VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: May 20, 2020

PAKISTAN

Pakistan rejects India’s new Kashmir domicile rules: DAWN

Pakistan on Tuesday rejected Indian government’s recently announced domicile rules for occupied Kashmir which allows non-locals to seek permanent residence in the disputed region. On Monday, India notified new rules that permit those who have lived in India-held Kashmir for 15 years, or studied there for seven years and appeared in class 10th or 12th examinations in a local school, to apply for Kashmir domicile, a mandatory condition for seeking jobs in the Himalayan region. Click here to read.... [2]

AFGHANISTAN

9 Members of Public Uprising Forces Killed in Takhar: TOLO News

At least 9 members of the public uprising forces were killed and 6 were wounded in a clash with the Taliban in the northern province of Takhar on Tuesday night, local officials said. The incident occurred in Lala Guzar village of Khwaja Bahauddin district on Tuesday night after the Taliban attacked and were engaged by security forces, according to officials. “The Taliban also sustained casualties in the attack but there are no exact reports,” officials said. The Taliban have not commented on the attack. Click here to read.... [3]

BANGLADESH

AccuWeather: Amphan is the first super cyclone in the region since 1999: Dhaka Tribune

Leading global storm tracker AccuWeather today described Amphan as the first super cyclone in the Bay of Bengal since 1999, fearing the “ferocious” storm to unleash extreme impacts across Bangladeshi and northeastern Indian coastlines. “Amphan is the first super cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal since the 1999 Odisha Cyclone,” AccuWeather’s Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls said as the storm aims to make landfall on coastlines of both the countries by late Wednesday, reports BSS. Click here to read.... [4]

MYANMAR

UK to give Myanmar $48M for coronavirus response: Myanmar Times

The UK has allocated about US$36 million to help Myanmar fight COVID-19, with almost half the aid earmarked to support remote communities. The British government said on Wednesday (May 20) that the UK aid would focus on supporting those most vulnerable to coronavirus, including the elderly, health workers and communities in conflict-affected areas which are at risk of a humanitarian emergency. Click here to read.... [5]

NEPAL

Even as Kathmandu protests Indian encroachment, Darchula depends on India: The Kathmandu Post

With the onset of winter every year, the residents of Chhangru and Tinkar villages in Darchula’s Byas Rural Municipality descend to district headquarters Khalanga to avoid the cold. When spring arrives, they return to their villages and their fields, ready for the new plantation season. Ashok Singh Bohara, chairperson of the rural municipality’s Ward No 1, makes this same journey every year with his family. If all goes well, he is generally back in Chhangru by April. But things haven’t so gone well this year. Click here to read.... [6]

BHUTAN

Bhutan bids farewell to former RBA Chief Operations Officer: Kuensel

The military funeral of the former Chief Operations Officer (COO) of the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA), Goongloen Gongma (Lt. General) Lam Dorji, was held at the Pelkhil School ground in Thimphu yesterday. Draped in the RBA flag, the body of Late Goongloen Gongma was escorted from his home to the cremation ground where the armed forces officers received it with a Guard of Honour. The cremation ceremony was presided over by the Dorji Lopon of the Zhung Dratshang along with 100 monks. Click here to read.... [7]

SRI LANKA

Prez talks tough on intl. bodies that continues to target SL and war heroes: Daily Mirror

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa addressing the 11th War Heroes commemoration yesterday said if any international body or organisation continuously targets Sri Lanka and its war heroes, using baseless allegations, he would not hesitate to withdraw the country from such bodies or organizations. “In a situation where even leaders of powerful countries have emphatically stated that they would not allow any action against their war heroes, in a small country like ours where our war heroes have sacrificed so much, I will not allow anyone to exert undue pressure on them or harass them,” he said. Click here to read.... [8]

CHINA

Pompeo congratulates Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen who starts second term with firm ‘no’ to one country, two systems: South China Morning Post

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became the highest-level US official to congratulate Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on her inauguration to a second term as the island’s first woman leader – comments expected to trigger a furious reaction from Beijing. Pompeo’s remarks were read aloud at the ceremony on Wednesday, ahead of Tsai’s inauguration speech in which she vowed to defend the island from threats, and said it would not accept Beijing’s “one country, two systems” proposal for cross-strait unification. Click here to read.... [9]

China to drive global GDP growth this year and next: China Daily

China is one of a few large economies expected to expand and substantially contribute to global GDP growth in 2020 and 2021, said the authors of a latest report jointly issued by Oliver Wyman and Silk Road Associates. Click here to read.... [10]