Author: Gulsah Dogar

Bilateral trade between India and Russia doubled to almost $50 billion during January-September owing to strong demand for hydrocarbons in India, Russian’s ambassador Denis Alipov said. He added that trade between the two countries increased by more than 200% year-on-year during the first two quarters of FY24. “Our trade has increased by 2.1 times in January- September this year, up to almost 50 billion USD. 48.8 billion USD to be precise, and this is expected to grow further and substantially surpass the figures of the previous year,” Alipov said at a conference in the capital on Friday. Since the start…

Nepal’s government decided to ban the popular social media app TikTok on Monday, saying it was disrupting “social harmony” in the country. The announcement was made following a Cabinet meeting. Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud said the app would be banned immediately. “The government has decided to ban TikTok as it was necessary to regulate the use of the social media platform that was disrupting social harmony, goodwill and flow of indecent materials,” Saud said. He said that to make social media platforms accountable, the government has asked the companies to register and open a liaison office in Nepal, pay taxes and…

KHAVDA, India — Rising from the bare expanse of the large salt desert that separates India from Pakistan is what will likely be the world’s largest renewable energy project when completed three years from now. The solar and wind energy project will be so big that it will be visible from space, according to developers of what is called the Khavda renewable energy park, named after the village nearest to the project site. At the site, thousands of laborers install pillars on which solar panels will be mounted. The pillars rise like perfectly aligned concrete cactuses that stretch as far…

Diabetes is a common worldwide disease and a growing global burden. The scenario in Bangladesh is even worse. In Bangladesh, 1 in 7 adults have diabetes, and about 40-60% of patients are undiagnosed. Even among those diagnosed, in about 80% of cases, Diabetes is not controlled. Therefore, the current scenario of diabetes care in Bangladesh presents a significant national economic challenge. We know that there are different types of diabetes and various causes. Considering this, different antidiabetic drugs have emerged on the world market. When considering the causes of death in Diabetic patients, the primary cause is cardiovascular diseases, such…

The mass deportation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan is indicative of a growing disenchantment between the Pakistani military-controlled establishment and the Afghan Taliban government in Kabul. This shift in dynamics, merely over two years after the Taliban’s ascendancy to power in August 2021 with Pakistan’s active support, exposes inherent flaws in and failure of Islamabad’s strategic calculations. It was never a matter of how but when these two entities would clash, foretold by the reversing nature of their relations. As a result of this growing discord between Islamabad and Kabul, it has gradually given renewed impetus to the Pashtun nationalist…

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…

The Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) has banned the import and sale of all batches of Cetirizine Oral Liquid produced by Pakistan’s Pharma Laboratories. MFDA issued an alert on November 7 stating that the World Health Organization (WHO) had issued an alert that the drug, which has been used since last year, contains diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. The presence of diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG) in medicines is considered harmful due to their toxic nature. Following the WHO alert, ten samples taken from the Maldivian market were screened for the presence of the substances, and their…

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is on a five-day official visit to the United Kingdom to give “new impetus to the friendly ties”, Monday said India and Britain are currently focusing on a free trade agreement (FTA) and hoped that both the countries would find a “landing point” workable for both of them. The Indian foreign minister said the Agenda 2030 put greater emphasis on connectivity, trade, and working together when it comes to defence and security, health and all climate change. “We are focusing on what is officially called an enhanced trade partnership. In common sense, it’s called FTA (a…

ISLAMABAD: The election commission tribunal adjourned the contempt case on Monday against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairperson Imran Khan and former federal ministers Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry due to the non-appearance of the accused. A four-member commission led by the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) Sindh member Nisar Durrani took up the case. The accused were to be indicted today on charges of insulting the electoral body and its chief commissioner. The PTI chairperson and Fawad are both currently incarcerated in separate cases. During proceedings, Durrani remarked that if there are prevailing security concerns then the hearing can be held…

KUALA LUMPUR: A meeting was held between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the King of Jordan, King Abdullah II, on the sidelines of the 8th Extraordinary Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Riyadh. “The meeting created opportunities for bilateral cooperation between Malaysia and Jordan, besides highest-level visits in 2024, as well as private sector collaboration, especially in drone 2technology and military cooperation. “We also discussed the need to address the tension in the West Bank and Baitulmaqdis, especially the Israeli settlers’ aggression against the Palestinians,” he said in a Facebook post about the Saturday meeting.…