Tag Archives: EU

VIF Cyber Review: January 2023

NATIONAL

Government of India established three Grievances Appellate Committees based on IT Rules 2021.

On 28 January 2023, the Central Government set up three Grievances Appellate Committees (GACs) on the basis of Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021. Each Committee will have three members in it. During the extensive public consultations on the IT Rules, the Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics & Information Technology (E&IT) and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship— Rajeev Chandrasekhar had highlighted Government’s stand on— safety and trust of every Digital Nagrik, and robust grievance redressal system to ensure accountability of all Internet platforms offering a service or product, and that all grievances must be 100% addressed.

The Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) is a key piece of overall policy and legal framework to ensure that Internet in Bharat is open, safe & trusted and accountable. The need for GAC was created due to large numbers of grievances being left unaddressed or unsatisfactorily addressed by Internet Intermediaries. GAC is expected to create a culture of responsiveness amongst all Internet platforms and intermediaries towards their consumers. The GAC will be a platform that will operate only virtual/online— wherein the entire appeal process, from filing of appeal to the decision thereof, shall be conducted digitally.[1]

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting banned six YouTube channels for fake news

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B)’s PIB Fact Check Unit (FCU) cracked down six YouTube channels which were disseminating false information/news in Bharat. To counter the false information circulated by these channels, the FCU released six separate Twitter threads with more than 100 fact-checks. The six YouTube channels, which were discovered to be part of a coordinated disinformation network, had close to 20 lakh subscribers, and more than 51 crore people have watched the videos on these channels.

The banned YouTube channels— i) Nation TV, ii) Samvaad TV, iii) Sarokar Bharat, iv) Nation 24, v) Swarnim Bharat, and vi) Samvaad Samachar, spread news about elections in Bharat, and were part of fake news economy which thrives on monetisation of fake news. These channels used fake, and sensational thumbnail images of television news anchors of renowned TV channels to mislead viewers to believe that news was authentic and drive traffic to their respective channels to monetise the videos posted by them.[2]

SAMEER and Siemens Healthineers signed MoU on Bharat MRI Technology

On 27 January 2023, Bharat’s premier Research and Development (R&D) institute of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)— SAMEER (Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Siemens Healthineers in Bangalore, which will contribute towards the development of new, improved, and innovative technologies for advancing healthcare and diagnostic access in Bharat. SAMEER specialises in Radio Frequency (RF) Microwaves Radar and communication system, E3 testing and Medical Electronics a strategic partnership.

Emphasising on the “Digital India Programme”, the Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship— Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that “the MoU is a significant step in the direction of Digital India Programme. We [Bharat] are also supportive of R&D model based on co-development between global companies and Bharat’s vast network of academic institutions.” At present, SAMEER is developing IMRI (Indigenous Magnetic Resonance Imaging) technology under the Sushrut MRI (Indian MRI) system, said Shri Rajesh Harsh, who is coordinating the research in MRI and Industry ecosystem.[3]

CERT-In issued advisory on multiple vulnerabilities in Schneider Electric products

On 16 January 2023, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issued an advisory— CIAD-2023-0002, pertains to the multiple vulnerabilities in Schneider Electric products. According to the advisory, the Schneider Electric products reported multiple vulnerabilities which could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code, disclose sensitive information, bypass security restrictions or cause denial of service condition on the target system. Schneider Electric’s affected products included— EcoStruxure Machine Expert, EcoStruxure Geo SCADA Expert and Operation, EcoStruxure Power SCADA, EcoStruxure Power Operation, EcoStruxure Control Expert, EcoStruxure Process Expert, and Modicon.[4]

MeitY requested comments from stakeholders and the general public on proposed changes to the IT Rules

On 19 January 2023, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) invited suggestions and comments from stakeholders and the general public on the proposed amendment to rule 3(1)(b)(v) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“IT Rules”) with respect to obligations of social media and other intermediaries regarding sharing. This was done in order to fulfil the commitment to ensure an open, safe, trusted, and accountable Internet for citizens.
“The draft amendments to IT Rules are in pursuance of our commitment to an Open, Safe & Trusted and Accountable Internet. We have circulated amendments for consultation with stakeholders. As is the practice meticulously followed by Govt. these amendments will also be put through open consultations – to reflect, discuss and deliberate on these amendments or any other such effective means through which we can prevent misinformation/patently wrong information circulated on the Internet by State/Non-State actors,” said the Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and Information Technology— Rajeev Chandrasekhar.[5]

CERT-In issued advisory on multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft products.

On 11 January 2023, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issued an advisory— CIAD-2023-0001, regarding multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft products, including Windows, Office, SharePoint, and Azure. These vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to gain elevated privileges, obtain confidential/sensitive information, and conduct remote code execution attacks, conduct spoofing attacks, or cause denial of service conditions.[6]

CERT-In also suggested to apply appropriate security updates as provided at: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/releaseNote/2023-Jan

INTERNATIONAL

EU and US to sign first-of-its-kind AI agreement

The European Union (EU) and the United States (US) announced an agreement on January 27, 2023, to accelerate and improve the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve agriculture, healthcare, emergency response, climate forecasting, and the electric grid. According to a senior US administration official (on the basis of anonymity), earlier agreements on the same issue had been limited to specific areas such as enhancing privacy. AI modelling/Machine Learning (ML) algorithms which use data to make logical decisions could be used to improve the speed and efficiency of government operations and services. As per the agreement, all of the data would be harnessed into a common AI model that would produce better results for managers, grid operators and others depending on AI during emergency scenarios.[7]

Pakistan investigated if nationwide blackout was due to cyber-attack

Pakistani authorities conducted investigation on a possible cyber-attack causing a nationwide power blackout. On 24 January 2023, Pakistan’s Energy Minister— Khurram Dastgir informed that “there was a remote chance of the incident caused by hackers. The power across nation was fully restored within 24 hours. Also, a committee investigating what had caused the outage had been established by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.” Power outages have become a common occurrence in South-Asia in recent years.

“When the systems were turned on at 7:30am (PST) one by one, frequency variation was reported in the southern part of the country between Jamshoro and Dadu. There was a fluctuation in voltage and power generating units were shut down one by one due to cascading impact,” said Minister Dastgir.[8]

US Senator wants to ban TikTok nationwide

On 24 January 2023, Josh Hawley, a US Republican Senator, said that he would introduce a Bill to ban TikTok in the United States. TikTok a sister company of ByteDance already facing a ban that would stop federal employees from using or downloading TikTok on government-owned devices. However, Senator Hawley did not mention when the Bill would be introduced. “TikTok is China’s backdoor into Americans’ lives. It threatens our children’s privacy as well as their mental health. Now I will introduce legislation to ban it nationwide,” posted Senator Hawley on his Twitter account.[9]

“China can spy on us via smart bulbs and fridges”: report by OODA

According to a report prepared by former diplomat Charles Parton at the Washington-based consultancy firm OODA (Observe, Orientate, Decide, Act), China has the potential to spy on millions of people in the United Kingdom via microchips in cars, household appliances, and light-bulbs. According to the report, small modules, such as cellular IoTs (Internet of Things) gather data and transmit it via 5G networks, giving Chinese authorities intelligence and the ability to track people and businesses. Three Chinese companies, Quectel, Fibocom, and China Mobile, control 54% of the global smart device market. The UK government stated in 2020 that it would remove Huawei technology from Britain’s mobile infrastructure by 2027 due to spying concerns.[10]

Endnotes :

[1] “Three Grievance Appellate Committees (GACs) notified on the recently amended IT rule”, Press Information Bureau-Ministry of Electronics and IT, 28 January 2023. Accessed on 08 February 2023, available from: https://pib.gov.in/Pres sReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1894258
[2] “Ministry of I&B cracks down on fake news peddling YouTube channels”, Press Information Bureau- Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, 12 January 2023, accessed on 12 January 2023, available from: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1890650
[3] “MeitY’s R&D Institute SAMEER signs MoU with Siemens Healthineers on India MRI technology – a milestone in creating a Deeptech health care R&D and Supply Chain ecosystem”, 27 January 2023, accessed on 02 February 2023, available from: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1894162
[4] “CERT-In Advisory CIAD-2023-0002”, CERT-In, 16 January 2023, accessed on 18 January 2023, available from: https://www.cert-in.org.in/
[5] “MeitY invites comments from stakeholders and general public on amendment proposed to ‘IT Rules’”, Press Information Bureau-Ministry of Electronics and IT, 19 January 2023, accessed on 21 January 2023, available from: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1892241
[6] “CERT-In Advisory CIAD-2023-0001”, CERT-In, 11 January 2023, accessed on 13 January 2023, available from: https://www.cert-in.org.in
[7] Reuters. “US and EU to launch first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence agreement”, ET Telecom, 28 January 2023, accessed on 03 February 2023, available from: https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/us-and-eu-to-launch-first-of-its-kind-artificial-intelligence-agreement/97394092
[8]Martin, Alexander. “Pakistani authorities investigating if cyberattack caused nationwide blackout”, The Record, 24 January 2023, 03 February 2023, available from: https://therecord.media/pakistani-authorities-investigating-if-cyberattack-caused-nationwide-blackout/; Hussain, Abid. “Pakistan hit by nationwide power outage after grid failure”, al Jazeera, 24 January 2023, accessed on 04 February 2023, available from: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/23/pakistan-hit-by-nationwide-power-outage-after-grid
[9]Reuters. “US Senator Josh Hawley wants to ban TikTok nationwide”, Reuters, 25 January 2023, accessed on 04 February 2023, available from: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senator-josh-hawley-wants-ban-tiktok-nationwide-2023-01-24
[10]Busby, Dolly. “The new cold war? China could be spying on us through domestic appliances such as the fridge, report warns”, The Daily Mail, 23 January 2023, accessed on 04 February 2023, available from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11668331/China-spying-domestic-appliances-fridge-report-warns.html

Neighborhood News Digest – 03 February 2023

Afghanistan
Taliban welcome India’s funds announcement for Afghanistan in Budget 2023-24 – Wion News

Taliban welcomed the Indian announcement for Afghanistan in the Union Budget 2023-24, which was presented on Wednesday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. New Delhi announced a development assistance of Rs 200 crore ($24.3 million) for the country in the budget, which was the same amount announced in last year’s budget as well. Click here to read…

Leaked Documents Show Qatar Bribed Prominent Leaders a Month before the Collapse of Afghanistan – The Khaama Press

Italian TG1 News Network has revealed an investigative report showing that Qatar had paid Ashraf Ghani, Marshal Dostum, and Atta Mohammad Noor $110, $ 51, and $61 Million, respectively, not to fight against Taliban fighters. The Italian state-run network has recently published three documents that indicate the receipt of bribes to the prominent leaders of Afghanistan a month before the collapse of the previous government in Afghanistan. Click here to read…

Pak expects sincere coop from Afghanistan to address terrorism: FO – Pakistan Observer

The Foreign Office said on Thursday that Pakistan expected “sincere cooperation” from the interim Afghan government to address the “challenge of terrorism”. The remarks came a day after Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said that Pakistan should not put the blame for the Peshawar suicide bombing on Kabul. Click here to read…

Denmark to grant asylum status to Afghan women ‘solely based on gender’ – First Post

Denmark has announced that it will grant asylum to all Afghan women owing to their worsening condition in the Taliban-ruled nation. Flygtningenævnet, the Danish Refugee Appeals Board stated that asylum status will be granted to all female applicants “solely based on their gender”. Citing a report from the European Union’s Agency for Asylum, the appeals board said that asylum status would be given to women as the “accumulation of various measures introduced by the Taliban affect the rights and freedoms of women and girls in Afghanistan.” Click here to read…

Bangladesh
Bangladesh gets $476m IMF loan as first instalment – Dhaka Tribune

Bangladesh has received the first instalment of $476 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) out of the $4.7 billion loan package. The disbursed amount has already been added to the country’s foreign exchange reserves and it currently stands at $32.69 billion, up from $32.19 billion a day earlier, Bangladesh Bank Spokesperson Md Mezbaul Haque told Dhaka Tribune. IMF approved Bangladesh’s $4.7 billion loan proposal during a board meeting on Monday. Bangladesh will get the remaining amount in six equal instalments of $704 million each. The country will get around $3.3 billion under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and about $1.4 billion under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), according to an IMF press release issued on Tuesday. Click here to read…

Bangladesh wants revision of 2017 power purchase deal with Adani Power – TBS

Bangladesh has sought revision of a 2017 power purchase agreement with Adani Power Ltd as the price for the coal-generated electricity appeared too expensive, officials said in Dhaka on Thursday. “We have communicated with the Indian company seeking revision of the agreement,” an official of the state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDC) told PTI on the condition of anonymity and without elaborating on the matter. Media reports suggested that the “high coal price” to be purchased for the Adani plant at India’s Jharkhand emerged as the key factor for the dispute. Click here to read…

Govt restricts entry of 69 US-sanctioned Russian ships – New Age

The Bangladesh government has instructed the authorities concerned not to allow any of the 69 mother vessels of seven Russian companies sanctioned by the United States to enter the country’s ports. The Mercantile Marine Office, Chattogram, issued a circular to this effect on January 16, mentioning the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) ship identification numbers so that they were not allowed to avail of any services, including certification, renewal, refuelling, and insurance, in Bangladesh territory. Click here to read…

Bhutan
Exporters seek solution to West Bengal’s Suvidha system hindering exports – Kuensel Online

Bhutanese exporting to Bangladesh via India are facing inconveniences in exporting after West Bengal’s government implemented the online web-based vehicles facilitation system, ‘Suvidha’ app. On January 4, the West Bengal government revised the fee for the Suvidha system from the uniform rate of INR 2,000 to INR 10,000 for non-perishable goods, INR 5,000 for boulders and INR 3,000 for perishable goods at the Changrabandha land custom station (LCS). Click here to read…

No improvement for Bhutan on corruption index – Kuensel Online

Bhutan scored 68 points consecutively for the fifth year in a row and has been ranked 25 for the second consecutive year in Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2022 released on January 31. Bhutan is among 124 countries that have stagnant scores and has been consecutively placed in sixth position in the Asia and Pacific Region for the past 10 years. Click here to read…

Cabinet approves Nu 65M sovereign guarantee for BLDCL – Kuensel Online

The Cabinet approved the provision of a sovereign guarantee to Bhutan Livestock Development Corporation Limited (BLDCL) in availing loan amount of Nu 65 million (M) for the automated poultry processing line project. The Cabinet directed the approval of borrowing to the finance ministry on January 30 after the Finance Ministry proposed a sovereign guarantee on January 12. Click here to read…

Maldives

Indian tourists experience the best of Maldives – Dajji World

Maldives has become the latest destination in South Asia to join Mastercard’s coveted Priceless program, a carefully curated list of destinations that offer exclusive experiences to its cardholders from around the world. The program is expected to bolster Maldives’ tourism industry while showcasing the unique and authentic experiences that the country can offer to a global audience. Click here to read…

India Budget 2023: Increase in funds for Maldives, Bhutan, support for Afghanistan continues – WION News

The Government of India has allocated Rs 2,400 crore for Bhutan, a slight increase compared to last year of Rs 2,266 crore, and Rs 400 crore to the Maldives. India has been involved in a number of infrastructure projects in the Maldives, including the Greater Malé Connectivity Project. Click here to read…

Myanmar
Indonesia should lead the way in helping Myanmar’ pro-democratic movement – The Jakarta Post

Those were two of the main conclusions that an International Parliamentary Inquiry (IPI) into the global response to the crisis in Myanmar, organized by ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), reached in a report published in November. The report laid bare the many inadequacies of the international community on Myanmar, in particular how it has hidden behind ASEAN, despite the regional bloc’s evident fecklessness in managing the issue so far. Little has changed since the report came out. Click here to read…

After extension of emergency, Myanmar declares martial law in 37 towns – Business Standard

Myanmar’s State Administration Council has declared martial law in 37 towns of four regions and four states in the Southeast Asian country. According to the council’s orders issued Thursday night, the 37 towns are 11 from Sagaing region, seven from Chin state, five each from Magway and Bago regions, four from Kayah state, two each from Taninthayi region and Kayin state and one from Mon state respectively, Xinhua news agency reported. Click here to read…

Myanmar junta participation cancelled at ASEAN tourism meeting – Myanmar Now

Indonesia appears to have halted a Myanmar military council official’s planned attendance at a tourism conference to be held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this week in Yogyakarta. The ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF), slated to be hosted in the Indonesian city from February 2-5, comes shortly after Indonesia assumed chairmanship of the regional bloc for the year 2023. Click here to read…

ASEAN foreign ministers to meet in Indonesia under shadow of Myanmar crisis – Business Standard

Southeast Asian foreign ministers are meeting in Indonesia’s capital Friday for talks bound to be dominated by the deteriorating situation in Myanmar despite an agenda focused on food and energy security and cooperation in finance and health. Click here to read…

Nepal
Nepal not included in Chinese govt’s tourist destinations list – My Republica

China is not only a friendly country of Nepal but also a neighboring country. China has been interested in Nepal’s internal and international affairs, but China has neglected the development of tourism here, which is linked to Nepal’s economic development. Click here to read…

RSP urged to defer decision on quitting – The Himalayan Times

The Rabi Lamichhane-led Rastriya Swatantra Party will wait for two days before deciding whether or not it should leave the government over home portfolio. RSP Spokesperson Mukul Dhakal told mediapersons after his party’s central committee met parliamentary party lawmakers that Lamichhane received calls from Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, CPN-UML Chair KP Sharma Oli, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chair Rajendra Lingden during the meeting requesting him to wait for two days before decide on withdrawing support to the government. Click here to read…

Pakistan
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves drop to $3.09b – The Express Tribune

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank decreased by 16.1% to $3.09 billion in the week ending Jan 27, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday, which analysts said covers less than three weeks of imports. The country is locked in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release much-needed money under a stalled bailout programme. Click here to read…

Terror surge provides govt opportunity to negotiate with arch-rivals – Dawn

In a move that is being seen as a significant development amid rising political temperatures in the country, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday convened a multi-party conference (MPC) to discuss “important challenges” being faced by Pakistan. According to an announcement by Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, the MPC will be held in Islamabad on Feb 7, for which an invitation has also been extended to PTI chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan. Click here to read…

Operation underway to tackle TTP in Punjab-KP border area – Dawn

The Punjab police on Wednesday morning launched a grand counterterrorism operat­ion in the highly complex and inac­cessible hilly areas of Mian­wali district, hours after some heavily equipped militants of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakis­tan (TTP) attacked a police station in the area in the dead of the night. Click here to read…

Time to amend water treaty with Pakistan – Deccan Herald

India’s frustration with Pakistan’s obstructionist approach has culminated in its notification to Islamabad calling for negotiations to amend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). The treaty, brokered by the World Bank and signed in 1960, gives India control over the waters of the eastern rivers—the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej, and Pakistan control over the western rivers—the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. While the IWT has survived upheavals in bilateral relations, including wars, it has in recent decades seen the two sides pointing accusing fingers at each other. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka
EU to Provide EURO 18 mn to upgrade social security – Daily News

European Union has decided to provide Euros 18 million for a programme to improve the social security system in Sri Lanka, Finance State Minister Shehan Semasinghe said. State Minister Semasinghe said focus has also been made on making the welfare programme more efficient.He added that a comprehensive discussion was held on Wednesday with a delegation of the European Union (Sri Lanka and the Maldives) with the aim of identifying areas to upgrade the social security system in Sri Lanka. Click here to read…

Indian minister V. Muraleedharan to attend Sri Lanka’s Independence Day celebrations in Colombo – Wion

Minister of state in India’s Ministry of External Affairs V. Muraleedharan will be representing India at Sri Lanka’s Independence day celebrations on Saturday. Sri Lanka this year marks its 75th National Independence celebrations. The island-nation in India’s south will be focusing on new reformist program for the next 25 years. The main ceremony of the National Independence Day celebrations will take place at the Galle Face Green led by Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena. During the country’s independence celebrations, special commemorative stamps will be released, including of first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka’s powerful Buddhist clergy opposes full implementation of 13A to grant political autonomy to Tamils – The Print

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s plan to fully implement India-backed 13th Amendment to grant political autonomy to the minority Tamils received a blow on Thursday as the powerful Buddhist clergy expressed strong opposition to the move, claiming it challenges the unitary nature of the country. The four chief prelates of the main Buddhist sects handed over a letter to Wickremesinghe in the central town of Kandy. The letter charges that Wickremesinghe’s plan had created dissent in the country as the move challenges Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. Click here to read…

VIF Neighbourhood News Digest – December 19, 2022

Afghanistan
Afghan Traders Abroad Face Hurdles Investing in Afghanistan: Tolo News

Some Afghan traders living abroad said current problems caused by the banking system and international sanctions, as well as the closed girls’ schools, are causing obstacles to investment in Afghanistan. Obaidullah Sadar Khail, head of the Afghan trader council in the UAE, told TOLOnews in a special TV program that the problems in the banking system that began nine months ago have still not been solved. “The banking system is important for the traders and over the past nine months, this problem has not been solved,” he said. Click here to read…

Joint Committee Formed to Address Tensions along Durand Line: Tolo News

Afghan chargé d’affaires in Islamabad Sardar Ahmad Shakib said on Sunday that a joint committee has been formed to address issues between the Islamic Emirate and Pakistan along the Durand Line. The committee will address all borer problems from now on, he said. “Any tension that happens by any side needs to be solved through talks. The committee has been created by both sides to address issues,” Shakib added. Click here to read…

Pakistani Delegation of Ulema to Visit Afghanistan to Discuss Cross-Border Hostility: The Khaama Press

According to Pakistan’s Geo News, which cited Pakistani authorities, the four-member reconciliation delegation of Pakistan will visit the Afghan capital, Kabul, and Kandahar, to put an end to the clashes along the border amid news of the establishment of a joint committee to address the border tensions surface. The Afghan border forces fired indiscriminately and without provocation at the civilian area in Chaman city of Pakistan’s Balochistan, for the second time in five days, using heavy weapons.Shehbaz Sharif, the Pakistani premier, condemned the Afghan Border Forces’ “unprovoked shelling” of civilians in Pakistan’s Chaman district, in response to the first of the twin border clashes in a week and urged the Afghan side to make sure that such occurrences “not repeated again. Click here to read…

Bangladesh
Experts: Bangladesh must prepare for hybrid warfare – Dhaka Tribune

Bangladesh needs to take protective measures and formulate a doctrine in order to address the growing threat of hybrid warfare amid the country’s technological advancement, said the speakers at a roundtable Sunday morningClick here to read…

Jamaat-e-Islami | Old party, new brand – The Hindu

In the backdrop of the protests led by the main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), authorities in Dhaka arrested Jamaat-e-Islami’s ameer Shafiqur Rahman and his son Rafat Sadik Saifullah last week. The arrests were interpreted as a move to pre-empt Jamaat, the largest Islamist party in Bangladesh, from infusing critical mass to the protest rally set to be launched by BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Click here to read…

China biggest source of FDI for Bangladesh in FY22 – Dhaka Tribune

China has become the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) source of Bangladesh in terms of the gross flow of $940 million for FY22. It also ranked top in foreign investors with 104 investors at eight export-processing zones (EPZs), said Song Yang, economic and commercial counsellor of Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh on Saturday. Click here to read…

Bhutan
An uplifting moment – Kuensel online

As the year near its end, there is one special day all Bhutanese look forward to. December 17, our National Day is not only the most significant day for Bhutan, but a day where Bhutanese from all walks of life come together as a big family to celebrate with pride and joy. The gathering today at Changlimethang and in all the dzongkhags and beyond is an uplifting moment for all of us. Click here to read…

Tawang clash was a deliberate PLA operation – Sunday Guardian Live

The Chinese attempt to seize a post is not a simple face-off as it is being made in some quarters. The implications of the loss of the Yangtse post would have been very costly for India. It is to the credit of the Indian Army that they thwarted this attempt very professionally. Click here to read…

Recurrent budget cut for financial prudence: FM – Kuensel online

The government cut the recurrent expenditure from the last fiscal year 2021-22 to spend the limited domestic resources judiciously, Finance Minister Namgay Tshering said. About 40 to 50 percent of the budget was cut across all agencies in the fiscal year 2022-23 compared to the pre-pandemic. The finance ministry itself saw a cut in the budget by about 60 percent. Click here to read…

Maldives
Foreign Secretary attends Human Rights Day Event organized by UN

Maldives, HRCM – Raajje

Foreign Secretary Ahmed Latheef has attended an event organized jointly by the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office and the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM). The event, held to mark the Human Rights Day 2022, also commemorated the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) under the theme “Dignity, Freedom and Justice for All.” The event saw Latheef delivering remarks, where he reaffirmed the Maldivian government’s commitment to the values of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Click here to read…

Myanmar
SL Navy rescues 104 distressed Myanmar nationals – Sri Lanka Mirror

Sri Lanka Navy rescued 104 distressed Myanmar nationals aboard a passenger vessel in Sri Lanka’s waters about 3.5 nautical miles north of Veththalakerni early morning yesterday. The distressed vessel is reported to have trespassed into Sri Lanka’s territorial waters following a mechanical failure while it was carrying the passengers from Myanmar to Indonesia. Click here to read…

81 human trafficking cases prevented in Myanmar between 2020 and 2021 – The Star

Myanmar have prevented 81 cases of human trafficking, helping 840 people between 2020 and 2021, said Brigadier General Aung Htay Myint, head of the Transnational Crime Division. He revealed the information during the 5th inter-ministerial meeting of the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative against Trafficking – COMMIT, which took on via video link at the Myanmar Police Force headquarters, state-run newspapers reported. Click here to read…

EU supports WFP’s food insecurity efforts in Myanmar – Mizzima

The European Union (EU) has contributed EUR 6.5 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) towards its humanitarian assistance in Myanmar, where some 15 million people are facing moderate or severe food insecurity, according to a recent press release. Click here to read…

China-Myanmar-Thailand Economic Corridor safe haven for drugs, online scams: Report – The Print

The China-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Economic Corridor along river Moei has become a safe haven for drugs, human trafficking, arms smuggling, and online casino scams, according to a report in Mekong News. The report says that most of the “unholy syndicates” along the tributary of the Salween river from Tachileik to Myawaddy, are controlled by people of Chinese origin but from different nationalities.Click here to read…

Nepal
President Bhandari calls upon parties to recommend PM by December 25 – The Khabarhub

President Bidya Devi Bhandari has called upon the parties to recommend a name for the Prime Minister within 7 days from Sunday. According to a source in the President’s Office, Sheetal Niwas, the President called for the name of the Prime Minister to be recommended as per Article 76 (2) of the Constitution. As per the President’s notice, the political parties have to recommend the name of Prime Minister by 5 pm, December 25. Click here to read…

Maoist Centre to initiate govt formation process after swearing-in ceremony – Khabarhub

The Maoist Centre has decided to participate in the government formation process only after the House of Representatives (HoR) members are sworn in. The Maoist Centre came to the conclusion that it would be wise to initiate the government formation process only after the lawmakers were administered the oath of office. Maoist Centre’s leader Janardan Sharma said the leaders put their views to opt for the government formation process after the lawmakers are sworn in. Click here to read…

Pakistan
PDM mulls over options to avert dissolution of Punjab, KP assemblies: Dawn

The city remained a hub of political activities on Sunday aimed at preventing the dissolution of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, former president Asif Zardari and ex-premier Chaudhry Shujaat met each other separately to find a way out of the ‘quagmire’ caused by PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s announcement that the two legislatures would be dissolved on Friday. Click here to read…

FM Bilawal arrives in US capital today for talks: Dawn

As Foreign Min¬ister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari arrives in the American capital on Monday, he has a difficult mission: underlining the need for stronger ties with the United States without disturbing its close relationship with China. The foreign minister completed his four-day visit to the UN headquarters in New York on Friday and then went off-the-radar for the weekend, stirring wild speculations in the Pakistani American community. Pakistan’s diplomatic missions in Washington and New York offered no explanation on his weekend engagements. Click here to read…

When under-fire Bajwa speaks…: The News

Sources close to General Bajwa said that the recently retired former Army Chief could not respond in public to what PTI chairman alleges against him because of some codal limitations but it is insisted what Khan mostly says about Bajwa is untrue. Bajwa is now the focused target of Imran Khan who not only sees Bajwa as the sole reason for all his failures in the government but also alleges that the general had removed his government as part of a US conspiracy. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka
IMF says China agrees to form global sovereign debt ’roundtable’ – Daily News

Chinese officials have agreed to form a global sovereign debt “roundtable” that would include a wide variety of stakeholders, including private sector creditors, International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday. Georgieva told an event hosted by the IMF that she was feeling “a bit more optimistic” about the prospects for dealing with major debt issues facing low- and middle-income countries after high-level meetings with Chinese authorities last week. The IMF chief said last week she had a “fruitful exchange” with her Chinese counterparts on the need to accelerate debt relief for countries like Zambia and Sri Lanka, adding that she saw “space for a platform for more systematic engagement on debt issues, where China can play an active role”. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka to use Indian rupee for international trade, more countries aim to follow – WION

Days after the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said that it was awaiting the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval to designate Indian Rupee (INR) as a foreign currency in Sri Lanka, reports have emerged saying banks from India’s neighbouring island nation have opened special rupee trading accounts, called Vostro accounts. Sri Lanka had requested the RBI to facilitate and promote trade and tourism in the SAARC region. Click here to read…

New Navy Commander Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera – Daily News

President Ranil Wickremesinghe promoted Rear Admiral Priyantha Perera to the rank of Vice Admiral and appointed him as the 25th Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy from December 18 with the retirement of former Commander Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne.Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera was accorded a Guard of Honour in accordance with Naval traditions, at the Navy Headquarters yesterday, Vice Admiral Perera a proud product of the Royal College, Colombo joined the Si Lanka Navy in the Executive Branch in 1987 as an Officer Cadet of the fifth intake of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University. Click here to read…

VIF Neighbourhood News Digest – November 29, 2022

Afghanistan
Hina holds political talks with Afghan govt today – Dawn

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar will pay a one-day visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday (today) to hold a political dialogue with the Afghan interim government. Bilateral relations, including cooperation in areas of education, trade and investment, regional connectivity, people-to-people contacts and matters related to regional security will come under discussion, the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a press release on Monday. Click here to read…

Taliban calls on Iranian investors to invest in Afghanistan – Mehr News Agency

Speaking in a meeting with a group of Iranian investors, held at the venue of the ministry on Monday, regarding the way of investment in Afghanistan, he urged Iranian traders and merchants to make investments in Afghanistan in line with strengthening bilateral relations in relevant fields. During the meeting, Azizi pointed out that the Taliban has paved suitable ways for foreign investment in Afghanistan, adding that Afghanistan is home to large mines and this country has created great opportunities and facilitated the investment of foreign companies as well. Click here to read…

The MoD Says it Has Repaired 60 Helicopters, Fixed-Wing Aircraft – Tolo News

The Islamic Emirate’s Ministry of Defense said that maintenance teams of the Afghan air force have so far repaired more than sixty helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft that were rendered unusable by technical issues. According to the Ministry of Defense’s spokesman, among sixty repaired aircraft, three transport aircraft (Two An-32s and one An-26) have also been repaired and are now ready to fly. Click here to read…

Bangladesh
PM Hasina urges to take effective actions to restore rights of Palestinian people – Dhaka Tribune

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the international community to work together for effective and decisive actions and step up the efforts to restore the legitimate rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people to live in safety, stability, and dignity in a sovereign homeland. She came up with the call on Monday on the occasion of International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The prime minister issued a message marking the day. “On the solemn occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, Bangladesh joins the international community in reaffirming its unwavering support towards the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people of self-determination and establishment of the State of Palestine based on a two-state solution with pre-1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its Capital,” she said in the message. Click here to read…

BNP to announce plans to oust government on December 10 – The Daily Star

BNP will announce a set of programmes during its December 10 rally to ensure that the government steps down, said BNP Standing Committee Member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain yesterday. He made the remarks while addressing a roundtable titled “Strengthening Democracy in Bangladesh and the Role of International Community”, held at Jatiya Press Club. Mosharraf said, “The government will see a mass uprising and united movement. It will be ousted from power soon.” He said BNP has already observed eight successful, peaceful divisional movements to “save the people of Bangladesh and protect the country from Awami League’s misrule”.Click here to read…

Tokyo, Dhaka should enhance security co-op – The Daily Star

Japan is the largest bilateral development partner of Bangladesh. It has provided about $27 billion in grants and loans to Bangladesh since 1971. Japan is currently implementing some of the major infrastructure projects. The two countries are willing to elevate the relations to a strategic level during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Japan. Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh, Ito Naoki, shared his views with Porimol Palma of The Daily Star. Click here to read…

Bhutan
Space science and Bhutan’s future – Kuensel Online

On Saturday, November 26, the Indian Space Research Organisation launched nine satellites, including an earth observation satellite (EOS-06) in multiple orbits. The mission was hugely successful. For Bhutan, the achievement carried a special significance because the collaboration between the two friendly nations sent ISRO Nano Satellite-2 into the space. Click here to read…

Maldives
EU integral to Maldives’ development: Foreign Minister

The European Union (EU) is an integral development partner of the Maldives, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid stated last Wednesday at the commencement of the sixth annual Maldives-EU Policy Dialogue. Minister Shahid said that Maldives and the EU have maintained a solid relationship since diplomatic ties were established in 1993. He acknowledged the EU’s continued assistance to the Maldives, and thanked them for their support over the last 29-years. Click here to read…

“Maldives committed to address global environmental agenda through development of informed policies” – Raajje

Vice President Faisal Naseem has reiterated the commitment of the Maldivian government to address the global environmental agenda through the development of informed policies on nitrogen management in the archipelago nation. The Vice President made this remark while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the “South Asian Nitrogen Hub” (SANH) meeting in the Maldives. Click here to read…

Myanmar
Smuggling from Myanmar, Assam govt’s curbs hit arecanut trade in NE states – Dajji World

Due to large-scale smuggling from Myanmar and Assam government’s restrictions, arecanut farmers in the northeastern states, especially Mizoram and Tripura, are affected a lot and are seeking central intervention. The illicit trade of arecanut, which is also known as betel nut or ‘supari’, is on the rise with the security forces, including the Assam Rifles, often seizing thousands of tonnes of the product, along with drugs, exotic animals and other goods smuggled in from Myanmar. Click here to read…

Journalist held by Myanmar urges Japan to pressure junta – The News

A Japanese journalist released from Myanmar in a prisoner amnesty called on Monday for Tokyo to put more pressure on the junta and accept refugees fleeing the Southeast Asian country. Toru Kubota spent three-and-a-half months in prison after being detained near an anti-government rally in Yangon in July along with two Myanmar citizens. Thousands of people have been jailed during a bloody crackdown on dissent in Myanmar since a military coup in February 2021. Click here to read…

Informal ceasefire with Myanmar military ‘not permanent’ solution, Arakan Army says – Myanmar Now

The Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) agreed to a temporary truce last week following months of hostilities in Rakhine State, according to a representative of the ethnic armed organisation. The informal ceasefire was brokered by Nippon Foundation chair Yohei Sasakawa, AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha said at an online press conference on Monday, adding that it went into effect on November 24. Click here to read…

ASEAN’s Myanmar Headache Changes Hands – The Diplomat

Post-coup Myanmar has become something of a “Brahma’s head” for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Member states poke and prod for a year during their respective chairmanships, hoping for some progress on the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) peace plan, inevitably shrug their shoulders in dismay, and then pass the burden on. Brunei did so in 2021, as did Cambodia this year. Soon it will be the turn of Indonesia in 2023. Major powers have stayed away from the morass, deflecting the headache back onto ASEAN by emphasizing its centrality and responsibility for dealing with the group’s perennial black sheep. Click here to read…

Nepal
Red flags in Delhi over China’s push for role in Nepal, Bangladesh projects – Hindustan Times

China First Highway Engineering was not among the five companies that qualified to bid for the Kathmandu Terai-Madhesh Expressway project and was included at a later stage. A range of activities by China in the neighbourhood, from pushing for a role in a major project to manage Bangladesh’s Teesta river to deploying surveillance ships in regional waters and taking on a crucial road project in Nepal, have raised concerns in New Delhi against the backdrop of the dragging border standoff. Click here to read…

Another big blow to Oli in Nepal elections, Nepali Congress can form government in all 7 states- News Day Express

Former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has suffered another major setback in Nepal. Like the federal government of Nepal, KP Oli’s party is heading towards defeat in the provinces as well. The Nepali Congress-led coalition is inching towards a majority in all 7 provinces. Analysts say that if the Nepali Congress-led coalition forms the government at the center, then the government of the same coalition can be formed in the provinces as well under the package deal. Click here to read…

Re-polling at 10 voting centres in Dolakha on Thursday – The Kathmandu Post

The Election Commission has decided to conduct re-polls at ten voting centres in Dolakha on Thursday. The commission decided to hold re-polls stating that the voting process was not conducted in a free, fair and fearless environment at the polling centres on November 20. Click here to read…

UML leading PR vote count with 2,550,372 votes – Khabarhub

Out of over 9.3 million votes counted so far under the proportional representation, the CPN (UML) is leading with 2,550,372 votes. The Nepali Congress is following with 2,415,834. Similarly, the Rastriya Swatantra Party has got 1,065,612, the CPN (Maoist Center) 1,078,448, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party 547,011 and the Janata Samajwadi Party 336,096. The Janamat Party and the CPN (Unified Socialist) are struggling to cross the threshold with 277,136 and 255,807 votes respectively.-owned power utility is increasing high-voltage power connections to industrial units. Click here to read…

Pakistan
TTP ends ceasefire with government, orders its militants to ‘carry out attacks in entire country’ – Dawn

The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Monday called off the ceasefire agreed with the government in June and ordered its militants to stage attacks across the country, according to a statement from the group. “As military operations are ongoing against mujahideen in different areas […] so it is imperative for you to carry out attacks wherever you can in the entire country,” the statement, which is available with Dawn.com, said while addressing its militantsClick here to read…

BSF shoots down drone along India-Pakistan border in Amritsar – The Tribune

The Border Security Force has shot down a drone that sneaked into the Indian side from Pakistan in Punjab’s Amritsar district, officials said on Tuesday. The BSF personnel fired at the drone on Monday night after they noticed it entering the Indian territory near Chaharpur village, around 40 km north of Amritsar city, they saidClick here to read…

Pakistan, IMF begin online talks on $7 billion loan review – Financial Express

Pakistan reserves stood at $7.8 billion as of Nov. 18, barely enough to cover imports for a month. The Pakistan Stock Exchange fell around 2% on Monday, its first day of trading after the central bank unexpectedly hiked its key policy rate to 16% last week. ARY News reported on Monday that the IMF had asked Pakistan to reduce expenses before talks on the ninth review. Pakistan secured a $6 billion bailout in 2019 that was topped up with another $1 billion earlier this year. The IMF’s board approved the seventh and eight reviews in August, allowing the release of more than $1.1 billion. The ninth review has been pending since September. The IMF told Reuters last week that finalisation of a recovery plan from the floods was essential to support discussions, along with continued financial support from multilateral and bilateral partners. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka
India’s Constitution Day celebrations in Sri Lanka – Daily News

India’s ‘Constitution Day’ was observed through a series of events organised by the High Commission of India, Colombo on November 26, 2022. The special day marked the adoption of the Indian Constitution on November 26, 1949. More than 200 schoolchildren from different parts of Sri Lanka enthusiastically participated in the Children’s Art Competition organised on Saturday. Themes of the competition such as ‘Incredible India’ and ‘Fundamental Duties’ were closely linked to India and her Constitution which helped the young and creative students from Sri Lanka develop a closer understanding of their civilizational partner, India. Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay who was the Chief Guest at the Competition, complimented families and teachers of the children for nurturing the talents of the next generation by encouraging them to participate in such competitions. Click here to read…

Senior military officers meet High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda – Daily News

Senior military officers from the Sri Lanka Army, Navy, and Air Force following the 62nd National Defence Course at the National Defence College (NDC) in New Delhi, paid a courtesy call on Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda at the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi. These senior officers, Brigadier UKDDP Udugama, Commodore MDK Wijewardana and Group Captain WPAH Perera highlighted the significance of the content of the National Defence Course conducted by India’s apex institution for the study and practice of National Security and Strategy during the interaction with the High Commissioner. Defence Adviser-Sri Lanka High Commission, India Cmdr. Rohan Joseph also joined the discussion. Established in 1960, the NDC is dedicated to the intellectual development and strategic enculturation of selected senior officers of the Armed Forces and Civilian Government Services of India and those from foreign countries, for higher leadership positions and responsibilities. Click here to read…

Why Sri Lanka needs an Enhanced Naval Fleet – Daily Star
The global maritime domain and the role of naval power in peacetime have changed significantly in recent decades. With the sea as the area of operations naval forces are an essential instrument for the State not only in war, but in peacetime as well. In comparison to the Army and Air Force, naval forces are useful to the State outside a war context as they provide prosperity to the State through the protection of shipping lanes and civilian vesselsClick here to read…

VIF Neighbourhood News Digest – November 28, 2022

Afghanistan
Afghanistan Discussed by Tajik President Rahman, France’s Macron: Tolo News

The Presidents of Tajikistan and France in a phone conversation discussed the political, social and economic situation in Afghanistan, the office of Tajikistan’s President, Imam Ali Rahman, said in a statement. Click here to read…

Bangladesh
No alliance with BNP – Dhaka Tribune

Amid the speculation that Jatiya Party chairman GM Quader might form an alliance with BNP, the party’s chief patron and opposition leader Raushan Ershad yesterday unequivocally said there is no question of forming an electoral alliance with BNP. About allying with BNP ahead of the next national polls, Raushan mentioned that Jatiya Party has suffered a lot under BNP. “We have seen corruption, mismanagement and inefficiency of ‘Hawa Bhavan’ during BNP’s rule,” she addedClick here to read…

Come together: Is diplomacy the solution to strengthen ties between Myanmar and Bangladesh? – Dhaka Tribune

The 8th Border Conference between Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) has started. The conference, which started on Thursday, November 24, 2022 in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw, will continue for five days. The conference includes several points of discussion like such as de-escalation of the tense situation on the border caused by the recent internal conflict in Myanmar, violation of airspace, combating inter-state terrorism, preventing the activities of cross-border criminal gangs, prevention of illegal infiltration among othersClick here to read…

‘SAARC may seem dead, but we should not bury it quite yet’ – Dhaka Tribune

While the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) appears moribund, it remains an indispensable and irreplaceable regional grouping, in whose revival and revitalization Bangladesh has a serious stake and must take the lead in, speakers at a round-table discussion have said. The speakers were deliberating at a round-table discussion entitled: “SAARC Is Dead, Long Live SAARC: Reviving South Asian Regionalism” convened by leading English daily Dhaka Tribune and the think tank Bangladesh Institute of Peace & Security Studies (BIPSS) at a Dhaka hotel on Sunday, as part of a series of seminars on the major issues on the global stage and how Bangladesh should situate itself in the geo-politics of the world today. Click here to read…

Bhutan
India-Bhutan Satellite Testament To Our Special Relationship: PM Modi – NDTV news

The PSLV C54 carried the India-Bhutan SAT, along with India’s Earth Observation Satellite -06 and other satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, read the Ministry of External Affairs press release. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday commended the Department of Information Technology and Telecom (DITT) Bhutan and ISRO on the successful launch of the jointly developed satellite by both countries. Click here to read…

Eight-member committee reviewing PI barrage option – Kuensel Online

A committee of eight experts from Bhutan and India will review the proposal to build a barrage to replace the dam at the 1,200MW Punatsangchhu Hydroelectric Project (PI) and present their recommendation to the governments by the end of January next year. The committee consists of four members from either country. Kuensel learnt that Bhutanese officials presented the construction of a barrage as feasible instead of a dam. Click here to read…

Bhutan to explore sovereign green bonds as alternative financing – Kuensel Online

With the increasing need for financing climate mitigation and adaptation activities, Bhutan will be developing a framework for sovereign green bonds. A sovereign green bond is a debt instrument issued by the government to borrow money from investors with the commitment that the mobilised fund would be spent to finance eligible green projects. This will help close the green investment gap and help countries reach their sustainability targets. Click here to read…

Japan Foreign Minister visit ends – Kuensel Online

State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, TAKEI Shunsuke left Bhutan yesterday after a three-day visit from November 21 to 23. SUZUKI Hiroshi and Tshoki Choden, Director, Department of Bilateral Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed the Exchange of Notes for Grant Aid “The Project for Strengthening Health Care Services in Eastern Area”. Through this Project worth 535,000,000 Yen, the Government of Japan will provide medical equipment necessary for health care services for mothers and children to health facilities in six eastern districts. Click here to read…

Maldives
Australia, Maldives officials did not attend China’s Indian Ocean meet – The Hindu

Australia and Maldives said on Sunday they did not participate in the recently held Indian Ocean Region Forum convened by China, which the organisers had claimed brought together representatives from 19 countries in the region, except for India. Both countries clarified there was no official representation at the China-backed forum. According to a statement from the organisers, the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) which is Beijing’s new development aid agency, the forum in Kunming had brought together “high-level representatives” from 19 countries, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Oman, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Djibouti, and Australia. No representative from India was invited. Click here to read…

Myanmar
How far the ASEAN Summit will bring changes to Myanmar crisis? – The Kashmiri Images

The 40th and 41st ASEAN summits, as well as related summits, were held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from November 8 to 13, 2022. Myanmar’s crisis hits the top of the agenda. Myanmar’s chair sat empty at November 11’s meeting. The move is a bold decision for the ASEAN to exclude the Myanmar Junta from attending the summit. Myanmar politics is turbulent with the clash between democracy, civil war and military rule. Though a dim of hope was aroused in 2011 with the landslide victory of the NLD government, however, the hope was eventually shattered with the military coup in February 2021. Click here to read…

Tourist arrivals in Myanmar double in seven months – The Star

The number of tourists visiting Myanmar during the first seven months of the 2022-23 fiscal year (April 2022-March 2023) jumped by 99.48 percent year-on-year, data from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism showed Saturday. A total of 144,112 foreign visitors arrived in the Southeast Asian country from April to October this year, up from 72,243 in the same period last year, the data showed. Myanmar resumed the operation of international commercial flights in April this year, and the number of tourists visiting the country has gradually increased. Click here to read…

German government training Myanmar junta soldiers in possible EU sanctions breach – Mizzima

According to campaign group Justice for Myanmar the German government is funding the training of Myanmar military junta personnel in a potential violation of EU sanctions. The German Federal Foreign Office is supplying training through Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law project for the promotion of maritime peace and security in Southeast Asia. Justice For Myanmar has called on the German government and the Max Planck Foundation to immediately exclude the junta from remaining activities in the project and all other programs, meetings and events. Click here to read…

Nepal
Vote count: NC continues to lead; UML following – Khabarhub

The results of 157 seats out of 165 of the House of Representatives (HoR) under the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) have come out in which Nepali Congress (NC) continues to lead. As per the latest vote count update and the final result, Nepali Congress has obtained 53 seats, and CPN-UML is trailing with 42 followed by CPN (Maoist Centre) with 17 seats. Similarly, CPN (Unified Socialist) got 10 seats while Rastriya Swatantra Party and Rastriya Prajatantra Party got seven seats each. Click here to read…

Rs 37 billion pledged under foreign loans, grants not received – Khabarhub

The government is short of almost Rs 37 billion which has been allocated for the projects and programs in the country’s annual budget, and is to be doled out by receiving foreign loans and grants. In a report submitted to the Ministry of Finance by the Finance Comptroller General Office last week, the government is to receive more than 36.9 billion rupees from the donor agencies. Of the total, Rs 15.27 billion is under the foreign grants and Rs 21.62 billion under the foreign loans. Click here to read…

Controlling fiduciary risks in public finance – The Kathmandu Post

Nepal has pursued the course of federalism with three tiers of government, resulting in horizontal and vertical expansion of 5,758 spending units across the country. With the distribution of power of the purse, the incidences of fiduciary risks have also increased, which are manifested in the growing size of arrears recorded by the Office of Audit General each year and the number of corruption cases filed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority. Click here to read…

Slump in power use sign of economic woes – The Kathmandu Post

Factories are running below capacity, businesses are down for the lack of loans. On Friday afternoon, the NEA reported the domestic peak demand of 1,396 megawatts of electricity. Officials at the NEA say despite a decrease in temperature, the power demand is not growing as expected, unlike in the past years. The demand from the industrial sector has slumped sharply at a time when the state-owned power utility is increasing high-voltage power connections to industrial units. Click here to read…

Pakistan
Swati held again for tweets against military high-ups: The Express Tribune

PTI Senator Azam Swati on Sunday morning was taken into custody for the second time after a raid at his farmhouse in Chak Shahzad by the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cyber Crime Wing Islamabad for allegedly tweeting against senior military officials. Click here to read…

Battle for Punjab, KP Assemblies heats up: The News

The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz has called a parliamentary party meeting on Monday (today) to finalise a strategy to counter an expected move by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf to dissolve the Punjab Assembly. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka
Foreign Ministry to expand consular services – Daily News

The Foreign Affairs Ministry is focusing on decentralizing consular services of the Ministry to provide an efficient service to the public. Accordingly, in addition to the existing regional offices, it is planned to further decentralize the service to main cities and it will be implemented according to the 2023 action plan, Director General of the Consular Division of the Foreign Affairs Ministry Prikayangika Wijayagunasekara said. She pointed out that in 2023, plans will be implemented with the aim of making the consular service of the Ministry into a more public friendly service. She stated this while participating in a special discussion organized by the Mass Media Ministry to inform the media about the operational plans of each ministry in 2023. Click here to read…

Free diesel for farmers, fishermen from China arrives – Daily News

Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong boarded the oil tanker “Super Eastern” and handed over the 10.6 million litres of diesel, a donation to Sri Lankan farmers and fishermen through related ministries. Distribution will start soon under a mutually agreed modality. The 10.6 million liters of diesel donation by China will be provided free to 232,749 farmers for harvesting 342,266 hectares paddy fields across in Maha Season 2022/23 (20L/hectare) Click here to read…

Neutrality over World Power Struggle – Daily News

Explaining our neutrality stance, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena noted as he addressed the Convocation of Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute (BIDTI) on October 28, 2022, “It is merely a detached neutrality in regional or international power games.” Obviously we wish to stay out of the developing power struggle for dominance between world powers. We fear the brutality of the West to side with China and we simply cannot afford to lose China. Hence, our strategy is to stay out of the fight altogether. As President Ranil Wickremesinghe observed whilst commenting on the conflict between Russian and West supported Ukraine, when elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled. Clearly we do not want to be the grass and are adapting the neutrality stance to keep the war (if it comes to that) and any other form of conflict out of our turf. Click here to read…

VIF Neighbourhood News Digest – November 24, 2022

Afghanistan
Blinken: Qatar Continues to Be Main Transit Point for Afghans: Tolo News

US Secretary Antony Blinken at a press conference said that after the Islamic Emirate took power in Afghanistan Qatar played an indispensable role in helping them relocate tens of thousands of at-risk Afghans, aid workers, diplomats, and others. Click here to read…

US Providing $327 Million In Aid to Afghanistan, Blinken Says: Tolo News

The United States will provide an additional $327 million in aid to Afghanistan to shore up humanitarian assistance, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday. “This assistance from the United States will continue to support the scaled-up humanitarian response in Afghanistan and neighboring countries through international humanitarian organizations,” Blinken said in a statement. Click here to read…

Taliban Requests Afghan Refugees to Abstain from Protesting in Pakistan and Iran: The Khaama Press

Afghan refugees were urged not to participate in the protests since they were Pakistani and Iranian domestic affairs, according to Abdul Rahman Rashid, the Taliban’s deputy minister for refugees and repatriation. Click here to read…

Bangladesh
IORA Council of Ministers meet today – The Daily Star

Bangladesh today hosts the 22nd Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers meeting in the capital aimed at boosting cooperation among the regional countries to ensure a free, open and secure Bay of Bengal and Asia-Pacific. Ministers, state ministers and assistant ministers from the 23 IORA member states are already in Dhaka to attend the meeting. “We want free, inclusive, secure and peaceful navigation for all without any encumbrance in the region,” Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told reporters following bilateral meetings with ministers of Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Tanzania and Japan at the Hotel InterContinental yesterday evening. Click here to read…

Jessore rolls out the red carpet for PM Hasina – Dhaka Tribune

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman addressed a public meeting in this stadium on December 26, 1972. Jessore, one of the oldest cities in the country, is ready to receive Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday as she is set to attend the first massive political rally of the ruling party outside Dhaka in the lead up to the next general election. People of Jessore and southern parts of the country are enthusiastic about attending the grand rally, as this will be Sheikh Hasina’s first visit to the city in almost five years. Click here to read…

3 binding conditions for IMF loan – The Daily Star

The International Monetary Fund is set to tag three binding conditions and a host of structural reforms for the prospective $4.5 billion loan to Bangladesh, as the Washington-based multilateral lender looks to bring in lasting reforms in the country. The mandatory conditions — which are specific, measurable targets called quantitative performance criteria (QPC) — would be a minimum level of net international reserves and domestic revenue collection and a ceiling on the government’s budget deficit, The Daily Star has learnt from people involved in the negotiations with the IMF staff mission to thrash out the terms for the loanClick here to read…

Bhutan
State set to tie up with Bhutan to develop Buddhist circuit – The Hindu

Bhutan is set to join the league of nations that are setting up monasteries near the Buddhavanam project being executed by the State near Nagarjunakonda. A delegation of Buddhist monks from Bhutan on Wednesday interacted with Minister for Culture V. Srinivas Goud and evinced interest in taking the project to the next level. “Maharashtra, Bihar and other states have a Buddhist circuit. But they don’t have what Telangana has. You have Acharya Nagarjuna,” said Khenpo Ugyen Namgyel, Secretary of Central Monastic Body of Bhutan leading a delegation of 24 monks. Click here to read…

Bhutan joins the seed-sharing initiative – Kuensel Online

Bhutan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, India, Nepal, The Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam signed an agreement to foster cross-country seed-sharing and empower the region’s seed sector yesterday in Thimphu. Called Seeds Without Borders, the agreement aims to speed up the distribution of modern, climate-resilient rice varieties across nations to help vulnerable farmers establish a secure food supply for their families and earn a higher income. Bhutan joined the Seeds Without Borders agreement on June 13, 2018. Click here to read…

Maldives
EU Ambassadors call on pres. ahead of sixth Maldives – EU Policy Dialogue – Raajje

The delegation called on President Solih at the President’s Office, on Wednesday and was headed by The EU Ambassador to Maldives, Denis Chaibi. The delegation included Ambassador of Italy to Maldives Rita Manella, Ambassador of Austria to Maldives Katharina Wieser, Ambassador of Germany to Maldives Holger Seubert, Ambassador of Netherlands to Maldives Bonnie Horbach, Chargé d’affaires at the Embassy of Romania Victor Chiujdea, and Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of France Aurélien Maillet. Click here to read…

Maldives Foreign Affairs Minister thanked Indian Govt for its contributions to enhance skills, competence of civil servants of Maldives – News On Air

Maldives Foreign Affairs Minister Abdulla Shahid has thanked the Indian Government for its contributions to enhance the skills and competence of civil servants of Maldives. He expressed his gratitude during a meeting held with Director General of the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), Mr. Bharat Lal. Click here to read…

Myanmar
Hun Sen: Myanmar sliding into full-fledged civil war – Phnompen Post

Myanmar is moving towards a full-fledged civil war, Prime Minister Hun Sen warned while addressing senior military leaders from many countries including China and the US at the opening ceremony of the 9th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+) in Siem Reap on November 23. He said the civil war was already underway in some parts of Myanmar. “Cambodia, as the victim of more than three decades of civil war, has useful experience to share in making, building and maintaining peace and building a post-war nation,” he added. Click here to read…

Restoration of democracy in Myanmar is crucial for ‘sustainable’ repatriation of Rohingya, says Japan – UNB

Japan is banking on restoration of democracy in Myanmar for the sustainable repatriation of the forcibly displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh. “Sustainable repatriation of the forcibly displaced Rohingya would be possible after the resumption of democracy in Myanmar,” visiting Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs TAKEI Shunsuke. Click here to read…

Myanmar Regime and Russia Sign Nuclear Power Plant Memorandum – The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s junta signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Tuesday with Rosatom, Russia’s state-run nuclear corporation, according to a Rosatom press release. The military regime’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) and Rosatom signed the MOU on Tuesday on the sidelines of the ATOMEXPO-2022 in Sochi, Russia. The proposed nuclear power plants will be based on Russian small modular reactor technology. Click here to read…

US, China defence chiefs meet in Cambodia – Mizzima

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe in Cambodia on Tuesday, with both sides describing the talks as productive without backing away from their core positions. The rival powers have clashed over a host of issues including Taiwan, security and human rights, but there have been attempts to lower the temperature since a rare summit between the leaders of both countries last week. Click here to read…

ANZ will become first international bank to withdraw from Myanmar – Mizzima

The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) said it will withdraw from Myanmar by early 2023, making it the first international bank to withdraw from the country. The withdrawal follows the October 2022 blacklisting of Myanmar by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog. Click here to read…

Nepal
China Encroaches On 36 Hectares of Nepal’s Land At 10 Places: Report – NDTV

China’s salami-slice strategy on Nepal’s northern border has resulted in the encroachment of 36 hectares of Nepal’s land at 10 places on the northern border by China. According to the survey document issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, China encroached on 36 hectares of Nepal’s land at 10 places on the northern border. Similarly, the study conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs has concluded that it is necessary to include border issues in the “state policy” of Nepal, reported Meta Khabar. Click here to read…

Vote count update: NC wins 25 seats; UML 15 and Maoist 7 – Khabarhub

Nepali Congress (NC) is still leading as the counting of votes is underway throughout the country. In the initial vote count of the election held on Sunday, Nepali Congress (NC) has taken the lead, followed by CPN-UML so far. Till now, NC has won in 25 constituencies and the UML in 15 constituencies. As of now, NC is still leading in 31 constituencies followed by UML, which is leading in 29 constituencies. The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), which has already won five seats, is leading in four constituencies. Click here to read…

Aid or political interference? China finances NGO with links to Nepal former PM Oli’s party ahead of polls – Times Now

China has begun helping political organisations in Nepal. High-level sources speak of financial help from the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu to an NGO with political links. The payout is believed to be about one crore Nepalese Rupees. This is being seen by some as interference with the country’s political process. The NGO has strong links with former Prime Minister K.P.Sharma Oli, president of the Communist Party of Nepal, the CPN-UML Some members of the NGO are contesting the polls as candidates of Oli’s party. The Chinese have good reason to support Oli for Nepal signed a crucial Transit and Transport agreement with China in 2015 when Oli was the PM. Click here to read…

Chen Song to be China’s Nepal envoy – The Kathmandu Post

China has proposed Chen Song, one of its senior diplomats, as the new ambassador to Nepal. Chen is currently deputy director general at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He will replace Hou Yanqi, who has already returned to China after completing her four-year tenure in October. The Chinese side informally communicated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about its decision to appoint Chen as the new envoy but no official communication has yet been made, according to a foreign ministry official. Click here to read…

Pakistan
Imran insists Alvi will consult him on chief’s selection: Dawn

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has claimed that President Dr Arif Alvi will “definitely” consult him as soon as the summary for the appointment of next army chief reaches his office. Click here to read…

Army role in politics is unconstitutional, says Gen Bajwa: The Express Tribune

Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa said on Wednesday the military had started “its catharsis” and would remain apolitical in the future, emphasising that political parties should also reflect on their behaviour so that there was an “elected” government in the country instead of “selected” or “imported” one. Click here to read…

Pakistan continues talks with IMF on flood expenditures: The News

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani authorities are continuing talks for finalising reprioritizing expenditures on floods, including BISP spending and rehabilitation needs besides accelerating reforms to preserve fiscal stability. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka
No room for another ‘aragalaya’ – Daily News

President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday emphasized that any attempts to create another Aragalaya (struggle) aiming at changing the government will not be allowed in the country. He said that military will be deployed and Emergency Law will be enforced to prevent such attempts as there is no room for Dinh Diems in this country. “The military will be deployed. Emergency Law will be enforced. Another Aragalaya will not be allowed. I won’t let Dinh Diem’s rule in this country. There is no room for Dinh Diems in this country.” he said. Click here to read…

President calls for All-Party meeting to discuss national issue – Daily News

President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday called for an All-Party meeting to discuss and solve the national issue. Speaking in Parliament yesterday, President Wickremesinghe said the meeting can be held during the second week of December. The President noted that once the 2023 Budget process is complete on December 8, all parties can convene for the decisive meeting. President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the matter has been discussed on various occasions and various opinions have been expressed and therefore it is imperative that all parties convene and come to a consensusClick here to read…

Towards a new election culture – Daily News

The long-awaited law to limit election campaign funding is to become a reality at last. Cabinet approval was received on Monday for the enactment of the Campaign Finance Bill that will bind all candidates contesting elections, of whatever variety, for their campaign spending to be done under the strict supervision of the National Elections Commission (NEC). In fact, it was formulated in 2016 and was awaiting approval of the Attorney General, which has been finally obtained. Accordingly, the Draft Bill will be gazetted following which it will be presented to Parliament. Once the Bill becomes law, all candidates shall bear responsibility for funding his/her election campaign. In addition he/she will also have to disclose the source(s) of such funding. A ceiling will also be placed on the amount spent on a single electorate while the candidates will also be required to open a Special Elections Account (SEA) which will be the only source from which candidates can withdraw funds for their campaign funding. The new law is a revolutionary step and will go a long way in changing the present election culture which is reeking of corruption. Click here to read…

China: Daily Scan, July 22, 2022

Senior CPC official urges preventing, defusing risks in united front work: Xinhuanet
July 21, 2022

Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official You Quan has urged efforts to prevent and defuse risks in the united front work and contribute to stable economic, social, and political environments. You, a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks during his research tour in northeast China’s Liaoning Province from Wednesday to Thursday. Click here to read…

Former manager of China’s state grain group arrested for suspected bribery, dereliction of duty: Xinhuanet
July 21, 2022

Xu Baoyi, former deputy general manager of China Grain Reserves Group (Sinograin), has been arrested on suspicion of bribery and dereliction of duty by personnel of state-owned enterprises, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) said. Click here to read…

HSBC says Communist party branch in China units have ‘no influence’: Reuters
July 21, 2022

HSBC Holdings said employees who form branches of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) within private companies in China have ‘no influence’ on the running of the business, following media reports on Thursday that such a unit had been established at its China securities unit. Click here to read…

Shanghai bans job discrimination against recovered COVID patients: Global Times
July 21, 2022

The Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress passed a decision on Thursday, banning employers from terminating contracts, or refusing to hire those who have suffered from infectious diseases. The city also curtailed the time period to check a person’s nucleic acid test history record from two months to half a month, which is viewed as a “pragmatic and positive” change for people struggling to find a job. Click here to read…

China’s ride-hailing giant Didi fined $1.2b for 16 legal breaches; move ends year-long probe, highlighting data security: Global Times
July 21, 2022

China’s internet regulator fined ride-hailing giant Didi Global 8.026 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) for 16 legal violations, calling an end to a cybersecurity probe that lasted more than one year and sending a strong signal that will lay the ground for the healthy development of internet-based platform economy. Click here to read…

Chinese vice premier urges high-quality development of education: Xinhuanet
July 22, 2022

Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has stressed the need to promote high-quality development of education and the development of a strong education system with which the people are satisfied. Click here to read…

Chinese mainland reports 106 new local confirmed COVID-19 cases: Xinhuanet
July 22, 2022

The Chinese mainland Thursday reported 106 locally-transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 52 in Gansu and 21 in Guangxi, the National Health Commission said Friday. Altogether 774 local asymptomatic carriers were newly identified in 12 provincial-level regions on Thursday. Click here to read…

Chinese police intensify crackdown on pornography, prostitution, gambling-related crimes: Xinhuanet
July 22, 2022

Chinese police have intensified crackdown on pornography, prostitution and gambling-related crimes, dismantling over 960 such criminal rings in a special campaign. The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said in a statement on Thursday that police authorities have worked with a national office to fight against pornography and illegal publications, supervising the investigation of over 70 major cases. Police forces across the country have resolved more than 790 major criminal cases in this regard. Click here to read…

Anhui powers ahead in tech development: Quishi
July 22, 2022

Anhui province is on a fast track of development in China’s economy, having become a hub of multiple emerging industries, such as electric vehicles, over the last decade, provincial leaders said. Click here to read…

Indonesian president to visit China: China Military
July 22, 2022

At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Joko Widodo of the Republic of Indonesia will visit China from July 25 to 26, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced Thursday. Click here to read…

China’s battery giant CATL, Ford announce cooperation on EVs: People’s Daily
July 22, 2022

China’s leading automotive lithium-ion battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) and Ford Motor Company announced Thursday a non-binding memorandum of understanding outlining global strategic cooperation, including supplying batteries in China, Europe and North America. Click here to read…

China to extend anti-dumping duties on steel product from Japan, South Korea, and EU: Reuters
July 22, 2022

China will extend anti-dumping duties on grain oriented flat-rolled electrical steel imported from Japan, South Korea, and the European Union, the country’s ministry of commerce said on Friday. The duties will be extended for five years beginning from July 23, it said in a statement. Click here to read…

China’s largest policy bank disbursed $27 bln loans for infrastructure stimulus: Reuters
July 22, 2022

China’s largest policy bank said on Friday that it had disbursed 181.5 billion yuan ($27 billion) in loans for urban development projects in the first half of the year, and pledged to maintain an accelerated pace of lending to fund infrastructure. Click here to read…

China’s propaganda put under scrutiny as netizen comments translated: Kyodo
July 22, 2022

When a strong earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima in March, Chinese social media was flooded with comments reveling in the prospect of a disaster and telling Japanese “to die.” But almost immediately, translations of the comments in Japanese and English appeared, produced by a loose collection of people, most of them Chinese themselves, to open the world’s eyes to the kinds of opinions being voiced in China. Participants in the campaign, called the Great Translation Movement, say the ultimate aim is to expose the Chinese Communist Party’s manipulation of public opinion. Click here to read…

China: Daily Scan, July 20, 2022

China launches inspection of municipal, county-level law-based governance: Xinhuanet
July 19, 2022

China on Tuesday launched an inspection of law-based governance at the municipal and county levels. The inspection will focus on law-based government administration so as to accelerate the construction of rule-of-law governments and consolidate the foundation of the rule of law at the grassroots level. Click here to read…

Delegates to 20th CPC National Congress from central Party, state organs elected: Xinhuanet
July 19, 2022

A total of 293 individuals have been elected as delegates to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) from the central Party and state organs at a meeting held in Beijing from Sunday to Tuesday. Click here to read…

Political advisors discuss expanding China’s talent pool: Xinhuanet
July 19, 2022

Chinese political advisors put forward suggestions Tuesday for expanding the country’s talent pool during a consultative meeting of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Click here to read…

China, EU agree to jointly tackle global economic challenges: Xinhuanet
July 19, 2022

During their 9th High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue on Tuesday, China and the European Union (EU) agreed to make joint efforts to promote practical cooperation in the field of economy and trade, and to jointly cope with the challenges facing the global economy. Click here to read…

China’s top legislator calls for enhanced parliamentary exchanges with Bangladesh: Xinhuanet
July 19, 2022

China’s top legislator Li Zhanshu on Tuesday held talks with Bangladeshi parliament speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury via video link, with both sides vowing to enhance parliamentary exchanges. Click here to read…

Universities make significant progress in China’s sci-tech innovation: Xinhuanet
July 19, 2022

Chinese colleges and universities have taken the lead in building over 60 percent of the key academic national laboratories and more than 30 percent of the national engineering technology research centers over the past decade, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) Tuesday. Click here to read…

21 provincial-level officials punished by discipline watchdogs in H1: China Daily
July 19, 2022

Discipline inspection and supervisory agencies across China have handed down punishments to 21 officials at the provincial or ministerial level in the first half of this year, the country’s top anti-graft body announced Tuesday. Click here to read…

Bride price tradition fueling fresh friction: China Daily
July 19, 2022

The practice of giving money as a wedding guarantee comes under scrutiny as amounts skyrocket. Li Hongyang reports. The recent break-up of a prospective bride and groom as a result of a failure to agree on a bride price of 300,000 yuan ($45,000) has caused heated debate online nationwide. Click here to read…

20 provincial-level regions report COVID-19 cases with multiple surpassing 400 on daily basis: Global Times
July 19, 2022

More than 20 provincial-level regions in the Chinese mainland have reported locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, and daily caseloads have begun to tick up in recent days. Epidemiologists said this new wave is challenging the coping ability of more inland and small cities, which are not as well equipped as metropolises, and emerging subvariants of Omicron further press anti-virus efforts as they spread faster and are harder to detect. Click here to read…

China to foster market-oriented, world-class business environment governed by sound legal framework, says Premier Li: People’s Daily

July 20, 2022

China is committed to fostering a market-oriented, world-class business environment governed by a sound legal framework, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday. Li made the remarks at the Special Virtual Dialogue with Global Business Leaders hosted by the World Economic Forum. Click here to read…

U.S. Senate votes to move ahead on chip bill to compete with China: Reuters
July 20, 2022

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted to move ahead with a slimmed-down version of legislation to provide billions of dollars in subsidies and tax credits for the semiconductor industry, hoping to ease a shortage that has disrupted production in industries from automobiles to electronics and high-tech weapons. China’s Belt and Road’s “hidden cost” is forced labor, says U.S. report: Kyodo

July 20, 2022

The U.S. State Department highlighted the use of forced labor in China’s Belt and Road infrastructure project in its annual human trafficking report released Tuesday, while maintaining its assessment that Japan’s efforts to eliminate trafficking are not yet sufficient. Calling forced labor the “hidden cost” of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the department said in the Trafficking in Persons Report, “All countries should be able to pursue development opportunities without sacrificing their respect for human rights.” Click here to read…

China’s approvals for new coal plants rebound amid renewed focus on energy security after last year’s power crisis: South China Morning Post
July 20, 2022

China’s call to boost coal supplies following the power shortage last year and subsequent surge in approval for coal-fired plants has climate experts worried about the nation’s carbon-neutral goals. Provincial governments across China approved plans to add a total of 8.63 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power plants in the first quarter of 2022 alone, nearly 50 per cent of the capacity approved in the whole of 2021, according to a new report from Greenpeace East Asia on Wednesday. Click here to read…

New Omicron variant identified in NE China’s port city of Dandong: Global Times
July 20, 2022

A local asymptomatic infection discovered in the port city of Dandong, in Northeast China’s Liaoning Province, was identified as a new sub-lineage of the Omicron variant BA.2.3. No viral sequence with small genomic differences to the strain has been found either in the domestic or in the global data base, the local health authority announced on Tuesday. Click here to read…

PLA guards against US ship as it sails through Taiwan Straits again: China Daily
July 20, 2022

The Chinese military has monitored and guarded against a United States guided-missile destroyer that sailed across the Taiwan Straits on Tuesday, a spokesman from the People’s Liberation Army said Wednesday. “The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold sailed through the Taiwan Straits on July 19 and publicly hyped the incident,” said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman of the PLA Eastern Theater Command, in a statement. “The theater command organized naval and air forces to track, monitor and guard against it during the passage.” Click here to read…

China to foster market-oriented, world-class business environment governed by sound legal framework, says Premier Li: People’s Daily
July 20, 2022

China is committed to fostering a market-oriented, world-class business environment governed by a sound legal framework, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday. Li made the remarks at the Special Virtual Dialogue with Global Business Leaders hosted by the World Economic Forum. Click here to read…

Global Developments and Analysis: Weekly Monitor, 11 July – 17 July 2022

Economic
China faces difficult decisions with slide in economic growth

China’s economic growth teetered on the brink of contraction in the second quarter year on year, reflecting a two-month lockdown of the financial and industrial hub of Shanghai. This came on top of Covid-19 shutdowns and travel curbs that have hampered recovery in the world’s second-biggest economy. Following an increase in gross domestic product of 4.8 per cent in the first quarter, growth in the three months to June of just 0.4 per cent dragged expansion in the first half down to 2.5 per cent. This year’s growth target of “around 5.5 per cent” would require a bounce back to 7.5 per cent in the second half. But a return to stable growth will be the paramount goal of Beijing ahead of a landmark political meeting later this year, the 20th national party congress, which includes a leadership reshuffle. This can be expected to lead to increased pressure to fine-tune President Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid strategy and for stimulatory measures, such as looser monetary policy and fiscal stimulus, without triggering a surge of inflation. This is in contrast to a tightening cycle to combat inflationary growth well under way among China’s trading partners. Recent statements by top leaders have shown a rising sense of urgency about the need to put the economy back on a stable track. However, if there is to be a new round of credit-driven investment it should not be at the cost of exacerbating local debt problems. Click here to read…

China and EU to hold high-level trade talks this week after months of delays

Just before the summer lull hits Brussels, the European Union will hold a high-level trade dialogue with China on July 19 – talks the 27-member bloc has been trying to organise for more than three months. Valdis Dombrovskis, the European commissioner for trade, and Chinese vice-premier Liu He will co-chair the virtual meeting, which will also include representatives from the trade and economic ministries of both sides. According to a European Commission representative, a number of global economic challenges will be discussed, including food security and energy prices, supply chains, financial services, and bilateral trade and investment concerns. “The dialogue is taking place against the background of war in Europe and increasing uncertainties in the global economic outlook,” the representative said. The last high-level meeting between the EU and China was a virtual summit in April; it ended unsuccessfully after the EU failed to gain any assurances from China that it would not support Russia’s war against Ukraine financially or militarily. But both sides agreed to talk again “to find concrete ways to progress on these issues before the summer”. While Brussels continued pushing Beijing to nail down a date, China took time in responding. Click here to read…

Europe Fears Widespread Economic Fallout if Russian Gas Outage Drags On

As a deadline approaches for Russia to resume supplying natural gas to Germany this week, European officials and executives are growing concerned about a cascading economic fallout that would spread across the continent should Moscow keep the tap shut. The Nord Stream pipeline that ferries gas from Siberia to Germany closed July 11 for annual maintenance that is expected to last 10 days. Many in the West fear that Moscow might prolong the closure, possibly permanently, and deprive Germany, Europe’s industrial powerhouse, of a key ingredient for its and its neighbors’ factories. European leaders blamed Moscow for using gas as a weapon when flows along the pipeline began to ebb last month. Moscow blamed that shortfall on technical issues related to Western sanctions. According to the annual maintenance schedule, Nord Stream goes back online July 21, meaning that gas flow should resume the following day. Complicating the calculus, officials and executives say it might not be easy to determine whether Russia is restoring gas flows fully. Under one scenario, Moscow could switch the pipeline back on but with lower volumes, as it already has, citing technical problems linked to the sanctions. Germany is highly dependent on Russian gas, and it also acts as a transit hub for gas headed to Austria, the Czech Republic and Ukraine. Click here to read…

China jobs: youth unemployment hits record high in June – nearly 1 in 5 young people out of work

The hits keep coming for China’s disillusioned youth who increasingly cannot seem to catch a break when it comes to landing work in a job market that – at least for their demographic – keeps going from really bad to even worse. Nearly one out of five young jobseekers were unemployed last month as China’s youth unemployment rate hit an all-time high of 19.3 per cent in June, official figures show. It was a sharp rise from 18.4 per cent in May, and marked a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent. The intensifying struggle among those aged 16-24 to carve out their own piece of China’s economic pie came in the midst of the nation’s economy growing by a mere 0.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2022, year on year. This was largely the result of Beijing’s zero-Covid strategy, which forced large-scale lockdowns in Shanghai and other major cities – far from ideal conditions in which China’s latest army of fresh college graduates were plunged into. China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has previously noted that new graduates generally push the unemployment rate upward come June and July each year, but the youth unemployment rate has seen a steady rise since October. Click here to read…

A fifth of Chinese developers face insolvency as investors grow tired of repeated bond extensions, S&P Global warns

At least a fifth of rated Chinese property developers will end up becoming insolvent, putting as much as US$88 billion of their distressed bonds at risk, according to S&P Global Ratings. While some developers have resorted to debt extensions and bond exchanges to buy time to avoid default, investors will soon lose patience and press their claims through the courts or debt restructuring if a recovery of the sector does not play out by the first quarter of 2023, the ratings agency said. Exchanges and debt extensions have been the two most common ways for Chinese developers to resolve their bond default risks. Guangzhou R&F Properties, for example, recently received approval to regroup all 10 tranches of its offshore bonds worth a total of US$4.94 billion due between now and 2024 into three amortisation notes that mature in 2025, 2027 and 2028, giving it three to four years of breathing room as it struggles to raise cash. But “this forbearance may not continue,” said S&P. “If a sales turnaround is not forthcoming, investors will reject repeated extensions. “The end of the beginning is at hand for China developer defaults.” Click here to read…

Russia has price cap-busting oil plan – media

Russia has ramped up efforts to create its own national oil pricing benchmark as part of its response to Western efforts to limit its oil revenues, Bloomberg reported on July 14, citing government and industry sources. According to the agency, the Western sanctions campaign, which was launched after Russia began its military operation in Ukraine, and the attempts to squeeze its oil export revenue with a proposed price cap, have reinvigorated the idea. US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen is attempting to set an upper limit on how much Moscow can charge for its crude exports. Some experts have warned that the scheme may backfire. The Russian government wants to have a pricing benchmark in action sometime between March and July of 2023, the business news outlet reported. Discussions about the plan are in the early stages, but were confirmed by an executive in the energy industry, the report said. The country has tried for years to launch a national benchmark based on crude trade at the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange, but the volume of foreign deals made on the exchange has not been high enough for this purpose. The US and its allies are seeking to damage Russian crude trade with nations like China and India, which refused to join the sanctions drive, by leveraging their dominance in the areas of insurance and finance. Click here to read…

Saudi Arabia outlines what it will do for oil output

Saudi Arabia is ready to increase oil production to its maximum of 13 million barrels per day but does not have the capacity to pump out more, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said during his address at the US-Arab summit in Jeddah on July 16. “The kingdom has announced an increase in its production capacity level to 13 million barrels per day, after which the kingdom will not have any additional capacity to increase production,” he was quoted as saying by UAE’s newspaper The National. The crown prince also said that the global community should join forces to support the worldwide economy, but noted that unrealistic policies regarding energy sources would only worsen the situation. “Adopting unrealistic policies to reduce emissions by excluding main sources of energy will lead in coming years to unprecedented inflation and an increase in energy prices and rising unemployment, and a worsening of serious social and security problems,” he stated. Mohammed bin Salman’s words come a day after his talks with Joe Biden, who was in Saudi Arabia on his first visit as US president, and urged the kingdom to increase oil production in order to reduce global reliance on supplies from Russia. Commenting on his trip to the kingdom, Biden said Saudi Arabia’s “energy resources are vital for mitigating the impact on global supplies of Russia’s war in Ukraine.Click here to read…

Middle East Buyers Ramp Up Russian Fuel Imports

US and European sanctions have led to a significant shift in the direction of Russian energy flows. Bloomberg reports diesel and other fuel products shunned by many countries in the West are heading to the Middle East. Increasing flows began after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and reached 155,000 barrels a day in June, according to new data from Vortexa Ltd. Meanwhile, European imports have slumped 30% since the invasion on Feb. 24. Vortexa’s data shows most of the products arriving in the Middle East from Russian ports are fuel oil, diesel/gasoil, and more recently, jet fuel and kerosene. “Most of the Middle East’s imports from Russia are of fuel oil — a leftover from the refining process and often used in power generation and shipping,” Bloomberg noted. About a third of the inflows of fuel products went into the Fujairah Oil Terminal for storage in the United Arab Emirates. Imports of Russian fuel products are at a 2016 high and could increase further because of Western trade restrictions to punish President Putin for the invasion of Ukraine. However, Koen Wessels, senior oil products analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd, said Russian flows to the Middle East will be temporary and could eventually slow because of shipping insurance-related restrictions for vessels leaving Russian ports. Click here to read…

Afghan minister holds talks with Chinese mining firm, progress to be expected

An Afghan government official from the mining sector met with the representative of a Chinese mining company July 17, and they discussed issues ranging from technical to financial operations of the Aynak copper project, the second-largest copper ore body in the world. But an insider said that no substantive progress was made. A staffer of Chinese mining giant Metallurgical Group Corp (MCC), the company that owns the Aynak copper project, told the Global Times July 18 that the company has staff in Afghanistan at the moment, and they are keeping in close contact with the new Afghan government over the project. The remark came as the Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum Sheikh Shahabuddin Delawar held a meeting Sunday with a vice president of MCC-JCL Aynak Minerals Co (MJAM), a Chinese-funded mining company registered in Afghanistan under MCC, according to the official website of the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum. Discussions were held at the meeting on the latest developments, as well as technical, financial and land acquisition issues, and the transfer of ancient artifacts in the field of the Aynak project, said the ministry. While there have been frequent talks, no substantive progress has been made, the Global Times learned. “The only thing we needed to confirm with the Afghan government is the ownership of the mine, which has already been done with the new government,” a staffer with the MCC Group said. Click here to read…

Kishida: Up to 9 nuclear reactors to go online by winter

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the central government intends to bring up to nine nuclear reactors online this winter to prepare for possible power shortages during peak periods. Kishida told a July 14 news conference that he instructed economy minister Koichi Hagiuda to start preparations. “We are aiming to put as many nuclear reactors as possible online,” said Kishida. “We will have up to nine reactors operating this winter to secure enough sources of energy to cover about 10 percent of Japan’s overall power consumption.” The move comes as the government is asking the public to save electricity this summer amid a power shortage, which will likely become even more severe in the winter. According to government sources, five of the nine reactors are at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s nuclear power plants in Fukui Prefecture: the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Oi plant; the No. 3 reactor at the Mihama plant; and the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Takahama plant. All nine reactors were brought online at least once after passing the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s screening for a restart. Four were in operation as of July 14. Kishida said he also instructed government officials to get 10 more units of thermal power plants ready for operations to ensure a stable power supply during peak periods. Click here to read…

China closes in on Japan’s hydrogen technology patent lead

Though Japan continues to lead the world in hydrogen-related technology, its edge is narrowing as new patent filings by the country’s companies and research institutions slow while Chinese players forge ahead with government backing. Hydrogen is considered the ultimate clean fuel since it emits no carbon dioxide when burned. Tokyo-based research company Astamuse, in which Nikkei has a stake, has compiled a ranking of countries, scored in terms of the competitiveness of their hydrogen technologies between 2011 and 2020, based on the number of times their patents were cited in similar patent applications, expiration dates and other data. The 2020 figures were based on preliminary data. Japan came out on top overall propelled by its strength in fuel-cell patents, which are key to harnessing hydrogen to power cars, homes and factories. Toyota Motor has been developing fuel-cell vehicles for the past three decades, and became the first automaker in the world to commercialize the vehicles in 2014. It had expanded their driving range about 30% by 2020. Japanese petroleum company ENEOS and Industrial gases company Iwatani operate more than 160 hydrogen stations, and are working to halve the cost of building a new station from the current range of 300 million yen to 400 million yen ($2.19 million to $2.91 million) currently. Click here to read…

China locks in record long-term LNG deals to bolster energy security

As global competition for liquefied natural gas intensifies in response to the Ukraine war, China is increasingly turning to long-term contracts of a decade or more to ensure the country’s growing needs will continue to be met years into the future. Chinese demand for natural gas grew at the fastest rate on record in 2021. LNG demand jumped 18% to 78.9 million tons, surpassing Japan as the largest importer. Spot contracts accounted for 39% of China’s LNG imports last year. But contracts lasting 10 to 20 years make up a rapidly growing portion of those with delivery dates in 2022 and beyond. Chinese players signed 23 long-term contracts for a total of 27 million tons of LNG in 2021, according to Mika Takehara at Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. Both figures were among the largest on record, she said. Most LNG was purchased by China’s three state-owned energy groups — China National Petroleum Corp., CNOOC and China Petrochemical, known as Sinopec. But energy companies owned by regional governments and private-sector utilities are also increasingly dealing directly with overseas suppliers. Three-quarters of the sellers were located in the U.S., Qatar and Russia. Between January 2021 and this April, Chinese companies had signed 10 contracts for 13.9 million tons to 14.8 million tons of LNG from American entities alone. Click here to read…

Myanmar revokes foreign company exemption from currency rules

The Central Bank of Myanmar on July 13 reversed its position on exempting foreign companies from forced exchanges of currency to the local kyat, several sources at the bank said. The central bank in April had instructed financial institutions to convert foreign currency earned by its customers into kyat within one business day. Existing foreign-currency deposits were also to be converted into the kyat in stages. In mid-June, the bank issued a notice exempting companies that are 10% or more owned by overseas entities, which applied to the majority of foreign companies doing business in Myanmar. It has now rescinded this exception in a new notice, sources said. Companies making investments approved by the Myanmar Investment Commission, as well those operating in special economic zones, are expected to remain exempt. The currency exchange rule comes as Myanmar suffers a serious shortage of foreign currency following its military takeover in February 2021. The government established the Foreign Exchange Supervisory Committee in April, which now must approve any conversions from kyat to a foreign currency, or money transfers abroad. Foreign currency from the forced conversions will be used to repay foreign debt flagged as a priority by the FESC. Click here to read…

Why China can’t let Laos default

Laos faces intensifying economic and financial crises and there is likely no way out without some form of a Chinese bailout or debt forgiveness. Various warning signs are blinking red in the small Southeast Asian country. The national currency, the kip, has lost around a third of its value against the US dollar compared to this time last year. Inflation hit 23% in June, its highest level in decades. Meanwhile, much of the landlocked country faces fuel shortages. The communist-run government has huffed and bluffed but finally undertook a cabinet reshuffle in late June, bringing in a new commerce minister and central bank governor. Some emergency measures have stemmed certain economic problems from worsening. But those haven’t alleviated the nation’s underlying financial woes, which are now more precarious than ever. “The chances that Laos will default on its debt obligations are extremely high,” says Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia. Indeed, the country’s foreign debts have swelled to over US$14 billion, or 88% of gross domestic product (GDP). Around half that amount is owed to China, including the Lao state’s one-third stake in the $5.9 billion China-Laos railway, a megaproject that opened in December amid concerns about the line’s commercial viability. Vientiane barely scraped through making its annual debt repayments last year. Click here to read…

Super-strong dollar imperils world economy

The US dollar has been on a major surge against major global currencies in the past year, recently hitting levels not seen in 20 years. It has gained 15% against the British pound, 16% against the euro and 23% against the Japanese yen. The dollar is the world’s reserve currency, which means it is used in most international transactions. As a result, changes in its value have implications for the entire global economy. Below are five of the main ones. 1. Even more inflation. Petrol and most commodities such as metals or timber are usually traded in US dollars (though with exceptions). So when the dollar gets stronger, these items cost more in local currency. For example in British pounds, the cost of US$100-worth of petrol has risen over the past year from £72 to £84. And since the price per liter of petrol in US dollars has risen steeply as well, it is creating a double whammy. When energy and raw materials cost more, the prices of many products go up for consumers and businesses, causing inflation around the world. The only exception is the US, where a stronger dollar makes it cheaper to import consumer products and therefore could help to tame inflation. Click here to read…

Strategic
‘Judgment Day’ warning as Russia hunts Ukraine’s US-made HIMARS

Nearly five months since President Vladimir Putin ordered the February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces are grinding through the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine and now occupy around a fifth of the country. Shoigu, one of Putin’s closest allies, inspected the Vostok group which is fighting in Ukraine, the defence ministry said. Shoigu “instructed the commander to give priority to the enemy’s long-range missile and artillery weapons,” the defence ministry said. The ministry said the weapons were being used to shell residential areas of Russian-controlled Donbas and to deliberately set fire to wheat fields and grain storage silos. Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said a depot in the Black Sea port of Odesa that stored Harpoon anti-ship missiles was hit, while a US-supplied HIMARS multiple-launch rocket system was struck in the eastern Donetsk region. There are concerns in Moscow that Ukraine’s longer-range missiles could be used to target Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Crimea is of particular strategic importance to Russia as it includes the headquarters of its Black Sea fleet at Sevastopol. Another prized target would be the 18km (11-mile) bridge that links the Black Sea peninsula with mainland Russia. That prospect of an attack on Crimea prompted a warning from Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev, who said such an attack would trigger devastating consequences for the Ukrainian leadership. Click here to read…

Chinese military upgrades near disputed Himalayan border viewed as provocative in India

The upgrading of China’s military projection and logistics capabilities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Himalayas, designed to prepare for contingencies, is being viewed by the Indian side as offensive and provocative. Citing Indian intelligence sources, The Hindu said the People’s Liberation Army had expanded its troop accommodation capacity within 100km (60 miles) of the LAC from 20,000 to 120,000 in the past two years. The Indian newspaper’s report, published late last month, said the PLA had deployed four divisions, or 48,000 troops, from its Xinjiang military district, with the soldiers being rotated on the disputed border facing eastern Ladakh, where the worst fighting in over four decades saw at least 20 Indian soldiers and four from the PLA killed in the Galwan Valley two years ago. Zhou Chenming, a researcher from the Yuan Wang military science and technology think tank in Beijing, confirmed the PLA had renovated and expanded barracks along the LAC since that clash, including permanent buildings and temporary ones. “Many of the permanent buildings are warehouses for fuel storage, while other accommodation and portable facilities will be used for housing troops,” Zhou said, adding that the PLA was capable of deploying up to 120,000 troops to the LAC in a week if necessary. “China doesn’t need to station so many troops in border areas because of its powerful military projection capacity and infrastructure and logistics supply network.” Click here to read…

South Korea’s Yoon faces becoming a ‘lame duck’ as nepotism claims, wife’s gaffes hit ratings

Barely two months after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol took office, his support base has quickly dwindled as a lack of experience, accusations of a poor attitude, gaffes and various political and personal issues weigh on his approval ratings. This could complicate his political agenda, especially in a parliament where the liberal opposition Democratic Party dominates his conservative People Power Party. His approval rating plunged to 32 per cent from a high of 53 per cent five weeks earlier, according to an opinion poll last week by Gallup Korea. Disapproval stood at 53 per cent, up 19 percentage points in the same five-week period. Yoon’s approval rating could extend its decline, as he had barely two months to rally his base before his ratings began to tank. Approval ratings of South Korea’s presidents typically stand at 70-80 per cent during their early months in office, fuelled by high expectations for their new governments. Resentment among conservatives against former president Moon Jae-in’s political missteps such as skyrocketing real estate prices and his associates’ alleged nepotism had helped Yoon to the presidency. Yoon was initially lauded for delivering on his election promise to make himself more accessible than his predecessors, allowing journalists to question him on his way to work every morning, a first for a South Korean president. But he came under fire for his curt responses and poor attitude. Click here to read…

China’s Communist Party finds it easier to win hearts and minds at home than overseas

When Xi Jinping became China’s president in 2013, he showed he was determined to maintain the Communist Party’s mandate to rule by winning the people’s hearts and minds. At the start of his first term he ordered bureaucrats across the country to confess any loss of touch with the grass roots to the party. The campaign ended up lasting for more than a year. He also kicked off a far-reaching anti-corruption campaign, with graft busters setting up a website and a social media account that enabled people to report corruption via their phones. Xi also famously warned the party in 2013 of the risk of losing the people’s trust, using the term Tacitus Trap, which describes a lack of trust in a government regardless of its actions. Yet just months before Xi is set to begin his third term as the party’s leader at this year’s 20th party congress, crises have emerged that point at the heart of trust in the government, including a banking fiasco in which thousands of people risk losing all their savings in local banks. The Tacitus Trap, named after the Roman historian, describes the dire situation facing a government when no matter what it says or does, people assume it is a lie or a bad deed. It was one of three traps, along with the middle-income trap and the Thucydides Trap, that Xi warned publicly in 2013 could undermine China’s rise. Click here to read…

Three more countries set to join BRICS – official

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt plan to join BRICS, and their potential membership bids could be discussed and answered at next year’s summit in South Africa, Purnima Anand, the president of the organization, told Russian media on July 14. “All these countries have shown their interest in joining [BRICS] and are preparing to apply for membership. I believe this is a good step, because expansion is always looked upon favorably; it will definitely bolster BRICS’ global influence,” she told Russian newspaper Izvestia. The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) account for over 40% of the global population and nearly a quarter of the world’s GDP. Anand said the issue of expansion was raised during this year’s BRICS summit, which took place in late June in Beijing. The BRICS Forum president said she hopes the accession of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt will not take much time, given that they “are already engaged in the process,” though doubts that all three will join the alliance at the same time. The news of the three nations’ plans to join BRICS comes after Iran and Argentina officially applied for membership in late June, with Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh touting the bloc as a “very creative mechanism with broad aspects.” Click here to read…

Italian president rejects PM Draghi’s resignation

Italian President Sergio Mattarella on July 14 rejected Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s attempt to resign. Draghi announced his intent to step down after he survived a confidence vote but lost the backing of his largest coalition partner. Draghi met with Mattarella following a confidence vote in the Italian Senate earlier in the afternoon. While the PM comfortably survived the vote by 172-39, the ballot was boycotted by the Five Star Movement, the largest partner in Draghi’s broad coalition government. Having earlier stated that he would not remain in power without the support of the Five Star populists, Draghi said that he would step down as the conditions to govern “no longer exist.” However, Mattarella has the power to accept or reject the prime minister’s resignation, and he chose the latter option. The move sends Draghi back to Parliament where a fresh confidence vote will likely be held. Should Draghi win the support of lawmakers, snap elections could be avoided. Mattarella appointed Draghi, who formerly led the European Central Bank, in 2021, in a bid to stave off an economic downturn as Italy recovered from the coronavirus pandemic. However, Draghi has faced persistent criticism from the Five Star Movement’s leader, Giuseppe Conte, over rising inflation and energy costs, as well as his support for EU sanctions on Russia and weapons shipments to Ukraine. Click here to read…

Russia-Ukraine grain talks outcome revealed

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to establish a joint coordination center on grain exports in Istanbul that will include representatives from all parties, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told local media following the four-way talks that also involved Turkey and the UN. On July 13, negotiators from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN met in the Turkish city to discuss the situation regarding the held-up Ukrainian exports. Ahead of the meeting, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that Kiev and Moscow had been close to breaking the impasse on the issue. “An agreement has been reached on technical issues such as joint controls at the destination points and … the safety of navigation on the transfer routes,” Akar told journalists. Russian and Ukrainian delegations “should meet again in Turkey next week,” he said, adding that the parties would “review all the details once again” during that meeting. Ukraine is one of the world’s leading grain exporters. Yet, it has been unable to export its grain by sea due to the ongoing conflict with Russia. Kiev and Western nations have accused Moscow of preventing Ukrainian grain shipments from leaving the nation’s Black Sea ports. Click here to read…

South Korea seeks to kickstart talks to resolve historical feuds with Japan

South Korea hopes a high-level visit to Tokyo next week will kickstart talks aimed at a breakthrough in historical disputes despite concerns the death of former Japanese premier Shinzo Abe could disrupt efforts to mend ties, Seoul officials said. Relations between the two North Asian U.S. allies have been strained over disputes dating to Japan’s 1910-1945 occupation of Korea. Washington has been pressing Tokyo and Seoul to mend fences in the face of the North Korean nuclear threat and the rising influence of China. Officials in the administration of new South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May vowing to improve ties with Japan, told Reuters they feel emboldened by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s recent election victory which could give him more scope to advance his policy agenda for another three years. Foreign Minister Park Jin will visit Tokyo as early as next week, a trip which a senior official handling Japan policy said is aimed at “turning on the tap” for serious negotiations on issues relating to wartime laborers, which stalled under Yoon’s predecessor. Park will visit Tokyo on July 18, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported on July 14. South Korea did not immediately confirm the report. Yoon would also likely use his Aug. 15 Liberation Day speech marking Korea’s independence from Japan as a chance to send a reconciliatory message to Tokyo, the official added. Click here to read…

China’s Xi visits Xinjiang for first time in 8 years

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Xinjiang this week for the first time since 2014, seeking to demonstrate his success in subduing the country’s restive northwestern region. The trip, reported by state broadcaster China Central TV and other news outlets, comes as Xi works to solidify a rare third term as leader of the Chinese Communist Party at its twice-a-decade congress this fall. Xi observed freight trains on the China-Europe Railway Express in the regional capital of Urumqi on July 12. “With the Belt and Road Initiative progressing, Xinjiang is no longer an outlying area,” he said. “It has become a pivotal region with historical significance.” The following day, Xi visited a residential community in Urumqi and watched a traditional dance performance by Uyghur Muslims. “We need to bring even more happiness to the lives of different ethnic groups,” he said. The state-run Xinhua News Agency published a photo of a maskless Xi walking the streets, surrounded by Uyghur children. During Xi’s last visit to the Xinjiang region in September 2014, suicide bombers attacked a train station in Urumqi. He warned of a protracted struggle with “terrorist separatists” in the region and ordered a crackdown against “terrorist elements.” The Xi administration has pushed for the “sinicization” of Islam in Xinjiang. Click here to read…

China, Russia military activity near Japan up 2.5 times since Ukraine

Chinese and Russian military activity around Japan increased 2.5 times in the four months following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, sparking alarm here over a potential escalation. Releases by Japan’s Ministry of Defense show 90 instances of activity by Chinese and Russian military vessels and aircraft near Japan in the four months after the invasion began. There had been 35 in the four months before. A Chinese vessel and Russian vessel entered Japan’s contiguous zone near the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands on July 4. The Russian vessel then sailed north through the Senkakus on July 5 before entering the contiguous zone near Japan’s southernmost Okinotori islets the following day. The type of activity recorded has also shifted since the Ukraine invasion began. On June 7, four aircraft believed to be part of the Russian military flew straight toward Japan from west of Hokkaido. They shifted course just before entering Japanese airspace after the Japan Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets in response. Before turning away, the four planes were on a trajectory toward Hokkaido’s largest city of Sapporo, a Japanese defense official said. Concern is growing that such activity may be part of planned military operations in the area. Click here to read…

Abe’s house of cards: Death leaves largest party faction in limbo

Nearly a week after an assassin took the life of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the ruling party faction he led has yet to zero in on a possible successor. The largest faction in the Liberal Democratic Party, known as Seiwa-kai, is scrambling to maintain unity. But Abe’s murder left the group with little time to select and groom a suitable successor, putting it in a precarious position. The group boasts 93 conservative-leaning upper and lower house LDP lawmakers, with many calling for bigger military spending and revising the nation’s pacifist charter. After producing the longest-serving prime minister, the group yields enormous clout in the party. Senior members met July 11 at a Tokyo hotel to discuss the next step but could only muster a vague pledge to maintain solidarity. In 2017, Abe floated the idea of having four core leaders in the faction, modeled after a similar setup his father, Shintaro Abe, had when he led the faction decades ago. Given the lack of a clear leader, the faction could opt for this option. Right now, Hakubun Shimomura and Ryu Shionoya, both former education ministers, are serving as acting chairs of the faction. They have supported Abe’s family through the ordeal by meeting with mourners at his private residence. “There are proposals to have two acting chairs or to set up a seven-person structure,” said a senior member of Abe’s faction. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka’s acting president declares state of emergency

Sri Lanka’s acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared a state of emergency, according to a government notice released late on July 17, as his administration seeks to quell social unrest and tackle an economic crisis gripping the island nation. “It is expedient, so to do, in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community,” the notification stated. Sri Lanka’s ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled overseas this week to escape a popular uprising against his government, has said he took “all possible steps” to avert the economic crisis that has engulfed the island nation. Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation was accepted by parliament on July 15. He flew to the Maldives and then Singapore after hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters came out onto the streets of Colombo a week ago and occupied his official residence and offices. Sri Lanka’s parliament met on July 16 to begin the process of electing a new president, and a shipment of fuel arrived to provide some relief to the crisis-hit nation. Wickremesinghe, an ally of Rajapaksa, is one of the top contenders to take on the presidency full-time but protesters also want him gone, leading to the prospect of further unrest should he be elected. Click here to read…

Biden Lays Out a U.S. Middle East Vision Heavy on Diplomacy

President Biden laid out his vision for the U.S. role in the Middle East July 16, pledging to stay engaged in the region and strengthen relationships with Arab nations to counter the influence of China, Russia and Iran. “The United States is going to remain an active engaged partner in the Middle East as the world grows more competitive, and the challenges we face more complex,” Mr. Biden said in a 10-minute speech in this seaside town during a summit of Arab leaders. “It’s only becoming clear to me how closely interwoven America’s interests are with the successes of the Middle East.” “We will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia or Iran,” he added. He also repeated a pledge that the U.S. is committed to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Mr. Biden said the U.S. would chart a new approach to the Middle East focused on diplomacy over aggression. “Today, I’m proud to be able to say that the era of land wars in the region, wars involving huge numbers of American forces, is not underway,” he said. Mr. Biden’s speech comes amid mounting concern about Washington’s commitment to the region, which was galvanized by the chaotic pullout from Afghanistan last summer. Click here to read…

Biden disputes Saudi minister’s account of meeting with MBS

President Joe Biden hints the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia was not being truthful in his account of the US leader’s meeting with the kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). Biden was referring to comments made by Adel al-Jubeir, who told Fox News he did not “hear” the US president tell MBS that he directly blamed him for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi during their discussion in Jeddah on July 15. “I didn’t hear that particular phrase,” al-Jubeir told Fox News correspondent Alex Hogan in an interview on July 16. “The president mentioned that the US is committed to human rights because since the founding fathers wrote the constitution and he also made the point that American presidents – this is part of the agenda of every American president.” Upon returning to the White House early on July 17 after his four-day Middle East trip, Biden was asked by reporters if al-Jubeir was telling the truth in recounting his exchange with MBS. Biden pointedly replied: “No.” Biden, who visited Saudi Arabia, Israel and the occupied West Bank in his first trip to the region as US president, previously told reporters he brought up Khashoggi’s killing at the top of his initial meeting with the Saudi crown prince. He said he “indicated” to MBS that he held him “personally responsible” for the 2018 killing. He added that MBS repeatedly denied responsibility during their meeting. Click here to read…

Amid Russia-Ukraine war, Putin to visit Iran for Syria talks

As Russia’s war on Ukraine grinds on, President Vladimir Putin will travel to Iran next week for a Syria summit with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin has announced. “The president’s visit to Tehran is being planned for July 19,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on July 12. He added the trio would meet for peace talks on Syria. Russia, Turkey and Iran have in recent years been holding talks as part of the so-called “Astana peace process” to end more than 11 years of conflict in the Middle Eastern country. Russia and Iran are the key military and political backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey has provided military assistance to the Free Syrian Army and other rebel groups still fighting against al-Assad’s forces in the northwest. The foreign trip marks the Kremlin chief’s second since he sent troops into Ukraine in late February; he visited Tajikistan in late June. Russia and Iran hold close ties, while Turkey has attempted to act as a mediator during the Ukraine conflict. July 12’s announcement comes after the White House said on July 11 that it believed Moscow was turning to Iran to provide it with “hundreds” of drones, including those capable of carrying weapons, for use in Ukraine. Click here to read…

Health
WHO declares Marburg outbreak in Ghana, after first two cases of deadly Ebola-like virus reported

Two cases of the deadly Marburg virus have been identified in Ghana, the first time the Ebola-like disease has been found in the West African nation, health authorities announced on Sunday. Earlier in the month, blood samples taken from two people in the southern Ashanti region suggested the Marburg virus. The samples were sent to the Pasteur Institute in Senegal which confirmed the diagnosis, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) said. “This is the first time Ghana has confirmed Marburg Virus Disease,” said GHS head Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said in a statement. No treatment or vaccine exists for Marburg, which is almost as deadly as Ebola. Its symptoms include high fever as well as internal and external bleeding. A total of 98 people identified as contact cases are currently under quarantine, the GHS statement said, noting that no other cases of Marburg had yet been detected in Ghana. The World Health Organization (WHO) said Guinea had confirmed a single case in an outbreak declared over in September 2021. Previous outbreaks and sporadic cases of Marburg in Africa have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda, according to the World Health Organization. Click here to read…

China makes tweaks, but tough COVID policy still drags on economy

China has been tweaking its stringent COVID curbs but shows no sign of backing off from its “dynamic zero” policy and has lagged in vaccination efforts that would enable it to do so, casting a heavy shadow over the world’s second-largest economy. The absence of a roadmap out of zero-COVID and expectations that it will persist well into 2023 leaves residents and businesses facing a prolonged period of uncertainty. Recent scattered COVID flare-ups, the imposition of lockdowns in some cities and the arrival of the highly contagious BA.5 variant have added to those worries. On July 15, China is expected to report that gross domestic product (GDP) grew just 1 percent in the second quarter, with full year growth forecast at 4 percent, according to a Reuters poll – far short of Beijing’s official target of around 5.5 percent for 2022. In addition to a sharp lockdown-induced slowdown, growth has been weighed down by a sputtering property market and an uncertain global outlook. This week, Shanghai’s 25 million people were subject to more mandatory city-wide testing, and fear of tougher measures or getting caught up in China’s zero-COVID bureaucracy continues to exact an economic toll, including on consumption and jobs. Nomura estimated 31 cities were implementing full or partial lockdowns as of July 11, affecting nearly 250 million people in regions accounting for a quarter of China’s GDP. As the rest of the world tries to coexist with COVID, China points to the lives saved by its tough measures. Click here to read…

China: Daily Scan, June 28, 2022

Chinese vice premier meets exemplary groups, individuals of government offices administration: Xinhuanet
June 27, 2022

Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Monday met with exemplary groups and individuals working in government offices administration. Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, extended his congratulations to the honored ones and greetings to those working in government offices administration on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the State CouncilClick here to read…

Over 17,000 to be relocated in Tibet for better life, ecological conservation: Xinhuanet
June 27, 2022

A total of 17,555 people will be relocated away from high-altitude places in Nagqu City, southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, thanks to a local program to improve people’s living and protect the plateau region’s fragile ecosystem. Click here to read…

China punishes 11,299 officials for violating frugality rules in May: Xinhuanet
June 27, 2022

A total of 11,299 Chinese officials were punished in May for violating frugality rules, said the top anti-graft body Monday. The officials were involved in 7,778 cases, said the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission in a statement. Click here to read…

CCG cracks major cross-border drug smuggling case in Fujian: China Military
June 27, 2022

Recently, a large-scale cross-border drug smuggling case was busted by the China Coast Guard (CCG) forces in East China’s Fujian Province, with seven suspects arrested, about 600 kg of the ketamine seized, and one ship involved detained at the scene. Click here to read…

6-month-long nationwide campaign launched to crack down on internet water army: Global Times
June 27, 2022

A six-month-long nationwide campaign was launched by the Bureau of Network Security Protection under the Ministry of Public Security on Sunday to crack down on internet water armies, who have been attempting to control or disrupt online public opinions through releasing fake and harmful information. Click here to read…

China promotes green, intelligent transformation of its shipbuilding industry: People’s Daily
June 27, 2022

China has been promoting the green and smart transformation of its shipbuilding industry by replacing traditional fuel with clean energy and applying intelligent systems to various kinds of vessels. The “Yangtze River Three Gorges 1,” the world’s largest electric cruiser with the largest battery capacity, has been used for Yangtze River sightseeing trips near Yichang city, in central China’s Hubei Province. Click here to read…

China vows timely policy measures to cope with economic risks: Reuters
June 28, 2022

China will roll out tools in its policy reserve in a timely way to cope with more economic challenges, as COVID-19 outbreaks and risks from the Ukraine crisis pose a threat to employment and price stability, a state planner official said on Tuesday. Click here to read…

China extends anti-dumping tariffs on EU, UK steel fasteners imports:
Reuters
June 28, 2022

China’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday it would extend anti-dumping tariffs on certain steel fasteners imported from the European Union and United Kingdom for five years. The anti-dumping tariffs will be imposed from June 29, the ministry said in a statement. Click here to read…

Chinese FM talks with Afghan acting FM over phone: Xinhuanet
June 28, 2022

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday held a phone conversation with Acting Foreign Minister of the Afghan Interim Government Amir Khan Muttaqi. In his message, Wang once again expressed sincere condolences to Afghanistan over a recent earthquake disaster, and emphasized that as a friendly neighbor and sincere friend of Afghanistan, the Chinese side empathizes with the Afghan people for the difficulties they are facing. Click here to read…

New rules on internet accounts to take effect in Aug: China Daily
June 28, 2722

A new regulation released by the country’s top internet watchdog on Monday calls for better management of user accounts to safeguard national security and the public interest. Internet service providers have the obligation to verify the identity of users and show their IP addresses, according to the regulation on the management of internet user accounts, released by the Cyberspace Administration of China. Click here to read…

Local govts step up to boost night economy: China Daily
June 28, 2022

Tens of thousands of people crowded a culture and tourism area close to the Yangtze River in Wuhu, Anhui province, for an outdoor concert on Saturday night. After the concert ended at around 9:30 pm, the night seemed to have just begun in Wuhu Old Town Block. Click here to read…

Shenzhen bans drones and small aircraft during celebrations on Hong Kong SAR’s 25th anniversary: Global Times
June 28, 2022

To ensure safety of the upcoming celebrations on 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, Shenzhen has banned drones and other small aircraft in the city for six days, the local public security bureau said Monday. Click here to read…