Author: Arif ArifArman

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The First Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) meeting under India’s G20 Presidency will be held from March 28 to March 30 in Mumbai, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said while addressing a press conference here on Friday. Commerce Secretary said that during this three-day Meeting, over 100 delegates from G20 member countries, invitee countries, regional groupings and international organisations will engage in deliberations to accelerate global trade and investments. Barthwal said that “on the first day, a seminar on ‘Trade Finance’ will be held at the Ballroom, Taj Lands’ End, Mumbai. The role of banks, financial institutions, development…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India is considering sending tigers to Cambodia to help it reintroduce the big cat to its forests, officials said on Friday. New Delhi signed a pact with Phnom Penh for the world’s first transnational tiger reintroduction programme last year, they said. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), conservationists in Cambodia declared tigers “functionally extinct” in 2016. Cambodia’s last tiger was seen on a camera trap in the eastern province of Mondulkiri in 2007. In September 2017, the Cambodian government announced plans to reintroduce tigers in the country with the help of the WWF. “Recently, India signed an…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China’s post-pandemic recovery is sending a clear and urgent message to the nation’s fallen property tycoons: shape up, reorganise and get on with working out their debt. The rush is on. China Evergrande’s Hui Ka-yan and his beleaguered industry peers have set March as a key target. By the end of the month, they want to have a done deal with their creditors, or at least have something to show. If not, they could miss Beijing’s lifeboat for the sector and lose any remaining goodwill among creditors over the crisis that has simmered for two years. Hui, the…

INTERNATIONL DESK: A growing number of local government-owned enterprises in China have begun pulling back from funding regional projects, aiming to transform themselves into market-driven entities as Beijing doubles down on efforts to reduce the country’s implicit debt risks. China’s new leadership team is scrambling to get on top of financial risk, especially among local governments that had their finances stretched by Covid control measures, while at the same time witnessing a plunge in revenue from land sales and taxes. Implicit government debt refers to liabilities the government may eventually take some repayment responsibility for, despite being generated by state-owned…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Taking a strong view of pro-Khalistan supporters pulling down the Indian tricolour at the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said India would not accept differential standards of security. He also accused the UK of not meeting the obligation of providing security to the diplomats of the Mission, which is expected of a country where a high commission or a consulate is located. “On the flag and the security of the high commission, in this particular case in the UK – whenever any country sends an embassy anywhere abroad, it…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Lahore High Court, on Friday, extended Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s protective bail till Monday in five cases registered against him in Islamabad, including two for “vandalism,” ARY News reported. The former premier had been granted protective bail in the five cases on March 17 when he secured protective bail in a total of nine. In the court today, the former premier arrived at the LHC in tight security. A two-member bench comprising Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh and Justice Anwaar Hussain heard Imran’s plea and extended the bail till March 27. During…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has presided over the plenary session of the UN 2023 Water Conference. He chaired the third plenary session of the Conference on Thursday, according a message received here today. The Foreign Minister also delivered the closing remarks at the high-level event entitled “Water for Peace: From Source to Sea” at the UN Headquarters organized jointly by Bangladesh, Global Center on Adaptation and Deltares. In his remarks, focusing on the ‘Source to Sea’ approach on water cooperation, Momen stressed the need for sustainable water management for promoting global peace and stability. The Permanent…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: President Md Abdul Hamid today emphasized on collective efforts to turn the country into ‘Sonar Bangla’ as dreamt by Bangabandhu as part of paying everlasting tributes to the martyrs of the 1971 genocide. “We can pay our eternal respect to every soul, who gave his or her life in 1971 genocide, by turning the country into ‘Sonar Bangla’ as dreamt by Bangabandhu,” he said in a message on the eve of the Genocide Day. The President said, “Today is the dreadful 25th March, the Genocide Day. On this day in 1971, Pakistani occupation forces carried out the most…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The ongoing G20 summit under India’s presidency is creating a strong event for sustainable growth of multilateralism at large through mutual dialogue. The primary deliberation focused largely on broad macroeconomic issues and has been expanded to include mutual trade, climate change, sustainable development, health, agriculture, energy, environment, anti-corruption and prioritising counter-terrorism. The group has vast potential to calm world geopolitics and help amplify developmental efforts towards poor nations. The ongoing summit spreads the vision of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, India’s G20 presidency maxim. Altogether, the 19 members and the European Union of the assembly are a geographic behemoth that controls…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Around 6,000 international tourists paying the new Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) visited the country since the reopening of borders six months ago. Another 7000 tourists paying the old tariff visited the country in the same period. To attract more tourists, the Tourism Department is working on introducing family-oriented tourism products and making Bhutan an all-season destination. Since 23rd September last year, up until yesterday, the country received around 31,000 tourists. More than half of them were from the region. Just before the pandemic, in 2019 the country recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals at more than 315…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: As India & China remain in a stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Indian Army and Air Force have conducted a 96-hour multi-domain air and land exercise, ‘Vayu Prahar’, in the eastern sector. Sources in India’s defence and security establishment said the exercise was conducted in the second week of March. The main aim, they explained, was to formulate plans that can lead to synergy in multi-domain operations. Essentially, multi-domain operations are used to coordinate activities across multiple branches of the military to achieve converging results. “The conduct of Vayu Prahar exercise enabled coordination and…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India’s space policy has strived to achieve a fine balance between capabilities, entrepreneurship, and innovation. The question is how to move ahead in spacefaring in the prevailing geopolitical circumstances. The Indian Air Force (IAF) recently published its revised and rather ambitious doctrine that aims to transition India from an air power to an aerospace power. Clearly, it implies a paradigm shift in outlook and capabilities. But can India achieve it alone? The answer by itself would be affirmative but loses significance when time and cost are taken into consideration. A better question to ask is: Can India do…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Locals from the Azam Warsak area in Birmal Tehsil in Lower South Waziristan district on Thursday protested against electricity load-shedding, reported The News International. They have been protesting for three days and said that the government was providing two hours of electricity to the residents of the Azam Warsak area in Birmal Tehsil. They said that the people should be provided electricity from the Gomal Zam Dam as per the promises made to them, reported The News. The protesters said that they would extend the protest to other parts of the district if the government did not meet…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Entrepreneur Tage Rita from Arunachal Pradesh recently won a deal worth Rs 75 lakh on Shark Tank India (Season 2) for her winery NaaraAaba. With a long history of helping businesses succeed, Shark Tank India is well known for its assistance to business owners. With its fund, the program is stepping up its commitment to entrepreneurs by offering them immediate financial assistance. Entrepreneur Tage Rita had the opportunity to present her line of Kiwi wines under the brand name Naara-Aaba this year during season 2 of Shark Tank India. The Naara-Aaba winery is one of the first businesses…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is considering recalling Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ameer Khurram Rathore, The News International reported. The development comes a year after he was posted there by former Pakistan PM Imran Khan who did that through the premature removal of Lt-Gen (R) Bilal Akbar. The process of recalling Pakistan’s envoy has started but has not been finalised yet, The News International reported citing a foreign office source. Earlier, Rathore was posted as Pakistan’s High Commission in Canada. Hardly a month after his posting in Canada, he was asked to get ready for his posting…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said her government considers power as a scope to serve the people, reiterating her steadfast commitment to build developed, prosperous and Smart Bangladesh by 2041. “We see the power as a scope to serve the people. It has been possible to make development as the democratic process continues by now since Awami League assumed office after winning 2008 general elections confronting many hurdles,” she said. The premier was handing over “Swadhinata Purashkar-2023” (Independence Award-2023), the highest national civil award, to nine distinguished persons and one organisation in recognition of outstanding contribution to their…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China has been playing a long game to establish its hegemony in the South Asia region. Inflicted by the ‘Middle Kingdom’ complex, it views the world as an arrangement of concentric circles of power with itself being at the centre. It is increasingly becoming a revisionist power which wants to topple the existing global order, negate the international rules-based order, assert its Great Power status on other countries, and is trying to displace the USA as the world leader. To give effect to its vicious ambitions, the major instrument it is using is ensnaring weaker countries in a…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Seems like the competition is only getting tougher as Google on Wednesday announced that it is finally opening up access to its ChatGPT competitor ‘Bard’. This release will be an early experiment for users to collaborate with generative AI. Google is granting early access to ‘Bard’, which has been first rolled out in the US and UK. Google will be expanding the access to ‘Bard’ over time to more countries and languages. “You can use ‘Bard’ to boost your productivity, accelerate your ideas and fuel your curiosity. You might ask ‘Bard’ to give you tips to reach your…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Almost 30 million Pakistanis have no access to clean water, 80 per cent of people living in 24 major cities do not have access to clean water, and 16 million slum dwellers of Karachi do not have access to running water, Asian Lite reported. Pakistan has experienced several issues since its independence, but the most critical problem in the country is that of water shortage. According to one estimate by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan will be fully dry and barren by 2025 if the necessary steps are not taken to preserve water. For Pakistan, several factors…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: A Pashtun political activist during the 52nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, exposed Pakistan for its close ties with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In his intervention, Fazal-ur-Rehman Afridi said, “We would like to turn the council’s attention towards a deteriorating security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Pakistan having grave implications for the basic fundamental rights and lives of the Pashtun ethnic minority.” “We express our concerns about the unannounced deal between the state of Pakistan and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to hand over Ex-FATA to TTP to be ruled under Sharia Laws,” he said. He informed…

INTERNATIOANL DESK: Highlighting the country’s stride in technology and innovation Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday asserted that India should lead the world in 6G technology. Vaishnaw attended the Communication Ministers’ Conclave held in New Delhi, with the theme of ‘Enabling Innovation in Telecommunications to Ensure Digital Transformation of the Society’. Sometime back our Prime Minister gave us a target that in 5G we must stand shoulder to shoulder with the world and in 6G we must take the lead. On the basis of the target, all of us…the country has worked, the academia, and the entrepreneurs have worked and…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Saudi Arabia is no longer willing to bail out Islamabad and refused to provide ‘easy money’ to Pakistan, demanding economic reforms, reported Middle East Eye. Pakistan is in dire need of sustained US dollar inflows to avoid defaulting on nearly USD 80 billion of international loan repayments over the next three and a half years. The country is currently sitting on just USD 3 billion in foreign exchange reserves. Saudi Arabia’s decision to refuse to provide any further bailouts or interest-free loans to Pakistan has left the government in Islamabad in shock and has prompted the finance minister…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Taiwan on Tuesday tracked 10 Chinese military aircraft and 2 naval ships around the country, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND), reported Taiwan News. The military aircraft and naval vessels were tracked around Taiwan between 6 am on Monday (March 20) and 6 am on Tuesday. Taiwan sent aircraft, and naval ships, and used land-based missiles to monitor PLA aircraft and vessels, reported Taiwan News. Of the 10 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, three were tracked in Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND. One Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane and one Harbin…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Political activists from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir lambasted Pakistan for curbing the freedom of expression and giving free hand to terror outfits in the region during an event at the 52nd Session of Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday. The event titled “Freedom of Expression” was organised by the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) to focus on the importance of protecting the right to freedom of expression, especially in today’s world where censorship and suppression of speech are becoming increasingly common. Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, Chairman of UKPNP told ANI, “When any state curtails or compromises the freedom…