Author: Tahleela Yousafzai

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) finally opened up about slow internet in Pakistan, pinning blame on faulty submarine cables and clarifying that firewall installation is not causing massive glitch. PTA Chairman Retired Major General Hafeezur Rehman clarified as he faced intense questioning about widespread internet issues. The development comes as internet slowdown affected millions, disrupting businesses and sparking national complaints. Slow internet speeds are also impacting mails and WhatsApp use, particularly affecting professionals who rely on timely communication for work. Slow Internet in Pakistan Internet speeds saw big decline over the past few weeks, causing issues for users trying to send or download…

China will step up construction of strategic railroad links in the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Tibet in the coming years to strengthen its hold over its westernmost regions, according to a senior Chinese rail planner. “The rail network layout still needs to be improved. There are still many places in the western regions left undeveloped, and the major strategic channels for entering and exiting Tibet and Xinjiang need to be strengthened,” said Liu Wenxian, a senior official with China Railway Group’s planning department. In an interview with The People’s Rail, a newspaper affiliated with the state-owned rail operator, Liu said the priority was…

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $200 million concessional loan to the government of Sri Lanka to help stabilise the country’s finance sector following the sovereign debt and economic crises that started in April 2022 when it suspended its external debt payments. The Financial Sector Stability and Reforms Program comprises two subprograms of $200 million each. Subprogram 1 targets short-term stabilization and crisis management measures that were implemented in 2023, while subprogram 2 is planned to be implemented in 2024 and focuses on structural reforms and long-term actions to restore growth in the banking sector. The program will…

The Independent Evaluation Department (IED) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has rated “Pakistan: Trade and Competitiveness Program (Subprograms 1 and 2)” of worth $800 million successful, relevant and likely sustainable. The IED in its validation report also stated that among the many issues that Pakistan faces are the country’s increasing fiscal deficit, large balance-of-payments gap, and low foreign exchange reserves as a result of low competitiveness and lack of export diversification. The need for fiscal reform to reduce the fiscal deficit and to generate fiscal space for productivity-enhancing capital spending is critical to improve macroeconomic management in Pakistan and…

DHAKA: The newly established Jordan-Bangladesh Friendship Association will seek to boost investment and tourism between the two countries, its convenor told Arab News on Sunday. More than 65,000 Bangladeshis live and work in Jordan, which has been one of the main destinations for the country’s skilled garment workers since 2010, following a government agreement. The friendship association, comprising diverse members of Bangladeshi and Jordanian society, will initially be based in Amman, where it was formally launched with Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary Masud bin Momen and Bangladeshi Ambassador to Jordan Nahida Sobhan among those attending the ceremony. Omar Armuti, a Jordanian historian who…

Brussel, Frankfurt (16/11 – 23) A levying of embargoes and export bans, the imposition of sanctions, erection of fearsome “license” (= restriction) protocol: there’s nothing new about this back-and-forth in world trade, in the eternal jousting for advantage among markets and nations. The clever Chinese imagined they had the world tea market all locked up until an earnest Scottish botanist carrying the telling name of “Robert Fortune” snuck into the Middle Kingdom to observe their agriculture, steal tea plants, and pick up tricks of tea processing. The Chinese global tea monopoly was busted wide open. The fortunate Mr. Fortune was…

China has opened the door for the import of over a dozen medicinal herbs from Nepal for producing medicine. When Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal visited China in late September, the two countries signed the Protocol of Phytosanitary Requirements for the export of plant-derived medicinal materials for Chinese medicine from Nepal to China. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and the General Administration of Customs of China had signed the protocol. “The protocol was signed to enable the export of 15 types of medicinal herbs to China,” said Sabnam Shivakoti Aryal, spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. “When…

London (04/11 – 67) US district judge, Denise Cote yesterday granted Sri Lanka’s request for a six-month halt on a creditor lawsuit against the country. Hamilton Reserve Bank, an obscure and tiny St Kitt’s bank with interesting ties, says it has accumulated a big chunk of one of Sri Lanka’s now-defaulted bonds and had been suing it for immediate repayment. Sri Lanka had asked for a stay on these legal proceedings to let it restructure its overall pile of debt in some peace and quiet, and had gotten heavyweight support from the UK, France and the US government. Judge Cote ruled, “The Court recognizes that…

Brussels (21/10 – 75) In May 2022, tens of ethnic Pamiri protesters were killed by security forces as demonstrations were violently suppressed and an “anti-terrorist operation” was launched in the east of the country. Activists, local leaders, journalists and bloggers were arrested and sentenced in unfair trials. Many reported being tortured. Access to information, including through the media and internet, remained heavily restricted. Domestic violence remained widespread with victims rarely securing justice or support. Afghan refugees continued to be detained and deported. Tajikistan’s economic and political life continued to be tightly controlled by the president, in the 30th year of…

DHAKA: Saudi Arabia supports efforts to safely repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, the Kingdom’s ambassador to Dhaka has said, as Bangladeshi authorities highlighted continuous Saudi assistance at refugee camps. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees fled persecution in Myanmar in 2017, with most seeking shelter in neighboring Bangladesh. A majority of about 1.2 million refugees live in squalid camps in Cox’s Bazar district, a coastal region in the country’s southeast, which, with the influx of Rohingya, has become the world’s largest refugee settlement. Their return to Myanmar has been on the agenda for years, but a UN-backed repatriation process…