Author: Arturo Santos

AS the General Election is approaching in Bangladesh, concerns about its political and economic future are mounting. Despite having achieved a measure of political and economic stability in recent times, the country now seems to be facing renewed uncertainty. The challenges confronting Bangladesh are largely rooted in external factors. Although the Bangladeshi Government’s efforts and the assistance from neighbouring India have delayed the onset of the crisis, the global economic turmoil is making it difficult for the country, given its small-scale economy, to effectively tackle these issues. Under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina during the past three terms, Bangladesh experienced…

Nepal Tea Collective is now available in Nepal. The New York-based company has, since 2016, distributing orthodox Nepali tea sourced from small-holder community farms in Nepal, all over the United States and to buyers from more than 42 countries. “As a part of the vision for global expansion, Nepal Tea Collective is now bringing its offerings to Nepal,” said Nishchal Banskota, co-founder of the company. “While thousands of international buyers have experienced the freshness and rare flavours of premium organic tea, many Nepali tea lovers are yet to experience its flavour.” He said that Nepali tea is highly appreciated globally for its richness and…

Pakistan’s Election Commission has issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Imran Khan in the latest legal challenge facing the former prime minister. The latest case came on Monday, the same day Khan was granted bail by the Supreme Court in a different case. Khan has been slapped with more than 150 cases, including “terrorism” since he was removed as prime minister in a no-confidence vote in parliament in April last year. The warrant, issued in Islamabad, said Khan was in contempt of the Election Commission’s proceedings and had failed to appear before the commission despite earlier notices and bailable warrants. Khan’s Pakistan…

The ambitious USD$60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which stretches almost 3000km from the port of Gwadar in Pakistan’s rugged southwestern province of Balochistan to Kashgar in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, was launched 10 years ago this July. Labelled a “game changer” by its backers, the 30-year project includes the development of Gwadar, laying gas and oil pipelines from Gwadar to China, the building of small dams and hydroelectric power stations, the upgrade and construction of roads and railroads and the development of numerous other projects, including a metro system in Lahore. Once complete, the Corridor would be the jewel in…

The love story of a Pakistani woman and an Indian man who met through popular online game PUBG has been making headlines in India after the couple landed up in jail. Seema Ghulam Haider, 27, met Sachin Meena, 22, through the virtual gaming platform a couple of years ago and recently travelled to India so that she could live with him. She entered India illegally in May along with her four young children and they were staying with Mr Meena in Greater Noida – a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh – for over a month, police said.…

US arms left in Afghanistan have been smuggled to the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, Sama News Agency reported on Friday. The local Palestinian news agency disclosed that Newsweek reported an unnamed senior Israeli military official confirming: “Some of the small weapons seized in Afghanistan had been spotted in the hands of Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip.” The Israeli military official raised concerns about the “dangers” of sending advanced US and Western arms, sent to Ukraine, to: “Israel’s enemies in the region, including in Iran.” According to Sama News Agency, Washington affirmed it would take “pre-emptive measures” to undermine moving arms to the Middle East.…

Brussels, London (6/6 – 60) Indonesian Minister of Defense and 2024 presidential candidate, Prabowo Subianto delivered a peace plan for the Russia-Ukraine war at the Shangri-La Dialogue, which is being held for the twentieth time this year. The 2023 event took place in Singapore on 2–4 June. It was attended by defense ministers of the Asia-Pacific region and associated officials, as well as high-level delegations from the European Union and international organizations, invited to observe. The article “Singapore hosts key Asia defense summit with eye on Ukraine” details the essence of the meeting. The proposal was severely criticized and rejected…

Trouble appears to be brewing on Afghanistan’s border with the remote Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, or GBAO, in eastern Tajikistan. Or at least it appears to be. As is often the way in Tajikistan, relying on the official narrative for a sense of the unfolding events is proving more confounding than enlightening. On April 28, Khovar state news agency reported that a high-ranking security services officer was earlier that day killed during an armed clash with an alleged gang of drug smugglers trying to cross into Tajik territory. The State Committee for National Security, or GKNB, said in a statement that three of…

The Pakistani lobby of security hawks seems intent on making their Indian counterparts realise that any peace initiative with Islamabad is a poor idea. This is not just because of the dominant sense in New Delhi, which considers Pakistan as irrelevant, but also due to an internal divide in Islamabad that stops any forward movement. Pakistan’s dire economic conditions have not changed things either. The traditional security lobby doesn’t mind the suffering of ordinary Pakistanis for whom even vegetables have become unaffordable. Two senior Pakistani journalists—Hamid Mir and Nasim Zehra took former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa (retd) to…

China has proposed its most expensive Belt and Road Initiative to date with a $58 billion railway system that would connect Pakistan to western China in a move to further reduce Western trade dependence, a report said Thursday. The $57.7 billion plan was reviewed by analysts from the state-owned China Railway First Survey and Design Institute Group Co Ltd., which has determined that despite its hefty price tag the investment is worth it, reported the South China Morning Post. The 1,860-mile rail system will connect Pakistan’s port of Gwadar to the Chinese city of Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and…