Archive for ‘opposed’

  |  
18/04/2020

Ukraine court rejects Chinese appeal in aerospace deal opposed by United States

  • China’s Skyrizon Aircraft Holdings bought a majority stake in Motor Sich, but the shares were frozen in 2017 pending an investigation by Ukraine’s security service
  • Washington and Beijing have competed for influence in Ukraine since its relations with Moscow soured when Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula in 2014
Chnia’s Skyrizon says it will appeal a Kiev court’s decision to block its purchase of Ukrainian aircraft engine maker Motor Sich. Photo: Getty Images
Chnia’s Skyrizon says it will appeal a Kiev court’s decision to block its purchase of Ukrainian aircraft engine maker Motor Sich. Photo: Getty Images

A court in Kiev has rejected an appeal by Chinese investors to unfreeze the shares of a Ukrainian aircraft engine maker, a setback for the Chinese company that sought to buy the Ukrainian firm in a deal opposed by the United States.

China’s Skyrizon Aircraft Holdings bought a majority stake in Motor Sich, but the shares were frozen in 2017 pending an investigation by Ukraine’s security service (SBU). Washington wants the deal scrapped.

The US and China have competed for influence in Ukraine since its relations with Moscow soured when Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula in 2014.

In its ruling, the court kept the shares frozen, citing the SBU investigation into whether selling Motor Sich sabotages national security by allowing sensitive technology into foreign hands. The ruling was dated March 13, shared with the parties this week.

Skyrizon plans further appeals, said a lawyer involved in the case, speaking anonymously due to the political sensitivity of the case. Zelensky’s office, the US embassy and the Chinese embassy did not respond to requests for comment. Motor Sich and the SBU declined to comment.

Motor Sich severed ties with Russia after the annexation of Crimea. Photo: Wikipedia
Motor Sich severed ties with Russia after the annexation of Crimea. Photo: Wikipedia
Motor Sich severed ties with Russia, its biggest client, after the annexation of Crimea. The wrangle over its future has held up efforts to find new markets, and supporters of a quick resolution say it is now operating at less than half capacity.

“Motor Sich has become a hostage to the geopolitical situation,” former prime minister Anatoliy Kinakh, chairman of an industrial union which has called for the government to resolve the dispute quickly, said.

The state’s anti-monopoly committee has launched its own investigation and says it is waiting to receive more documents before deciding whether to sanction the sale.

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration has had to balance strengthening ties to Beijing with keeping the United States, its biggest military aid donor, onside. In recent weeks, Beijing and Washington have both offered aid to Ukraine to fight the coronavirus.

At the moment it is a very difficult task when we have the biggest powers in the world and their interests are in conflict in Ukraine,” Oleksandr Danylyuk, a former top security official under Zelensky, said.

Source: SCMP

Posted in 2014, 2017, administration, Aerospace, Aid, aircraft engine maker, allowing, annexed, anonymously, anti-monopoly committee, appeal, balance, Beijing, biggest, both, bought, China’s, Chinese appeal, Chinese embassy, competed, coronavirus, court, court’s decision, Crimea peninsula, deal, dispute, documents, fight, firm, foreign hands, frozen, geopolitical situation, Government, influence, investigation, investors, keeping, Kiev, launched, Lawyer, majority, military aid donor, Moscow, Motor Sich, National security, offered, onside, opposed, political sensitivity, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s, purchase, quickly, recent, rejects, relations, resolve, Russia, sabotages, sale, sanction, security service, security service (SBU), sensitive, shares, Skyrizon, Skyrizon Aircraft Holdings, soured, stake, strengthening, Technology, ties, to block, Ukraine, Ukraine’s, Ukrainian, Uncategorized, unfreeze, United States, US embassy, Washington, weeks, Zelensky | Leave a Comment »

27/11/2019

Modi’s loss in state election raises questions about bullet train

MUMBAI (Reuters) – India’s richest state is set to be ruled by parties opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, jeopardising a Japanese-backed bullet-train project opposed by farmers.

The BJP’s inability to pull together voters in the westerly state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is capital, has meant that three parties, including a former BJP ally, will form the government. That is a major setback for Modi after his landslide victory in general elections this year.

It could also hinder the bullet train project, a $17 billion investment largely financed by a long-term, low-cost loan from Japan. The BJP was in power in both Maharashtra and Gujarat states when work began on project in 2017.

“We have always opposed the bullet train,” said Manisha Kayande, a spokesperson for the Shiv Sena, a former BJP ally whose leader is now set to head Maharashtra. “Our state is giving a major chunk of money for the project, when most of the track is in another state. This will definitely be re-framed,” .

The train will run from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, the main city in Gujarat state, a distance of 508 kilometres (315 miles). But it has run into obstacles acquiring land amid opposition from fruit farmers.

Any delay of the project is likely to undermine investor confidence, at a time when growth has slowed to its weakest pace in years.

Critics say India does not need the high-speed train and investment should go instead to improve the existing network.

“We are not against development or infrastructure projects, but at the same time farmers’ interests can’t be ignored. We will rethink about projects that farmers are opposing,” said a senior leader of Nationalist Congress Party, which is a part of the coalition government.

National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL), the government agency overseeing the project, had no immediate comment.

The authorities have acquired 548 hectares land out of the total requirement 1,380 hectares and the project was targeted to be operational by 2023 , the government told parliament in July.

Protests against land acquisitions are common in India, where tens of millions of farmers till small holdings. A planned $44 billion refinery to be run by a consortium including Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil producer, is also struggling to secure land in Maharashtra.

Source: Reuters

Posted in Ahmedabad, Bharatiya Janata Party, bullet-train project, farmers, Gujarat, India’s, Japan, Japanese-backed, jeopardising, Maharashtra, mumbai, National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL), nationalist, opposed, parties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s, richest state, ruled, Saudi Aramco, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

07/10/2019

Aarey protests: Supreme Court steps in to save Mumbai trees after protests

Protesters cry over felled trees in Aarey colony on October 5, 2019 in Mumbai, India.Image copyright GETTY IMAGES
Image caption Protesters cry over felled trees in Aarey colony

India’s top court has asked officials to stop cutting trees in a forested area in Mumbai city after protesters clashed with police over the weekend.

The trees, part of a green strip known as Aarey colony, were being cut to make way for a new metro rail project.

Locals have long opposed the move, and filed petitions seeking Aarey to be declared a protected area.

But a high court dismissed the petitions on Friday, sparking protests as officials began felling the trees.

They planned to cut 2,185 trees, and admitted in the Supreme Court that more than 1,500 had already been cut. But petitioners claim that officials have cut around 2,500 trees.

Local residents, students and environmental activists clashed with police on Friday as they took to the streets to stop authorities, and even broke through barricades to enter Aarey colony. More than 50 people were arrested and police imposed restrictions on public gatherings.

The protests grabbed the national spotlight over the weekend, and the Supreme Court took suo moto (without a formal complaint from any party) notice.

What did the Supreme Court say?

A special two-judge bench heard the matter on Monday after students wrote to the chief justice, asking the court to intervene and save the trees.

The court asked the state government of Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located, to not cut any more trees.

Activists were forcefully evacuated from Aarey Checknaka and taken to local Police Station at Goregaon, on October 5, 2019 in Mumbai, India.Image copyright GETTY IMAGES
Image caption Police arrested more than 50 protesters

The court also asked the government to maintain “status quo” – which means that no construction can take place – until 21 October when it will hear the matter again.

The court also ordered the release of all activists who were arrested or detained on bail.

What is Aarey colony?

Spread over 1,300 hectares (3,212 acres), Aarey is a densely forested area dotted with lakes and has the Mithi river flowing through it. It lies at the heart of Mumbai and is often referred to as its last green lung.

It’s locally known as the Aarey “milk colony” because most of the land was given to the department of dairy development in 1951. But they are allowed to grow cattle fodder only on a fraction of the land.

Activists break barricades to stop authorities from cutting at the main gate of Metro car shed , Picnic point, Aarey colony , Goregaon east, on October 5, 2019 in Mumbai.Image copyright GETTY IMAGES
Image caption Protesters broke through barricades and clashed with police on Friday

Earlier this year, officials cleared some 40 hectares of the forested area to build a zoo, complete with a night safari. And now, locals complain, another slice of it is in danger from the metro construction.

They also fear that the government will eventually clear the way for private builders to encroach on the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, which lies to the north of Aarey colony.

Officials, however, dismiss these fears as unfounded and point out that the construction for the metro only requires 30 hectares.

How crucial is the metro rail for Mumbai?

The city badly needs a “mass rapid transport system,” Ashwini Bhide, managing director of the Mumbai metro rail corporation, had told the BBC earlier.

The land in Aarey colony, she said, was “the most suitable land due to its size, shape and location”.

She has also been defending the decision to cut the trees on Twitter.

Presentational white space

India’s financial hub is congested and infamous for its crawling traffic jams.

Its colonial-era local train system ferries some 7.5 million people between the city’s suburbs and its centre on a daily basis.

Officials say that the metro will eventually carry around 1.7 million passengers every day and bring down the number of vehicles on the road by up to 650,000.

Source: The BBC

Posted in Aarey colony, Aarey protests, asked, barricades, cattle fodder, clashed, cry, cutting trees, department of dairy development, felled trees, filed, forested area, Government, green strip, grow, India, lakes, Locals, mass rapid transport system, metro rail project, Mithi river, move, mumbai, Mumbai metro rail corporation, night safari, officials, opposed, Petitions, Police, protests, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, save, status quo, steps in, stop, Supreme Court, top court, traffic jams, trees, Twitter, Uncategorized, weekend | Leave a Comment »

  |  
CCChang

Law of Unintended Consequences

continuously updated blog about China & India

ChiaHou's Book Reviews

continuously updated blog about China & India

What's wrong with the world; and its economy

continuously updated blog about China & India