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Image makeover: A year after turmoil, China assures Colombo of IMF bailout

March 7, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: Nearly a year after Sri Lanka declared default amid widespread economic and political turmoil—which ended the China-friendly Rajapakse dynasty’s long stranglehold on the island nation—Beijing has mercifully assured Colombo to support Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring. This comes days after China similarly assured its ‘all-weather friend’ Pakistan also as a face-saver […]

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Business

Pakistan: Imran evades arrest, media regulator bans his speeches on TV

March 6, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: Hours after controversial former Prime Minister Imran Khan dodged arrest in the Toshakhana corruption case and made ‘provocative statements’ against state institutions on Sunday, Pakistan’s electronic media watchdog banned satellite TV channels from broadcasting his live and recorded speeches with immediate effect. Evading arrest, Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman, […]

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Business

Roving Periscope: Amid multiple challenges and lower GDP growth, China hikes defense budget

March 6, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: With US President Joe Biden and many other American leaders, cutting across party lines, warning against China’s increasing hegemony and belligerence, Beijing has increased its defense budget for 2023 by 7.2 percent despite its lowest economic growth in 25 years in a post-Covid recovery year. According to the media reports, […]

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Business

CPEC: To protect USD 62 bn investment, China throws a USD 1.3 billion lifeline at drowning Pakistan

March 4, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: Amid apprehensions that the Afghan Taliban-supported Tehreeke-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTK) and the Baluch terrorists could target the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure projects and Gwadar Port, Beijing on Saturday approved a USD 1.3 billion loan for cash-strapped Islamabad to wean it away from declaring a Sri Lanka-type default in the coming […]

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Business

Road to 2024: China the strongest and the most disciplined “enemy”, says Nikki Haley

March 4, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: The level of superpower rivalry between the US and China showed up on Friday when Republican presidential aspirant, Indian-American politician Nikki Haley, warned that China is the strongest and the most-disciplined “enemy” that America has ever faced. The next US presidential election is due on November 5, 2024. In a […]

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Business

Roving Periscope: ‘Outcome document’, not “joint statement” in G-20 FMM, too

March 2, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit    New Delhi: The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, cast its shadow on the last year’s G-20 meeting in Indonesia. This year, the conflict may be eclipsing the G-20 bloc’s ongoing meetings in India. As in the recent Bengaluru meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs, […]

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Business

G-20 FMM: Global governance has failed to prevent wars; common interests ignored, says PM Modi

March 2, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit    New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said multilateralism is in crisis today and the failure of the global architecture of governance is affecting developing countries the most. Inaugurating the first foreign ministers’ meeting (FMM) of G-20 nations here in 2023, he said “The architecture of global governance created after the […]

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Business

Telecom: With 3 years’ target surpassed in 6 months, India to expand 5-G services

March 1, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit    New Delhi: In a rare feat, as the Indian telecommunication companies have surpassed the three-year 5-G rollout target given to them within six months, the government is all set to enhance the adoption of 5-G applications across various key segments in India. According to the media reports, quoting VL Kantha Rao, Additional […]

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Business

Roving Periscope: 30 lakh textile, other workers may lose jobs in Pakistan

March 1, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit    New Delhi: Amid reports that a broke Islamabad is also considering rationing food supplies even to the all-powerful armed forces, and that many companies are paying only 15-days’ salaries to their staff, Pakistan is likely to see millions of employees and workers being thrown out of jobs in the coming weeks. With […]

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Business

G-20 FMM: A two-day meeting begins in New Delhi

March 1, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: The capital of India is hosting from Wednesday evening an important meeting of foreign ministers of the member-states of the Group of 20 (G-20) economies in the backdrop of the recent conclave of these countries’ finance ministers and central bank chiefs in Bengaluru which ended without a consensus, or a […]

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