Rada passes laws for next IMF loan 

KYIV – Ukraine’s parliament has passed all the laws necessary to receive a second tranche of financial aid from the International Monetary Fund, Ukraine’s deputy minister announced on July 16. The IMF tranche is worth $1.7 billion, Artem Shevalev said in a Facebook post. National deputies in the Verkhovna Rada voted for a series of laws, including legislative changes to the banking system and energy sector. Earlier that week, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk had dismissed legislation in the Rada that would have watered down economic reforms demanded by the West in exchange for loans, saying it was sponsored by “lunatics.” (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Reuters)