VIF Neighborhood News Digest: March 17, 2020
PAKISTAN
Kartarpur corridor project gets ex post facto approval: Dawn
March 17, 2020

The government on Monday approved six major development projects with a cumulative estimated cost of Rs100.68 billion, including ex post facto clearance of Rs16.5bn Kartarpur Corridor. The projects were approved at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) presided over by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh. The projects involve a foreign financing equivalent of about Rs44bn. Click here to read...

AFGHANISTAN
Govt Will Release Prisoners if Talks Start, Violence is reduced: Tolo
March 17, 2020

Presidential advisor Waheed Omer on Monday said the proposed list of Taliban prisoners is being assessed and that the inmates will be released gradually in installments. But, he added, the release of prisoners will only happen if the intra-Afghan negotiations begin and a significant reduction in violence is observed. Omer also said that no Taliban prisoner would be released without a guarantee. Click here to read...

BANGLADESH
PM pays homage to Bangabandhu on his birth centenary: Dhaka Tribune
March 17, 2020

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has paid rich tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman heralding the yearlong birth centenary celebrations of the great leader. The premier paid the homage by placing a wreath at the portrait of Bangabandhu in front of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32 in Dhaka Tuesday morning, reports BSS. Click here to read...

MYANMAR
State Counsellor says Myanmar still free of COVID-19: Myanmar Times
March 17, 2020

State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said on Monday that Myanmar has no cases of COVID-19, after a Myanmar man who attended a conference in France last week and was in contact with a Filipino who later tested positive, tested negative for the disease. “Until now, no one in our country is infected with COVID-19,” Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said in a nationwide televised address on Monday.Click here to read...

NEPAL
Restaurants and bars in Thamel are looking at staff layoffs and ultimately, a shutdown: The Kathmandu Post
March 17, 2020

Thamel’s K-Too Beer and Steakhouse Restaurant has already sent five of its 28 staff home on a 45-day hiatus due to a lack of customers. With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, foreign tourists, K-Too’s primary customer base, have all but vanished, and so has business for the hundreds of restaurants and bars in Thamel that largely cater to visitors. Click here to read...

Sri Lanka
Govt. declares 3-day holiday till Thursday: Daily Mirror
March 17, 2020

The government announced a three-day holiday period upto Thursday, March 19 excluding essential services involving health, transport, food supplies, banks and district secretariats. It said this special holiday declared as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19 will apply to all state institutions, departments and corporations. The government has requested mercantile sector employers to grant this holiday to their employees too. Click here to read...

BHUTAN
SAARC leaders unite to fight COVID-19: Kuenselonline
March 17, 2020

Leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) welcomed India’s proposal to set up a COVID-19 emergency fund when they came together through a video conference yesterday to chalk out a common strategy for the region to fight the pandemic. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to contribute USD 10 million to start the fund. Any of the eight SAARC countries would be able to use the fund to meet the cost of immediate action on COVID-19. Click here to read...

CHINA
How China’s military took a frontline role in the coronavirus crisis: South China Morning Post
March 17, 2020

Chosen by Chinese President Xi Jinping to help fight the novel coronavirus outbreak in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the People’s Liberation Army has taken on some of China’s heaviest responsibilities at a time of great crisis, military experts said. Click here to read...

China vows to stem coronavirus cross-border spread, expedite manufacturing resumption: Xinhuanet
March 17, 2020

Chinese authorities on Monday stressed taking accurate measures against the cross-border spread of coronavirus and speeding up work and manufacturing resumption in all aspects. A leading group of China's novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic response convened a meeting on Monday, which was chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. Click here to read...

Central banks act to mitigate virus impact: China Daily
March 17, 2020

Central banks keep reloading their weapons to lessen market fears caused by the global coronavirus pneumonia pandemic, while analysts call for more joint action to constrain the epidemic and prevent a severe economic downturn. Click here to read...

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