Author: Arif ArifArman

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…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The practice of employing children as domestic workers has become a norm in Pakistani society. One in every four households in Pakistan employs a child in domestic work, predominantly children in the age group of 10 to 14 years, according to a study conducted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2022, wrote Rida Tahir, a barrister for Pakistan based The News International newspaper. According to Tahir, it is important to distinguish between child labour in domestic work and children performing non-hazardous household chores in their homes in reasonable conditions under supervision. Domestic labour entails children performing household…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: United Sindh Goods Transport Association’s office-bearers have urged the governor and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to help recover the organisation’s senior vice president, Raees Qureshi, who was picked up by police in plain clothes on Thursday, Pakistan-based Dawn newspaper reported. Qureshi’s whereabouts are not known since his abduction. Khalid Bandhani, Sher Mohammad Bandhani and others, along with the missing transport operator’s brother Sajid Qureshi, while speaking at a press conference at the local press club, claimed that at around 1 am on April 6, policemen picked up Raees Qureshi and since then his whereabouts remained…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Expressing confidence in the Indian growth story, French business leaders on Tuesday said that the future of India is bright as it shines out among the world’s biggest economies, with Europe hovering on the brink of potential recession and US growth slowing. “India is a great place. It’s a democracy. There is a huge demography. The future of India is bright in terms of growth,” said Saint Gobain CEO Benoit Bazin to ANI. “India has been growing very fast, double-digit over the last 25 years and now is the third country in the profit pool of Saint Gobain…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said that France and India have truly been friends, partners and vibrant democracies working for global good during his address at the India-France Business Summit in Paris, France on Tuesday. He said that Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have strengthened the strategic partnership between the two countries which has completed 25 years now. The Minister said that both leaders have taken India-France ties to the next level with expanded engagement in trade, technology, tourism and investment. He noted that the friendship between the leaders and the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Car Pooling application BlaBlacar Co-founder And Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Brusson met with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in France’s capital Paris on Tuesday. Goyal and Blablacar co-founder discussed new opportunities and the tech systems in India. The main discussion was what BlaBlacar car can actually do and how it can grow in India. He (Commerce Minister) gave some good ideas about how to develop even more in India,” BlaBlacar CEO said about his meeting with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal while speaking to ANI. Explaining what the Blablacar is, Nicolas Brusson said, “Blablacar allows drivers to share their car…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India and Canada have agreed to enhance momentum in commercial ties, and strengthen cooperation in science and technology, energy, education, consular issues, counter-terrorism, and streamlined mobility, according to Ministry of External Affairs. The India-Canada Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) on April 11 in Ottawa during which both sides discussed contemporary regional issues including the Indo-Pacific region and cooperation in multilateral organizations a statement by the MEA read. The Indian delegation was led by Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East) in the MEA while the Canadian side was headed by David Morrison, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Global Affairs Canada. “They welcomed…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Bangladesh Navy formally handed over 60 barrack houses for homeless and underprivileged people in Hatia, Noakhali district under the Ashrayan-2 project today. The Navy built these barrack houses under the direct direction of Prime Minister and under the Prime Minister’s Office and under the overall supervision of Armed Forces Division, said an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release here. The newly built barracks have a total of 300 units. Each of which can hold a family. Each barrack has a separate kitchen and bathroom. Hatia Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Kaiser Khasru received the necessary documents of the…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today asked the authorities concerned to stress more on utilizing the untapped potentials of the ‘Blue Economy’. The Premier gave the directive while chairing a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) held at the NEC Conference Room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area here today. Ministers, State Ministers, Planning Commission members and secretaries concerned attended the meeting. Later Planning Minister MA Mannan and State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam briefed the reporters about the outcome of the meeting. The Planning Minister said the day’s meeting approved a total…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China is becoming a power broker in the Middle East, however, the real test of Beijing is yet to come, reported Global Strat View. The Chinese-brokered landmark accord between Saudi Arabia and Iran after a thaw of seven years since 2016 formalized the agreement to restore diplomatic relations and bury the hatchet between the two countries. Rather than giving credence to any claims that China has brokered peace, we should view it as yet another exercise of the Chinese propaganda machine, said Global Strat View. The global perception of China taking a more active stance in world politics…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India and the US held discussions over the Chinese spy balloons that were shot down by the American Air Force recently after being detected at a very high altitude there carrying out suspicious activities. Asked whether the issue of the Chinese Spy balloon incident came up for discussions with Indian officials, Pacific Air Force Commander General Kenneth S. Wilsbach said today, “He had very ‘brief’ conversations and dialogue with most of the air chiefs in the region, shortly after within few weeks after it was shot down by the United States down the Coast of South Carolina.” Also,…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India did not believe in conflict between ecology and economy but gave importance to the co-existence between the two. The protection of wildlife was a universal issue, Modi said, launching the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), which was born out of a July 2019 message when he had called for an alliance of global leaders to obliterate demand and firmly curb poaching and illegal wildlife trade in Asia. The IBCA will focus on the protection and conservation of seven major big cats of the world — tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard,…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan reviewed the operational preparedness in the eastern sector over the weekend, amid heightened tensions with China that has seen India shore up defences in the strategically-vulnerable Siliguri Corridor among other measures along the entire frontier. Gen Chauhan visited ‘forward areas’ in north Bengal and the Hasimara air base, where a squadron of the new Rafale fighters is based, as well as the headquarters of the 33 ‘Trishakti’ Corps at Sukna, where he was briefed on the operational situation along the northern borders in Sikkim, on Saturday and Sunday. “Accompanied by 33…