1: The biggest win on climate since Paris...?
A new funding arrangement on loss and damage - a pooled fund for countries most affected by climate change - has been hailed as a "historic moment". It can be seen as the most important climate advance since the Paris Agreement at COP 2015.
For decades the victims of a changing climate were the ghosts the richer world just couldn't see.
Money has long been available to cut carbon or help countries adapt to rising temperatures - but there was nothing for those who had lost everything.
"For someone who has seen his home disappear in the floods in Pakistan, a solar panel or a sea wall isn't much use," explained Harjeet Singh from the Climate Action Network.
The COP27 decision on loss and damage won't fix that immediately.
The fund comes with many unknowns. What will be the criteria to trigger a payout? Where will the money come from, and will it be enough?
Compare the EU's €60m contribution against the $30bn costs that Pakistan faces.
But establishing the loss and damage fund is about more than money or compensation or reparations - it is really about solidarity and rebuilding trust.
Despite the dramatic impacts the rising temperatures will inflict on the world, this fund signals that no one will be left behind.
It is a concrete demonstration that we really are all in this together.
2: ...Or the biggest loss on climate change since Paris?
For many countries, the last hours of the negotiation represent a real step backwards in the fight against rising temperatures.
While the loss and damage text represented a big win, the overall cover decision is being seen as a missed opportunity in the fight against climate change.
The man who ran the COP26 negotiations in Glasgow put it bluntly.
"Emissions peaking before 2025, as the science tells us is necessary. Not in this text," said Alok Sharma.
"Clear follow-through on the phase down of coal. Not in this text."
As well as all these limitations there was also a sharp U-turn on the language around fossil fuels.
The text now includes a reference to "low emission and renewable energy".
This is being seen as a significant loophole that could allow for the development of further gas resources, as gas produces less emissions than coal.
3: The spirit of 1.5C is strong, even if the text is weak
There's a fifty-fifty chance over the next five years that we'll go over this important marker of temperature increases, compared to pre-industrial times. We're likely to pass it permanently by 2031.
But at COP27, the EU and other developed countries were willing to die on the hill of strengthening the promise to keep 1.5C alive.
Their efforts were ultimately in vain as the cover text failed to include a reference to the phasing out of all fossil fuels, seen as a necessary advance on last year's decision to phase down the use of coal.
"I wish we got fossil fuel phase out," said Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, the Climate Envoy of the Marshall Islands, who along with other island states fear annihilation if temperatures rise above 1.5C.
"The current text is not enough. But we've shown with the loss and damage fund that we can do the impossible. So we know we can come back next year and get rid of fossil fuels once and for all."
There's a deep sense of solidarity by the richer nations with the island states on this issue of keeping below 1.5C
Faith in the threshold has also become a key differential between the US, EU and other richer countries and China, which is markedly less concerned about the goal.
While the world will undoubtedly be a better place the closer we stay to the 1.5C guiderail, belief in the ideal is also a political and economic bridge to the developing world.
So even as the science and the COP process falter on 1.5C, expect the diplomatic attachment to grow stronger in the coming years.
4: The fossil fuel industry has finally come out of the shadows
One key takeaway from COP27 was the presence and power of fossil fuel - be they delegates or countries.
Attendees connected to the oil and gas industry were everywhere. Some 636 were part of country delegations and trade teams.
The crammed pavilions felt at times like a fossil fuel trade fair. This influence was clearly reflected in the final text.
Demands from India and others for all fossil fuels to be phased down didn't survive, despite the backing of the EU and many other countries rich and poor.
Many African countries were also keen to use the COP as a platform to promote new oil and gas initiatives in their countries.
"The fact that the outcome only talks about 'phase-down of unabated coal power' is a disaster for Africa and for the climate," said Babawale Obayanju, from Friends of the Earth Africa.
"We don't need more gas extraction in Africa, devastating our communities for the benefit of rich countries and corporations. What we needed from COP27 was agreement to a rapid, equitable phase out of all fossil fuels."
That battle will resume at COP28 in Dubai.
5: Democracy really matters for the climate
The undoubted darling of the COP was Brazil's president-elect Luiz Ignacio Lula Da Silva.
Just as he did in Copenhagen in 2009, Lula electrified the conference with his promise of zero deforestation by 2030.
More than his commitment to the Amazon, Lula restored people's faith in the power of the ballot box to solve the climate problem.
So too, in his un-showy way did President Biden. The retention of the Senate by the Democrats most likely ensures that his Inflation Reduction Act will not be overturned or watered down.
At a stroke it puts the United States' carbon cutting goal for 2030 within reach.
The affirmation that democracy is an effective weapon against climate change was also demonstrated in the actions of the host country.
With security and surveillance everywhere, the conference took place in an atmosphere best described as barely restrained intolerance.
As well as the ongoing troubles over human rights, the Egyptian hosts paid scant attention to basic functional needs of a conference such as food, drink and decent wifi.
When push came to shove, there was a distinct lack of empathy from negotiators for the presidency. This really mattered in the final showdown.
COP27 could have been a major advance against climate change. That it ultimately didn't hit that mark is at least partly down to the hosts. (with inputs from BBC)
Climate change has taken on formidable proportions as a global problem. There is virtually no country that has not been impacted by climate change. Anthropogenic activities are largely to blame for the ever-growing hazards associated with climate change. In fact, man has to live within the limits of the earth. When the limits are breached, many untoward phenomena may have to be faced. The effects of climate change have surfaced since the 1800s. With the Industrial Revolution, human made remarkable progress on various fronts. At the same time, various problems have also cropped up, with climate change being one of the formidable ones. Burning fossil fuels – coal, gas and oil – results in greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide and methane. Such gases trap the sun’s heat in the atmosphere, thus raising temperatures. Clearing land and forests can give rise to carbon dioxide. Likewise, landfills generate methane. Energy, industrial, transport, construction and land-use sectors are the main emitters of harmful gases. Greenhouse emissions
MAY 16: This is the fifth heatwave in the capital since March.
Officials in many parts of the country have asked people to take precautions as temperatures are set to remain high.
They warned the heat could cause health concerns for the vulnerable, including infants, the elderly and people with chronic diseases.
The states of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Bihar have particularly witnessed soaring temperatures in the past few days, India's weather department said.
It added that temperatures are likely to fall by 2-4C in some areas but there may not be any respite from intense heat.
Severe heatwaves have thrown millions of lives and livelihoods out of gear in northern India this summer.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked state chief ministers to draw up plans to mitigate the impact of extreme heat as temperatures rose faster than usual.
While heatwaves are common in India, especially in May and June, summer began early this year with high temperatures from March, when the first heatwave arrived.
Average maximum temperatures for the month were the highest in 122 years.
The Centre for Science and Environment, a think-tank, says that early heatwaves this year have affected around 15 states, including the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, usually known for its pleasant temperatures.
Naresh Kumar, a senior scientist at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), attributes the current heatwave to local atmospheric factors.
The major one was weak western disturbances - storms originating in the Mediterranean region - which meant little pre-monsoon rainfall in north-western and central India. Anticyclones - an area of high atmospheric pressure where the air sinks - also led to hot, dry weather over parts of western India in March.
The effects are visible. Farmers say the unexpected temperature spikes have affected their wheat harvest, a development that could potentially have global consequences given supply disruptions due to the Ukraine war.
The heat has also triggered an increase in power demand, leading to outages in many states and fears of a coal shortage.
Mr Modi also flagged the increased risk of fires due to rising temperatures.
Summers have always been gruelling in many parts of India - especially in the northern and central regions. Even before air-conditioners and water coolers started selling in the millions, people had devised their own ways of coping with the heat - from keeping water cool in earthen jugs to rubbing raw mangoes on their bodies to ward off heat strokes.
But many experts say India is now recording more intense, frequent heatwaves that are also longer in duration.
Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, agrees that several atmospheric factors have led to the current heatwave. But adding to all that, he says, is global warming.
"That's the root cause for the increase in heatwaves," he says, adding that more research is needed to link climate change to other, less extreme weather fluctuations.
D Sivananda Pai, director of the Institute for Climate Change Studies, points to other challenges apart from climate change - such as increasing population and the resulting strain on resources.
This, in turn, leads to factors that worsen the situation, such as deforestation and increasing use of transport.
"When you have more concrete roads and buildings, heat is trapped inside without being able to rise to the surface. This warms the air further," Mr Pai says.
And the cost of such extreme weather events is disproportionately borne by the poor.
"Poor people have fewer resources to cool down as well as fewer options to stay inside, away from the heat," says Dr Chandni Singh, senior researcher at Indian Institute for Human Settlements and a lead author at Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
While more attention is paid to mortality due to heatwaves, Ms Singh says policymakers should also focus on how extreme weather affects the quality of people's lives.
"Heatwaves can have serious health consequences. If temperatures are high even at night, the body doesn't get a chance to recuperate, increasing the possibility of illnesses and higher medical bills," she says.
A "long-term vision", Mr Koll says, is essential when planning for the future.
"There are places in India where the temperature itself may not be that high, but when combined with high humidity, life can be very difficult," he says, referring to the need to take into account the wet-bulb temperature - a scientific measure of when heat and humidity combine.
He also emphasises on paying attention to areas away from the spotlight.
"Many children in rural areas attend schools in sheds with tin roofs, which would be unbearable in the heat," he says.
Since 2015, both the federal and state governments have issued a number of measures to mitigate the effects of heatwaves, such as banning working outside during the hottest hours and issuing timely advisories.
But these can only be completely effective if accompanied by big-picture changes such as an overhaul of labour laws and greening cities, Ms Singh says.
"Our buildings are made in such a way that they trap heat instead of ensuring ventilation. There is so much innovation internationally that we can learn from," she says.
"We are doing some things right but it's time to up our game - because we have to live with the heat."
With inputs from BBC
MAY 5: These are the latest in a series of financial measures by Western countries in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
They are designed to damage Russia's economy and penalise President Putin, high-ranking officials and those who have benefited from his regime.
What are sanctions?
Sanctions are penalties imposed by one country on another, to stop it acting aggressively, or breaking international law.
They are among the toughest actions nations can take, short of going to war.
What is the EU proposing?
The planned sanctions, which have yet to be approved by EU members, include:
-Phasing out EU imports of Russian oil crude oil in six months and refined products by the end of 2022
-Disconnecting Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, and the Credit Bank of Moscow and the Russian Agricultural Bank from the international payments system Swift, used to transfer money across borders
-Cutting off three of Russia's state-owned broadcasters from the EU on cable, satellite and the internet
-Sanctioning 58 Russians, including those involved in war crimes in Bucha and the siege of Mariupol
What sanctions are already in place?
Western countries have introduced increasingly widespread sanctions - targeting individuals, banks, businesses and major state-owned enterprises, and exports, among others.
Financial measures
Russia's central bank assets have been frozen, to stop it using its $630bn (£470bn) of foreign currency reserves.
This caused the rouble to fall 22% in value, pushing up the price of imported goods and leading to a 14% rise in Russia's inflation rate. The rouble has since recovered, but mainly due to measures by Moscow to prop it up.
The United States has barred Russia from making debt payments using the $600m it holds in US banks, making it harder for Russia to repay its international loans.
Major Russian banks have been removed from the international financial messaging system Swift,. This will delay payments to Russia for energy exports.
The UK has excluded key Russian banks from the UK financial system, frozen the assets of all Russian banks, barred Russian firms from borrowing money, and placed limits on deposits Russians can make at UK banks,
Russian energy
In addition to the new EU measures, the US is banning all Russian oil and gas imports and the UK will phase out Russian oil imports by the end of 2022.
Germany has frozen plans for the opening of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.
The EU has also said it will halt Russian coal imports by this August.
Could the world survive without Russian oil and gas?
Targeting individuals
The US, EU, UK and other countries have together already sanctioned more than 1,000 Russian individuals and businesses, including:
-Wealthy business leaders, so-called oligarchs, who are considered close to the Kremlin, including Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich.
-Russian government officials and family members - including President Vladimir Putin's adult children and relatives of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
-Assets belonging to President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are being frozen in the US, EU, UK and Canada
-The UK has also stopped the sale of "golden visas", which allowed wealthy Russians to get British residency rights.
What are companies doing?
More than 1,000 international companies have either suspended trading in Russia, or withdrawn altogether - including McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Starbucks.
Food giant Nestle has withdrawn some of its brands including KitKat and Nesquik, but says it will still sell "essential foods".
However, some brands including Marks and Spencer, Burger King, and hotel groups Marriott and Accor say they can't pull out because their businesses in Russia operate under complex franchise deals.
Military goods and mercenaries
A ban on the export of dual-use goods - items with both a civilian and military purpose, such as vehicle parts - has been imposed by the UK, EU and US.
The UK is also imposing sanctions on Russia's Wagner Group - a private military firm thought to function as an arms-length unit of the Russian military.
Flights
All Russian flights have been banned from US, UK, EU and Canadian airspace.
The UK has also banned private jets chartered by Russians.
Luxury goods
The UK and the EU have banned the export of luxury goods to Russia - including vehicles, high-end fashion and art.
The UK has also imposed a 35% tax on some imports from Russia, including vodka.
How has Russia reacted?
Russia has banned exports of more than 200 products until the end of 2022, including telecoms, medical, vehicle, agricultural, electrical equipment and timber.
In addition it is blocking interest payments to foreign investors who hold government bonds, and banning Russian firms from paying overseas shareholders.
It has stopped foreign investors who hold billions of dollars worth of Russian stocks and bonds from selling them.
With inputs from BBC
KATHMANDU, April 3: China Unicom's 5G private network plus achievements were announced during MWC Barcelona 2022.
It detailed how private networks for edge interconnection, highly-reliable campus networks, and customized network slicing for differentiated services are fueling 5G development and industrial digitalization.
The event was jointly hosted by Huawei, China Unicom, GSMA, Midea, Ferrotec, Chang'an Automobile, Hikrobot, and Shanxi Xiangning Coking Coal Group.
China Unicom's Vice President Liang Baojun explained at the event that China Unicom is continuing with their 5G Application "Sailing" Action Plan (2022-2025) to achieve five key goals: strengthening the foundation for computing-network integration, deepening the integration and innovation of 5G, promoting 5G application security, working with partners to create innovative 5G applications, and finally replicating these applications.
As the 5G industry continues to develop, carrier innovation and industry partnerships are becoming increasingly key to industrial application.
Private Network for Edge Interconnection: Multi-AGV collaboration with 5G LAN
5G Private Network PLUS's edge interconnection capabilities were developed by China Unicom together with industry partners like Huawei and Hikrobot to not only meet but exceed 3GPP standards to create the industry's first multi-AGV collaboration empowered by 5G LAN. 5G LAN simplifies edge networks, improves network efficiency and product line availability, and reduces the costs of network construction and maintenance.
Highly reliable campus networks: Ensuring continuity of key services in coal mines
5G Private Network PLUS also leverages the agile and innovative One Telco Cloud to provide industry-leading high-reliability campus networks. Huawei helped China Unicom reshape their existing network into One Telco Cloud and distribute edge networks to make network operations simpler and more flexible.
By deploying MEC devices, including those on the 5GC emergency control plane, in enterprise campuses, production data can be processed locally. In the event disaster recovery is required, 5G campus networks can also work with the carrier network to ensure the reliability of key production services. This style of campus network has already been used to great effect at Xiangning Coking Coal Group's Yanjiahe Coal Mine.
Slice-based private networks: Customized network slices for a differentiated service experience
Finally, 5G Private Network PLUS is capable of customizing network slices. It provides four types of 5G network slicing products: Economy-Class Network Slicing, Business-Class U Network Slicing, Business-Class E Network Slicing, and First-Class Network Slicing. These products all feature agile deployment, customized functions, flexible charging, and smart operations. Through China Unicom's centralized 5G slicing operations platform, service requirements can be converted into network templates, and the required resources can be quickly deployed.
MARCH 22: There are four main reasons why taking the port city would be such a strategic win for Russia - and a major blow for Ukraine.
1. Securing a land corridor between Crimea and Donbas
Geographically, the city of Mariupol occupies only a tiny area on the map but it now stands obstinately in the way of Russian forces who have burst out of the Crimean peninsula.
They are pushing north-east to try to link up with their comrades and Ukrainian-separatist allies in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
General Sir Richard Barrons - former commander of UK Joint Forces Command - says capturing Mariupol is vital to Russia's war effort.
"When the Russians feel they have successfully concluded that battle, they will have completed a land bridge from Russia to Crimea and they will see this as a major strategic success."
If Mariupol was seized, Russia would also end up with full control of more than 80% of Ukraine's Black Sea coastline - cutting-off its maritime trade and further isolating it from the world.
By holding out against advancing forces for the past three weeks, the defending Ukrainians have managed to preoccupy a large number of Russian troops. But that failure by Russia to secure a rapid capture of the city, has prompted Russian commanders to resort to a 21st Century version of mediaeval siege tactics.
They have pummelled Mariupol with artillery, rockets and missiles - damaging or destroying over 90% of the city. They have also cut off access to electricity, heating, fresh water, food and medical supplies - creating a man-made humanitarian catastrophe which Moscow now blames on Ukraine for refusing to surrender by an 05:00 deadline on Monday. A Ukrainian MP has accused Russia of "trying to starve Mariupol into surrender".
Ukraine has vowed to defend the city down to the last soldier. It may well come to that. Russian troops are slowly pushing into the centre and, in the absence of any kind of workable peace deal, Russia is now likely to intensify its bombardment - drawing little if any distinction between its armed defenders and the beleaguered civilian population which still numbers over 200,000.
If, and when, Russia takes full control of Mariupol this will free up close to 6,000 of its troops - organised into 1,000-strong battalion tactical groups - to then go and reinforce other Russian fronts around Ukraine.
There are a number of possibilities as to where they could be redeployed:
-to the north-east to join the battle to encircle and destroy Ukraine's regular armed forces fighting pro-Kremlin separatists in the Donbas region
-to the west to push towards Odesa, which would be Ukraine's last remaining major outlet to the Black Sea
-to the north-west towards the city of Dnipro
2. Strangling Ukraine's economy
Mariupol has long-been a strategically important port on the Sea of Azov, part of the Black Sea.
With its deep berths, it is the biggest port in the Azov Sea region and home to a major iron and steel works. In normal times, Mariupol is a key export hub for Ukraine's steel, coal and corn going to customers in the Middle East and beyond.For eight years now, since Moscow's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, the city has been sandwiched uncomfortably between Russian forces on that peninsula and the pro-Kremlin separatists in the breakaway self-declared republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Losing Mariupol would be a major blow to what is left of Ukraine's economy.
3. Propaganda opportunity
Mariupol is home to a Ukrainian militia unit called the Azov Brigade, named after the Sea of Azov which links Mariupol to the rest of the Black Sea. The Azov Brigade contains far-right extremists including neo-Nazis.
Although they form only the tiniest fraction of Ukraine's fighting forces, this has been a useful propaganda tool for Moscow, giving it a pretext for telling Russia's population that the young men it has sent to fight in Ukraine are there to rid their neighbour of neo-Nazis.If Russia manages to capture alive significant numbers of Azov Brigade fighters it is likely they will be paraded on Russian state-controlled media as part of the ongoing information war to discredit Ukraine and its government.
4. Major morale boost
The capture of Mariupol by Russia, if it happens, will be psychologically significant for both sides in this war.
A Russian victory in Mariupol would enable the Kremlin to show its population - through state-controlled media - that Russia was achieving its aims and making progress.
For President Putin, for whom this war appears to be personal, there is a historical significance to all this. He sees Ukraine's Black Sea coastline as belonging to something called Novorossiya (New Russia) - Russian lands that date back to the 18th Century empire.
Putin wants to revive that concept, "rescuing Russians from the tyranny of a pro-western government in Kyiv" as he sees it. Mariupol currently stands in the way of him achieving that aim.
But to Ukrainians, the loss of Mariupol would be a major blow - not just militarily and economically - but also to the minds of the men and women fighting on the ground, defending their country. Mariupol would be the first major city to fall to the Russians after Kherson, a strategically much less important city that was barely defended.
There is another morale aspect here and that is of deterrence.
Mariupol has put up fierce resistance - but look at the cost. The city is decimated, it lies largely in ruins. It will go down in history alongside Grozny and Aleppo, places that Russia eventually bombed and shelled into submission, reducing them to rubble. The message to other Ukrainian cities is stark - if you choose to resist like Mariupol did then you can expect the same fate.
"The Russians couldn't walk into Mariupol," says Gen Sir Richard Barrons, "they couldn't drive in with their tanks, so they've pounded it to rubble. And that's what we should expect to see anywhere else that really matters to them."
Myanmar is one of the closest neighbors of Bangladesh. Before World War II, many people from Bangladesh used to travel to Myanmar (Burma then) in search of livelihood. Since then, the people of these two countries have developed an economic and social relationship. Apart from India, Bangladesh shares a border with Myanmar too.
The 271km-long Bangladesh-Myanmar border is very important for Bangladesh due to geographical reasons. Bangladesh can use Myanmar by land for communication with Southeast Asian countries including China. Road connectivity is possible through Myanmar, perhaps a new horizon of relationships and possibilities unfolds.
Myanmar can also use Bangladesh to reach South Asia, especially Nepal, Bhutan and India. Bangladesh and Myanmar both share a common regional platform like the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). On the other hand, Bangladesh is considered a hub between South Asia and Southeast Asia.
It is true that Bangladesh is a Southeast Asian country geographically but a South Asian country culturally, demographically and historically. This is an outstanding geo-strategic characteristic of Bangladesh.
Therefore, without the involvement of Bangladesh, any connectivity among the states of ASEAN and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is absolutely impossible. Myanmar is a country rich in natural resources. There are huge amounts of natural resources like tin, zinc, copper, tungsten, coal, marble, limestone, natural gas, hydropower etc.
The major resource of this country is mineral resources and Myanmar can be a major source of energy for Bangladesh to ensure its energy security. Food and grains are produced in large quantities in Myanmar and it can also be a big supporter for Bangladesh in the field of food security.
The country has a huge potential for rice cultivation, but has failed to utilize it due to lack of human resources. Myanmar needs laborers as rice production in Myanmar accounts for approximately 43% of total agricultural production in the country, making it the seventh largest producer of rice in the world.
Out of 67.6 million hectares of land, 12.8 million are used for cultivation. In 2019 alone, Myanmar accounted for 13,300 million tonnes of milled rice production. Rice production in Myanmar is heavily dependent on human and animal power, both traditional methods of cultivation. However, it lacks manpower and technology in this regard.
But Bangladesh has these two things. It has a surplus of human resources which Myanmar can utilize for maximum gain. But Bangladesh has never been able to take full advantage of this opportunity as the country, comprising 135 tribes and different ethnic groups, has been under military rule for many years. That may be one of the reasons why the relationship between Bangladesh and Myanmar is not deep.
If Bangladesh had good relations with Myanmar, its dependence on India could have been reduced in many cases and if contacts were made in Southeast Asia and China through Myanmar, there would have been immense potential for investment and trade.
Bangladesh and Myanmar are both on the way to becoming developed countries. Bangladesh is going to be a South Asian Economic Miracle, playing a significant role in Myanmar and to some extent all of Southeast Asia.
For this, Myanmar should increase its diplomatic relations with Bangladesh for the better mutual interest for all of South Asia and Southeast Asia. The European Union, China, India, Russia and North Korea are becoming allies in Myanmar’s oil, gas, mineral resources and military markets.
Taking advantage of US negligence, Myanmar’s military junta extended a helping hand to China for investment purposes. China is now the biggest investor in this country. According to Earth-Rights International, a private group, more than 26 Chinese companies are investing in Myanmar’s oil, gas, mineral resources and allied sectors.
China has already become its biggest ally in building and supplying arms to Myanmar. Myanmar has not only developed relations with China, but also with India and both countries are building trade relations with Myanmar.
The US is also changing its approach to the Myanmar question, which is why the US, a strong economic country, has started taking new initiatives to develop relations.
Recently, a 41-year dispute over the maritime border between Bangladesh and Myanmar has been settled with the help of the International Court of Justice.
As a result, the rights of Bangladesh have been established in an area of 11,000 square kilometers. Myanmar has also been provided with its claim and the dispute in the area has been settled. The possible eruption of tension in the Bay of Bengal has been resolved. Myanmar is rich in minerals, ores, oil, gas, precious stones and other natural resources and it is a major supplier of wood to the world.
At the time, when the foreign investment was limited to the oil and gas sector, the country has recently shifted its focus to attracting production-based investment.
The country is well ahead in power generation due to sound investments in hydropower generation. The tourism industry is also a promising sector of the country. “Myanmar’s economy has so far been limited to extracting natural resources,” said Nobel laureate economist Professor Joseph Stiglitz, who warned that the country would suffer a “curse of wealth” if it continued.
Some resource-rich countries in Africa, including Nigeria, Sudan and Benin, have been plagued by corruption, internal strife and poverty. These countries could not adopt a proper wealth management system and economists have opined that if democracy is restored in Myanmar and corruption is reduced, it will not have to go to the level of countries that have failed in wealth management.
Therefore, it can be assumed that Myanmar will become a country with rapid economic growth in a few years. The country’s biggest economic advantage is being a member state of the 10-nation ASEAN. ASEAN is one of the three most successful trade blocs in the world consisting of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
The bloc controls about 24% of total world trade and its share in world trade is growing every year and its trade relations with China, Japan and South Korea are deepening due to the increase in trade. ASEAN countries account for more than 50% of total trade among themselves and the three countries. As a result, Bangladesh has the opportunity to be benefited by strengthening its ties with this trade alliance through Myanmar.
Both countries are among the seven member countries of BIMSTEC, as such there is ample opportunity to increase trade and investment relations between them through the initiative.
There are many opportunities to enhance Bangladesh’s bilateral trade and investment relations with Myanmar. Through the import of gas and electricity, Bangladesh can obtain future energy security.
The two countries can jointly explore for oil and gas in the Bay of Bengal and Bangladesh can also contribute to the development of Myanmar’s infrastructure.
The proposed construction of the Asian Highway, funded by the Asian Development Bank and other donor groups, could also increase land connectivity between the two countries and there is ample opportunity to increase shipping.
Furthermore, joint investments can be made in the production of fertilizer, plastic, cement and furniture. Both countries will benefit if Myanmar produces raw materials and Bangladesh utilizes its skills, technical knowledge and labor. Myanmar imports almost every product while Bangladesh can export ready-made garments.
Bangladesh produces medicines, electronics. Myanmar can import these essentials from Bangladesh hugely. On the other hand, Myanmar is a source of agricultural products. Bangladesh can import it from Myanmar.
During the moment of Bangladesh’s onion crisis with India in 2019, Myanmar provided onions to Bangladesh. Bangladesh understood the importance of bilateral trade with Myanmar at that time. On the flip side, Bangladesh is keen to provide assistance to Myanmar, with COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy and counter terrorism approach for regional security in some sectors.
However, the Rohingya refugee problem has caused a rift between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
As such, Myanmar should solve this problem to serve its own and regional interests. The country should understand that the problem can cost the relationship between South Asian and Southeast Asian countries.
However, the two countries can also increase production in the agricultural sector through joint ventures. Apart from adopting joint investment projects, Bangladesh can increase imports of various agricultural products including pulses, spices, fish and rice.
Thus, enhancing bilateral relations could contribute to the growth of trade and investment relations with ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries. This will create an opportunity to solve the Rohingya problem and stop militant activities. They have to engage sooner than later to find a political solution and restore sanity and human dignity. Therefore, Myanmar and Bangladesh should take effective steps to strengthen bilateral relations.
The Energy Day can be an opportunity for Nepal to inform the world that Nepal can contribute towards minimizing the GHG emission by meeting the domestic energy demands through hydroelectricity and renewable energy and reducing the consumption of coal and natural gas in the neighbouring countries by exporting hydroelectricity and renewable energy to them.
GLASGOW, Britain, Oct. 31: As the United Nations (UN) climate conference, billed as a "turning point for humanity," begins in Glasgow on Sunday, several issues are considered by environment experts to be critical: global carbon market, climate finance, and actual implementation.
During the delayed 26th United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP26), which is the first conference after the five-year review cycle under the Paris Agreement inked in 2015, global leaders are expected to review overall progress and plan future actions.
The conference, lasting two weeks, also comes at a time when the world has gone through a rapid-fire onslaught of climate-change-related weather disasters, from severe flooding to wild fires.
To make the climate gathering meaningful, progress has to be made on such fundamental issues as finalizing the rules for the Paris Agreement's market mechanism, wealthy countries' unmet finance pledge to the developing countries, and the ability of the world's governments to transform words into action.
"PARIS RULEBOOK"
In 2015, COP21 in Paris passed a climate deal uniting almost all countries across the world in agreeing to cap global warming at well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and 1.5 degrees Celsius if possible.
While Paris climate agreement was hailed as "historic, durable and ambitious," negotiators have failed to agree on Article 6 of the deal, which is about some technical details of the implementation of the deal in building the market mechanisms, especially the global carbon market.
COP25 in Madrid failed again to reach an agreement on Article 6. Without working out final details of what has been referred to "The Paris Rulebook," the world's governments lack the necessary market-based approaches to attain the grand goals laid out in the Paris Agreement.
"Getting these rules right is critical for fighting climate change: depending on how they are structured, Article 6 could help the world avoid dangerous levels of global warming or let countries off the hook from making meaningful emissions cuts," said the World Resources Institute, a global research non-profit organization.
"I see a COP that is being pushed by developing nations. They want solutions, they want the rule book to be complete to start implementing the Paris Agreement," Gibson Mwangi, an expert on climate change from Kenya, told Xinhua.
Discussions around Article 6 have long been dominated by issues like how to avoid double counting of emission reductions. All eyes are on COP26 to see if it will solve them and produce the much-needed Paris Rulebook.
CLIMATE FINANCE
Developed countries built their wealth by burning fossil fuels and have contributed most to the climate crisis, from which lower-income countries now disproportionately suffer even though they have done little to cause climate change.
To pay their climate debt, wealthy countries in 2009 pledged 100 billion U.S. dollars a year to help lower-income nations by 2020. However, they still have not made good on the pledge and recent reports indicate that this goal could slip to 2023.
The Tursday-published Foreign Affairs magazine said in an article that the wealthy countries' commitment reflected in part a recognition of "the deep injustice at the heart of the climate crisis."
A UN-appointed independent expert group on climate finance said in a report published in December that this commitment is "the bedrock of the entire international climate finance system."
"We hope the western countries would meet their financial pledges, and we all hope that this conference will succeed because it will bring good to the whole world," Magdy Tawfik Khalil, professor of environment at Ain Shams University in Cairo, told Xinhua.
He explained that people in North Africa are concerned about future ice melt due to global warming that would raise the level of the Mediterranean Sea or any sea, which in turn would submerge coastal areas and many cities.
ACTUAL IMPLEMENTATION
As COP26 gets underway, experts have underscored the importance of translating high ambitions into concrete actions.
"The climate summit in Glasgow is the last attempt to avoid a catastrophe and reach an agreement on climate change," Ivana Antunovic Jovic, editor at Croatian Television, told Xinhua.
"There have already been many similar gatherings, but there are no results, and the consequences of climate change are becoming more visible," she said.
"In recent years, we have witnessed the United States ignoring the (climate) problem during the former administration. I hope that the new administration will understand the problem and try to solve it," Croatian climatologist Tomislav Peric told Xinhua.
In his phone conversation on Friday with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China is unwaveringly committed to accelerating green and low-carbon development, and has always walked its talk.
China submitted two documents on its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and long-term emission control strategies to the UN this week. It aims to strive to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Last month at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, China also pledged that the country will not build new coal-fired power stations overseas.
It is never easy for a developing country with a population of more than 1.4 billion that has not completed industrialization or urbanization to make such promises. China will complete the world's most dramatic reduction in carbon emission intensity, and realize carbon neutrality from carbon peaking in the shortest time in global history.
But the actual results have showed that China is serious about pursuing green development, and is honoring its pledges with an aim to contribute to humanity's better shared future.
For example, the country's carbon intensity in 2020 was 48.4 percent less than that in 2005, exceeding its commitment of achieving a reduction of 40-45 percent in carbon intensity during the same period.
"The pandemic has really raised the urgency. We recognize now more than ever that human well-being and planetary well-being are intrinsically linked with each other," Akanksha Khatri, head of Nature and Biodiversity at World Economic Forum, told Xinhua.
"The real negotiations, of course, take place behind closed doors. I hope everyone at the table can get over their tensions, in the interest of the whole Earth," said Leo Meyer, former project leader at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and current director of Dutch-based ClimateContact Consultancy.
KATHMANDU, August 31: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has brought the technology of making briquette from the torn, worn-out, soiled and trashed bank notes.
This technology was first brought from the Netherlands. With the use of this technology, the torn and unusable currency notes are burnt in furnace and the ash produced from this is made into briquette.
Before this, the unusable old and tattered notes were destroyed by burning them. The Central Bank reached an agreement with a company in the Netherlands in 2020 to bring eight such incinerator machines. Four machines have arrived in Nepal recently and one machine each would be installed in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Birgunj and Nepalgunj in the first phase for making briquette out of the unusable old notes, NRB's Currency Management Department Chief Rewati Prasad Nepal said.
He said production of briquette from the unusable notes has already started in Kathmandu and it would be initiated from Nepalgunj from today. As he said, the process will also be started soon from Biratnagar and Birgunj.
Chief Nepal shared that the remaining four machines would be brought in about one and half month and production of briquette from torn and unusable bank notes would be started from Janakpur, Pokhara, Bhairahawa and Dhangadhi.
About 400 kilogrammes ash was produced from 400 bundles of notes that were incinerated for the first time.
NRB stated that it bought the machines for disposing of the unusable notes and using their by-product for alternative purpose. This also spares the bank of the cumbersome process of burning the old notes and also helps in prevention of environmental pollution.
Chief Nepal said the briquettes produced can be used by brick kilns or industries using coal as fuel. It can also be used by household purpose.
NRB destroys unusable notes worth about Rs 40 to 45 billion every year.
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