The citizens of Myanmar woke up on Feb. 1 to find that they were under military rule after a coup deposed the country’s elected leader, Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. She was detained by the military, along with other senior government officials. Troops patrolled the streets after the military declared a one-year state of emergency. The coup occurred on the day parliament was to convene and form a new government. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy secured the overwhelming majority (83 percent) of seats in the Nov. 8, 2020, election, the second contested poll since the end of…
Author: zenger.news
India has focused on opening its insurance sector to foreign investment and earmarked funds for the Covid-19 vaccine in the Budget for the financial year 2021-22, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the parliament on Feb 1. Foreign direct investment in insurance companies has been increased to 74 percent from the earlier 49 percent. But insurance companies still need to appoint resident Indians as most of their directors and in key management positions. Battered by the pandemic With two successive quarters of negative growth and adverse effects of the pandemic, India’s economy — the fifth-largest in the world — has gone…
BENGALURU, India — Foreign firms outsourcing jobs is big business for India’s IT firms, with revenue for the sector projected by rating agency ICRA to increase by up to 9 percent in 2021-22. Indian Information Technology firms posted healthy growth last quarter, backed by an increase in the number of outsourcing deals with foreign clients. Many deals came with “rebadging” — the practice of transferring employees from one organization to another. While this trend is not new in the IT sector, it has increased during the pandemic. For foreign firms, it is an easy way to offload excess staff; for…
Though negotiators have been in Doha, Qatar, since early January for the second round of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, top leaders from both sides have been notably absent. Meanwhile, President Ashraf Ghani huddled with political leaders in Afghanistan during what appears to be a stalemate in the talks. Ghani met with the chairman of the High Council of National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah, former President Hamid Karzai and former jihadi leader, professor Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, on Jan. 26, according to a statement from the president’s office. “An array of issues were discussed, mainly on the ongoing…
Rebounding from a technical recession in 2020, India’s economy is on track for double-digit growth in the next financial year, though the full impact of the pandemic has not yet been assessed. The International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook report projects India’s gross domestic product to grow by 11.5 percent in 2021, while the government’s Economic Survey projects growth of 11 percent. India follows an April-March financial year. India will be the only country to record double-digit growth, according to the IMF’s projections. Among emerging markets, China will be second to India, with 8.3 percent GDP growth projected. The United States’ GDP…
MUMBAI, India — Students can now go directly to one of the highest security prisons in India — without having committed any crime. Historic sections of the 155-year-old Yerawada Central Prison, where Mahatama Gandhi was imprisoned three times, are now open to students, teachers and social organizations as part of a tourism initiative launched on Republic Day, Jan 26, by the chief minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray. Thackeray said visitors will be reminded of the leaders of India’s freedom struggle during their tour. In addition to Gandhi, the prison at various times also housed Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister,…
BALI, Indonesia — Bali’s pristine beaches, Indonesia’s main draw for tourists, are paradise. But days after the new year began, relaxing on the white sands of Double Six Beach and in the surrounding areas became impossible. An invasion came ashore, disrupting the placid waters with mounds of scattered trash — much of it plastic waste. It’s not unusual for Bali, where the northwest monsoon season drives a rubbish crisis from December to March. All kinds of waste washes up on Bali’s western shores. Workers and volunteers have cleaned up more than 88 tons of trash every day, according to local…
In 2018, when Priyanka Chopra got married to Nick Jonas, she wore a sparkling red ensemble for her Hindu wedding. The lehenga (skirt and blouse worn by Indian brides), intricately embroidered by 110 craftsmen over 3,720 hours, was teamed with Mughal-style jewelry with uncut-diamonds, emeralds and Japanese cultured pearls, created by Sabyasachi Jewelry. Jonas wore a hand-quilted silk sherwani (a long coat that is buttoned to the neck with the length usually extending just below the knee) teamed with an embroidered stole by the same brand. Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas wearing a bridal outfits from Sabyasachi. (priyankachopra/Instagram)The…
SRINAGAR, India — Shareef-ud-din Ahmed (68) beats a sheet of metal in a makeshift workshop in his courtyard in north Kashmir’s Kreeri village. He carves out motifs on the orange-red metal — often shifting the utensil in his hand from one side another. The symmetric imprints on the metal reveal the mastery he has over his craft. For generations Ahmed’s family has molded and engraved copper into works of art; and despite difficulties vows to continue the legacy. “I have survived on this craft and it has also fed my family, so even though profit margins may have dwindled, leaving…
KOLKATA, India — Tribal members who used to poach wild animals for meat and trade are now becoming part of India’s growing ecotourism business. A group of Pardhi youths in Madhya Pradesh state who have been working as tourist guides at the state’s Panna Tiger Reserve for the past couple of years are soon set to begin advanced training in ecotourism activities. In pre-pandemic days, these youths helped tourists enjoy experiential walks in the wilderness. With domestic tourists now trickling back in, these youths are starting to be back in business. Ecotourism is providing them with an alternative livelihood. During…