Afghanistan
Afghan Refugees in Pakistan Affected By US Aid Suspension-Tolo News
The United Nations has announced that after the suspension of US financial aid, 1.2 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan will be affected. The United Nations Population Fund has stated that to continue vital programs in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, more than $308 million is needed this year. Click here to read...
NRC: Only US-Funded Programs Have Been Suspended-Tolo News
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has announced the suspension of some of its humanitarian programs in Afghanistan due to the sudden halt of US financial aid. In a statement, the NRC said it will continue to collaborate with other donors to provide essential services to Afghans despite the challenges. Click here to read...
Afghanistan’s corruption worsens, ranked 165th in Transparency International’s 2024 report-The Khaama Press
Transparency International (TI) has ranked Afghanistan 165th out of 180 countries in its 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), marking a three-spot drop from the previous year. The report, released on February 11, 2024, gave Afghanistan under Taliban control 17 out of 100 points for transparency, highlighting the country’s ongoing struggle with corruption. Click here to read...
Bangladesh
Hasina oversaw July protest killings: UN – The Daily Star
Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself had ordered the killing of students and protesters during the July uprising, the United Nations Fact Finding Mission said, citing senior security officials. " …The prime minister herself told security force officials to kill protesters to quell the protests and specifically demanded 'arrest the ringleaders of the protests, the troublemakers, kill them and hide their bodies'," said the report released yesterday, quoting testimonies of officials about a meeting on July 19, 2024. Click here to read...
Insights from her inner circle – The Daily Star
Several senior officials gave crucial information to the UN Fact Finding Mission about Sheikh Hasina's actions during the July uprising. They told the mission that Hasina on the night of July 10 authorised the director general of the DGFI to carry out secret negotiations with the student leaders. Click here to read...
Yunus reaches Dubai to attend World Governments Summit – Dhaka Tribune
Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus reached Dubai on Wednesday to take part in the World Governments Summit. United Arab Emirates Sports Minister Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi welcomed Yunus upon his arrival, according to a message received in Dhaka on Thursday. Click here to read...
Interim govt adopting wrong policies at wrong times: Mustafa K Mujeri – Prothom Alo
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) for director general and former chief economist at Bangladesh Bank, Mustafa K Mujeri has remarked that the current interim government is adopting wrong policies at wrong times. The eminent economist said, “It has been six months since the interim government took over. Unfortunately there has been almost no success in the financial sector of the country in this time. The economy has largely stagnated due to some core problems such as high inflation rate and slow pace of financial growth. There has not been much success in terms of other problems we have. As a result the economy is yet to bounce back.” Click here to read...
Bhutan
Bhutan ranks 18th least corrupt country in the world - Kuensel
Bhutan made a remarkable leap to 18th place in the 2024 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), up from 26th in 2023, according to the report released by Transparency International yesterday. Bhutan scored 72 points out of 100 this year, breaking the deadlock where it remained stagnant at 68 points between 2019 and 2023. Click here to read...
Maldives
Speaker Abdul Raheem invites Indian VP Dhankhar to visit Maldives-Sun Online
Speaker of Maldivian Parliament Abdul Raheem Abdulla has invited Jagdeep Dhankhar, the Indian Vice President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha – the upper house of India’s bicameral Parliament, to make an official visit to the Maldives. Click here to read...
Expedite implementing fiscal reform measures: IMF-edition.mv
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said today that the governments proposed fiscal reform measures are necessary amid the financial and economic decline of the country, and called on the country's leaders to expedite implementation. The IMF delegation, is currently in Maldives to assess the economic and financial situation. Click here to read...
Myanmar
Myanmar: Renewed conflict dims Rohingya repatriation hopes – DW
Bangladesh has been taking in fellow Muslims from Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state to the southern coastal district of Cox's Bazar, providing food and shelter since a bloody 2017 army crackdown forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims across the border. Myanmar's military junta has ruled since a coup in February 2021 ousted the democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi-led civilian government. Click here to read...
Over 250 People Rescued From Myanmar Scam Center, Released at Thai Border – The Irrawaddy
More than 250 people rescued from online scam centers in Myanmar were handed over to Thailand on Wednesday, a senior Thai army official said, following a series of crackdowns on the illegal operations. Scam compounds have mushroomed in Myanmar’s borderlands and are staffed by foreigners who are often trafficked and forced to work, swindling their compatriots in an industry analysts say is worth billions of dollars. Click here to read...
Pakistan
Bureaucrats will also have to declare their assets-Dawn
In line with a demand by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the federal cabinet has given its nod to a proposed amendment in the Civil Serv¬ants Act 1973 that will bind government officials (BPS 17 to 22) to share details of their assets along with those owned by their family members. Click here to read...
Turkiye President Erdogan touches down in Islamabad-Dawn
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkiye, who arrived in the capital shortly after midnight on Thursday, was accorded a warm welcome by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Click here to read...
Income tax surges Rs100b in 7 months-The Express Tribune
The salaried class's income tax payments have jumped to Rs285 billion in seven monthsRs100 billion more than the comparable periodas Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervaiz Malik hints at reducing the burden in the budget. Also, nearly Rs100 billion more in income tax that the salaried people were forced to pay from July through January was Rs25 billion more than the government's estimates for the full fiscal year. Click here to read...
Sri Lanka
President Anura Kumara returns - Daily Mirror
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake returned to the island this morning after concluding his three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and attending the World Government Summit 2025. Click here to read...
Troubled waters: On India, Sri Lanka and the fisheries dispute – The Hindu
In the latest chapter of the long-standing fisheries dispute in the Palk Bay region, the Sri Lankan Navy arrested 14 fishermen from Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district on February 8 for alleged poaching in waters north of Mannar. Two trawlers were also impounded. On January 27, the Navy fired at an Indian boat near Delft Island, injuring two fishermen. With these arrests, the total number of Indian fishermen detained this year has risen to 77. Just last week, a Sri Lankan court released nine fishermen from Karaikal, Puducherry, but one other person received a six-month prison sentence. Click here to read...
