Author: Arif ArifArman

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…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In celebration of World Forest Day, more than 80 volunteers on Tuesday came together to clean the Yagamso river at Indira Gandhi Park here, scooping up nearly four trucks of garbage. The cleaning drive was initiated by NGOs – Abralow Memorial Multipurpose Society and Youth Mission for Clean River – in association with Arunachal Dogs & Cats Rescue and Arunachal Yuva Shakti, and supported by the Itanagar Smart City Development Corporation Limited. The waste collected during the drive included diapers and sanitary disposables, meat, household mixed waste, construction waste, thermocol, broken crockery, dead animals, and electronic items. Mission…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India needs to develop “both offensive and defensive space capabilities to safeguard our assets”, Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari said on Tuesday, in the backdrop of China furiously building and deploying anti-satellite weapons from direct ascent missiles and co-orbital killers to directed-energy laser weapons and electronic jammers. “The race to weaponize space has already started and the day is not far when our next war would spread across all domains of land, sea, air, cyber and space. We need to capitalize on our initial successes in space and prepare ourselves for the future,” the IAF chief said.…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the US has in some cases, significant concerns about China’s behaviour, particularly its coercive and aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea. “In some cases, we have significant concerns about China’s behaviour, particularly their coercive and aggressive behaviour for instance in the South China Sea in pursuing false maritime claims, concerns about intellectual theft and some trade practices,” Kirby said in response to a question by Fox News reporter Peter Doocy on US’ relationship with China. Doocy had asked if President Biden thinks China is abiding by the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The government is expected to spend ₹4.46 lakh crore more on infrastructure projects than the original estimates, a report released by the infrastructure and project monitoring division of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Tuesday said. The original cost of 1,423 projects being monitored by the ministry was estimated at ₹ 20.38 lakh crore, but anticipated cost has risen to ₹24.85 lakh crore, the report said. Until February, the government had already incurred ₹13.63 lakh crore on these projects, which is more than half of the anticipated cost. The ministry monitors projects with a value…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: US Secretary of Air Force Frank Kendall on Tuesday said America is interested in peace and stability in the Indo-pacific region and added that India is the major defence partner. In an interview with ANI, Kendall, weighing in on the Chinese activities in the Indo-Pacific, said, “We’re looking at ways to cooperate because of our shared values and our shared interests. We’re all interested in peace and stability in the region and a clear and open and free Indo-pacific. Those are things that we shared and we shared with a number of other nations. So that’s our goal.”…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Ongoing China’s mega development projects in the South Asia region are impacting the climate and environment, experts raised concerns. In the 52nd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, organised by the Organisation for Poverty Alleviation and Development and European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS), experts highlighted the construction of highways, buildings and dams in Gilgit Baltistan by China under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project. Talking about the impact, Myra MacDonald, a former journalist and an author said, “My focus is, yeah, ultimately China is spending billions of dollars, you…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam today said the US’s 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Bangladesh contains some “fundamental shortcomings and mistakes” and Dhaka will raise those to Washington. “We will raise these shortcomings with the US side so that such things do not exist in the next year’s report,” he told reporters at the foreign ministry here. The state minister said there will be high-level bilateral meetings at various levels between Bangladesh and US where Dhaka will discuss the issue. Alam said the report use open sources like “controversial” rights group Odhikar…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The recent norms of China’s Ministry of Natural Resources for displaying content in open maps has once again come in the news. It is a new irritant causing discontent for the neighbouring countries. Many see this as a practice that would further complicate China’s already existing border disputes. Chinese new norms require displaying places in bordering areas in maps published in foreign language with explanatory designations in brackets with phonetic transcription of the same in Chinese language. China has unresolved border disputes with most of the neighbouring countries including Central Asia, Russia and Japan. This new norm of…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China’s “state-sponsored” hackers, who were conducting contract work in service of government espionage, and data theft have become the main concern for Norway and Netherlands, according to an article on Portal Plus authored by Valerio Fabbri. The hackers employ a sophisticated mix of social engineering techniques, including the use of dating sites, employment sites and massaging platforms to gain victims’ trust. Concerned over China’s government espionage, the Norwegian Intelligence Service (PST) and the National Security Agency (NSM) in this year’s threat assessments have highlighted that China was targeting individuals through social media. Security intelligence has also expressed concerns…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China’s “state-sponsored” hackers, who were conducting contract work in service of government espionage, and data theft have become the main concern for Norway and Netherlands, according to an article on Portal Plus authored by Valerio Fabbri. The hackers employ a sophisticated mix of social engineering techniques, including the use of dating sites, employment sites and massaging platforms to gain victims’ trust. Concerned over China’s government espionage, the Norwegian Intelligence Service (PST) and the National Security Agency (NSM) in this year’s threat assessments have highlighted that China was targeting individuals through social media. Security intelligence has also expressed concerns…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: INS Sujata, a patrol vessel of the Indian Navy visited Port Maputo in Mozambique during its overseas deployment from March 19 to March 21. The ship was received by Captain Nitin Kapoor, DA Pretoria, Commandant NRN Siva Babu, Coast Guard Afloat Support Team and Captain Florentino Jose’ Narciso from Mozambican Navy amidst the fanfare of Mozambican Navy Band and traditional dance performances at the jetty, the Ministry of Defense said in an official press release on Tuesday. As the ship visited Mozambique, the Commanding Officer, INS Sujata called on Rear Admiral Eugenio Dias Da Silva Muatuca, the Commander…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Exports to the United States from China’s far west Xinjiang region tumbled to below US$1 million for the first time on record in February, eight months after a law effectively banning American imports over forced labour concerns came into effect. Companies from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region exported US$497,440 worth of goods to the US last month, representing a drop of almost 90 per cent compared with the same month last year, according to Chinese customs data. The reading was the lowest since 2017 – the earliest available data from China’s customs portal. Apparel, which was once the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: For audiences in China, Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia this week was a show of strength and a testament to Beijing’s bid for global leadership. On the second day of Xi’s trip to Moscow, Chinese media was awash with coverage of the visit as evidence of China’s mettle when it comes to standing up to Washington. Xi on Tuesday continued talks with senior Russian officials and invited his counterpart Vladimir Putin to visit China, even as the Russian leader comes under mounting criticism, including an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The US in its “2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,” raised concern over human rights violations in China, Pakistan and Myanmar. In Xinjiang, in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the country report described how genocide and crimes against humanity continued to occur against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups. “Genocide and crimes against humanity occurred during the year against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. These crimes were continuing and included: the arbitrary imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty of…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Families in Afghanistan called on the Taliban yet again to open schools for girls in grades 7 to 12 as they are worried about the future of their daughters in the country under the regime of the organisation, TOLOnews reported. This comes as Afghanistan enters a new education year, however, the female students in the country are still denied their basic right to attain education. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, schooling above grade six has been closed, which, later in December last year, barred girls and women from going to universities and working with NGOs. In…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on Monday said Bangladesh will soon graduate from being classified as a least developed country, and they have already launched the Joint Study Group on the possibility of an Economic Partnership Agreement with Bangladesh. He said this also reflects the important Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) principle of “excluding no one.” The Japanese Prime Minister was delivering a policy speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA). He described Japan’s plan to develop a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.” “To achieve this, India is an indispensable partner. I believe that Japan and India…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Monday said the countries which are acknowledging genocide in Myanmar must also recognize the genocide Pakistani military had committed in Bangladesh in 1971. “We are immediately raising this with those countries,” he told reporters after a seminar at Foreign Service Academy while talking about the heinous attack of Pakistani military on the unarmed civilians during the nine months of Bangladesh Liberation War. The seminar titled “Recognition of Bangladesh Genocide 1971” was held at Foreign Service Academy. The state minister said since there is already a Genocide Day in the…

ZOOMBANGLA DESK: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said a glorious chapter opened in the country’s military history with the commission of its first ever submarine base in Cox’s Bazar. “A glorious chapter started in the military history of Bangladesh as a full-fledged and modern submarine base is being commissioned in the Bangladesh Navy,” she said. The premier was addressing the commissioning ceremony of the country’s first submarine base ‘BNS Sheikh Hasina’ of Bangladesh Navy at Pekua in Cox’s Bazar through a virtual platform from her official residence Ganabhaban here. She said her government established the Bangladesh Navy as a…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations during the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference, according to the statement released by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, on Sunday, lauded the work of WFP in promoting food self-sufficiency and supporting governmental and global efforts to ensure long-term solutions to the challenge of hunger. At the conference, Tomar also thanked the ministers for being a part of the global conference organized by India with the aim…