Author: Arif ArifArman

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Saturday emphasized the state government’s commitment to promote an environment of ‘Jan Bhagidari’ and ‘Jan Samvad’ that encourages active participation from civil societies. During his address at the inaugural session of the C20 summit, Khandu acknowledged the invaluable contributions of civil societies, including their expertise, local knowledge, and community-driven initiatives, towards inclusive and sustainable development. He praised the C20 summit as an exceptional platform for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and collaboration among civil society organizations worldwide, with the shared vision of promoting social and economic development, ensuring that no one is left behind. “In…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi aspires to turn India into a Vishwaguru, or ‘teacher to the world’. In a little over a decade India has built a collection of public-facing digital platforms that have transformed its citizens’ lives, according to the Economist. Once known as the ‘India Stack’, they have been rebranded ‘Digital Public Infrastructure’ (DPI) as the number and ambition of the platforms have grown. It is this DPI that India hopes to export–and in the process build its economy and influence, reports The Economist. It said it is India’s low-cost, software-based version of China’s infrastructure-led Belt and…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be back in Delhi on Wednesday after nearly a week abroad in Hiroshima, Port Moresby and Sydney, during which time he met some of the world’s most powerful leaders, as well as those from among its smallest nations. But what has seemed remarkable during this trip is the charm offensive undertaken by several of these heads of State and government towards Modi – as if they’ve come to the conclusion that in the shifting world order, he and India deserve more than their grudging respect. Why the West wants to know Modi Let’s…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today called upon the Qatar University students to be the change-makers being remained focus on vision having the mentality to embrace the new and future. “Lead by example and be the change-maker,” she said while addressing a session with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the students of Qatar University on theme titled “Bangladesh: a development model: Learning from Sheikh Hasina.” The Premier, who is now on a three-day official visit to Doha to attend the Qatar Economic Forum-2023, told the students, “To represent a value, remaining focused on your vision and make concrete plans…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: US cotton can now arrive here in Bangladesh without fumigation at the port of entry, saving Bangladeshi importers millions of dollars and five days of waiting. This action, effective from May 16, follows a successful November 2022 visit to the United States by a technical delegation from Bangladesh’s Ministry of Agriculture, said the US Embassy in Dhaka on Monday. The delegation verified that U.S. cotton production and pest management strategies, followed by cotton processing techniques—ginning, lint cleaning, and bale compression—that remove any risk of boll weevil in U.S. cotton. Bangladesh is the second largest global importer of cotton,…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The specter of a potential default looms large over Pakistan’s already fragile economy, as hopes for the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program fade. The consequences of a default would be dire, with hyperinflation, a significant devaluation of the rupee, a near-halt in imports, the closure of more factories, a spike in unemployment, and the potential for social and political unrest. Economic indicators have already worsened, signaling the deepening crisis the country currently faces. The local financial system, particularly commercial banks, would face headwinds as they have heavily financed the cash-strapped government in recent years.…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: All eyes are on the 3rd G20 Tourism Working Group (TWG) meeting which is being held in Srinagar for the first time for the world to witness and experience the picturesque region of Jammu and Kashmir. Actor Ram Charan attended the meeting on Monday and shared his experience of shooting in this beautiful place. During the film Tourism for Economic Growth and Cultural Preservation discussion at the event, the ‘RRR’ star stated, “Kashmir is that kind of a place, I have been coming here because my dad (Chiranjeevi) is in the same industry. He has been working as…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Minister of State for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid today said the potential gas reserves at Shahzadpur, Bhola North and Ilisha gas fields will be 2.23 TCF as per the geological data and Drill Stem Test (DST) report. “Referring to the report about 200 billion cubic feet (BCF) gas is reserved at Elisha-1 well in Bhola. It is a big good news for the people of the country,” he told journalists at his official residence. The state minister said the average gas production rate will be 20 million cubic feet (mmcfd) per day from Elisha-1 well,…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The City of Parramatta Council in Sydney, New South Wales, has elected Councillor Sameer Pandey as its new Lord Mayor. Cr Pandey, who represents the Parramatta Ward, is the City’s first Lord Mayor of Indian origin. He was first elected to the City of Parramatta Council in September 2017, and elected as Deputy Lord Mayor in January 2022. Cr Pandey, who has a background in IT, has a lot of work on his hand particularly major projects such as the aquatic centre, town hall and Riverside Theatre redevelopments. In a statement, Cr Pandey said it was a privilege…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Saudi Arabian Ambassador in Dhaka Essa Yousef Essa Alduhailan paid a courtesy call on President Mohammed Shahabuddin at Bangabhaban here this noon. “During the meeting, the President said Bangladesh’s relationship with Saudi Arabia is very excellent…,” President’s press secretary Md Joynal Abedin told BSS later. The Head of the State thanked the Saudi government for facilitating the Hajj process for Bangladeshis and launching e-visa. Noting that Saudi Arabia is the biggest destination for the export of Bangladesh’s manpower, President Shahabuddin said Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia are playing an important role in the economic development of both countries.…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: The United States has said that they maintain a “broad and deep” relationship with Bangladesh, and that they also want to advance the ties. “The United States maintains a broad and deep relationship with Bangladesh that we seek to advance,” an official at the US Embassy in Dhaka told UNB. The response came when the US Embassy’s attention was drawn to a media report that claims more US sanctions could be coming. (UNB)

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Chinese police detained a woman for posting online in support of the comedian who was punished for making a joke that authorities said insulted the Chinese military. According to state media, the 34-year-old woman, reportedly surnamed Shi, admitted to police that she had posted “inappropriate” comments about Chinese soldiers. Shi’s post was in reaction to the stiff punishment delivered to Li Haoshi, also known as House, over a joke about two dogs chasing a squirrel reminding him of one of Xi Jinping’s military slogan. After an audio recording of the joke went viral, Beijing police launched an investigation…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Describing Kashmir as the “paradise on earth” as he praised the beauty of the Union Territory, Arab influencer Amjad Taha said that this is India, and this is Kashmir where the G20 will take place. Known as “paradise on Earth,” it’s a place that has protected the Earth and may be the answer to climate change, the influencer wrote on Twitter. “This is not Switzerland or Austria; this is India, and this is Kashmir where the G20 will take place. It’s called the ‘paradise on Earth,’ a place that has preserved the Earth and can be the solution…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Amid China’s military expansion in the South China Sea and the East China Sea Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India stands for respecting sovereignty, peaceful resolution of disputes, and adherence to international law. “India stands for respecting sovereignty, peaceful resolution of disputes, and adherence to international law,” PM Modi said in an interview with Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun during his visit to Hiroshima to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit. PM Modi was responding to a question by the Japanese publication on how India plans to address China’s military expansion in the South China Sea…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an interview with Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun has underscored the importance of cooperation between the G7 and G20 in addressing pressing global issues. PM Modi, who also chairs the G20, emphasized his commitment to leading the international community in resolving the challenges of the “Global South,” including developing and emerging countries. Prime Minister Modi is in Japan from May 19- 21 to attend the G7 Summit under the Japanese Presidency at the invitation of Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. In his interview with the Japanese publication PM Modi noted the geopolitical tensions causing…

TECHNOLOGY DESK: Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations on Saturday called for the development and adoption of international technical standards for trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) as lawmakers of the rich countries focus on the new technology. While the G7 leaders, meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, recognised that the approaches to achieving “the common vision and goal of trustworthy AI may vary”, they said in a statement that “the governance of the digital economy should continue to be updated in line with our shared democratic values”. The agreement came after European Union, which is represented at the G7, inched closer…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: United States President Joe Biden, on Saturday, said that from 20-30 years from now people will look back at Quad and will say that it had changed the dynamics not only of the region but of the world as the new initiatives will build secure telecommunications in the Indo-Pacific region. In the opening remarks of the Quad meeting held on the sidelines of a Group of Seven Summit (G-7) meeting in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, Biden said, “While our setting today is different, our mission remains the same and that is to advance our vision of a…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Domestic airlines flew 1.29 crore passengers in April, a rise of more than 22 per cent compared to the year-ago period, according to official data released on Friday. However, the domestic air traffic number last month at 128.88 lakh was marginally lower than the 128.93 lakh recorded in March. In April 2022, the number of passengers carried by airlines stood at 105.47 lakh. “Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-April 2023 were 503.93 lakh as against 352.70 lakh during the corresponding period of the previous year, thereby registering annual growth of 42.88 per cent and monthly growth of…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Japan is mulling to join India’s UPI payment system and promote cooperation on the digital identity system, an official statement said on Friday. Bhutan, Nepal, Singapore and UAE have already started accepting Unified Payment Interface (UPI) payment systems. “Almost every global forum, whether G20, SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) or G7, wherever we are presenting Hon’ble PM Modi’s Digital India vision, has very good traction. People understand how Modi ji has democratised digital technology. I thank the Japanese digital minister. He has accepted PM Modi’s very deep and extensive vision of Digital India,” Union Minister for IT and Telecom…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Rising for the second consecutive week, India’s forex kitty jumped $3.55 billion to $599.53 billion for the week ended May 12, the RBI said on Friday. The overall reserves had jumped by $7.2 billion to $595.98 billion for the previous reporting week. It can be noted that in October 2021, the country’s forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion. The reserves have been declining as the central bank deploys the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments. For the week ended May 12, the foreign currency assets, a major component…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to “amplify the voices and concerns of the Global South” nations at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, as he strives to “foster synergy” with the broader Group of 20 he is hosting this year. Speaking exclusively with Nikkei Asia at the Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi ahead of his arrival in Japan on Friday evening, he said he was looking forward to discussing global changes and challenges in areas such as energy, digital technology and supply chains. “I will emphasize India’s role as a reliable partner in addressing these…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India is fully prepared and committed to protecting its sovereignty and dignity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday and asserted that the future development of the India-China relationship can only be based on mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests. Responding to questions over the India-China standoff in eastern Ladakh, Modi in an interview with the Japanese publication Nikkei Asia, also emphasised that peace and tranquility on the border are essential for normal bilateral ties among the neighbours. ‘India is fully prepared and committed to protect its sovereignty and dignity,” the prime minister said while stressing his…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Japan at the invitation of Fumio Kishida to attend the G7 Summit, unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima on Saturday. After the bust was unveiled, PM Modi paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. Prime Minister Modi arrived in Hiroshima on Friday to attend the G7 Summit at the invitation of Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida. Speaking to reporters in Hiroshima, after unveiling the bust of Mahatma Gandhi, PM Modi said that even today the world gets frightened when they listen to the word ‘Hiroshima’. He said, “I got the opportunity…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Cadets from the Royal Saudi Naval Forces have arrived in India to take part in three weeks of training with their counterparts from the Indian Navy, the first such collaboration between the two nations. The Saudi contingent comprises 55 trainees and five instructional staff from the King Fahd Naval Academy. They arrived this week at a naval base in Kochi, in Kerala state on the southwestern coast of India, the Southern Naval Command said on Thursday. The planned 24-day exercise was “a major stride toward mutual cooperation” between the Indian Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Forces, the command…