Issue 2018

24 July 2018
WORLD
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
GST helpline
number for
consumers
soon: Goyal
New Delhi : Union
Minister Piyush Goyal on
Saturday said that a telephone
helpline number will be started
soon, where consumers
can report against those
traders who evade tax by not
issuing purchase bill.
According to the Finance
Ministry's tweets, the Union
Minister for Railways, Coal,
Finance and Corporate Affairs
also appealed to consumers to
demand for bills, whenever
they buy any goods or services
which would help in reducing
the rates under the GST.
India welcomes grey-listing
of Pakistan by FATF
New Delhi, June 30 (IANS) ing terror
ry session in Exchange Commission of
India on Saturday welcomed financing and
Paris after Pakistan issued the Anti Money
Pakistan being put on the "grey anti-money
Islamabad submitted
Laundering and Countering
list" by the Financial Action Task laundering,
a detailed Financing of Terrorism
Force (FATF), an inter-governmental
especially in
26-point action Regulations on June 20.
body which combats
money laundering and terror
respect of UN
designated and
plan to the body
to choke funding
Islamabad has been scrambling
in recent months to avoid
financing among other things, for internationally
of militant being added to the list of countries
failing to curb terror financing on proscribed terror
groups, includ-
deemed non-compliant with
its soil. "India welcomes the
entities and
ing Mumbai anti-money laundering and ter-
decision of the Financial Action individuals,"
attack mastermind
rorist financing regulations by
Task Force to place Pakistan in Kumar said.
Hafiz FATF, a measure that officials in
its Compliance Document (Grey "The freedom
Saeed-led JuD Pakistan fear could hurt its economy,
list) for ICRG (International and impunity
and its affiliates.
which is already under
Cooperation Review Group) with which the
The decision strain. In his statement on
monitoring," External Affairs
Ministry spokesperson Raveesh
designated terrorists
like Hafiz Saeed and entities
to put Pakistan in
the "grey list" was taken in
Saturday, Kumar said that India
hopes that "the FATF action plan
Kumar said in response to
like Jamaat-ud-Dawa, February but then the country shall be complied with in a time
queries.
Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e- was given relief till June to combat
bound manner and credible
"Pakistan has given a high
level political commitment to
address the global concerns
Mohammed continue to operate
in Pakistan is not in keeping with
such commitments."
the issue. Pakistan was also
included in the list from 2012 to
2015. Islamabad claims that in
measures would be taken by
Pakistan to address global concerns
related to terrorism emanating
regarding its implementation of The FATF announcement compliance with FATF's recommendations,
from any territory under
the FATF standards for counter-
came on Wednesday at its plena-
the Securities and its control".
Sri Lanka
moves
naval unit
to Chineserun
port
Colombo : Sri
Lanka would move
its southern naval
command to a port
leased to a state-run
Chinese firm but
China would not use
it for military purposes,
the Prime
Minister's Office
said on Saturday.
Colombo's
announcement will
likely raise fresh
concerns in New
Delhi over China's
military potentially
getting a foothold in
the Indian Ocean
through the deep-sea
port of Hambantota,
which straddles a
major east-west shipping
route.
Saudi king agrees to ramp
up oil production : Trump
Washington : US President
Donald Trump on Saturday
said that Saudi Arabia’s King
Salman had agreed to his
request to ramp up oil production,
a week after the
Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC)
already announced an output
rise. “Just spoke to King
Salman of Saudi Arabia and
explained to him that, because
of the turmoil & dysfunction in
Iran and Venezuela, I am asking
that Saudi Arabia increase
oil production, maybe up to
2,000,000 barrels, to make up
the difference,” Trump
announced in an early morning
tweet. “Prices too high! He has
agreed!”
Saudi authorities had no
immediate comment.
Trump has repeatedly lashed
out at OPEC on Twitter in
recent months, piling pressure
on Riyadh, a major ally, to
boost output as he hopes for
lower pump prices before midterm
congressional elections in
November.
His latest comments come a
week after ministers from
OPEC — of which Saudi
Arabia is the major member —
had already agreed to raise output
from July. Non-OPEC
member Russia on June 23 also
backed the effort, capping a
week of tense diplomacy for
the grouping that averted a
damaging rift between archfoes
Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The ministers announced
they would ramp up oil production
by around one million barrels
a day from July. “I think it
will contribute significantly to
meet the extra demand that we
see coming in the second half,”
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid
al-Faleh told reporters at the
time.
The talks had centered on
whether to amend an 18-
month-old supply-cut deal
between OPEC members and
allied countries, including
Russia, that has cleared a global
oil glut and lifted crude
prices. Saudi Arabia, backed by
non-member Russia, had
argued strongly in favour of
increasing production as grumbles
in major consumer countries
such as the US, India and
China have grown about high
prices. Iran opposed any
changes to the original production-cut
deal at a time when its
oil industry is facing curbs over
Trump’s move to quit the
nuclear deal with Tehran. In the
end, both sides were able to
save face.
Will help allies ‘cut imports’ from Iran
- The Trump administration is pushing countries to cut all
imports of Iranian oil from November when the US re-impos
es sanctions against Tehran after Trump withdrew from a 2015
nuclear deal
- US officials are pressing allies in Europe, Asia and the Middle
East to adhere to the sanctions, which are aimed at pressuring
Iran to negotiate a follow-up agreement to halt its nuclear pro
gramme
- State Department officials said the US is prepared to work
with countries on a case-by-case basis to help them reduce
imports of Iranian oil
NSA deleting 685
million call records
Washington : The National Security Agency is deleting more
than 685 million call records the US government
obtained from telecommunications
companies since 2015. After former
NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked
documents revealing extensive government
surveillance, Congress passed a law
in 2015 that ended the NSA's bulk collection
of call records. The law said future data would be retained
by telecommunications companies, but the intelligence agency
could request information. Now the NSA is deleting all the
information it collected, which a former top national security
official says points to a failure of the programme.
Flynas launches Riyadh-Hyderabad flight
Hyderabad : Flynas, a leading airline from Saudi Arabia,
on Friday commenced its operations in India with the launch
of its Riyadh-Hyderabad flight. The maiden flight landed at
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) here to a warm
welcome. Hyderabad is the first city chosen by Flynas to start
operations in India with two weekly flights between
Hyderabad and Riyadh. GMR Hyderabad International
Airport Ltd. announced addition of yet another international
airline to its portfolio. RGIA is now connected with Riyadh by
two airlines providing convenient travel options to the travellers
from the region, said a statement from the Hyderabad
airport operator. Flynas offers an extensive network from its
hub in Riyadh to Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia. It
offers flights to 17 destinations within Saudi Arabia and 53
international destinations with a fleet of 30 aircraft.
Pakistan, US to work towards peace in Afghanistan
Islamabad: Pakistan and the US have
agreed to remain engaged for peace in
Afghanistan, a media report said on
Wednesday. The agreement came during
a meeting between US Deputy
Assistant Secretary at the State
Department's Bureau of South and
Central Asian Affairs Ambassador
Alice Wells and Army Chief Gen
Qamar Bajwa here on Tuesday, reports
Dawn news. "Both reaffirmed the
commitment towards the common
goal of peace and stability in the
region and discussed measures
towards that end. Both also agreed on
continued engagement at multiple levels,"
the Inter-Services Public
Relations said in a statement. Wells
was on a three-day visit to Pakistan to
again seek Pakistani authorities' help
for the Afghan peace process. She met
Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar,
Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua,
Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar
Bajwa and Chief of the General Staff
Lt Gen Bilal Akbar. During her visit to
Kabul, which preceded the Islamabad
trip, Wells said the Taliban's refusal to
join the political process was "unacceptable".
According to the US Embassay in
Pakistan, Wells' discussion was consistent
with President Donald Trump
administration's South Asia and
Afghanistan strategy, reports Dawn.
The strategy announced last year signalled
that Washington might take
coercive steps to push Pakistan to
crack down against the Taliban and
Haqqani network.