President Ashraf Ghani addressed a joint special session of the National Assembly on Monday to speak on the current situation in the country, saying “we have paid a high price for peace” but still the nation faces war.
“We have paid a high price for peace and showed great gentleness, but instead war was imposed on us,” President Ghani said, indirectly referring to the release of the 5,000 Taliban prisoners by the Afghan government earlier in the peace process.Click here to read... [2]
Clashes between government forces and the Taliban intensified in the city of Lashkargah in southern Helmand province, leaving some streets of the city empty of residents and adding to concerns about rising threats to major capitals. The frontline was in District 1 where the US conducted an airstrike on Monday morning that left seven Taliban killed, according to the Defense Ministry.Click here to read... [3]
Kabul-based US and UK embassies have cited the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) which has called the Taliban’s recent atrocities in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province as war crimes and violations of International law.The embassies condemned the so-called retaliatory killings by the Taliban in Spin Boldak and asked for the culprits of the massacre to be held responsible. A joint statement by the two embassies also reads that the leadership of the Taliban should be held responsible if they cannot control their fighters.Click here to read... [4]
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani during his speech in an exclusive gathering of the national council-Parliament, Senate- said that the ongoing war is an external intrigue imposed on the people of Afghanistan and security forces are capable of repelling it. The Afghan president said that he is predicting both opportunities and dangers but reiterated that the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces have the ability to be solidified and return to the desired stance in the upcoming six months.Click here to read... [5]
“Indian High Commission in Bangladesh hopes to start issuing tourist visas for Bangladeshi visitors soon. "From the High Commission we will do all to put our visa services back to the highest possible level," Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Doraiswami said while inaugurating the air bubble between India and Bangladesh this morning.”Click here to read... [6]
“This will be her first foreign visit, which is being considered very important given the coronavirus pandemic, since her Italy visit in February last year. During the pandemic, most bilateral or multilateral events that the PM joined were virtual. The 76th session of the UNGA, the largest diplomatic event, will be held on a limited scale because of the pandemic, the foreign minister said.”Click here to read... [7]
“Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on co-production of Sinopharm’s Covid-19 vaccine in Bangladesh is ready for signing and it should be done without any delay.”Click here to read... [8]
“India has extended the hand of friendship to Bangladesh. Our expectation is that based on the historic relationship, India will continue to expand cooperation in the ICT sector in the coming days, including investment in high-tech parks in Bangladesh. May India-Bangladesh friendship be immortal.”Click here to read... [9]
“Schools with special educational needs (SEN) faced difficulties in learning as the general guidelines provided by education ministry did not cater to them during school closure last year, an Education in Emergency (EiE) Report 2021 states. This is despite the ministry’s effort to keep all students engaged by providing opportunities for continuous learning. When the schools remained closed owing to the Covid-19 pandemic last year, the ministry came up with an adapted and prioritised curriculum.”Click here to read... [10]
“As India reaches this historic Diamond Jubilee milestone of its cherished independence, I offer my humble tributes to the great visionaries and proud citizens of this ancient nation for the myriad success stories that the incredible sub-continent has recorded and wish our trusted friend and neighbour ever greater progress and well-being in the years ahead.”Click here to read... [11]
“The Prime Minster said interventions are coming up to cushion our society against the economic consequences of the lockdown though it may not be impossible to meet the expectations of every individual. Finance Minister Namgay Tshering said that economy activity has disrupted the global economy and Bhutan is no exception. He said that there are no destitute individual who cannot afford three meals and have no homes to live in. “And if people are talking of business it is another level of comfort seeking,” he said.”Click here to read... [12]
With less than 100 new Covid-19 infections confirmed over the past 24 hours, active cases across the Maldives have dropped below 2,500. Latest daily figures publicized by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) show that 86 out of the 5,653 samples collected between 6pm Sunday and 6pm Monday tested positive for coronavirus. With these developments, Maldives coronavirus case tally currently sits at 77,633.Click here to read... [13]
Speaker of the Parliament and former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed's family has said he is expected to travel back to the Maldives from the United Kingdom next month. A terror attack was carried out against Nasheed on May 6 by detonating an IED as he entered his vehicle near his residence in capital Male'. According to the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF), the IED was strapped to a motorcycle parked nearby. Nasheed sustained serious injuries in the attack and multiple critical surgeries were performed on Nasheed at ADK Hospital in Male'. Nasheed later traveled to Germany on May 13 for additional treatment, and he is currently recuperating from his injuries in the United Kingdom.Click here to read... [14]
Minister of Health, Ahmed Naseem has extended the duration of the State of Public Health Emergency declared in the Maldives. This is the 17th extension of the State of Public Health Emergency since it was first declared on March 12, 2020. The emergency state was first invoked by former Health Minister Abdulla Ameen on March 12 last year for a period of 30 days by the discretionary powers vested in the minister by Section 33 of the 7/2012 Public Health Act. The measure was taken after the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the current COVID-19 outbreak as a global ‘pandemic'.Click here to read... [15]
Acting head of the opposition coalition Abdul Raheem Abdulla has invited all the political leaders to join the opposition coalition’s “Maldivians in Defence of Independence” campaign. While speaking at a ceremony held to launch the campaign, Abdul Raheem Abdulla invited former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla, MP Col (Rtd) Mohamed Nazim and former Housing Minister Umar Naseer to join the campaign.
Abdul Raheem Abdulla also invited former President Mohamed Nasheed and incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to join the campaign.Click here to read... [16]
The coupmaker’s activities over the past five months have borne all the hallmarks of a regime leader clinging to power, whatever the cost to the country and its people. The first four months of the takeover saw bloody crackdowns and mass detentions of protesters that resulted in 840 deaths and 5,554 arrests by May 31. At the same time, a deadly civilian armed resistance emerged upcountry and in some ethnic areas, and guerrilla-style attacks erupted in urban areas. Both have inflicted serious casualties on the regime, forcing Min Aung Hlaing to admit that he has yet to bring the country fully under his control, after his coup left it shattered across all sectors. Then came the third wave of COVID-19, which has fully unmasked the regime’s incompetence, mismanagement and lack of vision. Click here to read... [17]
The roughly half-year long low-level insurgency against Myanmar’s ruling Tatmadaw, as the armed forces is called, continues to brew, with the COVID-19 Delta variant’s spread throughout Southeast Asia adding a new layer of complexity (Terrorism Monitor, July 2). Myanmar hit record high COVID-19 deaths in July, while other countries in the region began lockdowns that same month (vnexpress.net, July 10). As of this publication, Myanmar was averaging more than 5,000 cases per day, which is nearly five times as high as the country’s previous highest average in November 2020 (Jakarta Post, July 13; Our World in Data, July 22). Click here to read... [18]
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet virtually with Southeast Asian officials every day next week, a senior state department official said on Saturday, as Washington seeks to show the region it’s a US priority while also addressing the crisis in Myanmar. The top US diplomat will attend virtual meetings for five consecutive days, including annual meetings of the 10 foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other nations and separate meetings of the Lower Mekong subregion countries Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. Click here to read... [19]
Southeast Asia’s top diplomats were meeting Monday to appoint a special envoy to help deal with the political crisis and violence gripping Myanmar and finalize an emergency plan to help control a coronavirus outbreak that many fear is spiraling out of control in the military-ruled nation. The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were also expected to announce after their video meeting some progress in four years of painstakingly slow negotiations with China to craft a nonaggression pact aimed at preventing conflict in the disputed South China Sea. Click here to read... [20]
Singapore will contribute USD 100,000 (S$135,000) to Asean's humanitarian assistance unit as it begins preparations to provide aid to Myanmar, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Monday (Aug 2) after meeting his counterparts from the region. Click here to read... [21]
Indo Myanmar Border Traders Union (IMBTU) has sought the help from all for Meeteis residing at Myanmar who have been worst hit by COVID-19 pandemic. In a press release, the union expressed concern that the Meeteis in Myanmar have been suffering due to the unrest in Myanmar aftermath of military coup and the shortage of medicines and medical equipment amid the alarming situation of COVID-19 have added more woes to their problems In this regard, Deputy Secretary (Home), Government of Manipur, Peter Salam issued an order on July 31, 2021 approving the opening of Myanmar Gate no 1 and 2 for the export of medical items only. Click here to read... [22]
“The government has decided to procure 15 million doses of vaccine. Minister of State for Health Umesh Shrestha has informed that an agreement has been reached to buy 4 million doses of Moderna and Pfizer, 5 million doses of Johnson & Johnson and 2 million doses of AstraZeneca.” Click here to read... [23]
“Chairman Upendra Yadav has been picked Parliamentary Party leader of the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal (JSPN). A meeting of the Parliamentary Party held at the party’s office in Singha Durbar on Saturday decided to that end.” Click here to read... [24]
“As this is his fifth innings — probably the last one — as the prime minister, Deuba should be able to deliver something meaningful so that he could not only stand tall among other prime ministers but also erase his past weaknesses and shortcomings. The government has made a good beginning with its decision on Tuesday to vaccinate the entire population of the country by mid-March, 2022. Although the COVID-19 cases have come down lately, experts have warned that the third wave of COVID-19 is due anytime soon; saving the people’s lives is the most urgent task facing the current government.”
“Discussions have started on the distribution of power in the process of resolving internal disputes within the CPN-UML. During the CPN-UML Standing Committee meeting, discussions have started on the division of power to address the issues raised by senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal's side. Party Chairman KP Sharma Oli's party has urged the leaders of the task force from both sides to come up with a blueprint for the distribution of power and the leaders of the task force have started discussions on the issue.” Click here to read... [25]
Frustrated with the attitude of the Afghan government, Pakistan has given up its plan to host Afghan Peace Conference involving Afghanistan’s political leadership. The plan has been quietly shelved, a senior official confirmed on Monday. The conference, which was to be attended by the political leadership of Afghanistan, was originally planned to be held from July 17 to 19 to give a fresh impetus to the efforts for peace there. Click here to read... [26]
Elections on Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly's three reserved seats – one each for Ulema and Mushaikh, overseas Kashmiris and technocrats – were held in the AJK State metropolis on Monday. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) clinched all three seats to raise its strength in the 53-member house to 32. There were nine candidates from the three parties – PTI, PPP and PML-N – vying for the reserved seats. Click here to read... [27]
The Pak-China Relations Steering Committee on Monday directed finalisation of a uniform policy framework within a month for extension in commercial operation dates (CODs) of five power projects of about 3,600 megawatts being set up under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Putting to rest speculation that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is considering revisiting its policy of civilian supremacy, the party’s supreme leader Nawaz Sharif has categorically stated that there is no change in its stance. The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Ms Alaina B. Teplitz said today that the United States will continue to support Sri Lanka's fight against Covid-19 by providing ongoing support to the COVAX facility - an international mechanism distributing life saving vaccines to countries throughout the world, including Sri Lanka, Communications Department of Parliament said. Click here to read... [29] The High Commission of India in Colombo said that it has received requests from Sri Lankan citizens from several walks of life in respect of visa and consular services. South Korea’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka Santhush Woonjin JEONG on July 29 met with Justice Minister Ali Sabry,PC at the Ministry of Justice and discussed ways to promote judicial cooperation and assistance between Korea and Sri Lanka. Click here to read... [31] The Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry reports that another 702 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, moving the daily total of new cases to 2,382. This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 313,769. Click here to read... [32]
The meeting presided over by Planning Minister Asad Umar also directed the Power Division to ensure availability of sufficient power for operationalisation of 660kV transmission line from Matiari to Lahore from Sept 1.
PML-N won’t give up struggle against transgressors of Constitution: Nawaz: DAWN
The party, he declared, would not retreat and would continue its struggle against the transgressors of the Constitution. Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif posted a series of tweets on Monday, reaffirming his party’s stance in the face of back-to-back defeats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections and the Sialkot by-poll. Click here to read... [28]Sri Lanka
US will continue to support SL’s fight against Covid-19: US Ambassador tells Speaker - Daily Mirror
Indian HC receives requests from Sri Lankans related to visa & consular services - Daily Mirror
The Commission said in a statement said despite that the High Commission and its staff are committed to service these requests in the best possible way, delivery of public services, including those related to consular and visa matters in Sri Lanka had been affected due to the COVID-19 situation in Sri Lanka. Click here to read... [30]South Korea’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka meets Justice Minister - Daily News
Daily COVID caseload moves to 2,382 - Adaderana
Links:
[1] https://www.vifindia.org/2021/august/03/vif-neighbourhood-news-digest
[2] https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-173909
[3] https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-173925
[4] https://www.khaama.com/taliban-committed-war-crimes-in-spin-boldak-us-uk-embassies-46346/
[5] https://www.khaama.com/external-intrigue-has-been-imposed-on-afghans-andsf-to-change-situation-in-six-months-ghani-57457/
[6] https://www.thedailystar.net/india/news/tourist-visa-bangladeshis-resume-soon-indian-high-commissioner-1985525
[7] https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/governance/news/pm-be-unga-person-2143291
[8] https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/foreign-affairs/2021/08/02/momen-agreement-to-be-signed-with-sinopharm-on-joint-production
[9] https://www.bd-pratidin.com/open-air-theater/2021/08/02/676458
[10] https://kuenselonline.com/school-closure-put-pressure-on-students-with-disabilities-2/
[11] https://bhutantimes.bt/index.php/2021/08/02/india-at-75-some-sepoy-stories-of-a-shared-saga/
[12] https://bhutantimes.bt/index.php/2021/08/02/immediate-intervention-for-those-gravely-affected-by-lockdown/
[13] https://raajje.mv/104195
[14] https://avas.mv/en/104448
[15] https://avas.mv/en/104447
[16] https://www.maldivesnewsnetwork.com/2021/07/30/opposition-invites-all-ruling-coalition-partners-to-join-campaign-to-secure-independence-of-the-maldives/
[17] https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/commentary/covid-19-unmasks-myanmar-regimes-callousness-and-incompetence.html
[18] https://jamestown.org/program/briefs-355/
[19] https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/us-top-diplomat-blinken-to-court-southeast-asia-in-virtual-meetings-next-week-402274
[20] https://apnews.com/article/business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-myanmar-global-trade-7046c6719f2d67718c73f6f5c34de96e
[21] https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2021/08/03/singapore-to-contribute-us100000-to-asean-efforts-to-aid-myanmar
[22] http://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=7..030821.aug21
[23] https://ekantipur.com/news/2021/08/03/162795038911484033.html
[24] https://www.nepallivetoday.com/2021/07/31/upendra-yadav-picked-jspn-parliamentary-party-leader/
[25] https://nagariknews.nagariknetwork.com/politics/589911-1627952144.html
[26] https://www.dawn.com/news/1638433/pakistan-shelves-plan-to-hold-afghan-leaders-moot
[27] https://tribune.com.pk/story/2313509/pti-set-to-form-ajk-govt-after-clinching-three-more-reserved-seats
[28] https://www.dawn.com/news/1638483/5-cpec-power-projects-face-delays</p
[29] https://www.dailymirror.lk/latest_news/US-will-continue-to-support-SLs-fight-against-Covid-19-US-Ambassador-tells-Speaker/342-217375
[30] https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news/Indian-HC-receives-requests-from-Sri-Lankans-related-to-visa-consular-services/108-217371
[31] https://dailynews.lk/2021/08/03/local/255619/south-korea’s-ambassador-sri-lanka-meets-justice-minister
[32] http://www.adaderana.lk/news/75846/daily-covid-caseload-moves-to-2382
[33] http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?title=VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: August 03, 2021&desc=&images=&u=https://www.vifindia.org/2021/august/03/vif-neighbourhood-news-digest
[34] http://twitter.com/share?text=VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: August 03, 2021&url=https://www.vifindia.org/2021/august/03/vif-neighbourhood-news-digest&via=Azure Power
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