Daily Archives: January 5, 2019

Beginning with insurance and banking sectors, Myanmar’s financial reforms hit top gear

Myanmar’s long-anticipated plans for economic liberalisation have finally gone into overdrive. To usher in the new year, the government announced radical changes to the insurance sector and removed some...

PAKISTAN, UAE FINALISE $6.2BN SUPPORT PACKAGE

Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have finalised the terms and conditions of a support package of about $6.2 billion expected to be announced by Crown Prince Sheikh...

INDIAN LAWMAKERS INQUIRE ABOUT NEPAL’S DECISION TO BAN INDIAN BANK NOTES

Lawmakers at Upper House of Indian parliament, Rajya Sabha, have expressed interests about the recent decision of Nepal government to ban the use of high denomination Indian currency notes...

TRIPITAKA DECLARED A NATIONAL HERITAGE

The Tripitaka, the essence of Theravada Buddhism was declared a national heritage at a ceremony held at the historic Aluviharaya in Matale under the aegis of President Maithripala Sirisena...

PAKISTAN ABOLISHES ON-ARRIVAL VISA FOR AFGHANS

Pakistan on Thursday abolished the long-standing facility of on-arrival visas for Afghan nationals, authorities said, citing security risks amid a spike in terror attacks. Earlier, Afghan nationals were granted a...

13 KILLED IN ATTACK ON POLICE POSTS

Buddhist Rakhine insurgents killed 13 policemen and injured nine in attacks on four police posts in Myanmar's Rakhine state yesterday as the country marked Independence Day, the official news...

TALIBAN REPORT BLAMES US, AFGHAN FORCES FOR MOST CIVILIAN CASUALTIES IN 2018

The Taliban blamed US and Afghan forces for almost 90 per cent of civilian casualties in 2018, in a report released on Friday that suggested Afghanistan's largest militant group...

POLLS VIOLENCE: UN RIGHTS BODY VOICE CONCERN

The UN Human Rights Office yesterday expressed concern over the allegations of violence in Bangladesh centring the election and called for immediate investigation into the incidents. “We are concerned about...

2016 surgical strike a ‘figment of Indian imagination’: Pakistan

Pakistan on Thursday again rejected the 2016 surgical strike as a "figment of Indian imagination", saying there was no such 'event'. The Indian Army conducted surgical strikes on terror launch...

Russia protest Korea’s arms sales to India

The Russian government launched a broadside against India’s decision to award contracts to South Korea for a self-propelled anti-aircraft defense system. According to the newspaper “The Korea JoongAng Daily“, the...

US army chief visits Kabul, meets Afghan president

The US army chief of staff paid an unannounced visit to Afghan capital Kabul and held a meeting with President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Thursday, said a statement of...

Maldives President notes importance of relationship with Sri Lanka

Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih held discussions with the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Maldives Major General (Retd) B.R.W.M.R.A.B Thoradeniya on ways to further strengthen ties between the Maldives...

Winning an election, but losing a country? A closer look at Bangladesh’s controversial general...

Bangladesh’s 2014 election, boycott ted by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and won virtual ly uncontested by the ruling Awami League, was arguably the most discredited national poll...

China’s missile export to its closest ally Pakistan a cause of concern

During the recently concluded International Airshow at Zhuhai, China displayed its CM-401 hypersonic anti-ship ballistic missile which re-focussed attention on China’s relentless march towards building its military strength in...

Bangladesh election: Instance not necessary

Lawmakers elected in Sunday's polls took oath as members of the 11th parliament yesterday with the 10th Jatiya Sangsad still in place. The same thing happened five years ago when...

Civilian-military tensions brew in India’s insurgency-hit Arunachal Pradesh

India's northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh has become a hotbed for tension between civilians and military forces deployed in the area for counter-insurgency operations. The strained relations entered the...

India to set up ground space stations in Bangladesh, other neighbours

As part of New Delhi’s space diplomacy, a tool the foreign ministry has been trying to wield as part of its neighbourhood-first policy to counter China’s influence in the...

Nine security personnel killed in AA attacks on border outposts: Myanmar army

At least nine security personnel including a police major were killed by the Arakan Army (AA) in a series of coordinated attacks on four border outposts in northern Rakhine...

PM Khan, President Erdogan meet in Ankara; discuss strengthening economic ties

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday welcomed Pakistan's decision to hand over schools affiliated with cleric Fethullah Gülen to a Turkish government foundation and declare Pak-Turk International Cag...

Pakistan asks China to diversify investments, PM adviser says

Pakistan is asking China to shift its investment focus from power and infrastructure projects to industrialization, agriculture and education as regards the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a cornerstone of...

India develops al-based translator to help interact with Chinese soldiers

The language barrier between the Indian and Chinese troops along either side of the international border remains a big hurdle to peaceful communication. India has taken the initiative by...