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Bangladesh will climb from the 40th place in the World economic league table in 2020 to 25th by 2034 if the economy grows at around 7.3 per cent for nine years after 2025, according to a forecast of Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). The economy of Bangladesh performed well in 2019, expanding by an impressive 7.8 per cent with a PPP adjusted GDP per capita of $5,028, said the London-based think tank. The population of Bangladesh has risen at a rate of just 1.0 per cent per year s

The release of 5,000 prisoners of Taliban has been written in to the peace agreement draft which is going to be soon signed between United States and Taliban, AP reported. A Taliban official familiar with the on-again, off-again talks taking place in Qatar, confirmed to AP that the release of around 5,000 prisoners of Taliban has been written in to the agreement which is under discussion. But some analysts say freeing prisoners could undermine peace in Afghanistan.To read more click here

Nepal has proposed to India that the two countries meet for foreign secretary-level talks in mid-January to resolve an ongoing boundary dispute, but the meeting is unlikely to take place, say officials. There has just been a change of guard at the Indian External Affairs Ministry and the new Indian foreign secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, will only be taking charge at the end of January. And outgoing foreign secretary Vijaya Keshav Gokhale is unlikely to hold talks on such a sensitive matter i

Preliminary results show that incumbent president Ashraf Ghani has secured 50.64 percent of votes in the election held on September 28, the Independent Election Commission announced. A total of 1,824,401 votes were cast in the election, IEC chief Hawa Alam Nuristani said at a press conference. Ghani won 923,868 (50.64%) votes, she said. Abdullah Abdullah followed with 720,990 (39.52%) votes and he quickly rejected the results as "fraudulent." Gulbuddin Hekmatyar came third with 70, 243 votes (3.

Former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf filed a petition in the Lahore High Court challenging a special court’s verdict sentencing him to death in a high treason case.The petition was filed by Azhar Siddique on behalf of Musharraf in the High Court. The special court on December 17 had sentenced the former military ruler to death for imposing a state of emergency on November 3, 2007.The petition stated that Musharraf was not given a chance to present his arguments and that the “special cour

Amid mounting international criticism of Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi over her denial of genocide allegations at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Japanese ambassador to Myanmar said his government firmly believes that no genocide was committed in the country, and expressed hope that the court will reject The Gambia’s request that provisional measures be taken against Myanmar. Japan has become the first country to voice support for Myanmar since the Southeast Asian co

A special court in Islamabad found former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf guilty of high treason and handed him a death sentence under Article 6 of the Constitution. This is the first time in Pakistan's history that a military chief has been declared guilty of high treason and handed a death sentence. The verdict was split 2-1. Article 6 of the Constitution says: “Any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or hold in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that Myanmar’s delegation defended the country “to the best of their ability” against genocide charges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in her first briefing to the nation since she returned from The Hague. The Gambia accused Myanmar of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention over military clearance operations in northern Rakhine State, which caused more than 730,000 Rohingya to flee the Southeast Asian country for Bangladesh. The African coun

Taliban announced that the intra-Afghan peace dialogue is possible only after a full foreign forces withdrawal agreement is in place.“Intra-Afghan negotiations will begin only after an agreement with America on the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan is signed,” Taliban spokesperson, Suhail Shaheen tweeted. This comes as, US peace envoy, Zalmai Khalilzad paused the US, Taliban peace talks a week ago, following a Taliban’s attack on the Bagram US military base in order to give some

The attention of the country this week has been focused on the hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, as State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi defended the nation.The State Counsellor appeared before the ICJ to deny the accusations of genocide levelled against Myanmar by Gambia over the government’s military crackdown in Rakhine State in August 2017.‘The Lady’ led a legal team to defend Myanmar at the World Court.Gambia filed the case, on behalf of the Or

President Ashraf Ghani addressed the eighth ministerial conference of the “Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process” in Turkey and emphasized the need for a political solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and stressed the need for an international and regional consensus for peace.He said the main goal is to put an end to 40 years of violence by ensuring that not only the conflict ends but to secure guarantees for its non-repetition.“A political solution through an enduring peace process is an imperative

The parliamentary delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 'Lok Sabha', the lower house of the Indian Parliament.Signed during Parliament's official visit to India, the agreement aims to bolster relations between the legislative bodies and to provide technical training opportunities for secretariat staff of the Maldivian Parliament.The delegation is visiting India on invitation from the Vice President of India and Chairman of the upper

Secretary-level meetings between the Shipping Ministries of Bangladesh and India will be held at the InterContinental Dhaka later this week. The meeting of the standing committee on “Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade” (PIWTT) affairs will be held on 4 December, while the secretary level and inter-governmental committee meeting will take place the next day. Secretary of Shipping Md Abdus Samad on behalf of Bangladesh and Indian Secretary of Shipping Gopal Krishna would take part in the m

The Asia Foundation-Afghanistan, with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), launched the 15th annual Survey of the Afghan People (the Survey). First launched in 2004, this year the Survey gathered the opinions of more than 129,800 Afghans across the country on elections, corruption, security, women’s rights, service delivery, the economy, migration, and peace and reconciliation. It is the broadest and longest-running nationwide survey of Afghan attitudes and opini

Taking forward its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, India handed over a patrol vessel to the Maldives and launched the RuPay card, during a video conference between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. Four bilateral grant projects as part of the development partnership between India and the Maldives were highlighted at the digital video conference.
India gifted a ‘Made in India’ patrol vessel named “KAAMIYAAB” to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).To r

Around one-third of the Afghan population needed urgent humanitarian action over the last three months, a coalition of UN agencies and partners said on Monday. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Alert said some 10.23 million people were living in a state of severe food insecurity. The IPC, which classifies food insecurity in five distinct phases, said about 2.44 million Afghan were believed to be in an emergency situation and 7.79 million in a crisis situation.To read

Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will appear before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to contest a case filed by Gambia accusing Myanmar of genocide against its Rohingya Muslim minority, her government said. More than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar’s military, which U.N. investigators say was carried out with “genocidal intent”. Buddhist majority Myanmar denies accusations of genocideTo read more click here

The government of India granted MVR 1.9 million to refurbish 'Fiyavathi', the children's shelter in reclaimed suburb Hulhumale. According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the project is aimed to cater TO the growing needs of foster care children aged between 0-13 years. This includes upgrading the security systems, strengthening the functionality of the building, setting up two common rooms, and replacing the current furniture among others.To read more click here

Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that Sikh pilgrims who arrive from India to visit Kartarpur will no longer need a passport to cross over into Pakistan as long as they have a valid identity.

In a tweet, the premier also announced that he had directed that the condition for pilgrims to register 10 days before their arrival to the Kartarpur shrine also be waived off.To read more click here

Authorities attending Nepal-India coordination meeting have agreed to check cross-border crimes.