Author: Arif ArifArman

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Civil societies have always played an important role in shaping the socioeconomic foundation of India. In order to highlight the importance of civil society, India has formed the Civil20 group as part of its G20 presidency. C20 India 2023 is one of the official Engagement Groups of the G20 that provides a platform for civil society organisations (CSO) around the world to voice people’s aspirations to the world leaders of G20. It gives CSOs a forum to protect the agency of this sector, reflects the primary and common concerns affecting the people of the world, and promotes social…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said the world is fascinated with the digitisation of India. “What is the world’s fascination with India? Today? It is in the digitisation of India,” the EAM said while interacting with intellectuals in Dharwad, Karnataka. “In 2014, six crore people had access to broadband. Today, it is 80 crore. From six it has gone to 80. Internet was used by 25 crore people. It is today 85 crores. We have laid optical fiber cable of 25 lakh kilometres in this country,” Jaishankar said. “The number of mobile users has crossed 100…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has given a strong message to separatist Khalistanis, following several acts of vandalisation of the Tricolour, that India will not accept its national flag being pulled down. Jaishankar made the above remarks in his interaction with intellectuals in Dharwad on Sunday. A programme was organised by the BJP Mahanagar unit at Dharwad. “The days when India would have taken this lightly are behind us and this is not the India which will accept its national flag being pulled down by somebody,” Jaishankar said. “It is a message not only to those so-called Khalistanis…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has reduced the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by Taka 244 per 12-kg cylinder to Tk 1,178 from the existing rate of Taka 1,422 at retailer level. Chairman of the BERC Md Nurul Amin made the announcement at a press conference at his office in city’s Karwan Bazara. He said the new price of the LPG would be effective from today (Sunday) evening. According to the BERC, now the price of LPG stands at Tk 1,178 per 12-kg cylinder, which was Tk 1,422 in March. The chairman said the government fixed the…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today laid emphasis on exploring overseas employment opportunities in new countries and sending skilled workforce there, urging expatriate Bangladeshis to send remittance to the country through legal channels. “We have to find new employment areas and new countries (for sending workforce). We will arrange befitting training (for the workers) that a country needs,” she said. The Premier said this while delivering the introductory speech at the second meeting of the national steering committee on expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment at her official residence Ganabhaban. Mentioning that the government has already started sending workers to…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The meeting of the G20 Sherpas is broadly coming to an agreement that they will work on a “new” consensus-based diplomatic language on the Russia-Ukraine war over the next five months, just in time for the G20 Leaders’ Summit in September this year, sources said Saturday. This was the broad takeaway after two days of meetings between top officials — named Sherpas and their deputies, the Sous-Sherpas — at the scenic Kumarakom in the Kerala backwaters. “We cannot agree on a language on the Russia-Ukraine war right now, since the leaders’ summit is some months away. So, the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China couldn’t let go of its “weak” neighbour Myanmar as it provides Beijing with direct access to the Indian ocean and also makes it possible to bypass the contested South China Sea, Bertil Lintner writes in Global Asia. In the South Korean-based East Asia Foundation, the writer said that China sees Myanmar as the crucial link in Beijing’s foreign policy as it will make it possible to bypass the contested and potentially vulnerable Strait of Malacca for exports as well as the import of gas, oil and minerals. The grip of Myanmar’s military on the country since the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: How do you see the atmosphere at the Sherpas meeting? It has been really encouraging and India’s leadership has been very strong. The US came with a very strong desire to make sure that the G20 is a success this year. We are very excited about the agenda that India has laid out with the focus on development, focus on SDGs (sustainable development goals), focus on climate and the focus on green and all of those addressing the real challenges being faced by the world right now including developing and emerging markets. Being able to work together and…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Goods and services tax collections rose 12.7% to Rs 1,60,122 crore in March, the second-highest monthly mop up, with the integrated GST kitty swelling to a new high. Collection of integrated GST or IGST, levied on inter-state sales and imports, was pegged at Rs 82,907 crore in March, higher than the previous record of Rs 81,939 crore in April 2022. The March collections, for transactions in February, point to strong domestic demand despite revenue from imports seeing a slower rise. “During the month, revenues from import of goods was 8% higher and the revenues from domestic transaction (including…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Myanmar’s Coco Islands in the Bay of Bengal have long been the subject of geopolitical intrigue. The most common allegation is that since the early 1990s, Myanmar has allowed a Chinese signals intelligence facility on the archipelago. Little evidence exists for such a facility, bar a heavily weathered radar station, but recent satellite photographs have raised concerns, especially for India, of increased activity on the islands, writes policy institute Chatham House. The militarization of the Coco Islands could pose a significant security challenge to India This has implications for India’s strategic interests in the region, as New Delhi…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India on Saturday said it has the backing of G20 members to push ahead with the issues flagged during its presidency and is hopeful of differences over the Ukraine-Russia conflict being resolved in time for the leaders’ summit in Delhi in September. “We have had very constructive and positive discussions. We have already got 99%. The other 1% is not in India’s hands, someone else has created that. Everyone, emerging markets, developed countries, G7, all want to make India’s presidency a success. It’s a question of timing,” India’s sherpa Amitabh Kant said after the conclusion of the second…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India, Denmark on Saturday exchanged views on multilateral, regional issues including India’s G20 presidency, India-EU Free Trade Agreement, Ukraine, Indo-Pacific, co-operation at the UN, and climate change. The two sides during the 7th round of India-Denmark Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) in Copenhagen on Saturday, undertook a comprehensive review of their bilateral relations, acknowledged that bilateral relations have grown significantly and have benefited from the signing of the first-of-its-kind Green Strategic Partnership in September 2020, according to a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) release. The consultations were co-chaired by India’s MEA Secretary (West) Sanjay Verma and Denmark’s State Secretary…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The earlier situation of “emergency control” at the India-China border is a matter of the past, and overall it is stable at present, a senior Chinese diplomat said here. Interacting with journalists on Friday evening, Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in India, Chen Jianjun, said the two Asian giants continue to maintain communication via diplomatic and military channels, promoting the transition of the border situation to “normalised management and control”. “The current border situation is overall stable,” he said. Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Bangladesh could soon start trading with India using rupee instead of US dollar, trial for which has been done by Bangladesh Bank recently. The ministry of commerce has placed a written recommendation at the last cabinet meeting regarding the possibility and opportunity of using rupee instead of dollar. Currently Bangladesh exports goods to India worth around USD 2 billion. “The use of rupee will start with Bangladesh’s $2 billion trade with India. Bangladesh Bank has almost finished all kinds of trials in this regard. Trading in rupee will be introduced in both countries only after bilateral decision on…

Bertil Lintner: MYANMAR’S military leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, had probably not intended or expected to change the geopolitics of Southeast Asia when he staged an ill-timed and unwelcome coup in February 2021. By overthrowing a mostly democratically elected government, he managed to antagonize the West, which had hailed what it called “a democratic transition” in Myanmar. When a former general, Thein Sein, formed a new government in March 2011 following elections in November 2010, a number of breathtaking initiatives were taken. Political prisoners were released, and the previously heavily censored press began to enjoy unprecedented freedoms. Political parties…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Metro rail’s Shewrapara and Uttara South stations opened to the public on Friday. With the opening of the two stations, all 9 stations on the Uttara-Agargaon route are now operational. Meanwhile, MAN Siddique, the managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) said metro rail will run from 8 am to 2 pm instead of 8:30 am to 12:30 pm from April 5. “Considering the passengers’ demand and aiming to provide more services, the timing has been changed,” he said in a press conference on Thursday. He also said the metro rail will start in full swing…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Some of the steps being taken by Beijing along the India-China border have been provocative, a top White House official has said while reiterating that the United States is destined to work more closely with New Delhi Kurt Campbell, the Deputy Assistant to the US President and Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, told a Washington-based think-tank that India is not an ally of the United States and will never be so. “But it does not mean that we will not be close partners and share many things. That’s how we need to understand the role that India will play…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves decreased by USD 345 million to USD 4.2 billion, the central bank said on Thursday, leaving the country with barely a month’s worth of import cover, reported Geo News. In its weekly bulletin, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that its foreign exchange reserves have decreased as of the week ended March 24, which will provide an import cover of less than a month. The net forex reserves held by commercial banks stand at USD 5.6 billion, USD 1.3 billion more than the SBP, bringing the total liquid foreign exchange reserves of the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs of India V Muraleedharan on Friday said that the G20 under India’s Presidency has turned into a people’s movement. Muraleedharan was speaking on the second day of the second G20 Sherpas meeting under India’s G20 Presidency at Kumarakom village of Kerala. “We had 46 meetings across 26 countries. The biggest difference in this G20 under India’s Presidency compared to the earlier G20 is that this is not an exclusive diplomatic exercise, it has become a people’s movement. Amongst the various topics discussed, we have suggested and is newly…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Allegations are piling up against China for interloping in Canada’s most recent federal elections to support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party. A Conservative candidate, who ran close to Vancouver, said his defeat in 2021 was caused by a systematic misinformation campaign. In 2019, a member of Conservative Party of Canada, Kenny Chui, got elected as a member of Parliament for Steveston Richmond-East. Well over 50 per cent of the people in his Vancouver suburb are of Chinese descent. Nevertheless, he was defeated by a Liberal Party candidate, who is now the constituency’s MP, in the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India on Thursday said that the world was facing several challenges, including dealing with climate change, poverty and development, and sought the support of G20 members to keep the grouping “non-political.” India’s sherpa Amitabh Kant said Delhi is working with all members to ensure challenges around global debt and recession, in several parts of the world, are addressed, and “one issue can’t hold back other things”, in what was seen as a reference to the Ukraine war. Sherpas from G20 nations are meeting in Kumarakom for the second meet of the key representative of world leaders and will…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Pakistan Police on Wednesday morning shot at and critically injured a class IX student near Karachi’s Rizvia Society underpass, the Dawn reported. According to Dawn, the student, 15-year-old Ayaan, and his friend, Awais, were riding motorbikes when the police signaled them to pull over. As the police got hold of Awais, Ayaan tried to turn his motorbike, but a policeman fired at him leaving him seriously wounded, claimed the police and Ayaan’s family. Ayaan was then taken to the Liaquat National Hospital (LNH) for treatment. LNH spokesperson Anjum Rizvi told the media that the 15-year-old boy was being…

INTERNATIOAL DESK: 24 Ore System’s editorial staff denounced the repeated publication of advertorials, disguised as legitimate articles on the benefits of investing in China, inside the influential paper. On Tuesday, the union of journalists working at 24 Ore system often considered “Italy’s Financial Times”, issued a public communique criticising the publication of covert Chinese propaganda in Sunday’s paper, Decode39 wrote. Similar incidents have already occurred, leading the editorial staff to call out the “aggravating recidivism” of the group’s advertising arm, 24 Ore System. After past protests, the editorial staff had been assured of advance notice of the publication to take…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday emphasised enhancing economic cooperation between Bangladesh and Vietnam for the mutual benefit of the two countries. She made the observation while outgoing Ambassador of Vietnam Pham Viet Chien called on her at her official residence Ganabhaban, PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim told reporters. He said during the meeting they expressed satisfaction the growing bilateral relations between the two countries. Hasina mentioned that Bangladesh and Vietnam have many common issues like victorious struggle for the liberation of their countries. The people of the country admired the Vietnamese struggle for independence, the PM said…