World

Ambassador Ayman Kamel, assistant minister of foreign affairs for Asian affairs, conducted bilateral political consultations with the Maldives on July 16 and Sri Lanka on July 19, according to a statement released on Monday. The discussions with Maldives State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khalil centered on enhancing economic cooperation, trade exchange, the exchange of reciprocal experience, and tourism between both nations. In addition to collaboration in the fields of culture, healthcare, education, athletics, and youth support, and the expansion of partnerships with Al Azhar, this initiative aims to strengthen ties with Al Azhar. In addition, an MOU was signed between the Diplomatic Studies Institute of Egypt and the Foreign Service Institute of the Maldives. The ambass...

We have reduced our forecast for Singapore's real GDP growth in 2023 from 1.4% to 1.1%.This is primarily due to weaker-than-anticipated growth in H123, and we also anticipate that the global macroeconomic environment will remain lackluster. In addition, domestic growth headwinds will persist in H223 as a result of restrictive monetary and fiscal policy.

People are leaving Pakistan in unprecedented numbers. With a collapsing economy and record-high inflation, more than eight lakh Pakistanis fled the country during the first half of this year, setting a new record. One hundred thousand of them were highly educated professionals, such as physicians, nurses, engineers, information technology (IT) specialists, and accountants. The official numbers, however, may only tell half the tale, as thousands more migrants enter Europe illegally. According to a report citing data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 8.32 million Pakistanis had fled the country as of June of this year. About four million were educated professionals. Even though Pakistan has experienced large-scale emigration in recent years, the mass departure of trained prof...

Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the globe, has been ranked 99th out of 129 countries on the Global Hunger Index (GHI), which describes its hunger as "serious." The fourth edition of the report, which was compiled in collaboration by the German non-profit Welthungerhilfe and its Irish counterpart Concern Worldwide, was released on Tuesday in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. How can starvation be reduced globally? Following a starvation strike, the suspect in the Kenyan cult murders dies in custody. Foodbanks can help alleviate the starvation crisis in East Africa. In highlighting a global food crisis, the report states that a "toxic cocktail of conflict, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic" has left millions at risk of food insecurity. GHI projects t...

Both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer have faith in a five-point strategy. China's government has never knowingly undersold its products, but last week it announced a 31-point strategy. The news that China's GDP grew by only 0.8% in the second quarter of 2023 elicited alarm in Beijing last week, prompting a sense that China's economy requires an immediate boost. In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has targeted the private sector with high-profile crackdowns, fearing that companies such as Tencent and Alibaba were gaining too much prominence. Now, it claims it wants to make the environment for enterprises "bigger, better, and stronger" China's economic recovery appears to have stagnated, and the CCP's standing at home is still dependent on Xi Jinping's government realizing...

Saudi Arabia and Japan are strengthening their long-standing bilateral trade relations in the energy sector as both countries pursue common goals towards decarbonization and economic diversification. While the allied nations are moving closer in numerous areas, one critical sector in which both have a shared desire for growth is in the field of mineral development and mining. Both countries are looking to further invest in rare earth resources that are crucial in the production of electric vehicles. Their shared interest in this segment of the energy sector comes as demand for EVs increases amid a global push towards decarbonization. Announcements of expanded business relations between the two nations came on July 16 at the Ritz Carlton in Jeddah, when Japanese Prime Minister Fum...

Strong domestic demand and favorable trends in fuel and food prices have led the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to maintain its growth prediction for Bangladesh's GDP at 6.5% for the current fiscal 2023-24. This was revealed in the Asian Development Bank's study titled "Asian Development Outlook July 2023," which was published on Wednesday. The ADB's prognosis for Bangladesh's GDP is in line with the IMF's estimate of 6.5% and is higher than the World Bank's projection of 6.2%. However, the government's goal of 7.5% growth was not met. The ADB study notes the unexpected fall in imports and a less severe downturn in export growth as reasons for revising up Bangladesh's GDP growth from 5.3% to 6% for the previous fiscal year. According to the report, "in Bangladesh, imports fell sharply...

Mr Toyozawa, an advertising sales representative in Tokyo, is not much better off today than when he started working at his company in 2001. For years, Toyozawa’s salary rose in annual increments of 1 percent and, like many Japanese salarymen at or approaching retirement age, his earnings have gone into reverse since he turned 55 two years ago. KEEP READING list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4 Nigeria, labour unions to agree new minimum wage within 8 weeks list 2 of 4 US cracks down on child labour violations amid loosening laws list 3 of 4 Canada probes Nike, Dynasty Gold on forced Uighur labour in China list 4 of 4 Amazon hit with labour complaint over alleged bargaining refusal end of list “I wish my company recognised how hard I work and I wish they appreciat...

Roads are packed with traffic, public spaces and restaurants are full of both locals and tourists, while shops are bustling. It is hard to imagine that just a year ago, this was a country struggling with massive shortages after it ran out of foreign currency. With no money to buy fuel, roads were empty with even public transport at a standstill. Sri Lanka had to go back to pandemic-era measures such as online classes and working from home. But even this was not practical because of power cuts - some of which went on for up to 13 hours a day. Food, medicine and other essentials were also in short supply, exacerbating the crisis. People had to stand in such long queues in the brutal heat, that at least 16 people - mainly the elderly - died. But now, just a year later, food, fuel...

According to a report in Dawn, the cash-strapped Pakistani government, unable to manage operations at the Islamabad International Airport (IIA), has decided to outsource the task. On Saturday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presided over a meeting of the steering committee and instructed the parties involved to finalize the formalities of delegating the operations by August 12, a day before the current government's term expires. The World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC), the transaction adviser for the outsourcing, provided an update during the meeting. It was also resolved to expedite the airport's outsourcing to enhance service delivery in accordance with best industry practices.Despite receiving approval for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package, the Sh...