India toppled the UK from its position in the final three months of 2021 to become the fifth-biggest economy, reports Asian Lite News
Britain has dropped behind India to become the world’s sixth largest economy, according to Bloomberg.
India toppled the UK from its position in the final three months of 2021 to become the fifth-biggest economy. The calculation is based in US dollars, and India extended its lead in the first quarter, according to GDP figures from the International Monetary Fund.
This news comes as a further blow to the government in London as it grapples with a brutal cost-of-living shock, Bloomberg reported.
The IMF’s own forecasts show India overtaking the UK in dollar terms on an annual basis this year, putting the Asian powerhouse behind just the US, China, Japan and Germany. A decade ago, India ranked 11th among the largest economies, while the UK was 5th.
The UK’s decline down the international rankings is an unwelcome backdrop for the new Prime Minister. Conservative Party members choose Boris Johnson’s successor on Monday, with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss expected to beat former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in the run-off.
The winner will take over a nation facing the fastest inflation in four decades and rising risks of a recession that the Bank of England says may last well into 2024.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is also seen in the picture.
By contrast, the Indian economy is forecast to grow more than 7 per cent this year. A world-beating rebound in Indian stocks this quarter has just seen their weighting rise to the second spot in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, trailing only China’s.
The calculations were done using the IMF database and historic exchange rates on the Bloomberg terminal.
The UK is likely to have fallen further since. UK GDP grew just one per cent in cash terms in the second quarter and, after adjusting for inflation, shrank 0.1 per cent. Sterling has also underperformed the dollar relative to the rupee, with the pound falling eight per cent against the Indian currency this year.
White House said the investigations led by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “are not political” and “are not leverage or bargaining chips”, reports Asian Lite News
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggested that there should not be any conditionality between a revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the conclusion of watchdog probes.
Addressing the media on Friday, Jean-Pierre made the remarks referring to the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and investigations related to Iran’s obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, reports Xinhua news agency
She said the investigations led by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “are not political” and “are not leverage or bargaining chips”.
“We are unbending in our support for the IAEA’s independence… It would be preferable to return to the JCPOA without any open safeguard issues,” the Press Secretary added.
If the US makes the “right decision”, negotiations can be concluded quickly, Mohammad Marandi, an advisor to Iran’s nuclear negotiation team, said on Friday.
“Iran has responded as promised. It’s time for the (US President Joe) Biden team to make a serious decision,” Marandi tweeted hours after Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that Tehran had given answers to the Washington on the European Union’s draft of a potential nuclear agreement.
“The submitted text has a constructive approach with the aim of finalizing the negotiations,” Kanaani said in a statement.
The US State Department confirmed they have received Iran’s response through the European Union (EU).
“We are studying it and will respond through the EU, but unfortunately it is not constructive,” a Department spokesman was quoted by some Western media outlets as saying.
“For the US, ‘constructive’ usually means accepting US terms. For Iran, it means a deal that is balanced and protected,” Marandi said.
Iran and the US are indirectly exchanging views about a recent EU proposal aimed at resolving the outstanding issues on the revival of the JCPOA.
Iran signed the JCPOA with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on the country.
However, former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.
The talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal began in April 2021 in Vienna but were suspended in March this year because of political differences between Tehran and Washington.
The latest round of the nuclear talks was held in the Austrian capital in early August after a five-month hiatus.
On August 8, the EU put forward a “final text” of the draft decision on reviving the deal.
Jaishankar conveyed the Modi’s greetings to Sheikh Mohamed and his wishes for further progress and prosperity for the UAE and its people, reports Shaneer N. Siddiqui
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received a letter from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding strengthening the strategic relations between the two countries and the prospects of developing them to serve their common interests.
Sheikh Mohamed received the letter during a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who is currently on a visit to the United Arab Emirate to attend the meetings of the 14th session of the UAE-India Joint Committee and the third session of the UAE-India Strategic Dialogue.
At the beginning of Friday’s meeting, which took place at the Al Shati Palace, Jaishankar conveyed the Modi’s greetings to Sheikh Mohamed and his wishes for further progress and prosperity for the UAE and its people.
For his part, the UAE President conveyed his greetings to the Prime Minister, wishing India and its people further development and prosperity.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed various aspects of their bilateral relations and the importance of cooperating to enhance and advance them within the framework of their comprehensive strategic partnership and the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), in addition to a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern.
The meeting was also attended by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Advisor for Special Affairs at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs; Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation; and Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President.
The delegation accompanying Jaishankar was also present.
On the same day, Sheikh Abdullah chaired the third session of the UAE-India Strategic Dialogue, which was held in Abu Dhabi.
The Indian side was headed by Jaishankar.
During the session, the two sides discussed issues of common interest and prospects for enhancing bilateral cooperation, in line with the CEPA.
They also exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern.
Now, propelled by political compulsions, the hanging-by-threat Prime Minister Sharif and his uneasy coalition government say now “no import from India, come what may”.
Pakistan’s leaders have found it fit to play petty politics with ‘arch enemy’ India even as their country is hit by a natural calamity of unprecedented magnitude.
Heavy monsoon rain, induced by climate change, has devastated nearly a third of the country. Millions are marooned and are struggling to find food, shelter and medicines.
Food inflation skyrocketed to a 47-year high at 27.3 per cent in August. And the global lender of the last resort, the IMF has warned that runaway inflation could trigger protests and instability in the cash-strapped nation.
Federal Finance Minister Miftah Ismail wants Pakistan to import at least vegetables from India to tide over food crisis. But the issue has become a hot potato with the Opposition led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan kicking up a row over the proposal.
The beleaguered Shehbaz Sharif government has turned to Iran and Afghanistan for onions and tomatoes but it is not clear to what extent the two neighbours can oblige Pakistan.
The Imran Khan regime had banned trade with India three years ago after New Delhi did away with the special status to Jammu and Kashmir under the Indian constitution as a part of its drive to firmly deal with terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil and from Kashmir under Pakistan. And made normalization of bilateral hostage to a roll back of the decision.
Now, propelled by political compulsions, the hanging-by-threat Prime Minister Sharif and his uneasy coalition government say now “no import from India, come what may”.
A reminder of what late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had said: “Pakistanis will eat grass but will have the bomb.”
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the grandfather of incumbent Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, was solely responsible for the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971 when he refused to let the majority party (Awami League of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman) to form the government.
It will be interesting to watch how the UN terror funding watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), does about lifting Pakistan out of its grey list (since 2018). Its team is due to land in Islamabad for on-the-spot inspection of the measures taken to curb terror financing and money laundering in the land of the pure, as Pakistanis love to hail their country.
Pakistan’s prayer to the FATF, and money lending agencies is “take a lenient view”. This inter alia means a call to overlook lapses and assure flow of cash into the country with insatiable thirst for foreign doles.
With Prime Minister’s nod, Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa pleased the Pentagon and the White House in the only way Pakistan can: he facilitated the launch from of the drone strike in Kabul from a Pakistani airfiled that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian successor of Osama bin Laden at the helm of Al Qaeda. And Americans are walking the extra mile to help the ‘former’ NATO ally without harping back on its past mischiefs.
The Pakistani government is smug after the IMF announcement of special monetary assistance and pledges of certain rich Muslim countries. But no whiff of any help from the country across the border shall reach benighted Pakistanis. Pakistanis will gladly suffer all kinds of agonies than accept anything from India.
Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa
‘Resolve’ Kashmir first, says Shehbaz Sharif, before he can think of accepting any Indian help. He was repeating what Imran Khan had said when he was the Prime Minister. Shehbaz has been forced by his own rhetoric from the time he was in the Opposition.
A hint from Khan a year ago that Pakistan could resume trade with India was shouted down by the PML-N, remote controlled by party supremo, Nawaz Sharif from a luxury pad in London.
Now it is the turn of rabble-rousing Imran Khan, to lambast any talk of resuming trade ties with India even for a short period. He is using the rhetoric of the Sharif brothers had used as Opposition leaders to keep alive the politically advantageous deep anti-India sentiment nurtured right from the day Pakistan was carved out of British India 75 years ago.
Some sections, though a minority, understand that while differences over Kashmir are not going to go away soon, it is in Pakistan’s interest to trade with India. The more optimistic among them even envisage substantial economic advantage flowing from trading ties with India. But they can raise their voice on pain of being hounded for being agents of the enemy.
India has been watching the Pakistani double-speak on resuming trade with some caution and, maybe, some amusement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his sympathies for the affected people but has said nothing on trade with Pakistan or dispatching relief to Pakistan.
His approach must have been influenced by the experience of India in its attempts to help the Eastern neighbour.
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.
Pakistan was inundated by floods and hit by a severe earthquake twice in recent years. On both occasions India extended a helping hand as a good neighbourly gesture. How did Pakistan react?
The relief material, medicines and food items sent by India were declared ‘inadequate’ and their ‘quality questionable’; a plane-load of rehabilitation material for earthquake victims was not accepted. The announcement of monetary help was loudly denounced as ‘peanuts’ with politicians going to the extent of accusing India of being stingy in helping a distressed neighbour.
This must be weighing in the minds of the present government on the Raisina Hill in New Delhi. Being silent in the face of petty, narrow-minded politics is better than making visible overtures that are used as material for India bashing.
The proposed sales come amid increased tension between Washington and Beijing over a contentious trip to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, reports Asian Lite News
With an aim to outcompete China, the US will speed up its arms sales to allies and partners.
The US will expedite arms sales to allies and partners by removing several bureaucratic road bumps that could cause delays in order to better compete with countries such as China, reported Wall Street Journal.
The report said on Friday that the Defence Department launched an initiative to streamline US arms sales to foreign countries, especially to allies and partners that have provided military equipment to Ukraine.
The US promised European allies who have provided military equipment to Ukraine that it would be able to replenish their stocks, but the US defence industry is facing a backlog, reported Wall Street Journal.
The US could speed up arms sales by having US defence officials help countries draft initial requests for military equipment that would help avoid delays caused by requests that trigger security concerns, the report said.
The Defence Department only approves contracts once a year for certain military equipment, which means countries that fail to submit their orders by the Defence Department’s deadline must wait until the following year, the report added.
However, the State Department is currently consulting with the Defence Department on this matter in light of the mission to speed up arms sales to allies, according to the report.
United States Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.
The proposed sales come amid increased tension between Washington and Beijing over a contentious trip to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan this month triggered a new round of tensions in the region. Ever since the visit of the US delegation, Beijing launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island, which included live-fire drills and military aircraft overflights close to Taiwan’s airspace.
Meanwhile, two United States Navy warships entered the Taiwan Strait in the first such transit since China staged unprecedented military drills around the island.
On Sunday, the guided-missile cruisers USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville were making their voyage “through waters where high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with the international law,” the US 7th Fleet in Japan said in a statement as quoted in CNN.
A 110-mile strait is a stretch of water that separates the democratic self-ruled island of Taiwan from mainland China.
Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan despite China’s ruling Communist Party never having controlled the island — and considers the strait part of its “internal waters.” (ANI)
G7 Finance Ministers have agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement without specifying implementation details.
By committing to finalising and implementing a price cap, the G7 will significantly reduce Russia’s main source of funding for the war in Ukraine, while maintaining supplies to global energy markets by keeping Russian oil flowing at lower prices, Xinhua news agency quoted Yellen as saying in the statement on Friday.
Today’s action will help deliver a major blow for Russian finances and will both hinder Russia’s ability to continue the fight in Ukraine and hasten the deterioration of the Russian economy, she said.
“I look forward to working with our G7 allies – as well as new coalition partners, as we move quickly to finalize the implementation of the price cap in the weeks to come,” the Treasury Secretary added.
Calling G7’s plan completely absurd, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said his country would not supply oil and petroleum products to those countries that support the price caps, warning the measure could destroy the global oil market.
Despite Western sanctions, Russia’s revenue from oil exports in June increased 40 per cent from the average level last year, according to a recent report from the International Energy Agency.
Ex-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the county following mass agitations calling for his resignation on July 9.
Sri Lanka’s ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned home in the early hours of Saturday after fleeing the country in July, according to a senior security official.
As per UK-based media, the onetime leader fled the country as the economic crisis fuelled angry protests. Rajapaksa resigned after protesters angered by a debilitating economic crisis stormed his office and residence.
The former president fled the county following mass agitations calling for his resignation on July 9.
Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka in the early hours of July 13 after massive protests erupted in Colombo and demonstrators angry with the country’s economic crisis stormed his official residence and office.
He resigned as president after reaching Singapore, where he was issued a 14-day visit pass.
He had fled to Singapore via the Maldives and then spent the past few weeks in Thailand. He returns almost after two months after fleeing to Thailand.
On August 11, the former President reached Thailand following a request from the Sri Lankan government. Tight security has been provided to his Mirihana residence. However, Thailand has denied reports that the former Sri Lankan President has sought asylum in the country.
The Thailand Foreign Ministry said it received a request from Rajapaksa to visit the country with no intention of seeking political asylum.
According to Jamila Husain, Deputy Editor at Daily Mirror, Rajapaksa arrived in Sri Lanka from a Singapore Airlines flight.
“…. and the man returns …… Former Pres Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrived in #SriLanka a short while ago on board a Singapore Airlines flight. Several ministers are awaiting to welcome him at the BIA. Media is not allowed. He will be provided with all facilities granted to a former President,” tweeted Husain.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa who fled the country in July after resigning from the presidency amidst protests, receives a warm welcome at BIA early this morning.#SriLankapic.twitter.com/iYrafpUiRp
President Ranil Wickremesinghe made arrangements for his return upon a request by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) as a result of which the president is reported to have contacted Rajapaksa to discuss arrangements for his return to the country, Daily Mirror reported citing a source close to him.
Earlier, former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga, who is also related to Gotabaya, hinted that Rajapaksa will return to the country on August 24.
Thailand was the second Southeast Asian country after the Maldives that Rajapaksa was seeking temporary shelter in after fleeing his island nation last month amid mass protests. Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced the official resignation of Rajapaksa on July 15. After the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as President of Sri Lanka on July 21 in Parliament.
He was earlier appointed as interim president of Sri Lanka as Rajapaksa fled abroad after his palace was stormed by angry protesters amid the unprecedented economic crisis.
Sri Lanka is suffering its worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948, which comes on the heels of successive waves of COVID-19, threatening to undo years of development progress and severely undermining the country’s ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). (ANI)
The effects of the measures will be particularly visible in the evening hours after sunset, as public buildings and monuments, such as the Brandenburg Gate in the capital Berlin, will no longer be illuminated…reports Asian Lite news
Energy saving measures for individuals, companies and the public sector took effect in Germany in response to soaring gas prices across Europe.
“To avoid an energy supply emergency in winter, policymakers, businesses and consumers must continue to work together,” the government said last week when it adopted the measures, stressing that “every kilowatt-hour saved helps”, reports Xinhua news agency.
The effects of the measures will be particularly visible in the evening hours after sunset, as public buildings and monuments, such as the Brandenburg Gate in the capital Berlin, will no longer be illuminated. With some exceptions, neon signs and billboards will also be switched off at night.
When the weather turns colder, maximum room temperatures in public buildings and workplaces will be lowered from 20 degrees Celsius to 19 degrees Celsius.
In places where heavy physical work is performed, temperatures may even be as low as 12 degrees Celsius.
Private households will not have to lower room temperatures, but tenants are free to do so as long as no damage is caused to the building.
Rental contracts that require rooms to be heated to a certain minimum temperature will be suspended from September.
The country’s one million private swimming pools and whirlpools will have to remain unheated during winter. The government expects this measure alone to save two terawatt hours of gas and four terawatt hours of electricity.
Facing record inflation driven by soaring energy prices, citizens expect further relief from the government.
One of the first measures, a fuel rebate, ran out on Thursday and fuel prices jumped up immediately.
On the heels of relief packages worth 30 billion euros, Minister of Finance Christian Lindner envisages the adoption of another package of measures worth a single-digit billion euros.
“We need a massive package for relief throughout the entire span of society,” he said on Thursday.
Further energy saving measures, such as requiring energy-intensive companies to increase efficiency, will come into effect in October.
It is “quite essential to save significantly more gas: in public administration, in companies, in as many private households as possible”, Economic Affairs Minister Robert Habeck said.
The report said that risks to the outlook and programme implementation remain high and tilted to the downside given the very complex domestic and external environment….reports Asian Lite News
As Pakistan’s inflation, which just hit a 47-year-high in August at over 27 per cent, is on an upward curve, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned against protests and instability in the country.
“High food and fuel prices could prompt social protest and instability,” The News quoted the IMF as saying in an executive summary of the seventh and eighth reviews, released under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
The report said that risks to the outlook and programme implementation remain high and tilted to the downside given the very complex domestic and external environment.
It said that the spillovers from the war in Ukraine through high food and fuel prices, and tighter global financial conditions will continue to weigh on Pakistan’s economy, pressuring the exchange rate and external stability, The News reported.
The report further said that policy slippages remain a risk, as evident in FY22, amplified by weak capacity and powerful vested interests, with the timing of elections uncertain given the complex political setting.
Apart from the risks of protests, socio-political pressures are expected to remain high and could also weigh on policy and reform implementation, especially given the tenuous political coalition and their slim majority in Parliament, it said.
“All this could affect policy decisions and undermine the program’s fiscal adjustment strategy, jeopardising macro-financial and external stability and debt sustainability,” it said.
Moreover, elevated near-term domestic financing needs may overstretch the financial sector’s absorption capacity and cause market disruption, The News reported.
The IMF said substantial risks stem from higher interest rates, a larger-than-expected growth slowdown, pressures on the exchange rate, renewed policy reversals, weaker medium-term growth, and contingent liabilities related to state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
The report also mentioned that the former government of PTI granted a four-month “relief package” in late February that reversed commitments to fiscal discipline made earlier in the year.
The largely untargeted package reduced petrol and diesel prices (through a generous general subsidy and setting fuel taxes at zero taxation); lowered electricity tariffs by Rs5/kwh for almost all households and commercial consumers; and provided tax exemptions and a tax amnesty.
Sisulu attributed the improvement in tourism performance to the relaxation of the travel restrictions following the decline in the Covid-19 figures….reports Asian Lite News
South Africa’s total arrivals in the first six months of 2022 hit 2,285,746, up 147 per cent when compared to the same period last year, said Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
Sisulu told reporters that arrivals from the African continent increased by 109 per cent as compared to the same period in 2021, with Zimbabwe accounting for most arrivals to South Africa, followed by Mozambique and Lesotho, reports Xinhua news agency.
The US contributed 128,991 arrivals, and Europe 356,352.
“In the first half of the year, Europe was the best performing region, despite security concerns mounting due to the war in Ukraine. The Americas are the second-best performing region, this market is slowly making its way back to pre-pandemic levels, performing at minus 40 per cent below 2019 levels.
South Africa likely to experience fourth wave of Covid-19
“Recovery in Asia and the Pacific is much slower, due to border closures and strict travel policies,” said Sisulu, noting the African air transport markets brought in 1,634,244 arrivals.
She said domestic tourism saw 15.2 million domestic trips during the period under review, which is more than the pre-Covid period.
Sisulu attributed the improvement in tourism performance to the relaxation of the travel restrictions following the decline in the Covid-19 figures.
She said the future of tourism looks bright with bookings done for next year.
“The future for our tourism and hospitality sector looks even brighter. In August, forward bookings increased by 328 per cent (85,960). Between August to October, there was an impressive 287 per cent (187,667) increase in bookings.
“For August to January 2023, there was a 227 per cent (294,220) increase in bookings. This is a new emerging trend, as we are seeing that international tourists are now booking further in advance for their future travel,” Sisulu said.
