Timeframe: September 16 to September 22, 2022
Contributors: Affan Bin Saber, Anika Bushra, and G.M. Sifat Iqbal
To read Bangla, click here.
1. Politics
School children killed by Myanmar army helicopter gunfire
At least 11 children have been killed and 15 others are missing after an army helicopter fired at a school in northern Myanmar, UNICEF said.
Army and helicopter gunships opened fire on the temple school last Friday.
The school, in the Sagaing region, is a rebel stronghold.
Myanmar’s military government said it had attacked rebels it claimed were hiding in a school in the village of Let Yet Koon. Myanmar’s military overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. More than 1,500 people have been killed by security forces since the coup.
Jonathan Head, the BBC’s Southeast Asia correspondent, said the government’s use of airstrikes in recalcitrant areas had become routine.
Source: BBC
2. Economics & Business
ADB cuts annual growth forecast
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has cut its economic growth forecasts for Asia’s developing economies, pointing to challenges including China’s “zero Covid” lockdown, the war in Ukraine, and rising interest rates, the Manila-based bank said on Wednesday in its growth forecast for 2022. 4.3 percent, down sharply from 5.2 percent in April Excluding China, the rest of developing Asia is expected to grow by 5.3 percent in 2022 and 2023.
The bank also said that while the lifting of pandemic restrictions is encouraging consumer spending and investment across the region, the war in Ukraine has “raised global uncertainty, worsened supply disruptions, worsened supply disruptions, and destabilized energy and food markets.”
Interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are also weighing on global demand, while a new lockdown in China has hampered growth in the world’s second-largest economy, the bank said.
The bank raised its inflation forecast to 4.5 percent in 2022 and 4 percent in 2023, up from 3.7 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively, due to rising food and energy prices.
Source: Al-Jazeera
UK to cut import taxes from some of world’s poorest countries
The UK is to cut import taxes on products from developing countries to boost trade links as part of the Developing Countries Trading Scheme. This scheme will come to fruition in January. Additionally, this scheme is part of the UK’s attempt to use commerce to lessen developing countries’ reliance on aid, covering 65 developing nations. Moreover, according to the agreement, they can also hold the countries responsible for failing to uphold their duties over climate change and human rights or labor violations.
Source: BBC
Export to Nepal and Bhutan likely to increase thanks to India
India has offered free transit to third-world countries during the recent visit of the prime minister to the country. This opens many new doorways to the exports of Bangladesh’s goods.
Currently, Bangladesh cannot export any goods to Bhutan and Nepal since the countries are landlocked. Therefore, by paying no fees, more trade opportunities are expected between Bangladesh and those countries in addition to India since trucks will use Indian highways to transport goods. Railways are also a part of the agreement and the Chilahati-Holdibari and Birol border will be the route for this.
The Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) was signed in 2015, with Bhutan is yet to approve it. Draft of the protocol and rules on how the vehicles would move has already been prepared and now India’s proposed transit facility will gain momentum on the agreement.
Source: Prothom Alo
3. Science & Technology
Brief outage hits Zoom
On Thursday morning, Zoom was hit by a huge outrage disrupting many users who were using it for work and meetings at that time. Despite its usage declining since the pandemic, numerous people were affected.
According to data from the outrage-tracking site Down Detector, Tens of thousands of users reported this issue before 11 am eastern time. However, the number of reports did reduce by a bit 30 minutes later. Zoom recognized the issue and responded back saying their engineers were working on it before resolving it shortly.
By noon, Zoom tweeted out that the issue was fixed and apologized for the inconvenience. They also mentioned that they’re monitoring the situation so that further outrages don’t take place.
Source: CNN
4. Environment
Denmark first country to offer “loss and damage” climate funding to developing nations
Denmark makes history as the first country to provide loss and damage compensation to developing countries impacted by climate change. This new loss and damage funding is a component of the 2022 Finance Act, which seeks to allocate at least 60% of its budget to aiding nations in climate change adaptation. Since they believe it is unfair that the poorest nations suffer the most despite their minimal contribution to climate change. However, affluent countries like the US, the EU, and others who have made large contributions to greenhouse gas emissions have opposed the establishment of such funds.
Source: Reuters
Disclaimer: The information provided here is obtained solely from the aforementioned third parties. Youth Policy Forum (YPF) is not responsible for any misinformation or misrepresentation.