VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: November 8, 2021

Afghanistan

Before Collapse, Plan Was in Place for Inclusive Govt: Khalilzad: Tolo News

Before Kabul’s collapse, all sides had agreed that an inclusive government would be formed in two weeks, said Khalilzad. Click here to read... [2]

Afghan Exports Have Increased This Year: ACCI: Tolo News

According to the officials, the export of domestic products has reached $823 million this year, while last year the export of these products reached $700 million. Click here to read... [3]

UNICEF to begin country-wide polio vaccination in Afghanistan: The Khaama Press

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund announced that they will launch the first country-wide polio vaccination campaign in Afghanistan on Monday, November 8. Click here to read... [4]

Taliban asks taxi drivers not to transport gunmen but them: The Khaama Press

Taliban’s provincial officials in the eastern Nangarhar province have asked Raksha (Taxi) drivers not to transport other gunmen other than the Taliban affiliates. Click here to read... [5]

Bangladesh

Opinion: Is Bangladesh at risk of falling into the Chinese debt trap?- Daily Star

Bangladesh, the second highest recipient of China's investment in South Asia after Pakistan, imports the highest volume of goods from China, making the country Bangladesh's largest trading partner. Click here to read... [6]

Bangladesh setting up more vaccination centres for school children- Dhaka Tribune

Vaccination activities for 12-17-year-old students started at eight schools in Dhaka on November 1. Click here to read... [7]

Hasina worries as BNP fighting a battle for 'existence'- Daily Observer

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday expressed concern as Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is fighting a battle for its 'existence' as a political party. Click here to read... [8]

Deliver due services to expats- The Asian Age

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday asked Bangladeshi diplomats to work sincerely so that the expatriates across the world can avail of proper services from them. Click here to read... [9]

Bhutan

ACC investigation reveals deep-rooted corruption at MDP- Kuensel

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has interrogated 61 individuals and collected 87 statements so far as it investigates alleged corruption at the Mini Dry Port (MDP) and truck parking (temporary) port in Phuentsholing. Click here to read... [10]

India, Bhutan to have 7 more entry and exit points for trade: Govt- Business Standard

India and Bhutan will have seven additional entry and exit points for trade as part of measures to increase trade connectivity, the government said on Wednesday. Click here to read... [11]

Maldives

Scientists say 80% of the Maldives could be uninhabitable by 2050 - ABC News

ABC News’ Ginger Zee travels to the Maldives, where rising sea levels could potentially wipe the island nation off the map. Click here to read... [12]

Maldives reports over 100 daily Covid-19 cases for eighth consecutive day - Raajje

Maldives has reported over 100 daily Covid-19 cases for an eighth consecutive day. According to the latest figures publicized by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), 182 new Covid-19 cases and 257 recoveries were confirmed between 6pm Saturday and 6pm Sunday. The new cases were confirmed through 4,656 samples tested in the reporting period. Click here to read... [13]

Myanmar

Veteran U.S. Diplomat Comes Under Criticism for a Trip to Myanmar - NYTimes

Bill Richardson, the American ex-diplomat, has made numerous trips to Myanmar since the 1990s. He has negotiated with the generals who ruled it, then and now. He has been an ally and later a critic of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, its most popular politician, who is once again a prisoner of the army. Click here to read... [14]

Can Defections Take Down Myanmar’s Military? - The Diplomat

Nine months after the military coup, Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG), which stands in opposition to the junta, has declared the formation of a command structure to coordinate between civilian resistance forces and allied ethnic armed organizations (EAOs). Click here to read... [15]

How Cross-Border Crime Ensnares and Endangers Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh - The Diplomat

As years drag on without any positive developments regarding repatriation, the situation is worsening in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh. Conflicts among the Rohingya are increasing and various illegal elements are finding their ways into the camps. Click here to read... [16]

Activists urge U.N. intervention over Myanmar army offensives - Reuters

More than 500 civil rights groups have called for a United Nations Security Council meeting to stop escalating violence in Myanmar's Chin state, a volatile border region that has become a forefront of resistance against military rule. Click here to read... [17]

Shells explode as fire breaks out at military base in northern Rakhine - Myanmar Now

Locals in northern Rakhine State fled their homes to hide in bunkers as several large explosions rocked a nearby military base on Monday, followed by the sound of guns and sightings of flames and smoke. Click here to read... [18]

U.S. POLICY TOWARD MYANMAR’S MILITARY JUNTA - War On The Rocks

The new Biden administration quickly sanctioned the regime (which calls itself the State Administrative Council) and seized $1 billion in assets. Ever since, however, the White House has done little else but pay lip service to the restoration of democracy and call on the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to do more. Click here to read... [19]

Myanmar’s Civilian Government to Start Selling Bonds to Fund Revolution - The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government will start selling bonds this month to fund the revolutionary movement against the junta. It is a first for shadow administrations from Myanmar opposing military rule since the 1962 coup. Click here to read... [20]

Myanmar junta’s attacks on civilians were ‘crimes against humanity’: UN investigator - Global News

The head of the U.N. body investigating the most serious crimes in Myanmar said that preliminary evidence collected since the military seized power on Feb. 1 shows a widespread and systematic attack on civilians “amounting to crimes against humanity.” Click here to read... [21]

Nepal

Eight killed in Salyan bus accident- Himalaya

Eight persons were killed while scores sustained injuries after the passenger bus they were travelling on fell below the road in Khapurkot Rural Municipality of Salyan, today. Click here to read... [22]

Nepal Sambat promotes mutual goodwill: President Bhandari- Himalaya

President Bidya Devi Bhandari has expressed the confidence that the Nepal Sambat 1142 would help support further strengthen national unity by promoting mutual goodwill, tolerance and brotherhood. Click here to read... [23]

WHO to provide 252,363 doses of oral cholera vaccine for use in Kapilvastu- TKP

After all its efforts at containing the cholera outbreak that started in the first week of October in Krishnanagar Municipality of Kapilvastu, the Ministry of Health and Population has decided to launch a vaccination drive in the affected villages. Click here to read... [1]
https://bit.ly/3BRVIAz [24]

Ruling alliance in a fix as it faces a host of challenges- TKP

The incumbent government came into being after a long struggle. Five fronts—Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), a faction of the CPN-UML, a group of the Janata Samajbadi Party and the Rastriya Janamorcha—had come together to oust the KP Sharma Oli government. Click here to read... [25]

Pakistan

Ban on TLP revoked at Punjab government request: Dawn

The notification in this regard was issued by the Ministry of Interior on Sunday, a day before a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security to be held in the National Assembly in which the opposition members are expected to raise the matter. Click here to read... [26]

Pakistan fared better than others in managing price hike: PM Imran: Dawn

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said Pakistan had fared much better than other countries in the wake of unprecedented price hike brought about by Covid-19. Click here to read... [27]

Taliban promise military action if TTP talks fail: The Express Tribune

Pakistani officials in their interactions with the Taliban leadership made a clear demand that all these groups must not only be denied space to operate but also sought military action against them. " target="_blank">Click here to read... [28]

Pakistan, Canada reaffirm commitment to boost ties: The Express Tribune

The consensus was reached the ‘4th Round of Bilateral Political Consultations’ held between Pakistan and Canada here, according to a statement shared by the Office of the spokesperson Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Facebook. Click here to read... [29]

Sindh govt responsible for hike in prices of flour, sugar: Asad Umar: The News

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Sunday said the PPP’s Sindh government had created an artificial price hike in the province by not releasing wheat stock and sugar to the flour mills. Click here to read... [30]

14-member Balochistan cabinet sworn in: The News

A new 14-member Balochistan cabinet took oath at a ceremony at the Governor House in Quetta on Sunday, reports Geo News. Click here to read... [31]

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka central bank foreign assets negative by US$780mn in Sept - Economynext

The central bank’s net foreign assets were negative by 158.7 billion rupees (about 780 million US dollars by September 2021, and reserve backing of rupee notes were went deeper into negative territory official data show. Dollar backing of rupees was negative by 12.2 percent. Click here to read... [32]

Chinese fertilizer firm demands US$8mn in damages from Sri Lanka testing agency - Economynext

China’s Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co Ltd, whose organic fertilizer, which Sri Lanka’s National Plant Quarantine Service (NPQS) said contained bacteria, has demanded 8 million US dollars from the agency, alleging negligence. The Letter of Demand, seen by EconomyNext and dated November 5, has been addressed to NPQS Additional Director W A R T Wickramaarachchi. Click here to read... [33]

Canada announces $ 1.3 m grant to SL for COVID assistance through WHO Sri Lanka - Daily FT

The Government of Canada (Global Affairs Canada) has announced a $ 1.3 million grant for immediate assistance on COVID-19 as well as longer-term strengthening of primary healthcare through WHO Sri Lanka. Urgent medical supplies including two million syringes for the accelerated COVID-19 vaccination effort arrived in Sri Lanka last August and medical equipment for 55 at the primary healthcare level has been procured. Click here to read... [34]

Big Dubai diaspora draw for SL Investor Forum - Daily FT

The first-ever post-pandemic Sri Lanka Investor Forum to woo foreign funds to the capital market concluded successfully on Friday with a strong turnout of top Dubai-based Sri Lankans across multiple industries. The multi-stakeholder initiative was championed by the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in association with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in UAE and the Consulate General of Sri Lanka to Dubai and the Northern Emirates. Click here to read... [35]