Pakistan will become the fourth-largest International Monetary Fund (IMF) borrower after receiving a $3 billion loan from the global lender over the next nine months under the standby agreement signed recently. The country was ranked fifth on 31 March 2023, in the list of countries with the highest borrowing from the IMF. Pakistan is also the largest IMF borrower in the Asian region. Argentina is the largest IMF debtor, followed by Egypt, Ukraine, Ecuador, and Pakistan.
The seventh Japan-India Maritime Exercise 2023 (JIMEX 23), hosted by the Indian Navy, is being conducted at Visakhapatnam from 5 -10 July 2023. This edition marks the 11th anniversary of JIMEX since its inception in 2012. INS Delhi, India’s first indigenously built Guided Missile Destroyer, INS Kamorta, an indigenously designed and built Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette, fleet tanker INS Shakti, a submarine, maritime patrol aircraft P8I and Dornier, ship-borne helicopters and fighter aircraft will participate in the exercise. The Japanese guided-missile destroyer JS Samidare and its integral helicopters will also participate in the event.
Authorities in southwestern China have confirmed at least 15 deaths due to the devastating floods caused by seasonal torrents. The mountainous regions have been particularly affected, and the local government website states that almost the entire 31 million population of Chongqing, a vast mountainous region, now faces flood risk. The scale of the disaster has prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands of individuals. The province of Sichuan alone, located in the southwest, has seen over 85,000 people displaced due to the flooding, as reported by Xinhua News Agency.
In Zimbabwe, a Chinese mining company inaugurated a lithium processing plant on Wednesday, representing a significant investment of $300 million. This African nation possesses one of the largest lithium reserves globally, and the demand for this metal has soared due to its crucial role in electric vehicle batteries. Zimbabwe has emerged as a magnet for investors in battery minerals, attracting interest from countries like Canada, the UK, and Australia. However, China remains the dominant player in this sector, capitalising on the country’s abundant lithium resources.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Wednesday that Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian dual citizen who has been missing for months in Iraq, is being held captive by the Shia militia Kata’ib Hezbollah. “Elizabeth Tsurkov is still alive and we hold Iraq responsible for her safety and well-being,” the office stated. Tsurkov, a researcher, was kidnapped in March in Baghdad.
At least 16 people, including three children, were killed by a toxic gas leak from a cylinder near Johannesburg, South Africa. Search and rescue operations are ongoing to find survivors and estimate the extent of damage. According to officials, illegal miners used the gas in the cylinder to process gold in shacks.