VIF Neighborhood News Digest: April 16, 2020

PAKISTAN

Pakistan included in G20 debt relief plan: Dawn
April 16, 2020

Pakistan has been included in the group of countries eligible for debt relief on all principal and interest payments to official bilateral creditors announced by the G20 countries in their Riyadh meeting on Wednesday. The G20 grouping had been urged by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to extend debt relief to the poorest countries to free up their resources for the Covid-19 related challenge instead. Click here to read.... [2]

AFGHANISTAN

70 New COVID-19 Confirmed Cases in Afghanistan, Total 784: TOLO
April 16, 2020

The Health Ministry on Tuesday said that 70 new COVID-19 cases have been registered in the country in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 784. The 70 new cases were registered in Kabul (31), Herat (22), Kandahar (3), Ghazni (3), Wardak (2), Kunar (2), Nangarhar (2), Faryab (1), Uruzgan (1), Nimruz (2) and Baghlan (1), according to the ministry. The total confirmed coronavirus cases in Kabul is 209, from which six people have died and 11 others have recovered, according to the Public Health Ministry. At least 43 people have recovered from the coronavirus in the country while 25 have died, the Public Health Ministry said. Click here to read.... [3]

BANGLADESH

PM: Continue livelihood ensuring safety first: Dhaka Tribune
April 16, 2020

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said countrymen should continue their livelihood while ensuring that they do not get infected or spread coronavirus during the ongoing pandemic. The premier made the statement while addressing a videoconference with representatives and officials of the nine districts of Dhaka division, on Thursday. The videoconference was aired live on state and private television channels from the prime minister's official residence Gonobhaban. Click here to read.... [4]

MYANMAR

Myanmar detects 11 new COVID-19 patients, ups cases to 85: Myanmar Times
April 16, 2020

Myanmar detected 11 new COVID-19 patients on April 16, according to the National Health Laboratory, bringing to 85 the total number of cases in the country, with four deaths and two recoveries. For the first time the update information was not announced first on the health ministry’s Facebook page but during the 8’o clock morning news by the state-media MRTV, on April 16. A total of 400 people were tested by the National Health Laboratory on April 15, and 389 were tested negative. Click here to read.... [5]

NEPAL

“We don’t want to die in this desert”: Nepali workers in the UAE plead to be brought home: The Kathmandu Post
April 16, 2020

For a month, the empty streets and parks of Sharjah, the third-largest city in the United Arab Emirates, were home to Ramesh Budhathoki and nearly 40 other Nepalis. From mid-February to mid-March, they slept on the sidewalks and in public parks, surviving on food distributed by the Nepali community and others. After they resigned from their job, which was neither paying them as promised nor providing accommodation, they had been left to wander the streets with no place to live and no money to feed themselves. Click here to read.... [6]

Sri Lanka

President discusses resuming normal life at provincial level soon - PMD: Daily Mirror
April 16, 2020

The possibility of immediate resumption of day-to-day economic activities at provincial levels in order to safeguard the national economy was explored at a meeting chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday, the President’s Media Division said. The PMD said several health sector representatives including Provincial Directors of Health briefed the President on current situation in the country at the meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat. “The President instructed the Provincial Health Directors to make necessary recommendations required to maintain normal activities in the industrial, agricultural and business sectors through the Director General of Health. Click here to read.... [7]

BHUTAN

Relief measures worth Nu 3.37B: Kuenselonline
April 16, 2020

In shouldering one of the biggest afflictions of the Covid19 pandemic, financial institutions are likely to forego an estimated income on interest to the tune of Nu 1.68B in three months. This is only half the total interest income for the financial institutions, including the microfinance service providers, the central bank has estimated. An equal portion of the amount comes in as government compensation, meaning that the waiver of the interest for the three months alone comes to around Nu 3.37B. Click here to read.... [8]

CHINA

Coronavirus: Donald Trump says he discussed Wuhan laboratory connection with Xi Jinping: South China Morning Post
April 16, 2020

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he discussed an alleged connection between a virology lab in Wuhan and the coronavirus outbreak that led to the Covid-19 pandemic with China’s President Xi Jinping during a phone call. Click here to read.... [9]

Despite Knowing Severity of Outbreak, Beijing Hid Information from Public for 6 Days: Report: The Epoch Times
April 16, 2020

Chinese authorities were concerned about human-to-human transmission of the CCP virus six days before they confirmed it publicly on Jan. 20, the Associated Press reported, citing internal documents. Click here to read.... [10]