9-Apr-2019: Sri Lanka opens new railway line built with China's assistance
Sri Lanka has opened a new railway line, built with China's assistance, connecting its coastal city of Matara and Beliatta in Hambantota, a move that will boost passenger traffic into the island's deep south.
The 26.75-km long Matara-Beliatta railway extension is the first to be constructed in Sri Lanka since 1948, and it has the country's longest and second longest railway bridges, measuring 1.5-km and 1.04-km, respectively.
The railway extension was financed by the Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank) and the contract was awarded to the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation. The cost of the project was USD 278 million.
It is a major Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project in Sri Lanka. The railway line is the first railway project contracted by Chinese company in Sri Lanka under the BRI and it is indeed the first railway built after country's independence. It will make regional transportation more convenient and facilitate local economic and social development.
The construction of the rail track from Matara to Kataragama was launched in the year 1991 by former President Ranasinghe Premadasa.
Sri Lanka was the major recipient of Chinese loans and investments in recent years totalling to over USD 8 billion. The heavy borrowing by Sri Lanka raised concerns over its ability to pay back after Colombo handed over the Hambantota port to Beijing for a 99-year lease in 2017 as a debt swap.
The acquisition of the port by China as a debt swap drew criticism from the US which termed the BRI projects as a debt trap specially for smaller countries.
1-Apr-2019: India gains access to Bolivian lithium reserves
India has leveraged its way into the Bolivian lithium reserves after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Bolivia for development and industrial use of lithium, a prime component used to power electric vehicles and cell phones.
A joint statement, issued after talks between President Ram Nath Kovind and his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales Ayma stated: "Both the countries agreed to forge mutually beneficial partnership to facilitate Bolivian supplies of lithium Carbonate to India and foster joint ventures for lithium battery / cell production plants in India.
This move will make Bolivia, which is known to have one-fourth of the world's lithium reserves, one of the major provider of metal for India's e-mobility and e-storage needs.
The two countries have also agreed to facilitate mechanisms for the commercialization of Lithium Carbonate and Potassium Chloride produced in Bolivia by Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos Corporación (YLB - Corporación). Additionally, India has also proposed a follow-up visit to Bolivia by a delegation from National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage of India for taking forward the cooperation in the area of battery storage solutions .
A delegation from Khanij Bidesh India Limited, which is a joint venture of three mining public sector units, under the Ministry of Mines of India recently visited lithium mining areas and other facilities in the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. As per the US Geological Survey, salt flats in the highlands of the Salar de Uyuni alone contain nine million tonnes of lithium, or about 25 per cent of the world's known deposits.
This agreement is supposed to form the backbone for the recently launched FAME India policy (Faster Adoption and Manufacture of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles) and will also give a substantial push to India's ambition to have at least 30 per cent of its vehicles run on electric batteries by 2030.
22-Jan-2019: The escalation of tensions around the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait and threats to European security
The Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, is deeply concerned about the escalation of tensions between the Russian Federation and Ukraine in the region of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, which culminated on 25 November 2018 when three Ukrainian warships were manoeuvring from Odessa, on the Ukrainian Black Sea coast, to the city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov.
The action proposed by the committee is primarily political and guided by the principled position the Parliamentary Assembly has taken on numerous occasions in favour of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.
The Russian Federation is urged to immediately release the Ukrainian servicemen and ensure they are granted the necessary medical, legal and/or consular assistance and to ensure freedom of passage in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait and to refrain from the use of force.
The authorities of both the Russian Federation and of Ukraine are called upon to respect the Treaty on the Use of the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait and the agreed regulations for navigation through the Canal and to refrain from any further steps which might escalate the conflict and threaten security in the wider region. Council of Europe member States should do everything in their power to avoid such an escalation of violence.
26-Nov-2018: Russia-Ukraine tensions rise after Kerch Strait ship capture
Ukraine's parliament is to decide whether to bring in martial law, after Sunday's capture of three of its naval vessels and 23 crew members by Russia. The three ships were sailing off the coast of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, when they were seized.
Russia opened fire, before its special forces stormed the vessels. Between three and six Ukrainians were injured. Ukraine said it was a Russian "act of aggression". Moscow said the ships had illegally entered its waters.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he was proposing that parliament back a 30-day martial law - half the length of that recommended by Ukraine's security and defence council. He said he did not want the measure to affect presidential elections set for 31 March 2019.
Sunday's clash is the first time Russia and Ukraine have come into open conflict in recent years, although Ukrainian forces have been fighting Russian-backed separatists and Russia volunteers in the east since 2014.
A number of Western countries condemned Russia's actions. In New York, the UN Security Council met to discuss the crisis - but failed to agree a Russian-proposed agenda amid sharp disagreements between Moscow and the West.
What happened on Sunday?
This is the chronology of the dramatic events that led to the naval clash:
- In the morning, Ukraine said it had sent two gunboats and a tug from the Black Sea port of Odessa to Mariupol in the Sea of Azov.
- Ukraine's navy then said Russian boats had tried to intercept its vessels, ramming the tug
- Russia accused Ukraine of illegally entering its territorial waters.
- Russia scrambled fighter jets and helicopters as the Ukrainian vessels approached a bridge over the Kerch Strait - the only access to the Sea of Azov.
- The bridge itself was blocked by a tanker.
- In the evening, Ukraine said its vessels had been fired on and seized by the Russians. Six Ukrainian crew members were injured.
- Russia confirmed it had used weapons to force the Ukrainian vessels to stop, saying three Ukrainians were injured.
Russia said the Ukrainian ships were in its waters illegally because Moscow had temporarily closed an area of water for shipping.
Kiev called Russia's actions a flagrant violation of international law, because the Black Sea is free for shipping, and Crimea belongs to Ukraine.
Ukraine also cited a 2003 Russia-Ukraine treaty on unimpeded access to the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov.
It said it had informed the Russians in advance of its plan to move its ships to Mariupol - a claim denied by Russia.
In recent weeks, two Ukrainian vessels passed through the Kerch Straight without incident.