Author: Basbug Sayyid

A large majority of the parliamentary group of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) believe that President Ranil Wickremesinghe should run for president, but the party will have to decide on who they will support, an MP said. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday March 06, State Minister Arundika Fernando said the SLPP’s parliamentary group overwhelmingly believes that President Wickremesinghe should be the one to govern the country going forward. “We think at the moment that it is Ranil Wickremesinghe who can govern this country going forward. We will present our proposal to the party. If the party decides there’s…

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s top civilian and military leadership has decided to launch a new multi-faceted nationwide counterterrorism campaign amid the country’s deteriorating security situation. A high-powered meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif gave the go ahead for operation “Azm-e-Istehkam,” or Resolve for Stability, to “combat the menaces of extremism and terrorism in a comprehensive and decisive manner,” said a statement issued by the prime minister’s office. The announcement came as Pakistan faces near daily attacks targeting security personnel and amid mounting pressure from China to ensure the security of its workers. Several Chinese nationals were killed in an attack earlier…

The International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board will meet on January 11 to consider the staff-level agreement on the first review under Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), Bloomberg reported on Friday. Back in November, IMF staff and the Pakistani authorities reached a staff-level agreement on the first review under Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). Upon approval, Pakistan will have access to SDR 528 million (around $700 million), bringing total disbursements under the program to almost $1.9 billion. In a recent interview, Caretaker Federal Minister for Finance Dr Shamshad Akhtar had expressed hope that the IMF Executive Board will meet in early December to consider the…

Brussels (25/11 – 33.3) Tajikistan Supreme Court has sentenced a widely respected 65-year-old female journalist, Ulfathonim Mamadshoeva, to 21 years in prison on charges of incitement to overthrowing the government. Mamadshoeva was accused by the authorities of being a leading figure behind the political turbulence that rocked her native Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) earlier this year. State propaganda has previously alleged that the veteran reporter and activist hatched the purported plot, for which no credible evidence has been produced, at the behest of an unnamed foreign government. Mamadshoeva’s brother, Khursand, was last week sentenced to 18 years in prison on…

Japan has identified South Asia as a key region for the extension of its cooperation in disaster prevention. As a matter of policy, Japan is in the process of strengthening the disaster prevention and response capabilities of countries vulnerable to natural disasters all over the world, Komura Masahiro, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan said. ‘Through such cooperation, Japan is contributing towards firming a rules-based and free and open Indian Ocean region. Right now, it is sharing its know-how on environmental management with countries vulnerable to environmental destruction. For example, Japan has provided such countries with a weather…

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) has recovered Rs474.63 million from 28,866 customers during an ongoing campaign which was initiated on Sept 1. According to a statement, Iesco carried out indiscriminate and intensive operations against electricity thieves and defaulters in all the regions including Islamabad, Rawalpindi City, Rawalpindi Cantt, Attock, Chakwal and Jhelum Region. Chief Executive Iesco Dr Mohammad Amjad Khan stated that the recovery of electricity dues from the defaulters was being ensured in every case and no one had the right to use electricity without paying the bill. He said this during a review meeting on the performance of the…

In 1971, the Russian Pacific Fleet’s warship blocked a US aircraft carrier from entering the Bay of Bengal to aid Pakistan, and so Bangladesh was born. Fifty years later, Russian warships have docked in Chittagong port while Bangladesh accuses the US of interfering in its national election. Russian state news agency TASS reported that the Russian Pacific Fleet’s naval group of sizeable anti-submarine warfare ships, Admiral Tributs and Admiral Panteleyev, and the oceanic tanker Pechenga called on the port of Chittagong in Bangladesh for the first time in almost half a century. Chittagong is the principal seaport of Bangladesh. The Russian…

NEW DELI — The ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas has underlined the challenges facing an ambitious initiative to build a new trade route from India through the Middle East to Europe, according to analysts. Announced at the Group of 20 summit held in India last month, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC, is seen as a modern-day spice route and an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. It is backed among others by the United States, the European Union and Saudi Arabia. The corridor aims to establish a rail and shipping network linking the UAE, Saudi Arabia and…

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for consistent support as she, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, virtually attended the ceremony to mark the delivery of Russian-made nuclear fuel to power Unit No. 1 of country’s maiden Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Rooppur. The Rooppur NPP in the province of Pabna, being constructed by Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement signed in 2011, will consist of two generation III+ reactors with a total capacity of 2,400 megawatts. The physical launch of the first unit is expected as…

Berlin (24/10 – 67) UN Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Nazila Ghanea, visited Tajikistan from April 11 to April 21 to conduct research on issues in this field. The UN expert will assess religious freedom and its interaction with the right to freedom of expression, discuss gender equality, women’s rights, and children’s rights. She stated that the implementation of religious freedom and belief in the country is a cause for concern. Ghanea, the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, called on Tajikistan to adapt and review its laws, policies, and practices regarding religion…