VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: June 29, 2020

PAKISTAN

Imran praises team for help in Covid-19 crisis: DAWN

Just a day after the national tally of coronavirus cases crossed the 200,000 mark, Prime Minister Imran Khan praised his team for helping him navigate the country through the Covid-19 crisis and expressed the hope that the worst of the crisis would be over if the masses took all the precautionary measures. Click here to read.... [2]

AFGHANISTAN

Trump: Russian Bounties on US Troops ‘Fake News’: TOLO News

US President Donald Trump on Sunday denied that he had been told or briefed on reported Russian bounties placed on US troops in Afghanistan, and called on The New York Times to identify its source. Trump called the story “fake news” and said neither Vice President Mike Pence nor his Chief of Staff Meadows had been told or briefed, either. “Everybody is denying it and there have not been many attacks on us,” Trump said in a tweet. Click here to read.... [3]

BANGLADESH

Govt plans to charge for Covid-19 tests: Dhaka Tribune

Coronavirus suspects will not be able to test their samples for free anymore at state-run facilities as the Health Ministry is planning to introduce fees. “We have discussed the issue, but it’s yet to be finalized,” Health Minister Zahid Maleque told Bangla Tribune on Saturday before adding that an official announcement will be made “very soon.” Click here to read.... [4]

MYANMAR

Myanmar commits to IMF funding as pandemic persists: Myanmar Times

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on June 26 approved a disbursement to Myanmar equivalent to US$118.8 million under its Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) and a purchase equivalent to $237.7 million under its Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI). This will help meet the country’s balance-of-payments and fiscal needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and support the government’s plans to boost spending on health and social safety nets. Click here to read.... [5]

NEPAL

Faced with criticism, Oli sees plots being hatched to unseat him in Delhi and Kathmandu: The Kathmandu Post

Faced with mounting criticism from both within the ruling Nepal Communist Party and outside, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has turned to a tried-and-tested formula of his, pointing to nebulous plots being hatched in New Delhi and Kathmandu to unseat him. “Plots are being hatched to topple me for releasing the country’s new map and getting it adopted through Parliament,” Oli said on Sunday while addressing an event organised by the Madan Bhandari Foundation at Baluwatar to commemorate the leader’s 69th birth anniversary. Click here to read.... [6]

SRI LANKA

Need a strong mandate to defeat conspiracies against SL - PM: Daily Mirror

While requesting the people of Sri Lanka to always have the broader picture in mind when it comes to politics, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has stressed the necessity of having a ‘very strong mandate’ at the forthcoming election in order to conclusively defeat domestic and foreign conspiracies against Sri Lanka. “You will recall that at the end of 2018 when the yahapalana government began to break up, diplomats of certain Western embasies sat in the visitor’s gallery in Parliament and applauded and cheered the yahapalana Speaker’s efforts to protect their investment. Click here to read.... [7]