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October
Former Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharif Vows to Work Toward Economic Recovery
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - Pakistan's three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif kick-started his party's campaign for next year's election on Saturday after arriving home from four years of self-imposed exile in London, promising to tackle record inflation.
"I want to serve this nation," said the 73-year-old veteran politician in his address to thousands of his supporters at his eastern hometown of Lahore.
"My only desire is to see this nation prosper," he said after he compared today's essential goods prices with his last tenure before he was ousted in 2017.
He promised to work toward economic recovery, without laying any plans, saying: "We will control inflation."
Earlier, he landed in a chartered plane at Islamabad airport where he signed and filed appeals against the convictions he was jailed for before he left the country in 2019.
Sharif had not set foot in Pakistan since leaving for London in 2019 to receive medical treatment while serving a 14-year prison sentence for corruption. His convictions remain in force, but a court on Thursday barred authorities from arresting him until Tuesday, when he is to appear in court.
While he cannot run for or hold public office because of his convictions, his legal team says he plans to appeal and his party says he aims to become prime minister for a fourth time.
Sharif's biggest challenge will be to wrest back his support base from his main rival, Khan, who despite being in jail remains popular following his ouster from the premiership in 2022.
Khan, too, is disqualified from the election because of his August graft conviction, which he has appealed.
ECONOMIC GROWTH
Nuclear-armed Pakistan, a nation of 241 million people, is experiencing the impact of an economic crisis that has worsened during the 16-month rule of Nawaz Sharif's younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, who led a coalition government after Khan's removal.
The elder Sharif has a record of pursuing economic growth and development. When he was removed as premier in 2017, Pakistan's growth rate was 5.8% and inflation was around 4%. In September, inflation was more than 31% year-on-year and growth is projected to be less than 2% this financial year.
"Things have worsened to the extent that people have to chose either to pay their electricity bills or feed their kids," the elder Sharif told the Lahore rally. "It has become impossible for people to pay bills. People are committing suicide."
Rising living costs have imposed severe pressures on many Pakistanis after the younger Sharif's coalition government had to agree to harsh fiscal adjustments to resume funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which had suspended payments after Khan scuttled a deal in his last days in office.
"Inflation has killed me and my family financially. I closed my shop because of losses," said Raheel Sarwar, 40, at the rally.
Nawaz Sharif has said he was ousted from government at the behest of the powerful military after he fell out with top generals, who play an outsized role in Pakistani politics.
He says the military then backed Khan in the 2018 general election. Khan and the military deny this.
The military and Khan fell out in 2022, and over the last few months they have been involved in a bruising showdown, which has afforded Sharif some political space.
The military denies that it interferes in politics.
"An evergreen rule about Pakistani politics is that your chances of taking power are always greater when you're in the good books of the army," said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center.
"Over his long political career, Sharif's relationship with the military brass has blown hot and cold. It's now in a relatively cordial phase, and he stands to benefit politically." (Reuters)
October
China's Xi Offers to Help Sri Lanka; Buy More of its Exports
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - China is willing to offer assistance to Sri Lanka without political conditions and buy more of its exports, President Xi Jinping told his Sri Lankan counterpart on Friday in Beijing, state media said.
The assurances came a week after the crisis-hit island nation said it had reached agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China on $4.2 billion of debt, a fraction of the roughly $7 billion it owes Chinese lenders, both bilateral and commercial.
"The two sides should make every effort to promote Colombo port city and Hambantota," Xi told Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, a summary of their meeting showed, referring to major projects China has backed in its 'Belt and Road' effort.
Wickremesinghe was in the Chinese capital for the Belt and Road Forum that ended on Wednesday as well as talks on restructuring debt.
"China is willing to continue to provide assistance to Sri Lanka without attaching political conditions, to help it cope with the difficulties it faces," Xi added.
Last May Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt as dollar reserves fell to a point where it was unable to pay for essential imports such as fuel and medicine.
"China is willing to expand the import of Sri Lanka's ... products and will encourage Chinese enterprises to invest," Xi said. (Reuters)
October
South Korea's Yoon Departs for Saudi Arabia and Qatar
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol left for Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Saturday to discuss business cooperation as well as to discuss security conditions amid the crisis in the Middle East, his office said.
Yoon, in what would be the first state visit by a South Korean leader, will hold talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday, and will travel to Qatar on Oct. 24-25 for a summit and to attend a business forum.
The state visit takes place roughly a year after the Saudi crown prince visited South Korea and discussed cooperation in the areas of energy, defence and infrastructure construction, signing investment pacts worth $30 billion with Korean firms.
Business leaders accompanying President Yoon include Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair E.S. Chung and the heads of Hanwha, GS, and HD Hyundai conglomerates, according to Yoon's office. (Reuters)
October
Malaysia PM Proposes Free Trade Pact Between ASEAN, Gulf Council
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - Malaysia is proposing the creation of a free trade agreement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) its premier said on Friday at a summit of the two blocs.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said such an agreement would be the first of its kind between ASEAN and Gulf states.
"This agreement is crucial in advancing progressive, inclusive and sustainable growth especially as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and face geopolitical uncertainties," he said in a speech at the ASEAN-GCC Summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
ASEAN, a 10-member bloc of more than 600 million people, has for years been seeking to integrate its economies, worth a combined $2.3 trillion, through trade, investment and harmonised standards and customs procedures.
However, efforts to establish free trade deals have been protracted, with some members with exports-reliant economies going it alone in seeking better access to their key markets.
ASEAN is part of the Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership (RCEP) along with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. (Reuters)
October
North Korea's Kim Vows to 'Faithfully' Fulfil Agreements Made with Russia's Putin
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his resolve to fulfil agreements made at his summit last month with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he met visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, state media KCNA reported on Friday.
Kim took a rare trip to Russia last month during which he invited Putin to Pyongyang and discussed military cooperation, including over North Korea's satellite programme, and the war in Ukraine.
Kim and Lavrov discussed ways to ramp up cooperation to actively respond to regional and global issues based on "solid political and strategic trust relations," and Lavrov conveyed Putin's greetings to Kim, KCNA said.
Kim pledged to "work out a stable, forward-looking, far-reaching plan for the DPRK-Russia relations in the new era by faithfully implementing the agreements ... and push forward with the cause of building a powerful state," KCNA said.
He was referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Lavrov signed a plan for exchanges in 2024-25 as they held separate talks to follow up on the summit and explore greater cooperation on the economy, culture and advanced science and technology, KCNA said.
The two diplomats also discussed how to place bilateral ties "on a higher stage," it said.
"Both sides had an in-depth exchange of views on intensifying joint action on several regional and international issues including the situation on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asian region and reached a consensus of views on them," KCNA said in another dispatch.
Lavrov has departed Pyongyang after the meetings, it said.
Lavrov, at a reception after arriving in Pyongyang on Wednesday, thanked Pyongyang's "unwavering and principled support" for Russia in the Ukraine war, and vowed "complete support and solidarity" for the North, according to Moscow's foreign ministry.
'FIRST TARGET OF DESTRUCTION'
Russia and North Korea have been seeking to forge closer ties in the face of what they see as a hostile and aggressive U.S.-led Western camp.
Seoul and Washington have expressed concerns about growing exchanges between Moscow and Pyongyang, and the U.S. has stepped up military drills with Japan in response to North Korea's evolving military threats, involving an aircraft carrier and other strategic assets.
In a separate commentary, KCNA criticised the U.S. deployment of the strategic assets, including a B-52 bomber and F-22 Raptor stealth fighter, and the joint exercises.
Those assets would be "the first targets of destruction" if signs of any attack on North Korea were detected, it said, adding the country has already enacted "the policy of nuclear force which allowed the necessary procedures of action."
"This is the intentional nuclear war provocative moves of the U.S.," the commentary said.
"Now that the U.S. and gangsters of the 'Republic of Korea' have committed a provocation of nuclear war against the DPRK, the DPRK will take corresponding option," it said, referring to South Korea. (Reuters)
October
US Encourages Afghanistan's Neighbors, Including Pakistan, to Accept Refugees
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - The United States "strongly" encouraged Afghanistan's neighbors, including Pakistan, to allow entry for Afghans seeking protection and urged them to uphold obligations in treatment of refugees, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.
THE TAKE
Pakistan has set a Nov. 1 deadline for all illegal immigrants, including hundreds of thousands of Afghans, to leave the country or face forcible expulsion.
BY THE NUMBERS
Some 1.73 million Afghans in Pakistan have no legal documents, according to Islamabad, which alleged that Afghan nationals carried out over a dozen suicide bombings this year.
Pakistan has hosted the largest number of Afghan refugees since the Soviet invasion of Kabul in 1979. Islamabad says the number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan totaled 4.4 million.
Some 20,000 or more Afghans who fled the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan are in Pakistan awaiting the processing of their applications for U.S. Special Immigration Visas (SIVs) or resettlement in the United States as refugees.
KEY QUOTE
"We strongly encourage Afghanistan's neighbors, including Pakistan, to allow entry for Afghans seeking international protection and to coordinate with international humanitarian organizations ... to provide humanitarian assistance," a U.S. State Department spokesperson told reporters on Thursday.
CONTEXT
Pakistan says the deportation process would be orderly and conducted in phases and could begin with people with criminal records.
Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have said Pakistan's threat to force out Afghan migrants was "unacceptable".
Relations have deteriorated between Pakistan and Afghanistan over the past couple of years, largely over accusations that Islamists fighting the Pakistani state operate from Afghan territory. The Taliban deny this claim.
A group of former top U.S. officials and resettlement organizations have urged Pakistan to exempt from deportation to Afghanistan thousands of Afghan applicants for special U.S. visas or refugee relocation to the United States. (Reuters)
October
Taliban Says Plans to Formally Join China's Belt and Road Initiative
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - The Taliban administration wants to formally join Chinese President Xi Jinping's huge 'Belt and Road' infrastructure initiative and will send a technical team to China for talks, Afghanistan's acting commerce minister said on Thursday.
Beijing has sought to develop its ties with the Taliban-run government since it took over in 2021, even though no other foreign government has recognised the administration.
Last month, China became the first country to appoint an ambassador to Kabul, with other nations retaining previous ambassadors or appointed heads of mission in a charge d'affaires capacity that does not involve formally presenting credentials to the government.
"We requested China to allow us to be a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Belt and Road Initiative... (and) are discussing technical issues today," acting Commerce Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters in an interview a day after the Belt and Road Forum ended in Beijing.
The Pakistan "economic corridor" refers to the huge flagship section of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Afghanistan's neighbour.
Azizi said the administration would also send a technical team to China to enable it to "better understand" the issues standing in the way of it joining the initiative, but did not elaborate on what was holding Afghanistan back.
Afghanistan could offer China a wealth of coveted mineral resources. Several Chinese companies already operate there, including the Metallurgical Corp. of China Ltd (MCC) which has held talks with the Taliban administration, as well as the previous Western-backed government, over plans for a potentially huge copper mine.
"China, which invests all over the world, should also invest in Afghanistan... we have everything they need, such as lithium, copper and iron," Azizi said. "Afghanistan is now, more than ever, ready for investment."
Asked about the MCC talks, Azizi said discussions had been delayed because the mine was near a historical site, but they were still ongoing. "The Chinese company has made a huge investment, and we support them," he added.
Investors have said security remains a concern. The Islamic State militant group has targeted foreign embassies and a hotel popular with Chinese investors in Kabul.
Asked about the security challenges, Azizi said security was a priority for the Taliban-run government, adding that after 20 years of war - which ended when foreign forces withdrew and the Taliban took over - meant more parts of the country were safe.
"It is now possible to travel to provinces where there is industry, agriculture and mines that one previously could not visit... security can be guaranteed," Azizi added.
Afghanistan and 34 other countries agreed to work together on the digital economy and green development on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum on Wednesday. (Reuters)
October
China's Xi Calls for Efforts to Fight Cross-Border Crimes With Thailand
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - China and Thailand should step up efforts to crack down on cross-border crimes such as telecommunications fraud and online gambling, President Xi Jinping told Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin in Beijing on Thursday.
China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Thailand within multilateral frameworks, state media China Central Television quoted Xi as saying while meeting Srettha. (Reuters)
October
Pakistan Court Forbids Arrest of Ex-PM Nawaz Sharif on His Return
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - A Pakistan court on Thursday barred authorities from arresting a former three-time prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, upon his expected return home on Saturday from four years in self-imposed exile, his lawyer said.
Lawyer Azam Nazeer Tarar told reporters that Sharif had been granted protective bail, under which authorities could not arrest him until he himself appears before a court on Oct. 24, adding that Sharif would address a rally in the city of Lahore upon his return.
Sharif's younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, was prime minister from 2022 until this year, when his government was replaced by a caretaker administration upon the dissolution of parliament in advance of a general election due early next year.
The younger Sharif welcomed the court's decision.
"He was implicated in absurd cases and subjected to mistreatment," Shehbaz Sharif said on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter.
"Any fair hearing would have established his innocence."
Nawaz Sharif was in 2018 convicted on corruption charges, which he denied, in two cases and sentenced to a total of 14 years in prison.
A court allowed him to travel to London for medical treatment in 2019 under a rare surety bond, under which he undertook to return after treatment. Later, he was declared an absconder after failing to return.
The veteran politician has said he was ousted as prime minister in 2017 by leaders of the powerful military and the judiciary after he fell out with the generals.
The military, which has ruled Pakistan for extended periods since independence in 1947 and retains significant influence, even over civilian government, denies that.
Tarar said Sharif would follow up appeals against his convictions, which have been pending since he left, in the hope of overturning them and campaigning for the general election.
Upon his return on Saturday, he would address a rally in his old stronghold of Lahore, Tarar said.
"It is everyone's constitutional rights to freely do political activities," Tarar said.
Sharif's party has said he would like to contest a seat in the general election but that would depend on the court over-turning his convictions.
Groomed by the military when he entered politics in the late 1970s, Sharif fell out with then army chief, General Pervez Musharraf, during a second stint as prime minister and was ousted in a 1999 coup.
Musharraf ruled for nearly a decade when Pakistan, which supported the U.S.-led "war on terror", was rocked by Islamist militant violence. Sharif returned to Pakistan and to politics in 2007. (Reuters)
October
Scientists Test Fukushima Fish After Nuclear Plant Water Release
Written by Nur Yasmin
VOINews, Jakarta - A team of international scientists collected fish samples from a port town near Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday, seeking to assess the impact of the plant's recent release of treated radioactive water into the sea.
The study by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog is the first since the water release began in August, a move that drew criticism from local fisherman and prompted China to ban all imports of marine products from Japan over food safety fears.
Scientists from China, South Korea and Canada observed the collection of fish samples delivered fresh off the boat at Hisanohama port, about 50 kilometres south of the plant which was destroyed in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The samples will be sent to laboratories in each country for independent testing, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
"The Japanese government has requested that we do this and one of the reasons they want us to do this is to try and strengthen confidence in the data that Japan is producing," said Paul McGinnity, a research scientist with the IAEA overseeing the survey.
More than a million metric tons of water - enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized smimming pools - was contaminated from contact with fuel rods at the reactor following the 2011 disaster.
Before being released, the water is filtered to remove isotopes, leaving only tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is hard to separate, plant operator Tepco says. The water is also diluted until tritium levels fall below regulatory limits.
Tritium is considered to be relatively harmless because its radiation is not energetic enough to penetrate human skin; however, when ingested at levels above those in the released water it can raise cancer risks, a Scientific American article said in 2014. (Reuters)