WASHINGTON, 01 September 2022, (TON): US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, a White House official said, as Tehran seeks stronger guarantees from Washington for the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal that is strongly opposed by Israel.

In its own readout of the leaders’ call, Lapid’s office said they “spoke at length about the negotiations on a nuclear agreement, and their shared commitment to stopping Iran’s progress toward a nuclear weapon.”

PARIS, 01 September 2022, (TON): Amnesty International said in a report “Iran and Turkey are preventing entry of Afghan refugees or forcibly returning them to face life-threatening risks under the Taliban regime, in violation of international law.”

Hundreds of thousands fled Afghanistan in August 2021 after the US left the country in a chaotic military pullout, allowing the hard-line Taliban Islamists to retake control.

But while many who assisted US forces in particular were airlifted out, the vast majority have had to flee by land, in particular toward Iran and eventually Turkey.

Amnesty said “many are poor and lack passports or other valid travel documents, making them especially vulnerable to border police who use threats or outright violence to keep them out or push them back.”

AL-MUKALLA, 01 September 2022, (TON): UN observers in Hodeidah have urged the Iran-backed Houthis to reduce their significant presence in the western Yemeni city, warning that any military action would threaten the UN-brokered ceasefire and Stockholm Agreement.

The UN Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement, or UNMHA, said that it has seen large deployments of Houthi fighters in the city, raising fears of military activity that could undermine a fragile truce in the country.

UN mission said in a statement “Hodeidah must be kept free of military manifestations, as agreed in Stockholm. UNMHA urges the Houthi leadership to respect the terms of the Hodeidah Agreement and refrain from actions that may contribute to escalation, in the interest of all Yemenis.”

A relative peace has existed in Hodeidah since late last year when the joint forces of the government unilaterally abandoned their positions in and around the city to reinforce other battlefields in the country as part of a military plan sponsored by the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen.

JAKARTA, 01 September 2022, (TON): Group of 20 chair Indonesia warned environment officials from the world’s leading economies Wednesday they must act together to combat a warming planet or risk plunging it into uncharted territory.

The call came at a one-day meeting on the resort island of Bali, at the end of a month in which more than 1,000 people died in Pakistan from flooding blamed on climate change and a crippling drought exacerbated by a record heat wave spread across half of China.

In opening remarks, Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar told delegates global environmental problems require global solutions, otherwise the planet could end up in a situation where no future will be sustainable.

She said “we cannot hide from the fact that the world is facing increasingly compounding challenges.”

CAIRO, 01 September 2022, (TON): Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Italian energy company Eni, and a number of its officials, in the presence of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Tarek El-Molla, minister of petroleum and mineral resources.

During the meeting, they reviewed Eni’s current and future activities in Egypt in the fields of oil and gas exploration and production, and cooperation on renewable energy projects.

The primary topics discussed, according to an Eni statement, were liquefied natural gas exports and natural gas production, areas in which Egypt has become increasingly important in the Mediterranean since the company’s discovery of the Zohr gas field.

UNITED NATIONS, 01 September 2022, (TON): The UN political chief warned Tuesday that failure to resolve Libya’s political crisis and hold delayed elections poses a growing threat in the country, pointing to violent clashes a few days ago that killed at least 42 people and injured 159 others according to Libyan authorities.

Rosemary DiCarlo told the UN Security Council “the clashes between armed groups supporting rival claimants to be prime minister involved the indiscriminate use of medium and heavy weapons and also displaced 50 families, significantly damaged five health facilities, and affected two detention centers for migrants and refugees, involving a total of 560 people.”

Libya has plunged into chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. The oil-rich county has for years been split between rival administrations, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.

The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah who led a transitional government to step down.

UNITED NATIONS, 01 September 2022, (TON): Warning that Afghanistan faces deepening poverty with 6 million people at risk of famine, the UN humanitarian chief on Monday urged donors to restore funding for economic development and immediately provide $770 million to help Afghans get through the winter as the United States argued with Russia and China over who should pay.

Martin Griffiths told the UN Security Council that Afghanistan faces multiple crises humanitarian, economic, climate, hunger and financial.

Conflict, poverty, climate shocks and food insecurity have long been a sad reality in Afghanistan, but he said “what makes the current situation so critical is the halt to large-scale development aid since the Taliban takeover a year ago.”

Griffiths said “more than half the Afghan population, some 24 million people, need assistance and close to 19 million are facing acute levels of food insecurity.”

DUBAI, 01 September 2022, (TON): The United Arab Emirates sent a second batch of 30 tons of emergency relief to flood-hit Sudan, the Emirates News Agency reported.

Under the directives of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the supervision of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region and Chairman of the Emirates Red Crescent, the aid was sent to support families affected in the floods.

At least 99 people were killed, and 93 others were injured when flash floods struck Sudan early August, according to the country’s National Council of Civil Defense.

A total of 23,724 homes were completely destroyed, leaving hundreds displaced.

By Afshain Afzal

Under the pressure from the USA, European Union and Israel, Pakistan is being persuaded to bend her knees and extended a hand of friendship to India. One wonders where peace is vital for the regional stability but should Pakistan compromise on her position on free and impartial plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir State? Media reports says that on 30 August 2022, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said in a statement, “Government may “consider importing vegetables and other edible items from India”.

Interestingly, in February 2021, after the joint statements issued by the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan on maintaining ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC), India has quickly moving towards peace with Pakistan. Statistics issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, “Exports from India to Pakistan stood at $513.82 million in the 2021-2022 fiscal”, however the Governments are cheating their masses by importing Indian goods via Dubai, which is the main reason why the UAE has emerged as one of the largest trading partners of Pakistan, while trading directly will prove to be cost-effective for Islamabad.

If we recall, New Delhi stopped cross-border trade in April 2019 to pave way for declaring the disputed India-administered Kashmir with semi-autonomous status as permanent part of India. India closed the trade on the plea that the route was being misused by Pakistan. On the Pakistani side of Jammu and Kashmir, the traders in India-administered Kashmir during the holy month of Ramadan in April 2022, demanded from the authorities to reopen trade routes with Pakistan as the prices of goods and food continue to skyrocket.

In a tweet few days back, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Saddened to see the devastation caused by the floods in Pakistan. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, the injured and all those affected by this natural calamity and hope for an early restoration of normalcy “.

It is strange that Pakistan should have objections in maintaining trade with India after New Delhi violated the United Nations Security Council Resolutions on disputed Jammu and Kashmir State but it is India which has shown its reluctance to trade with Pakistan.

This week Pakistan expressed its willingness to resume bilateral trade with India. New Delhi has made it clear that it will not take such a step in terms of “normalization of trade”. However, India is ready to extend humanitarian aid and assistance for the flood-hit areas of the neighboring country, “based on the kind of request” that comes from Islamabad. India has said it is “open” to sending vegetables and other food items, as well as medicines and essential items to Pakistan, on a “case-to-case” basis depending on the “kind of request” that gets communicated from Islamabad to New Delhi,

Ironically, the Government of Pakistan has ordered to facilitate onion and tomato imports from Iran and Afghanistan to stabilize food prices. The food ministry has asked the Federal Board of Revenue to waive taxes and levies on onion and tomato imports for the next three months and expects that this will be made effective immediately. This seems not to benefit Afghanistan but to India.

It is beyond comprehension that price of onions in India per 100 kilograms is Indian Rs 1527 whereas price in Pakistan per 100 kilograms it is Pak Rs 25500. Flood are not everywhere in Pakistan and the fact cannot be denied that the onions and tomatoes from Afghanistan are imported round the year. Many believe that this has been done intentionally by the fifth columnists funded and groomed by India, who have acquired Pakistani citizenship and engaged in businesses. It is highly objectionable to resume trade with India on the pretext of floods. As a nation first we must issue censure to India for violating United Nations Security Council Resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir State and declaring unilaterally Jammu and Kashmir as territory of India. One wonder how Pakistan can stage drama on the dead bodies and detentions of innocent Kashmiris in the ill-fated Jammu and Kashmir State.

By Nimu, TON Bhutan

A rising trade shortfall and rising import costs have over shadowed Bhutan’s economic shape. The small Himalayan nation is desperately trying to control prices of essential commodities. Bhutan remains engrossed on its tourism and hydropower sectors, which produce revenue from outside the country. Bhutan the South Asian nation that is perhaps best-known for its philosophy of promoting gross national happiness over gross domestic product (GDP) is currently facing financial headwinds.

With a populace of rarer than 800,000 people, a worldwide economic fall down and countrywide Covid lockdowns. The supply chains in the landlocked country wedged between China and India have been sternly impacted. Bhutan's small- and medium-sized businesses have been struggling to keep afloat. The situation in the country cannot be compared to that of Sri Lanka for now. Sri Lanka's debt-laden economy collapsed after it ran out of money to pay for food, fuel and medicine, igniting months of demonstrations.

However, Bhutan was facing an alike set of economic problems to those currently affecting most national frugalities. The war between Russia and Ukraine has deteriorated the situation particularly with mounting petroleum prices. "Like other countries in South Asia, Bhutan's economy is also seeing inflation, financial hindrances and damage of jobs.

A strengthening dollar and falling Indian rupee to which Bhutan's Ngultrum currency is pegged also leading to higher import costs. That's far from ideal for a country that is deeply dependent on products from abroad. The constraints enforced by India on wheat exports have augmented qualms of a further increase in local prices. There is serious anxiety about food supplies.

Bhutan remains focused on its hydropower and tourism sectors, which make revenue from outside the country. Meanwhile, the share of Bhutan's manufacturing sector in terms of GDP has remained motionless for over a decade, while the industrial sector was driven mainly by construction, mining and electricity. Such a framework has been making the economic structure vulnerable to sectorial and external shocks, since GDP, exports and government revenue are mostly generated from just two sectors.

The government Bhutan was not in favor of banning imports but would do its best to help protect foreign reserves. At the same time emphasizing that the Himalayan kingdom was headed towards an "uncharted destination. The annual budget Tshering recently presented showed Bhutan's highest-ever fiscal deficit of 22.882 billion Nu (€283 million) — 11.25% of the country's GDP.

Data released in July by the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan showed foreign exchange reserves shrunk to $970 million (€955 million) at the end of December from $1.46 billion in April 2021 while total external debt rose to $3.2 billion from $2.7 billion before the coronavirus pandemic.

The country has adequate foreign assets to meet the import of vital goods for 14 months. Bhutan's constitution mandates the country to uphold enough foreign currency reserves to meet 12 months of imports. Nepal is an import-dependent country and will have to begin to look at other sectors and reformulate polices that can bring revenues to resuscitate the economy. Investing in new technology for agriculture can be a start.

For now, efforts are focused on solving the issue of trade shortfall to stop Bhutan from plummeting into its foreign currency reserves. The tourism sector has been gravely affected, and the void brought about a standstill in infrastructural projects because the pandemic has affected livelihoods.

Tourism which employs over 50,000 people and is one of the highest contributors to Bhutan's incomes was hit the hardest of any sector. Revenue from tourism plunged by 41% in 2019–2020 compared with the previous year. Only 28,000 visitors came to Bhutan in 2020, generating a revenue of $19 million (€18.67 million).

That was down significantly from 2019's figure of 315,599 tourists, which generated $225 million, according to government figures. The mountainous nation will reopen to international tourists from September for the first time since the pandemic began more than two years ago.

However, rates have been upped, and a sustainable development fee of $200 (€196) will be charged per tourist per night a hike from the $65 fee that was charged for three decades. Bhutan's economic development is linked to the growth of its hydropower sector. The country exports about 70% of energy generated to India.

India is also Bhutan's largest export market, the most important trade partner, accounting for 50% of Bhutan's trade, and one of the top foreign investors in the country, while Bhutan has been crucial to India's Neighborhood First and Act East policies, which aim to boost trade and energy links in the region. There are qualms that a protracted economic crisis could bitter relations between India and Bhutan,

Bhutan has so far preserved an exclusive alliance with India, while having impartial dealings with China. In this situation. It is yet to see that in this scenario will India help the Bhutan, with whom it has a special relationship. In this situation China is in a position to take advantage of this whole situation and help the Bhutan in meeting its economic challenges which would uphold the mutual relations in the future.