VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: August 13, 2019

PAKISTAN

Pakistan dedicates Eid to occupied Kashmir after India strips region of special status: Dawn
August 13, 2019

People gathered in mosques across Pakistan on Monday to offer special prayers for Eidul Azha. The government has called for the festival to be observed in a “simple manner” this year, to express solidarity with Kashmiris living in Indian-occupied Kashmir. Click here to read.... [2]

AFGHANISTAN

Negotiators To Brief Leaders On Details As Qatar Talks End: Tolo
August 13, 2019

The US and the Taliban negotiators on Sunday wrapped up the eighth round of talks in Doha which are amid at reaching a potential peace deal that will help reduce violence in Afghanistan, facilitate intra-Afghan talks and a ceasefire between the warring sides. The talks are also aimed at ending the 18 years of conflict which has taken thousands of lives from the Afghan civilian population and military personnel. US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said on Twitter on Monday that he has concluded the talks which began on August 3 and that they were productive. Click here to read.... [3]

BANGLADESH

PM greets wounded FFs, sends them gifts: Dhaka Tribune
August 13, 2019

The freedom fighters and members of the martyred families express their gratitude to Sheikh Hasina for remembering them on every festival. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has greeted all freedom fighters (FFs) of the country on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, the second biggest religious festival of Muslims. Like other occasions, the prime minister sent flowers, fruits and sweetmeats to the war-wounded freedom fighters and members of the martyred families at Martyred and War-wounded Freedom Fighters' Rehabilitation Centre (Muktijoddha Tower-1) at Gaznavi Road in the capital's Mohammadpur area on Monday as a mark of her good wishes for them. Click here to read.... [4]

Myanmar

Flooding handled poorly, says senior Mon official: The Myanmar Times
August 13, 2019

A senior Mon State official has critised the government’s disaster management efforts in the wake of the flooding that hit the state severely over the past week. Mon State Assembly Deputy Speaker U Aung Naing Oo said more public announcements and supervision were needed. “Until this morning (Monday), there has been no instruction from the Cabinet. Only the township administrator joined me in carrying out necessary tasks. The Cabinet gave no instructions to him,” he said on Monday. Many townships in Mon were flooded over the past week due to the monsoon. Kyaikmaraw and Ye townships were among the most severely hit. On Saturday, some 90 percent of Ye was under water, and many said it was the worst flood in 20 years. Click here to read.... [5]

Sri Lanka

UNP MPs, working committee Convene meeting, name Sajith Prez candidate: UNPers: Daily Mirror
August 13, 2019

Ratnapura District, United National Party (UNP) MP Hesha Withanage said party seniors, Cabinet Ministers, State and Deputy Ministers and back-benchers wrote to Party Leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe requesting him to convene the UNP’s parliamentary group and the working committee and to name Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa as the party’s presidential candidate. Click here to read.... [6]

Bhutan

YELP to tackle youth unemployment: Kuensel
August 13, 2019

The Ministry of Labour and Human Resources (MoLHR) will come up with the new a programme called Youth Engagement for Livelihood Programme (YELP) to engage unemployed job seekers who have completed Class X and above. This means the ministry will do away with Direct Employment Scheme (DES) initiated in the 11th Plan as one of the flagship programmes to reduce youth unemployment in the country. The DES, a scheme is based on a cost-sharing arrangement where participating private firms and ministry share the cost of the monthly allowance, was put on hold since March 2019. The labour ministry and Gross National Happiness Commission jointly carried out the evaluation. Click here to read.... [7]

Nepal

Nepal ranks second in lung ailment deaths: The Himalayan Times
August 13, 2019

On an average, out of every 100,000 Nepalis, almost 101 die of lung diseases, making Nepal second only to Kazakhstan when it comes to deaths due to lung ailments. In Kazakhstan, around 114 people out of every 100,000 die of lung diseases, according to World Life Expectancy survey. Lung diseases are the second highest cause of death in Nepal behind coronary heart disease, which is the biggest killer in the country. On an average, of the 100,000 Nepalis, around 158.35 die due to coronary heart disease. Nepal is ranked 41st in the global league table of the rate at which the disease kills people. The World Life Expectancy index was created using most recent data from sources likes the WHO, the World Bank, the UNESCO and individual country databases. The survey is based on 50 prominent ailments and accidents that claim lives of people in 183 countries. Click here to read.... [8]

China

India, China sign 4 agreements to strengthen people-to-people ties: India Today
August 13, 2019

India and China on Monday signed four agreements to further strengthen the cultural and people-to-people ties between the two neighbours and ancient civilisations. The agreements were signed after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi attended the 2nd meeting of the India-China High Level Mechanism on Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges here. Click here to read.... [9]

Dialogue urged to resolve Kashmir disputes: China Daily
August 13, 2019

China is opposed to any unilateral actions that complicate the situation in Kashmir, and called on both India and Pakistan to resolve related disputes through peaceful means, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday. Click here to read.... [10]