VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: September 03, 2021

Afghanistan

Protestors in Herat Call for Women's Inclusion in Future Govt: Tolo News

Afghan protestors said women should be included in the next government, saying no government is sustainable without women's support. The protesters included women’s rights defenders, university students and government employees.

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UN: Afghan Food Supply May Run Out 'This Month': Tolo News

The UN official statement warning of a food supply shortage called on the international community to step up support for providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

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Taliban meeting with representatives of regional countries in Doha struggles for building foreign relations: The Khaama Press

As the Taliban leaders along with their supreme leader Mullah Hebtullah Akhundzada is have wrapped up their negotiations on gorging a set-up for the upcoming government in Afghanistan, the political office of IEA in Doha is holding meetings with the ambassadors of regional countries in the host nation.Click here to read... [4]

Afghanistan’s biggest money exchange market to open on Saturday: The Khaama Press

Afghanistan’s central bank has announced that the biggest money exchange market-Sarai Shahzada- based in Kabul to be activated on Saturday, September 4.Central bank-De Afghanistan bank- said that the people and moneyexchangers can resume their activities as normal.Click here to read... [5]

Bangladesh

Foreigners stuck in India due to pandemic granted visa extension till September 30- Daily Star

Visas of foreigners stuck in India due to the Covid-19 pandemic for around one and a half years have been extended free of cost till September 30 this year, the Indian Home Ministry said last night.
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Bamboo fencing in Laghata, Palak rivers wreaks havoc on indigenous fish species- daily Star

According to the Protection and Conservation of Fish Act, 1950, setting up impediments to the flow of a river is prohibited and a punishable offense. Although such a method of fishing is banned by law, it is going on flouting rules hampering the breeding and supply of native fish in the rivers.
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Bangladesh-India air bubble flights likely to restart Sept 4- The Independent

The air bubble flights between Bangladesh and India are likely to be resumed Saturday.
https://www.theindependentbd.com/post/267615" target="_blank">Click here to read...

11 Rohingyas held in Panchagarh UNB, Panchagarh- The Independent

Police on Thursday arrested 11 Rohingyas including six children and women from a bus counter of Hanif Enterprise in Panchagarh town.
Click here to read... [8]

Why does dengue return every year? - Daily tribune

Twenty years have passed since Bangladesh experienced the first dengue outbreak and yet till now the local government and health authorities are working on finding ways to eradicate it and curb its spread completely.
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Floods in 11 northern, central Bangladesh worsen- New Age

The overall flood situations in11districts in northern and central parts of the country deteriorated on Thursday as major rivers including the Jamuna, the Padma and the Brahmaputra were rising further.
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Bangladesh's exports fall 7.84pc short of July-August target- Financial Express

The country's earnings from merchandise exports fell short of the strategic target by 7.84 per cent to reach $6.85 billion in the July-August period this fiscal.
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EU to send 10m vaccine doses to Bangladesh- Financial Express

The European Union has pledged to provide Bangladesh with 10 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Click here to read... [12]

Bhutan

Khandu Wangmo guilty of sedition- Kuensel

Thimphu dzongkhag court’s criminal bench sentenced Khandu Wangmo to a concurrent prison term of five years after finding her guilty of three counts of sedition.
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Community ownership critical to Covid-19-free Phuentsholing- Kuensel

After all restrictions in the town were lifted completely on August 10, every day about 600 people are tested for Covid-19 in Phuentsholing as part of the active surveillance.
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Maldives

Exim Bank extends LOC of $40 mn to Maldives - Millennium Post

With this, Exim Bank till date has extended five LOCs to Maldives, on behalf of the Indian government, taking the total value of LOCs to $1.33 billion, a release said. Projects covered under these LOCs to Maldives include housing project, Greater Male' Connectivity project, water & sewerage projects, Addu Development project, International Cricket Stadium project, road construction and sports infrastructure.
Click here to read... [15]

Myanmar

China opens new route to Indian Ocean via Myanmar - Dawn

China’s special envoy for Asian Affairs Sun Guoxiang visited Myanmar last week for talks with its military rulers, as a new route spanning the Southeast Asian nation opened up connecting Chinese trade flows to the Indian Ocean. As opposed to most Western countries that have condemned the Myanmar army for ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, China has taken a softer line and said its priorities are stability and not interfering in its neighbour.
Click here to read... [16]

Ethnic Armed Group Captures Strategic Hill From Myanmar Junta Forces - The Irrawaddy

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) has retaken control of a strategic hill which junta troops captured from the ethnic armed group earlier this week. The MNDAA and the Myanmar military have been clashing in Mongkoe and Pansai in northern Shan State since early July.
Click here to read... [17]

Justice in the balance as UN considers recognition question - Frontier Myanmar

With the United Nations expected to soon decide whether Myanmar is represented in the General Assembly by the military regime or the National Unity Government, another important question may hang in the balance: who will represent Myanmar at the International Court of Justice?
Click here to read... [18]

Myanmar Junta Grows Bananas to Boost Food Security - The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s military is growing bananas at its barracks, including its regional headquarters, said regime spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun. “The entire Tatmadaw [military] has started to grow tissue-culture bananas. The cultivar we are growing is different from those being grown by China [in Myanmar]. We grow ‘phee gyan’,” he said.
Click here to read... [19]

Nepal

6,000 foreign tourists visited Nepal in August- Republica

Nepal welcomed around 6,000 foreign visitors in the month of August, which is almost double than that of the previous month.
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Nepal’s market monitors underperform as they are under political pressure, understaffed and ill-equipped- Online Khabar

Government mechanisms responsible for market monitoring have failed to carry out their responsibilities thanks to different factors including political pressure and a lack of human resources, technology and infrastructure.
Click here to read... [21]

Home Ministry writes to Foreign Ministry to take diplomatic initiatives with India regarding Darchula incident- Kathmandu Post

The Ministry of Home Affairs has written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting diplomatic initiatives with India to investigate the disappearance of a Darchula youth in the Mahakali river.
Click here to read... [22]

India says not aware of Darchula incident and no official communication from Nepal yet- Kathmandu Post

Ministry of External Affairs of India is unaware of any investigation initiated by the Indian government into the incident, said ministry’s spokesperson, Arvindam Bagchi.
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Govt won't get full shape before Sept 8: Nepal- The Himalaya

CPN (Unified Socialist) Chair Madhav Kumar Nepal today said that the Sher Bahadur Deuba Cabinet wouldn't be expanded before September 7 or 8.
Click here to read... [24]

'Congress will lead new govt in Province 1'- The Himalaya

As the Chief Minister of Province 1 Bhim Acharya is short of six Provincial Assembly members, the leader of the main opposition Rajib Koirala has said Nepali Congress will lead the new provincial government.
Click here to read... [25]

Pakistan

Rupee hits one-year low against dollar: Dawn

Uncertainty continued in exchange rate markets on Thursday where buyers and sellers were found asking each other about the limit of appreciation of the US dollar, which has risen by 10.5 per cent against the rupee in the last four months touching one-year high.
Click here to read... [26]

Industrialisation, tourism vital for debt retirement: PM Imran: Dawn

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that industrialisation as well as promotion of tourism are inevitable to repay debts by boosting exports and wealth creation.
Click here to read... [27]

Govt decides to scale back Kamyab Pakistan Programme initiative: The Express Tribune

The government has decided to scale back the size and scope of the Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP) aimed at addressing “legitimate” concerns of the bureaucracy and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Click here to read... [28]

Abandoning Afghanistan will give space to chaos, terrorism: FM Qureshi: The Express Tribune

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged the international community not to repeat the "mistake" of abandoning the people of Afghanistan, warning that doing so and not engaging with the Taliban would give space to terrorist organisations and lead to further chaos in the war-torn state.
Click here to read... [29]

Sri Lanka

Libyan government requests Sri Lanka to monitor upcoming elections later this year - MFA Sri Lanka

Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris met the Charge d’ Affaires of the Embassy of the State of Libya in Sri Lanka Amar A.M. Muftah, on Wednesday, 01 September 2021 at the Foreign Ministry and discussed matters of mutual interest in the bilateral relations between the two countries. Libyan Charge d’ Affaires Muftah briefed the Minister on the current situation in Libya, in particular the role of the interim caretaker government that has been in office since March 2021. He briefed on the preparations for the Presidential and Parliamentary elections to be held on 24 December 2021 and made a request for Sri Lanka to consider sending an election monitoring mission.
Click here to read... [30]

3,627 persons test positive for COVID-19 - Daily FT

The country’s COVID-19 detections rose to 447,757 with the detections of 3,627 COVID-19 positive persons yesterday. According to the Health Promotion Bureau, 14,009 PCR tests were carried out yesterday and the detections include 3,619 persons from the New Year cluster and eight overseas arrivals On Wednesday, 13,336 PCR tests and 4,345 rapid antigen tests were carried out and 3,828 COVID-19 patients were detected. Out of the detections, 3,826 were from the New Year cluster and two were from the Prisons cluster. The Epidemiology Unit states that 341,044 patients are linked to the New Year cluster and 8,164 patients are linked to the Prisons cluster. The country’s imported cases include 6,836 Sri Lankans and 328 foreigners.
Click here to read... [31]

Vatican Ambassador discusses Easter Attacks with FM Peiris - Ceylon Today

The Vatican Ambassador to Sri Lanka, His Eminence Arch Bishop Brian Udaigwe, Apostolic Nuncio discusses the Easter Sunday bombing investigation with Foreign Minister Professor G. L. Peiris yesterday (31). During the meeting, the FM explained that one of his first duties in his previous portfolio as Minister of Education was to confer degree awarding status to the Benedict XVI Catholic Institute at Bolawalana, Negombo, which was built by the then Defence Secretary, present President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the armed forces.
Click here to read... [32]

Basil urges more economic cooperation between SL and China - Daily FT

Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa this week requested members of a high-level Chinese delegation to look into the $ 1.5 billion fiscal transfer between the Central Banks of the two countries as a measure to overcome the current economic challenge which is at a halt due to some areas of contention relating to the technicalities of the agreement. He also requested them to facilitate the expansion of industries such as garments, tea and gems to enter the Chinese market under the Sri Lanka-China Free Trade Agreement.
Click here to read... [33]

SL is ready to accommodate the regional head office of China Dev. Bank close to Port City - The Island

Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa on Tuesday (31) told the Speaker of the Parliament of the People’s Republic of China, Li Zhanshu, that Sri Lanka was ready to facilitate the establishment of the regional headquarters of China Development Bank in the vicinity of the Colombo Port City. Rajapaksa also asked Zhanshu to help facilitate a USD 1.5 billion fiscal transfer between the two Central Banks to overcome the current economic challenge.
Click here to read... [34]