report in Dhaka Tribune, Mar 28, 2023Rice, sugar, soybean oil and beef are more expensive in Bangladesh than in other developing or developed countries, according to the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). The think tank also found that at least 28 imported basic food items presently suffer a high incidence of tax. Whilst inflationary pressures had been growing in Bangladesh prior to the Russia-Ukraine war, the international crisis provided an excuse, where commodity prices that…
Posts tagged as “policy”
report in Daily FT, Mar 18, 2023Consumers remain very pessimistic, with a small recovery in current buying conditions as per the Institute for Health Policy (IHP) February 2023 update of its Consumer Confidence Indices. Generated from its Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS), it revealed that consumer confidence, which was already deeply pessimistic, continued to worsen in February, with the Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS) declining 3 points to reach 12. The ICS is the…
by Purushottam Poudel in The Kathmandu Post,Mar 13, 2023Qin Gang, the new foreign minister of China, is likely to give continuity to Beijing’s old policy towards Nepal, foreign policy experts say. On March 7, Qin, 56, addressed the international media for the first time since taking office as foreign minister. On the margins of the annual session of the Chinese parliament in Beijing, Qin told journalists quoting Confucius: “One should repay kindness with kindness, and…
report in The Morning, Feb 22, 2023*Claims opportunity to do business with foreign countries may also disappear**Says current tax policy is no normal tax policy but a rescue operationThe current tax policy in Sri Lanka is not a normal tax policy but a rescue operation, and any disruption to this process will result in Sri Lanka not being able to secure the International Monetary Fund (IMF) funding, which may also result in the opportunity to…
By Mirudhula Thambiah in The Morning, Feb 10, 2023The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday (9) stated in Parliament that they reject President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s throne speech cum Statement of Government Policy, delivered on Wednesday (8), stating that maximum devolution of power cannot take place within a unitary model. Speaking in Parliament yesterday, TNA’s Spokesman and Parliamentarian, President’s Counsel M.A. Sumanthiran noted: “He ends by saying that he will not allow for a separation of the…
report in The Morning, Feb 9 , 2023Despite a Court injunction preventing protests near the entrance to Parliament, a section of the Buddhist clergy marched towards the Parliament entrance yesterday (8) during President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s throne speech and Statement of Government Policy following the inauguration of the fourth session of the ninth Parliament, protesting against the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. However, the Police placed barricades to block the protestors, but…
Report in The Kathmandu Post,Feb 2, 2023The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is preparing to review Nepal’s foreign policy document unveiled in December, 2020. Talking to reporters at the ministry on Wednesday, Minister for Foreign Affairs Bimala Rai Paudyal said that after consultations inside the ministry and with major political parties, the policy will be updated and published for wider use. The then KP Sharma Oli government in 2020 had unveiled the 31-page document that encompasses…
Editorial in Dawn, February 1st, 2023A RECKONING is called for, a reckoning unlike that which this nation has ever seen. It must happen now — or, as surely as night follows day, more bestial acts of violence like that which took place in Peshawar on Monday will continue to claim the lives of innocent Pakistanis. And it must come from those who sowed the seeds of a disastrous policy that is once again reaping a…
Report inDawn, January 19th, 2023KARACHI: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has accused the previous government of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) of adopting an appeasement policy towards the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP), saying that it has created problems for the people of Pakistan. In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Mr Bhutto-Zardari stated that the current coalition government has ended the ‘wrong’ approach, which was initiated by the previous [PTI) government. Earlier this month, the top military and political leadership…
by Porimol Palma in The Daily Star, Jan 17, 2023The US wants to see Bangladesh as an independent player in the Indo-Pacific region, recognising it as a significant geostrategic actor in the region’s security architecture, says US-based foreign policy expert Anu Anwar. He made the observation during an interview with The Daily Star following the Dhaka visit by Donald Lu, US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, from January 14 to 15.…
report in Dawn, January 13th, 2023LAKKI MARWAT: Elders of Marwat and Bittani tribes on Thursday announced that they would help law-enforcement and security agencies maintain peace in the region and won’t allow terrorists to use their soil for carrying out their activities. The announcement was made in a jirga called by the district administration in line with the government’s policy to engage elders for peace efforts. A government team comprising deputy commissioner Fazal Akbar, district…