Pak adopts Chinese yuan for trade, investment
Pakistan allow the Chinese yuan to be used for imports, exports and financing transactions for bilateral trade and investment activities, in a move economists said Wednesday would simplify a massive Chinese investment project.
Both public and private sector enterprises may use the yuan for bilateral trade and investment, the central State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement issued Tuesday.
“As per current foreign exchange regulations, Chinese Yuan (CNY) is an approved foreign currency for denominating foreign currency transactions in Pakistan,” it said.
“In terms of regulations in Pakistan, CNY is at par with other international currencies such as USD, Euro and JPY,” it added.
The bank said that in light of a massive Chinese infrastructure project in Pakistan, the move would “yield long-term benefits for both the countries”.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $54 billion project launched in 2013 linking western China to the Indian Ocean via Pakistan, has been hailed as a “game changer” by Pakistani officials.
They hope the power stations and transmission lines built as part of the project will help ease Pakistan´s chronic power crisis.
Economic analyst and former government adviser on finance Salman Shah welcomed the State Bank´s move, saying that avoiding dollar transactions in the implementation of CPEC would “simplify matters very considerably”.
The Chinese economy is now one of the biggest in the world, he said, justifying the use of the Chinese currency of choice
Khamenei blames Iran’s ‘enemies’ for unrest
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamesenemies for unrest that has seen 22 deaths as Washington sought to increase pressure on regime that is facing its biggest test in years. Khamenei gave his first reaction to the unrest that has spread across Iran in recent days. Khamenei said the enemies of Iran are trying to create troubles for the Islamic Republic. The protests that began in the northeastern city of Mashhad on Thursday over unemployment and a jump in prices have expanded to more than 40 cities. Some of the demonstrators are voicing rare criticism of the Islamic establishment headed by the supreme leader.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini late Tuesday deplored “the unacceptable loss of human lives” and called on “all concerned to refrain from violence”.
Trump´s ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said the US would seek emergency UN talks on the situation.
“The people of Iran are crying out for freedom,” she said at a news conference. “All freedom-loving people must stand with their cause.”
Haley rejected as “complete nonsense” Khamenei´s charges that the protests were being fomented by Iran´s “enemies”.
“The freedoms that are enshrined in the United Nations charter are under attack in Iran. Dozens have already been killed. Hundreds have been arrested,” she said.
“If the Iranian dictatorship´s history is any guide, we can expect more outrageous abuses in the days to come.”
Khamenei blames ‘enemies‘ Iran’s supreme leader yesterday blamed the country’s “enemies” for days of unrest that have seen 21 killed and hundreds arrested in the biggest test for the Islamic regime in years.
As violence has grown, authorities have stepped up arrests, with at least 450 people detained in Tehran since Saturday and 100 more around Isfahan on Monday, media reported.
Iran’s supreme leader blamed “enemies” Tuesday for unrest that has seen 21 deaths as Washington sought to increase pressure on the regime that was facing its biggest test in years.
In a speech carried on state television, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei broke his silence on the protests for the first time since they erupted last Thursday.
“The enemies have united and are using all their means, money, weapons, policies and security services to create problems for the Islamic regime,” the supreme leader said.
“The enemy is always looking for an opportunity and any crevice to infiltrate and strike the Iranian nation.”
Even reformists, who backed the last major protest movement in 2009, condemned the unrest and the support it has received from the United States.
But they also urged the authorities to address economic grievances that have fuelled the protests.
“The Iranian people are confronted with difficulties in their daily lives… and have the right to peacefully demand and protest,” said a statement from the Association of Combatant Clerics, headed by reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami.
media agencies and tweets
Security beefed up Mumbai and other cities
In Mumbai: Metro services of the AC local has been suspended for the day in view of the protests. Other suburban services are being run amid intermittent protests at Elphinstone Road, Goregaon, Dadar, Malad stations. There is no cancellation of long distance trains so far. In Pune, barring a couple of incidents of stones being pelted on public transport buses, the “bandh” in Pune started on a peaceful note. The shutdown received a mixed response in the city since morning with some shops doing business with their shutters partially up.
Additional Commissioner of Police (South/North Region) Ravindra Sengaonkar said that there were two instances of stone-pelting, one in Sukhsagar Nagar and second in Singhgad Road on buses of Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited.
According to PMPNL, since Tuesday, 42 buses from its fleet were stoned and since Wednesday morning, the number of buses being hit by stones stood at around 10 to 12.
“Buses are being plied under instructions from the police,” said a PMPMl officer. Several private schools remained shut as a precautionary measure despite there being no official holiday being declared for educational institutions.
“Buses are being plied under instructions from the police,” said a PMPMl officer. Several private schools remained shut as a precautionary measure despite there being no official holiday being declared for educational institutions.
Heavy security has been deployed in Mumbai and other cities on the backdrop of Maharashtra Bandh today. Prakash Ambedkar, the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh leader has called a ‘Maharashtra bandh’ to protest against the government’s alleged failure to stop the violence. He has appealed for peace during the bandh period.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has also appealed for calm and ordered a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the Bombay High Court into the Pune violence.
No untoward incidents of violence are reported from across the state. Local trains, city buses, taxies and other private transport services are running smoothly in the city.
Government offices, schools and colleges in Mumbai are open but school buses in tense areas are off roads in Mumbai as a safety measure. The School Bus Owners’ Association has said it would not operate its fleet of 40,000 buses. Dabbawala’s services will remain closed today in Mumbai.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has condemned the incidents of violence and appealed to the public to maintain unity and harmony in the society.
Leaders across the parties have also appealed people to maintain calm and not fall prey nefarious tactics to divide society over castes. Several towns and cities in Maharashtra were on edge yesterday as Dalit protests against violence in Bhima Koregaon in Pune district.
Iran’s security and stability depend on its own people
I will keep my brothers in Iran with me in my thoughts as they continue to protest a torturous regime that has attempted to take basic human rights away from Iranians. #IranianProtests#iran #iranprotests #IranProtest
- Iranians have the right to protest?! Since when? Some of those who peacefully protested in 2009 ended up in prison where they were tortured.
#Iranprotests.Golnaz Esfandiari added,Iran’s security and stability depend on its own people, who — unlike the peoples of Trumps regional “bffs”—have the right to vote and to protest. These hard-earned rights will be protected, and infiltrators will not be allowed to sabotage them through violence and destruction.
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Of course you’re free to protest in Iran. What happens afterwards however is somewhat of a mystery as many such protesters simply disappear never to be heard from again.
Warrior woman #IranProtest
IranProtest Crowd of 100 attack a military base with fire bombs.Defenders ward them of with warning shots. Contrary to what’s being reported,Iranian police/forces are usually acting with EXTREME RESERVE.This is why agent provocateurs can get so close.What would US police do huh?
France concerned by Iranian protests, No comment on FM visit
Paris is concerned by the number of deaths, injuries and arrests in anti-government protests across Iran, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman said. “The right to protest is a fundamental right,” he said as cited by Reuters. The spokesman also declined to comment if this week’s planned visit of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to Tehran was still on the cards. Around 20 people have been killed and over 450 arrested during the six days of unrest across Iran, according to state television. Media agencies
US President:I too have a Nuclear Button, my Button works!
President Donald Trump has fired off a tweet against North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un, claiming to have a “more powerful” nuclear weapons launcher.
Trump’s tweet, amid a barrage of angry posts, is a belated response to Kim’s New Year speech, in which the North Korean leader claimed, “The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, and a nuclear button is always on my desk.”
North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!
“This is reality, not a threat,” Kim said, adding that “these weapons will be used only if our security is threatened.”
Storm Eleanor hits the UK:
#StormEleanor hits the UK: – Thousands of homes left without power – Met Office yellow warning for winds in place – Man hurt as tree falls on car in Wales – Possible disruption to public transport http://bbc.in/2EG2UDA
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