VIF Neighborhood News Digest: September 4, 2019

PAKISTAN

Ban on import of Indian medicines lifted: Dawn
September 4, 2019

In order to avoid a severe crisis vis-à-vis availability of life-saving drugs in the local market, the government has lifted the ban on import of medicines and raw material from India. Statutory regulatory orders (SROs) issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Textile state that the ban on trade with India would remain effective; however, it would not apply to therapeutic products regulated by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap). Click here to read.... [2]

AFGHANISTAN

Critics Question Ghani’s Approach On Negotiating Team: Tolo
September 4, 2019

Critics on Tuesday criticized President Ashraf Ghani’s approach on the formation of the negotiating team, saying that delay in this respect shows there is a lack of will on moving forward the peace process. Back in July, the State Minister for Peace Affairs, Abdul Salam Rahimi said discussions have started on the formation of a 15-member negotiating team. “The president of Afghanistan does not have the will for peace with the Taliban ahead of [presidential] elections to safeguard his thrown,” said MP Ali Akbar Jamshidi. Click here to read.... [3]

BANGLADESH

Bangladesh Bans Cellphone Services in Rohingya Camps Citing Security Threat: News18
September 4, 2019

Bangladesh's telecommunications regulatory body has asked operators to shut down cellphone services in sprawling camps in the southeast where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar live, citing a security threat and illegal phone use, an official said Tuesday. Zakir Hossain Khan, a spokesman for the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, said they asked the operators to respond to the order within seven days. "The decision has been taken for national security reasons," he said by phone. Click here to read.... [4]

Myanmar

UN Rights Investigator on Myanmar Lambasts Aung Suu Kyi over Rohingya Crisis: News18
September 4, 2019

Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has washed her hands of the Rohingya crisis, a UN rights investigator said Tuesday ahead of a meeting between South Korea's President Moon Jae-in and the tarnished democracy icon. Yanghee Lee, a university professor in Seoul who is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights to Myanmar, said Suu Kyi was "terribly misguided and misinformed" about the abuses against the stateless Muslim minority in her country. Click here to read.... [5]

Sri Lanka

PM reiterates in abolishing Executive Presidency in SL: Daily Mirror
September 4, 2019

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said he is still committed to abolishing the executive presidency in Sri Lanka. Premier Wickremesinghe said this while addressing the Maldivian Parliament during his current visit to the South Asian nation. “The powers which the executive president enjoyed in Sri Lanka were limited by the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which was enacted in 2015. The entire Cabinet is made responsible to parliament through this piece of legislation. There is an executive president in both Maldives and in Sri Lanka. The difference is that the Cabinet and the administration of the government is the responsibility of the president while providing guidance when it comes to Sri Lanka” the Prime Minister said. Click here to read.... [6]

Bhutan

PM suggests a re-look at non-hydro loan cap: Kuensel
September 4, 2019

Should the country limit its non-hydro debt to 35 percent of the total debt when Bhutan is eligible for highly concessional loans extended to the least developed countries (LDC) or should it take advantage of this facility before graduation? This was the concern Lyonchhen Dr Lotay Tshering raised when reviewing the Annual Performance Agreement (APA) of the finance ministry yesterday. Click here to read.... [7]

Nepal

Oli holds teleconference again to show all is well, but many don't buy it: The Kathmandu Post
September 4, 2019

First, there was much ado about nothing. Then, there were criticisms, claims and counterclaims. And when the dust had just settled, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, on Tuesday, held yet another teleconference from Singapore to “talk” to his Cabinet. The first teleconference, held on August 26, was called the first-ever video conference meeting of the Council of Ministers—both by Oli and his political adviser Bishnu Rimal. But Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gokul Baskota refrained from calling it a Cabinet meeting. In Parliament last Thursday, Baskota said that the prime minister just wanted to say “hello”. Click here to read.... [8]

China

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to skip India visit: India Today
September 4, 2019

Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi who was scheduled to visit New Delhi on September 9-10 for the boundary talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, has cancelled his, a source privy to the development told India Today TV. Click here to read.... [9]

Xi Focus: Xi emphasizes "struggles" to achieve national rejuvenation: Xinhuanet
September 4, 2019

President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called on officials, particularly young officials, to maintain a fighting spirit and strengthen their ability to struggle, to strive for achieving the two centenary goals and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the statement during the opening ceremony of a training program for young and middle-aged officials at the Party School of CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance). Click here to read.... [10]