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January
India Commits to Help Sri Lanka on Debt in Prospective IMF Program
Written by Nur Yasmin
India has committed to help ease the debt burden of its crisis-stricken neighbor Sri Lanka as part of a possible International Monetary Fund-supported program, the IMF said on Monday.
The island nation of 22 million people has grappled with challenges during the past year ranging from a shortage of foreign currency to runaway inflation and a steep recession - the worst such crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.
Reuters reported last week that India had told the IMF it strongly supports Sri Lanka's debt restructuring plan as the island seeks a $2.9 billion loan from the global lender, according to a letter.
"Sri Lanka is engaged with other official bilateral creditors to obtain similar assurances," an IMF spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.
"As soon as adequate assurances are obtained and remaining requirements are met, including by the Sri Lankan authorities, a Fund-supported program for Sri Lanka can be presented to the IMF's Executive Board for approval that would unlock much needed financing."
Sri Lanka requires the backing of China and India - its biggest bilateral lenders - to reach a final agreement with the IMF that is essential to help the country emerge from its worst financial crisis in seven decades. (Reuters)
January
FBI says N. Korea-related hacker groups behind U.S. crypto firm heist
Written by Nur Yasmin
Two hacker groups associated with North Korea, the Lazarus Group and APT38, were responsible for the theft last June of $100 million from U.S. crypto firm Harmony's Horizon bridge, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Monday.
On Jan. 13, the groups used a privacy protocol called Railgun to launder over $60 million worth of ethereum stolen during the theft in June, the FBI said in a statement.
A portion of the stolen ethereum was subsequently sent to several virtual asset providers and converted to bitcoin, the FBI said.
The FBI said North Korea's theft and laundering of virtual currency is used to support its ballistic missile and Weapons of Mass Destruction programs.
In June last year, California-based Harmony said that a heist had hit its Horizon bridge, which was the underlying software used by digital tokens such as bitcoin and ether for transferring crypto between different blockchains.
Reuters in June reported that North Korean hackers were most likely behind the attack on Harmony, citing three digital investigative firms.
Harmony develops blockchains for decentralized finance - peer-to-peer sites that offer loans and other services without traditional gatekeepers such as banks - and non-fungible tokens. (Reuters)
January
Biden Nominates North Korea Human Rights Envoy, First Since 2017
Written by Nur Yasmin
The White House on Tuesday nominated a special envoy for human rights in North Korea, moving to fill a post that has been empty since 2017 amid debate over how rights issues fit with efforts to counter Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.
President Joe Biden nominated Julie Turner, a long-time diplomat and current director of the Office of East Asia and the Pacific in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the Department of State, the White House said in a statement.
She speaks Korean and has previously worked on North Korean human rights as a special assistant in the envoy's office, the statement said.
The special envoy position - and a similar one in South Korea - had become controversial as preceding administrations tried to bring North Korea to the negotiating table. Some activists said human rights had been shunted aside in favour of national security priorities.
Biden vowed repeatedly after taking office in 2021 that human rights would be at the centre of his foreign policy, but the position had remained vacant.
South Korea's ambassador on North Korean human rights expressed disappointment last year that Biden's administration had yet to appoint an envoy for the issue at the time.
North Korea has repeatedly rejected accusations of human rights abuses and blames sanctions for a dire humanitarian situation. It accuses Washington and Seoul of using the issue as a political tool to smear Pyongyang's reputation.
A landmark 2014 U.N. report on North Korean human rights concluded that North Korean security chiefs - and possibly leader Kim Jong Un himself - should face justice for overseeing a state-controlled system of Nazi-style atrocities.
Since then, North Korea's coronavirus curbs have aggravated human rights violations, United Nations investigators have said, citing extra restrictions on access to information, tighter border security and heightened digital surveillance. (Reuters)
January
U.N. aid chief raises women's rights concerns with Taliban in Afghan capital
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United Nations' aid chief visited Kabul on Monday and raised concerns over women's education and work with the Taliban administration's acting minister of foreign affairs, an Afghan ministry statement said.
The Taliban-run administration last month ordered NGOs not to allow most female employees to work, prompting many aid agencies to partially suspend operations in the midst of a humanitarian crisis unfolding during a bitterly cold winter.
U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths raised the issue of women's education and work and how this affected the U.N.'s operations, according to a ministry of foreign affairs statement.
Speaking generally about Griffiths's visit to Afghanistan, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Griffiths would engage the Taliban administration "with the same message that we've been delivering since the beginning on the need to to rollback the policies that were put in place" on women.
He said Griffiths would "underscore the message that humanitarian aid cannot be delivered without women."
Griffiths's travel follows a visit to Afghanistan last week by U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, who expressed alarm to Taliban officials in Kabul and the southern city of Kandahar over the administration's orders restricting women from work and education.
Acting Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi said he asked Griffiths to share with the international community the Taliban administration's "achievements and opportunities" like a general amnesty for former opponents, "instead of complaints and shortcomings."
The foreign ministry statement said Griffiths had acknowledged security had improved in the country, which had seen decades of fighting before the Taliban took over as foreign troops withdrew in 2021.
No foreign government has formally recognised the Taliban administration since it seized power, with some diplomats saying it must change course on women's rights. Many countries have expressed major concerns over most girls and women over the age of 12 being stopped from attending school or university.
Enforcement of sanctions and a cut in development aid have contributed to the country falling into an economic crisis which has left more than half the population dependent on humanitarian aid, aimed at meeting urgent needs. (reuters)
January
Pakistan says power restored after second major breakdown in months
Written by Nur Yasmin
Pakistan's energy minister on Tuesday blamed the worst power outage in months on a lack of investment in the network, saying the aid-dependant nation had "learned lessons" from the breakdown that left millions of people without electricity.
Like much of the national infrastructure, the power network desperately needs an upgrade, but funding has been patchy as Pakistan lurched from one International Monetary Fund bailout to the next. The outage, which began on Monday morning, was the second major breakdown since October.
"We learned lessons from yesterday that we need to invest in the distribution system," Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir told reporters as he announced that power had been fully restored to the nation of nearly 220 million people.
"There hasn't been any investment in improving these systems from the previous government," he added.
The International Monetary Fund has bailed out Pakistan five times in the last two decades. Its latest bailout tranche, however, is stuck due to differences with the government over a programme review that should have been completed in November.
Pakistan has enough installed power capacity to meet demand, but the sector is so heavily in debt that it cannot afford to invest in infrastructure and power lines. Analysts say transmission and distribution are the weakest links.
China has invested in its power sector as part of a $60 billion infrastructure scheme that feeds into its "Belt and Road" initiative, but details of this investment are unclear.
Dastgir said the cause of the outage was not yet known, but the ministry was conducting a safety audit of the entire network. "The government plans to add more power distribution lines within the next 36 months," he added.
Millions of Pakistanis suffer partial blackouts almost daily, including scheduled "load shedding" power outs aimed at conserving electricity.
Many take these disruptions in their stride, investing in generators and solar panels to generate their own power, but the frail infrastructure also takes its toll. "Without electricity, we can't do anything," said Sara Khan, the principal of a school for girls in Jacobabad, a southern city which regularly goes up to 18 hours a day without power. "The people are facing too many difficulties because of the power cuts." (reuters)
January
Peru arrests 200 in Lima; Machu Picchu ordered closed as protests flare
Written by Nur Yasmin
Peruvian police arrested over 200 people accused of illegally entering the campus of a major Lima university, while authorities in Cusco shut the Incan citadel of Machu Picchu and the Inca trail as deadly anti-government protests spread nationwide.
Dozens of Peruvians were injured after tensions flared again on Friday as police clashed with protesters, with security forces in capital city Lima using tear gas to repel demonstrators throwing glass bottles and stones, as fires burned in the streets.
Some 46 people have been killed in the weeks-long clashes and another nine in traffic accidents related to the barricades set up amid the protests.
Alfonso Barrenechea, with the crime prevention division of the prosecutor's office, told local radio station RPP that arrested 205 people at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos for illegally trespassing on the university's premises and for allegedly stealing electronic goods.
A group of masked protesters stormed the campus late Friday and removed security personnel from the campus after taking vests and other equipment from them, the university said in a statement.
In videos circulating online, an armored vehicle can be seen breaking down a door on the university campus to allow entry for security forces.
In the Cusco region, the gateway to Machu Picchu, Glencore's (GLEN.L) major Antapaccay copper mine suspended operations on Friday after protesters attacked the premises - one of the largest in the country - for the third time this month.
Airports in Arequipa, Cusco and the southern city of Juliaca were also attacked by demonstrators, delivering a fresh blow to Peru's tourism industry.
Cultural authorities in Cusco said in a statement that "in view of the current social situation in which our region and the country are immersed, the closure of the Inca trail network and Machu Picchu has been ordered, as of January 21 and until further notice".
The imposing Incan citadel is a major tourist attraction, with over a million visitors per year, though that number was reduced due to the pandemic.
Protests have rocked Peru since former President Pedro Castillo was ousted in December after he attempted to dissolve the legislature to prevent an impeachment vote.
The unrest, which until this week had been concentrated in Peru's south, has prompted the government to extend a state of emergency to six regions, curtailing some civil rights. (Reuters)
January
China says COVID outbreak has infected 80% of population
Written by Nur Yasmin
The possibility of a big COVID-19 rebound in China over the next two or three months is remote as 80% of people have been infected, a prominent government scientist said on Saturday.
The mass movement of people during the ongoing Lunar New Year holiday period may spread the pandemic, boosting infections in some areas, but a second COVID wave is unlikely in the near term, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said on the Weibo social media platform.
But some experts said that figure probably vastly undercounts the full impact, as it excludes those who die at home, and because many doctors have said they are discouraged from citing COVID as a cause of death. (Reuters)
January
Taiwan president tells pope war with China not an option
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has written to Pope Francis to say that war between Taiwan and China is not an option and only by respecting the Taiwanese people's insistence on sovereignty and freedom can there be healthy ties with Beijing.
The Vatican is Chinese-claimed Taiwan's sole European diplomatic ally, and Taipei has watched with concern as Pope Francis has moved to improve relations with China. The democratically governed island has formal ties with only 14 countries, largely due to Chinese pressure.
In the letter, sent in response to the pope's World Day Of Peace message on Jan. 1, Tsai said war in Ukraine has made the world appreciate the value of peace and that maintaining regional security has become an important consensus.
"In my National Day speech last year, I reiterated that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are the foundation for the development of cross-Strait relations and armed confrontation is absolutely not an option," Tsai said, according to a copy of the letter released by her office on Monday.
"Only by respecting the commitment of the Taiwanese people to our sovereignty, democracy, and freedom can there be a foundation for resuming constructive interaction across the Taiwan Strait," she said, referring to the speech she gave on Oct. 10 last year.
China staged war games near Taiwan last August, and Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.
Tsai wrote that Taiwan has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and provided masks and protective equipment to countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it "hopes to give the world a better Taiwan".
"Though we are still excluded from the World Health Organization, we are convinced that taking the lead in making positive contributions will drive a 'virtuous circle'," she added.
Taiwan has complained repeatedly that its exclusion from the WHO, due to Chinese pressure, has hampered efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the WHO and China have denied that.
Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims, saying that only the island's 23 million people can decide their future. (Reuters)
January
New Zealand's Incoming PM Says He Is 'Making Haste' On Changes In Priorities
Written by Nur Yasmin
New Zealand's incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Monday that his government would be "making haste" on reprioritising and looking at whether current policies need to be scaled down.
Hipkins appeared Monday on a number of New Zealand media after he was chosen on Sunday to replace Jacinda Ardern as head of the Labour party, thereby making him the country's next prime minister.
Hipkins told TVNZ's Breakfast on Monday that the government would be refocusing on "bread and butter issues" for New Zealand including inflation and would look at reining in other policies, without elaborating.
"We'll be making haste on all of those issues," Hipkins told a second morning programme the AM Show. "Within the next few weeks you're going to see quite a lot of clarity around us about reprioritisation."
Hipkins has a tough road ahead with Labour trailing the opposition in opinion polls and the country expected to fall into recession in the next quarter before a general election on Oct. 14, but he was looking on the bright side.
"I'm really optimistic, I've had a huge amount of support. And I think New Zealand are giving me a fair hearing," Hipkins said on the programme.
Labour has pursued a number of policies that have been unpopular or seen as expensive by many voters, including the proposed merging of state-owned radio and television stations and an overhaul of ownership of the country's water infrastructure.
Hipkins is expected to be sworn in as prime minister on Wednesday after Ardern officially resigns. (Reuters)
January
It's 'Now or Never' to Stop Japan's Shrinking Population, PM Says
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japanese Prime minister Fumio Kishida pledged on Monday to take urgent steps to tackle the country's declining birth rate, saying it was "now or never" for one of the world's oldest societies.
Japan has in recent years been trying to encourage its people to have more children with promises of cash bonuses and better benefits, but it remains one of the most expensive places in the world to raise a child, according to surveys.
Births plunged to a new record low last year, according to official estimates, dropping below 800,000 for the first time - a watershed moment that came eight years earlier than the government had expected.
That most likely precipitated a further population decline in a country where the median age is 49, the highest in the world behind only the tiny city-state of Monaco.
"Our nation is on the cusp of whether it can maintain its societal functions," Kishida said in a policy speech at the opening of this year's parliamentary session.
"It is now or never when it comes to policies regarding births and child-rearing - it is an issue that simply cannot wait any longer," he added.
Kishida said he would submit plans to double the budget for child-related policies by June, and that a new Children and Families government agency to oversee the issue would be set up in April.
Japan is the third-most-expensive country globally to raise a child, according to YuWa Population Research, behind only China and South Korea, countries also seeing shrinking populations in worrying signs for the global economy.
Other countries are also coming to grips with ageing and shrinking populations. Last week, China reported that its population dropped in 2022 for the first time in 60 years. (reuters)