Author: Nafeesa Suri

Sri Lanka will get about $600 million, on a staggered basis, from the Asian Development Bank after the International Monetary Fund releases the second tranche of a $2.9 billion bailout for the crisis-hit country, an official said on Tuesday. Sri Lanka is inching out of its worst financial crisis in decades, triggered by record-low foreign exchange reserves last year that saw its economy contract 7.8% in 2022. The island’s economy has been gradually stabilising after locking down a four-year programme with the IMF in March. Its first review is expected to be approved by the global lender next week, which…

The spacecraft that ferried India’s Chandrayaan-3 lander-rover duo to the moon has returned home — sort of. In a surprise announcement on Monday (Dec. 4), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said it had moved Chandrayaan-3’s propulsion module out of lunar orbit and placed it high above Earth for a bonus mission, where it now survives on leftover fuel. The new experiment will demonstrate technologies that will help Indian scientists bring samples from the moon to Earth someday, ISRO said. The propulsion module, a box-shaped component of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft powered by solar panels, now circles Earth every two weeks. ISRO has not revealed what…

Over half a century ago, India’s then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi talked about the staggering challenge for developing nations: to industrialize without harming the environment. “On the one hand the rich look askance at our continuing poverty — on the other, they warn us against their own methods,” she told a United Nations event in Stockholm in 1972, the first global conference to make the environment a major issue. “We do not wish to impoverish the environment any further and yet we cannot for a moment forget the grim poverty of large numbers of people,” she added. Her words have never been more relevant. The…

Islamabad, Pakistan – A prominent rights activist has been allegedly abducted by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies a day after he was arrested for addressing a protest to demand free cross-border movement with neighbouring Afghanistan. Manzoor Pashteen, founder of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (Pashtun Protection Movement or PTM) rights group, was on his way to Turbat town from the border town of Chaman in Balochistan province when he was arrested by police on Monday afternoon. Islamabad, Pakistan – A prominent rights activist has been allegedly abducted by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies a day after he was arrested for addressing a protest to demand free cross-border…

The rapporteurs note that Sharif, an Ary News TV anchor who was a fierce critic of corruption in Pakistan and the military’s sway over its civilian governments, had been the target of 16 complaints (eight according to Pakistan) since a change of government in April 2022. They also point to the letter that Sharif wrote to the Chief of Justice of Pakistan three months after the change of government reporting death threats against him – a letter that remained unanswered. “It seems that nothing was done to investigate these claims and to safeguard Mr. Arshad Sharif’s life,” the rapporteurs say. Fearing for…

The support the government and people of Maldives has for the independence of Palestine, will never falter, says President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The president made these remarks in his address to the public in commemoration of Republic Day, on Saturday morning. The archipelago nation became a republic in 1968, after many years as a monarchy and celebrates its Republic Day on November 11 each year. As such, during his address, the president emphasized on the atrocities committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. He stressed that the hearts of Maldivian citizens are weighed down by Israel’s inhumane slaughter of Palestinian…

Several Russian soldiers explained how the Ukrainian Armed Forces gained a foothold on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast by opening up about the Battle of Krynky to BBC journalists. “Yes, they (Ukrainians) are on our side (of the river). They have entrenched themselves in the Krynky area. There are definitely about 500 Ukrainians there,” said soldiers from one of the occupiers’ battalions,” one of the Russian soldiers told the BBC. They claim that before capturing Krynky, several Ukrainian reconnaissance groups traveled along the occupied Dnipro riverbank in Gazelles and Zhigulis, dressed in Russian military, firefighter, or Emergency…

With the Indian government quoting a high price for sugar, which Nepal plans to import through a government-to-government arrangement, top Nepali government officials said they may approach Pakistan for the sweetener if India’s offer doesn’t prove sweet enough. Due to issues ranging from quality (small crystal sugar) to pricing, the process of importing sugar in a government-to-government deal to meet the Tihar festival demand has been deferred, sources privy to the matter told the Post. Nepal’s annual sugar requirement is around 270,000 tonnes. The country faces an annual deficit of about 100,000 tonnes of the sweetener, which is fulfilled through…

Cash-strapped Pakistan has sought $600 million in fresh loans from two Chinese banks as it negotiates with the IMF for the release of the second tranche of a $3 billion bailout package. According to a report by The Express Tribune newspaper, the Pakistan government is in negotiations with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Bank of China for a total loan of $600 million. Each bank has been approached for $300 million in financing. Negotiations are at an advanced stage and loans are expected to be received by next month, the report added. In recent years,…

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says the al-Quds Hospital, the second largest in Gaza, has ceased operations due to a fuel shortage as Israeli forces continue to bomb the besieged enclave. “The hospital has been left to fend for itself under ongoing Israeli bombardment, posing severe risks to the medical staff, patients and displaced civilians,” the PRCS said in a statement on Sunday, intensifying fears for the Palestinians seeking treatment and shelter there. “This cessation of services is due to the depletion of available fuel and power outage. Medical staff are making every effort to provide care to patients…