Author: Arif ArifArman

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The United State’s Montana is one step closer to imposing a complete ban on the use of the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform ‘TikTok’ with the lower chamber passing the proposed restriction on the mobile application on Thursday (Local Time), The Montana Standard reported. On Thursday, 69 people voted in the favour of the ban on TikTok while 39 are against it in the Republican-led Legislature in Montana’s parliament. Senate Bill 419 would ban application stores from Apple and Google from offering TikTok within the state and envisions tens of thousands of dollars in fines for companies found violating its…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Oleg Nikolayevich Avdeev, Russian Consul General to South India, on Saturday organised an India-Russia friendship walkathon saying that the event “shows how strong our friendship is.” “Diplomatic relations between the two countries started in 1947, even before India formally attained independence. Every year we mark this event–the anniversary of this event with different functions. For a few years, it’s walkathon, this is the second time we organised it. This is a very symbolic event which…our friendship, which shows how strong is our friendship, it will remain forever and will go from strength to strength,” the Russian Consul General…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Indian Oil Corporation is planning to set up a joint venture with US-based clean energy technology company LanzaJet Inc and multiple domestic airlines for production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), people aware of the development said. The proposed venture will set up a plant to make SAF with alcohol-to-jet technology at the state-run company’s Panipat refinery in Haryana at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore, they said. As per the devised structure of the new company, IOCL will hold 50% stake while LanzaJet Inc will hold 25%. The remaining 25% stake would be offered to a bunch of…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: A piece of history was written around 11.45am on Wednesday when a Metro train emerged from the 520-metre tunnel below the Hooghly, marking India’s maiden under-river train travel. The feat comes nearly 40 years after Metro started its Indian journey in Kolkata – a good 18 years before Delhi got its first Metro line – and 170 years after Indian Railways operated its first train between Bori Bunder and Thane. With the successful run, Kolkata joined the likes of London, Paris, New York, Shanghai and Cairo, which also have train lines under the Thames, Seine, Hudson, Huangpu and…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: More than three years after COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China appears to be emerging as the source of the virus. The laboratory lab leak theory initially considered as a conspiracy theory, is gaining more and more traction among the scientific community worldwide, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported. In the latest development, some international researchers analyzed the early data of the Covid pandemic uploaded by Chinese scientists to foreign databases and have found traces of raccoon dogs during the spread of coronavirus to humans. Animals may be intermediate hosts. According to researchers, Chinese scientists’ data unexpectedly provided some information…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Chinese police have been using spies to ensure that Uyghur Muslims do not fast during the holy month of Ramzan. The spies, which Chinese officials call “ears”, are drawn from ordinary citizens, police and members of neighbourhood committees, Radio Free Asia reported citing a police officer from an area near Turpan, or Tulufan in Chinese, in eastern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Speaking to Radio Free Asia, the police officer said, “We have many secret agents.” China started banning Muslims in Xinjiang from fasting during Ramzan in 2017 when authorities started arbitrarily detaining Uyghurs in “re-education” camps amid efforts…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday raised the issue of the security of Indian diplomatic establishments in the United Kingdom with his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak and called for strong action against anti- India elements. In a telephone conversation, PM Sunak conveyed that the UK considers the attack on Indian High Commission totally unacceptable and assured of the security of the Indian Mission and its personnel, according to a PIB release. The leaders also reviewed the progress on a number of bilateral issues as part of the India-UK Roadmap 2030. They expressed satisfaction at the recent high-level exchanges…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In terms of the world outlook, India and Uganda have very converging perspectives which are based on the solidarity of the south-south cooperation between the two nations, said Jaihankar on Thursday in a podcast of his recently concluded Uganda visit. He said that out of many conversations during his visit to Uganda, future cooperation between India-Africa, and especially India -Uganda was an important subject. Calling the African nation of Uganda “noteworthy”, the External Affairs Minister in his podcast said that he has seen new intensity in interactions between New Delhi and Kampala and that even as we look…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Bangladesh and Japan are likely to sign 8-10 agreements and MoUs during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s upcoming visit to Japan as the two countries are willing to take the bilateral relations to a new height. “There’s a possibility to sign 8-10 deals and MoUs. We will inform you further through a separate briefing,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Seheli Sabrin told reporters in a weekly briefing today. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be on an official visit to Japan from April 25 to 28, at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. Both the governments of Bangladesh…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The removal of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in the penultimate year of its five-year tenure was an unwise move, as the ruling coalition’s first year in office has turned out to be a complete disaster, political experts believe. Several among the political intelligentsia, who were approached by The Express Tribune, rated the performance of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led coalition government as “abysmal” as all its promises before taking the office fell flat on its face. In April last year, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), that also included the PML-N, besides other allied parties including the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: International Monetary Fund division chief Daniel Leigh on Tuesday reposed faith in the Indian economy and said that it is a “very strong economy.” He said that India is one of the bright spots in the global economy right now with a high growth rate. Yes, we have a growth rate for India which is 6.8 in 2022. Let’s not forget this is one of the bright spots in the global economy right now. Such a high growth rate and it is moderating down to 5.9 with a -.2 revision compared to January, what’s happening here is also…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: On the ongoing military violence in Myanmar, External Affairs Ministry here on Thursday said that “India reiterates its call for a return of peace, stability and democracy in Myanmar.” According to media reports, at least 133 people were killed, including women and children in an airstrike by the military Junta on a village in the Central Myanmar. Responding to this, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that as a neighbour and friend of the people of Myanmar, “We have repeatedly called for stopping of violence by all sides,” and a peaceful resolution of all issues. “We have seen disturbing…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Emphasising for a closer cooperation between Kyiv and New Delhi, visiting Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Emine Dzhaparova called India a ‘Vishwaguru’ which is also home to some of the spiritual gurus, and suggested how India can play a bigger role in the ongoing war. “Ukraine really wants India to come closer to it. We had different pages in history but now Ukraine is gaining independence. We are now capable of being the subject, not the object,” said Dzhaparova. Making her remarks at a think tank in New Delhi, the Ukrainian minister who is the first…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is currently on a two-nation visit to Uganda and Mozambique, said India is making efforts to include concerns of the Global South in the G20 framework under its presidency. On Tuesday, Goyal addressed members of the Parliamentary Forum on Indian Affairs in Uganda. “We (India) are doing it differently in the sense that no other chair of G-20 made an effort to consult all the countries of the Global South and ask it saying, look, you are not on the table. So what is your interest, what are the things you want?…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has stirred a controversy with his ‘Pakistan period was better than present time,’ which has sparked widespread criticism especially on social media according to BangladeshLive News. Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Janata League President “Bangabir” Abdul Kader Siddique termed Alamgir’s remark as seditious, reported BangladeshLive News which stated that with his statement, the BNP proved that they wanted to launch a political imbued with Pakistani ideology Citing that there were only 22 multimillionaires back then compared to 192,000 right now, senior BNP secretary general Alamgir had said that the gulf between…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised downward the GDP growth rate projection for Pakistan from two percent to 0.5 percent for the current fiscal year 2023. The Fund projected a rise in inflation from 19.9 percent to 27.1 and unemployment from 6.2 percent to 7 percent. The World Bank has already revised downward the GDP growth projection to 0.4 per cent and Asian Development Bank (ADB) to 0.6 per cent for the current fiscal year 2023. The Fund in its latest report, “World Economic Outlook (WEO): A rocky recovery” released on Tuesday noted that Pakistan’s GDP is…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Indian medical students, who had returned to New Delhi following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will be allowed to take a key examination from India, Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova conveyed to India during her recent visit. According to the official release of the Ministry of External Affairs, Emine Dzhaparova held talks with the Indian side on several issues. Regarding the Indian medical students, the Deputy FM mentioned that Ukraine will allow foreign medical students to take the Unified State Qualification Exam in their country of domicile. Thousands of Indian medical students were left stranded with their…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasised India’s reform momentum remains unabated, notwithstanding the reality of reset across the globe and the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. “The government is committed to pursuing the reforms agenda for building a stronger and more dynamic India to provide plenty of opportunities for collaboration and investments,” Sitharaman said at round table on ‘Investing in the India Decade’ organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry and US-India Strategic Partnership Forum. Sitharaman is in the US to participate in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring meet. Participating…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India is uniquely positioned at this time of the divided world to play a very constructive and positive role in bringing together countries, said UN resident coordinator, Shombi Sharp, here on Wednesday. The UN resident coordinator made the above remarks while talking to ANI at a conference by Global India Insights. Speaking further about his expectations from India’s G20 Presidency, Shombi Sharp told ANI, “Expectations remain very high and that India has set goals of ambitious, inclusive, action-oriented G20,” and ‘India is delivering on that. “It has been an incredible experience. We saw that in the amazing parts…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India’s industrial output, as measured by the index of Industrial production or IIP, in February rose 5.6% year on year, data from the Ministry of Statistics showed today. For the 11-month period from April 2022 to February 2023, industrial output registered a growth of 5.5%. The January IIP growth was revised to 5.2%. The data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed that the manufacturing sector’s output increased 5.3% in February 2023. Mining output rose 4.6% and power generation surged 8.2% during the month under review. And for the 11-month period from April 2022 to February 2023,…

INTERNATIONAL DESK:Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking additional humanitarian aid including medical equipment from India, the external affairs ministry said on Wednesday. The request came during the recent three-day visit to India by Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova who handed over Zelenskyy’s letter to Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi, a statement from the foreign ministry said. “Dzhaparova also called on Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakashi Lekhi. Besides holding discussions on a wide range of bilateral and international issues of mutual interest, she handed over a…

TECHNOLOGY DESK: Alibaba, a Chinese technology giant, has announced plans to roll out its own artificial intelligence (AI) ChatGPT-style product called Tongyi Qianwen, reports AP. In recent months, technology companies around the world have unveiled their own so-called generative AI chatbots. Earlier this year, Alibaba revealed it was working on a rival to ChatGPT, reports BBC. Tongyi Qianwen roughly translates as “seeking an answer by asking a thousand questions”, although Alibaba has not given an English version of the name. Its cloud computing unit says it will integrate the chatbot across Alibaba’s businesses in the “near future” but did not…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: A team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is due to arrive in Dhaka on April 25 to discuss the progress in the use of the first tranche of its US$4.7 billion loan programme for Bangladesh and the release of the second installment. The Ministry of Finance sources told UNB on Wednesday that during its April 25 to May 2 visit the mission will hold meetings with the officials of the Ministry of Finance’s Finance Division, Financial Institutions Division, Economic Relations Division (ERD), Bangladesh Bank, and National Board of Revenue (NBR). IMF Asia and Pacific Division Head Rahul…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Lahore High Court Bar Association has released an “extremely concerning” notification, underlining the need for a witchhunt against supposed blasphemers in Pakistan, The Nation reported. The notification of the Lahore High Court Bar Association showcases how little progress Pakistan has made as a country with regard to “weaponizing” blasphemy. Further, according to the news report, Pakistan has learnt nothing from the mistakes committed as a country which has led to international humiliation and condemnation of violent and intolerant mindset. The notification has revealed that there are 400,000 blasphemers in Pakistan who have allegedly shared blasphemous texts or…