a statement.

  • The test comes at the end of a heated week of diplomacy at the UN General Assembly in New York, where U.S. President Donald Trump again accused Iran of destabilising the Middle East, calling it a “rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos”.

  • Previous Iranian missile launches have triggered U.S. sanctions and accusations that they violate the spirit of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers.

  • Iran, which fought a brutal war with neighbouring Iraq in the 1980s, sees missiles as a legitimate and vital part of its defence — particularly as regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Israel import huge amounts of military hardware from the West.

  • Mr. Trump has threatened to bin the nuclear agreement, saying Iran is developing missiles that may be used to deliver a nuclear warhead when the deal’s restrictions are lifted in 2025.

  • He is due to report to the Congress on October 15 on whether Iran is still complying with the deal and whether it remains in U.S. interests to stick by it. If he decides that it is not, that could open the way for U.S. lawmakers to reimpose sanctions, leading to the potential collapse of the pact.

  • The other signatories to the deal — Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and the EU — have all pushed for it to continue.

European support

  • They point out that abandoning the agreement will remove restrictions on Iran immediately rather than in eight years' time and that the International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly confirmed Tehran is meeting its commitments.

  • Iran says all of its missiles are designed to carry conventional warheads only and has limited their range to a maximum of 2,000 km, although commanders say they have the technology to go further.

Blue Whale menace

  • Michael J. Gobartov, Vice Consul, Consulate General of Russian Federation in Southern India, and Director, Russian Centre of Science and Culture, informed the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) that Russia would render assistance to India in curbing the dangerous Blue Whale Challenge game, which originated in his country.

  • The court was hearing a suomotu public interest litigation (PIL) petition initiated by it following the recent suicide of a Madurai-based college boy, who had allegedly taken to the Blue Whale Challenge.

  • In the report submitted to the court, through R. Rajagobal, advocate and Chairman, Indo-Russian Centre for Rural Development, the Vice Consul stated that the Government of Russia and the Consulate are willing to render their assistance to the High Court and the Government of Tamil Nadu, and are willing to take instructions in putting an end to the game, which had turned into a wild subculture, according to the Consul.

  • However, he submitted that the competent government authority’s decision to block the Russian social media site VKontakte (VK) was not wise as the Blue Whale Challenge content, which first surfaced on VK, was now available on other platforms as well.

  • The Consul stated that all the discovered suicidal groups of VK had been blocked and the ones that existed were moderated in the Russian language, including the game tasks. Since the language was Russian, and with very few Indian users, he said only the [relevant] content should have been blocked rather than the social media site itself.

  • The Division Bench of Justices K.K. Sasidharan and G.R. Swaminathan, which had initiated the suomotu PIL, had directed the Centre to use the diplomatic relationship it shared with Russia to block the URLs and links to the game.

Trump is set to scrap amnesty scheme

  • U.S. President Donald Trump is set to scrap a programme that grants work permits to immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as children, a move likely to impact more than 7,000 Indian-Americans.

  • The programme Deferred Action for Children Arrivals (DACA) was a key immigration reform of the former Barack Obama.

  • White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders had told reporters that Mr. Trump would take a decision on the issue this week.

  • However, Politico, in an exclusive story report said that Mr. Trump has already decided to rescind this programme and senior administration officials are now discussing the roll-out of his decision which could come later this week.

  • Such a decision by the U.S. President, one of his poll promises, is expected to draw widespread criticism including from his own Republican party.

  • The move is likely to impact some 7,50,000 undocumented workers, including more than 7,000 Indian-Americans.

  • India ranks 11th among countries of origin for DACA students, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services statistics available till March 31, 2017.

Rohingya issue- Suu Kyi criticised

  • Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousafzai and Muslim countries in Asia led a growing chorus of criticism aimed at Myanmar and its civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi over the plight of its Rohingya Muslim minority.

  • Ms. Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner of Myanmar's junta, has come under increasing fire over her perceived unwillingness to speak out against the treatment of the Rohingya or chastise the military. She has made no public comment since the latest fighting broke out.

  • The growing crisis threatens Myanmar’s diplomatic relations, particularly with Muslim-majority countries in Southeast Asia.

  • The Maldives announced that it was severing all trade ties with the country until the government of Myanmar takes measures to prevent the atrocities being committed against Rohingya Muslims

  • Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met Ms. Suu Kyi as well as Myanmar’s Army chief General Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw in a bid to pressure the government to do more to alleviate the crisis.

  • Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said it was “deeply concerned over reports of growing number of deaths and forced displacement of Rohingya Muslims” and urged Myanmar to investigate reports of atrocities against the community.

  • Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif added in a recent tweet: “Global silence on continuing violence against #Rohingya Muslims. Int’l action crucial to prevent further ethnic cleansing - UN must rally.“

Threat to US or its allies will be met with military options

  • Any threat to the U.S. or its allies will be met with “a massive military response”, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis said even as the nuclear crisis in Korean peninsula continues to escalate steadily.

  • “We have many military options,” Mr. Mattis said after a briefing for President Donald Trump, but did not divulge details. “The President wanted to be briefed on each one of them,” he said.

  • Meanwhile, the UN Security Council had an emergency meeting to take stock of the situation after the latest provocation by Pyongyang in the form of a hydrogen bomb explosion, and to discuss further sanctions against it.

  • The UN had tightened sanctions last month by banning coal, iron, lead and seafood products from the country. New proposals under consideration include restricting oil export to North Korea and air and maritime restrictions.

  • Meanwhile, South Korea, which will bear the brunt of a North Korean retaliation in the event of an American pre-emptive strike, maintained that it still hopes to have a diplomatic route to de-nuclearisation of the peninsula.

  • Mr. Trump, who is threatening South Korea on trade issues in the midst of the nuclear crisis, blamed it for “appeasement” of North Korea and did not call its President Moon Jae-in while he spoke to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

  • Following his conversation with Mr. Abe, the White House said in a statement: “The two leaders condemned North Korea’s continued destabilising and provocative actions, confirmed the two countries’ ironclad mutual defence commitments, and pledged to continue close cooperation.”

  • While the American President berated and threatened its ally on the front line of the conflict, it was left to Mr. Mattis to reassure South Korea.

  • The U.S. has maintained that it could negotiate with North Korea as long as it commits to a path to abdication of nuclear weapons. This position is not acceptable to North Korea. The U.S. has also in the recent weeks said it does not seek a regime change in North Korea, with the hope that this could soften up Mr. Kim.

  • As the U.S.’s options narrow down to either a military strike against North Korea or an acceptance of its status as a nuclear weapons state, some experts in America are willing to consider the second.

  • The military option will lead to millions of deaths in the Korean peninsula, according to war plans drawn by the Pentagon. China and Russia have openly expressed scepticism about further sanctions.

  • They have been pushing for a freeze in tests by North Korea in exchange for a halt in U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises, to create conditions for talks.

U.K. appeals to Suu Kyi to curb violence

  • The U.K. government has joined the international community to increase pressure on Myanmar to tackle the violence against Rohingya Muslims, warning that the treatment of the Rohingya is besmirching the reputation of the country.

  • U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement this week: “Aung San Suu Kyi is rightly regarded as one of the most inspiring figures of our age, but the treatment of the Rohingya is alas besmirching the reputation of Burma.”

  • “She faces huge challenges in modernising her country. I hope she can now use all her remarkable qualities to unite her country, to stop the violence and to end the prejudice that afflicts both Muslims and other communities in Rakhine.”

U.S.-Pakistan impasse continues

  • The diplomatic impasse between the United States and Pakistan continues after U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy review of South Asia. Since then, several high-level bilateral meetings have been rescheduled indefinitely.

  • Pakistan’s National Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution rejecting statements made by Mr. Trump and top U.S. commander General John Nicholson.

  • Pakistan has also condemned attempts by the Trump Administration to provide more space to India in Afghanistan, considering it a move highly detrimental to regional stability.

  • The alleged presence of the Haqqani network and Taliban Shura in Quetta and Peshawar are the core issues of dispute.

  • However, more than that, the Trump Administration’s suggestion to provide more space to India in Afghanistan has made Pakistan’s national security apparatus, dominated by the powerful military, fume.

  • Pakistani civil and military leadership have both repeatedly asked the U.S. to acknowledge Islamabad’s sacrifice in the war on terror. Pakistan also denies the presence of leaders belonging to the Haqqani network on its soil.

  • Interestingly, the Dawn leaks controversy that put the powerful military in confrontation with civilian leadership last year was based on a report which claimed that the government had been telling the military to stop giving support to militant groups.

  • However, all said, Pakistan has always been dependent on the U.S., both for aid and for military supplies. With both gone now, Pakistan is looking towards China and Russia.

  • After two weeks of hostile reactions, Pakistan is looking to resume dialogue with the U.S. Ambassador David Hale’s visits to several Pakistani high officials are an indication that officials of the two countries are looking for an early resumption of dialogue. Officials in Pakistan claim that contacts at the level of intelligence officials are intact.

N. Korea tests ‘hydrogen’ bomb

  • North Korea said that it tested a ‘hydrogen’ bomb which it can mount on a missile, declaring its biggest-ever nuclear detonation a “perfect success.” This sparked a strong rebuke from U.S. President Donald Trump who slammed the act “dangerous.”

  • Pyongyang residents threw their arms aloft in triumph as a television newsreader hailed the “unprecedentedly large” blast. It “marked a very significant occasion in attaining the final goal of completing the state nuclear force.

  • But world reaction to the country’s sixth nuclear test was swift and angry. China rebuked its ally and began emergency monitoring for radiation at its border with the North.

  • Hours before the test, the North released images of leader Kim Jong-un at the Nuclear Weapons Institute, inspecting what it said was a miniaturised H-bomb that could be fitted onto an intercontinental ballistic missile.

  • China lost no time in issuing “strong condemnation” of the test, which overshadowed the opening of the BRICS summit in Xiamen by leader Xi Jinping

  • Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described it as “absolutely unacceptable,” while Russia’s Foreign Ministry expressed the “strongest condemnation” but urged calm.

  • In Seoul, President Moon Jae-in called for new United Nations sanctions to “completely isolate North Korea”, and said the South would discuss deploying “the strongest strategic assets of the U.S. military.”

  • U.S. monitors measured a 6.3-magnitude tremor near the North’s main testing site.

US space agency to be headed by former Navy pilot

  • U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he plans to appoint James Bridenstine, a former Navy pilot and Republican congressman, to head the U.S. space agency NASA.

  • Mr. Bridenstine, 42, who backed Mr. Trump during the U.S. presidential campaign, had long been considered the favourite for the job of NASA
    administrator.

  • But the nomination drew fire from two U.S. Senators from Florida.

  • Mr. Bridenstine, who was elected to Congress from Oklahoma in 2012, is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

  • According to the trade publication SpaceNews, Mr. Bridenstine has been a big proponent of giving the private sector a larger role in space.

WB govt to distribute UNHCR refugee cards to Rohigya children

  • The West Bengal government will distribute identity cards issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to Rohigya children lodged in the juvenile justice homes of the State.

  • The UNHCR says some 16,500 Rohingya from Myanmar are registered with it in India.

  • The government issues long-term visas to refugees which ease their access to public services and employment in the private sector.

  • Because of some recent changes to the documentation processes, some refugees have reportedly been facing challenges in accessing public services and opening bank accounts.

  • The UNHCR advocates that the long-term visas and refugee cards continue to be recognised to facilitate their access to these services.
    While there are no fixed settlement of Rohingyas in West Bengal, most of them are in prisons.

  • The data available for the period till August 2015 show that 83 Rohingyas, including women and children, are lodged in prisons and 27 had completed their term.

Switzerland for early India-EFTA pact

  • The early conclusion of the proposed FTA between India and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) as well as an investment protection framework would boost economic ties between the two sides.

  • EFTA members include Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

  • India was keen on concluding negotiations for the pact as it would benefit both sides.

  • On the issue of intellectual property rights (IPR), she said India’s IPR regime was in compliance with the global rules and “we shall ensure that the patent, copyrights and trademark rights of any individual or company is respected.”

  • India was ready to address any questions on IPR or concerns on data security. On the data security issues, switzerland said data owners’ rights have to be protected to promote investments.

  • Safer Internet for everyone is a way forward...I invite you all,” she said. India-EFTA trade fell to $19 billion in 2016-17 from $21.5 billion in 2015-16. The trade balance was in favour of EFTA members.

First ever probe against Chinese firm in Pakistan

  • Pakistan has launched the first-ever probe against a Chinese firm in a high-profile money laundering case, according to a media report.

  • The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) yesterday forwarded the request to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) after pressed both by Pakistan and Chinese officials.

  • Dawn reported that the case is among the most complicated issues faced by the SECP and the commission has remained secretive about the matter for a long time. It was not even shared with the Finance Minister by the former chairman of the SECP Zafar Hijazi, who is now suspended.

  • Investigations against the Jiangsu Yabaite Technology, listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), were initiated last year after suspicious foreign inflows were detected in its accounts.

  • The company told the Chinese regulators that it had received the amount after executing work on the Multan Metro Bus project and the CSRC approached the SECP in December for assistance in information, including certain documents.

  • The SECP yesterday forwarded letters to the FIA and provincial authorities along with the information and documents pertaining to the case.

  • The SECP acknowledged that there were certain issues related to the Chinese company and the Multan project after the CSRC authorised it to share certain segments of its request with the authorities concerned in Pakistan.

  • A statement released by the SECP said the CSRC was not conducting any investigation into the Multan Metro Bus project. Once the SECP receives the CSRC’s report, it would be in a position to assess any possible violation in Pakistan, it said.

  • During the investigation by the CSRC, Yabaite China said that it worked as a subcontractor of the Capital Engineering and Construction Company, a subcontractor itself of a consortium for a section of the project.

U.S. Russian relations are low

  • The United States ordered Russia to close its consulate in San Francisco as well as two annexes in Washington and New York in two days, in a tit-for-tat response to Moscow’s drastic reduction of U.S. diplomatic staff in their country.

  • The State Department said the decision was made “in the spirit of parity”, adding that the closures needed to be completed soon.

  • Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed “regret at the escalation of tensions”.

  • “Moscow will examine the new measures announced by the Americans in detail after which our reaction will be announced,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

  • At the start of his presidency, Donald Trump said he hoped for improved relations with Vladimir Putin’s Russia. But after the U.S. Congress approved new economic sanctions against Moscow over its alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Mr. Putin in July ordered drastic cuts in U.S. staff in retaliation.

  • Along with the San Francisco consulate, the installations ordered closed were a chancery annex in Washington, where Moscow has a giant embassy complex, and a consular annex in New York.

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