NEW DELHI: South Asia is expected to grow by 5.8 percent this year, making it the fastest-growing region in the world even as the pace remains below pre-pandemic levels, the World Bank said on Tuesday.
The latest South Asia Development Update from the World Bank projected growth in the region to slow slightly to 5.6 percent in 2024 and 2025, as post-pandemic rebounds fade and reduced global demand weighs on economic activity.
At almost 6 percent this year, the region is growing faster than all other emerging markets, said Franziska Ohnsorge, the organization’s chief economist for South Asia.
“While high inflation and interest rates have bogged down many emerging markets, South Asia seems to be forging ahead,” the World Bank noted in its report.
Still, “for all of the countries here this represents a slowdown from pre-pandemic levels,” Ohnsorge said, adding that the growth wasn’t fast enough to meet various development goals set by countries in the region.
Despite the progress, the region still has a long way to go, the report said. Per capita incomes in South Asia are around $2,000 — one-fifth of the level in East Asia and the Pacific region. The current growth rates, while high, are not sufficient for South Asian nations to achieve high-income status within a generation, it said. Additionally, the growth is not necessarily equal.
India, which accounts for most of the regional economy, is set to remain robust with 6.3 percent growth in the 2023-24 fiscal year, while others like Maldives and Nepal are also expected to grow thanks to a rebound in tourism.
But things are bleaker in other countries. Bangladesh’s growth may slow to 5.6 percent, while projections for Pakistan’s growth — only 1.7 percent — are below the rate of its population growth, the World Bank said. Sri Lanka, whose economy collapsed last year, is recovering slowly from a severe recession, but the IMF last week held off from releasing a second tranche of a funding package after concluding that the country had failed to make enough progress in economic reforms.
The World Bank said another concern was that government debt in South Asian countries averaged 86 percent of GDP in 2022, which is higher than other emerging markets. It added the high debt could increase the risk of defaults and raise borrowing costs.
The region’s economic outlook could also be affected by the slowdown in China’s economy and is vulnerable to further shocks from natural disasters, which have become more frequent and intense due to climate change, the report said.
Ohnsorge said that governments in South Asia could improve fiscal conditions by seizing on opportunities for energy transition, which could create jobs, reduce reliance on energy imports and cut pollution levels.
“Almost one-tenth of the region’s workers are employed in pollution-intensive jobs,” many of which are concentrated among informal and lower-skilled workers who are more vulnerable to changes in the labor market, the World Bank said. The region currently lags behind others in adopting energy-efficient technologies and creating more green jobs, Ohnsorge added.
The World Bank on Tuesday also released its latest India Development Update, which found that despite a challenging global economic environment, India was one of the fastest-growing major economies in the previous fiscal year at 7.2 percent. This put it as the second highest among the Group of 20 countries and was almost twice the average for emerging market economies, it said.
With global challenges expected to continue on the back of high interest rates, geopolitical tensions and sluggish global demand, overall economic growth is likely to slow in the medium-term. The World Bank forecasts India’s GDP growth for the current fiscal year to be 6.3 percent, attributing it mainly to external factors and waning pent-up demand after the COVID-19 pandemic.
South Asia expected to grow by nearly 6 percent this year, making it world’s fastest-growing region
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South Asia expected to grow by nearly 6 percent this year, making it world’s fastest-growing region
- Per capita incomes in South Asia are around $2,000 — one-fifth of the level in East Asia and the Pacific region
- India, which accounts for most of the regional economy, is set to grow by 6.3 percent in the 2023-24 fiscal year
Ukraine’s Zelensky urges US to speed up weapons deliveries
Zelensky told a joint news conference in Kyiv alongside visiting NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg that the situation on the battlefield directly depended on the speed of ammunition supplies to Ukraine.
“Timely support for our army. Today I don’t see anything positive on this point yet. There are supplies, they have slightly begun, this process needs to be sped up,” he said.
Scotland’s Humza Yousaf quits in boost to Labour before UK vote
- Yousaf quit after a week of chaos triggered by his scrapping of a coalition agreement with Scotland’s Greens
- He then failed to secure enough support to survive a vote of no confidence against him expected later this week
LONDON: Scotland’s leader Humza Yousaf resigned on Monday, further opening the door to the UK opposition Labour Party regaining ground in its former Scottish heartlands during a national election expected to be held later this year.
Yousaf said he was quitting as head of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) and first minister of Scotland’s devolved government after a week of chaos triggered by his scrapping of a coalition agreement with Scotland’s Greens.
He then failed to secure enough support to survive a vote of no confidence against him expected later this week.
Resigning little over a year after he replaced Nicola Sturgeon as first minister and SNP leader, Yousaf said it was time for someone else to lead Scotland.
“I’ve concluded that repairing our relationship across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm,” Yousaf said, adding he would continue until a successor was chosen in an SNP leadership contest.
Yousaf abruptly ended a power-sharing agreement between his pro-independence SNP and the Green Party after a row over climate change targets. The SNP’s fortunes have faltered over a funding scandal and the resignation of Sturgeon as party leader last year. There has also been infighting over how progressive its pitch should be as it seeks to woo back voters.
Caught between defending the record of the coalition government and some nationalists’ demands to jettison gender recognition reforms and refocus on the economy, Yousaf was unable to strike a balance that would ensure his survival.
The SNP is losing popular support after 17 years of heading the Scottish government. Earlier this month, polling firm YouGov said the Labour Party had overtaken the SNP in voting intentions for a Westminster election for the first time in a decade.
Labour’s resurgence in Scotland adds to the challenge facing British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party which is lagging far behind Labour in UK-wide opinion polls.
The Scottish parliament now has 28 days to choose a new first minister before an election is forced, with former SNP leader John Swinney and Yousaf’s former leadership rival Kate Forbes seen as possible successors.
If the SNP is unable to find a new leader to command support in parliament, a Scottish election will be held. Yousaf, the first Muslim head of government in modern Western Europe, succeeded Sturgeon as first minister in March 2023. Once hugely popular, Sturgeon has been embroiled in a party funding scandal with her husband, who was charged this month with embezzling funds. Both deny wrongdoing.
Iran slams crackdown on US student protesters
- The demonstrations began at Columbia University in New York and have since spread across the country
Tehran: Iran on Monday criticized a police crackdown in the United States against university students protesting against the rising death toll from the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
“The American government has practically ignored its human rights obligations and respect for the principles of democracy that they profess,” foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said.
Tehran “does not at all accept the violent police and military behavior aimed at the academic atmosphere and student demands,” he said.
American universities have been rocked by pro-Palestinian demonstrations, triggering campus clashes with police and the arrest of some 275 people over the weekend.
The demonstrations began at Columbia University in New York and have since spread across the country.
In Iran, hundreds of people demonstrated in Tehran and other cities on Sunday in solidarity with the US demonstrations.
Some carried banners proclaiming “Death to Israel” and “Gazans are truly oppressed,” state media reported.
The Gaza war broke out after the October 7 attack by Palestinian militants on Israel which killed 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.
Tehran backs Hamas, but has denied any direct involvement in the attack.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed at least 34,488 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
“What we have seen in American universities in recent days is an awakening of the world community and world public opinion toward the Palestinian issue,” Kanani said.
“It is not possible to silence the loud voices of protesters against this crime and genocide through police action and violent policies.”
Pedro Sanchez stays on as Spain’s prime minister after weighing exit
- Sanchez had surprised foes and allies when earlier said he considers quitting
- He described the court investigation of his wife Begona Gomez for influence peddling and business corruption as orchestrated by his opponents
MADRID: Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday he had decided to continue in office, days after abruptly announcing he was considering his future following the launch of a corruption investigation against his wife.
The center-left prime minister, 52, had surprised foes and allies alike when he said on Wednesday he was taking time from public duty to consider quitting. He described the court investigation of his wife Begona Gomez for influence peddling and business corruption as orchestrated by his opponents.
Sanchez met King Felipe VI on Monday — a step that would have been necessary should he have decided to resign — but announced in a televised address that he had informed the monarch of his decision to stay on. He had been encouraged to stay by widespread expressions of support over the weekend, Sanchez said.
“I have decided to go on, if possible even stronger as prime minister. This is not business as usual, things are going to be different,” he said in a national broadcast.
His announcement that he might quit had caused further turmoil in Spanish politics, where a fractious parliament has struggled to form coalition governments after close elections. Should a new election have been required, it would have been the fourth in five years.
The opposition will try to exploit the sign of indecision from Sanchez, but the impact may be limited because Spain’s political landscape is already so polarized, said Ignacio Jurado, political science professor at Madrid’s Carlos III University.
“His credibility is already hotly contested and voters have already given it to him or taken it away,” he said. “As a leader he has shown a weakness and it’s something that the opposition will exploit a lot.”
Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf resigns
- Humza Yousaf said he would continue as first minister until a successor has been elected.
LONDON: Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf resigned as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) on Monday and said he had ordered a contest be held to select a replacement.
“I’ve concluded that repairing our relationship across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm,” Yousaf said at a press conference in Edinburgh.
“I have therefore informed the SNP’s national secretary of my intention to stand down as party leader and ask that she commences a leadership contest for my replacement as soon as possible.”
He said he would continue as first minister until a successor has been elected.
Last week, Yousaf abruptly ended a power-sharing agreement between his Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Green Party, in the hopes that he could lead a minority government — but opposition parties have tabled a vote of no confidence.
The pro-independence SNP’s fortunes have faltered amid a funding scandal and the resignation of a party leader last year, while there has been infighting over how progressive its pitch should be as it seeks to woo back voters.
Just days ago, Yousaf said he was “quite confident” that he could win the no confidence vote called by political opponents, but by Monday, his offer of talks with other parties to try to shore up his minority government seemed to be faltering.
The leadership crisis and a second no-confidence vote against the Scottish government deepens problems faced by Yousaf’s Scottish National Party, which is losing popular support after 17 years of heading the Scottish Government.
Earlier this month, polling firm YouGov said the Labour Party had overtaken the SNP in voting intentions for a Westminster election, for the first time in a decade.
The leader of the Scottish Greens, Patrick Harvie, told BBC radio there was nothing Yousaf could say to persuade his party to support the first minister in the parliamentary confidence vote, leaving Yousaf with few options.
The vote is due to take place later this week.
A victory for Labour in Scotland in Britain’s next national election — expected later this year — would significantly bolster the party’s chances of taking power from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party.
If Yousaf loses, parliament would have 28 days to choose a new first minister before an election is forced.
Former SNP leader John Swinney has been approached by senior party figures to become an interim first minister in the event of Yousaf being forced from office, the Times newspaper said, adding that Swinney was reluctant to step up because of personal circumstances.
Yousaf, who previously held health and justice ministerial briefs in the Scottish Government, succeeded former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon as first minister in March 2023.
She resigned last year and has since been embroiled in a party funding scandal with her husband, who was charged this month with embezzling funds. Both deny wrongdoing.
