VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: July 22, 2022
Afghanistan
180 Men Arrested in Kunduz in Past 3 Months: Tolo News

Security officials in Kunduz province said that during the past three months they have ar-rested 180 men on different criminal charges in the city and various districts of the prov-ince. According to the Kunduz Police Command, these men have been arrested due to var-ious crimes such as armed robbery, drug trafficking, and murder. Click here to read...

Kabul, Islamabad Discuss Bilateral Trade: Tolo News

The acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, Nooruddin Azizi, said that Kabul is in talks with the Pakistani delegation that arrived in Kabul on Monday evening to sign an agree-ment to facilitate trade, transit and barter trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan. "The barter trade, which is a serious issue for Afghan traders, cross-staffing, the trade of mate-rials, and coal will be discussed," he said. Click here to read...

Facebook Bans Taliban-controlled Media Pages, Bakhtar News Agency & Afghanistan National Television: The Khaama Press

Facebook had suspended the Pashto and Dari pages of this media organization, according to Ahmadullah Wasiq, head of Afghanistan National Television. When the Taliban took Kabul on August 15, 2021, they seized control of Afghanistan National Television’s media center. As a result, they conducted extensive media activities. However, the pages of this media center and Bakhtar News Agency are currently inaccessibleClick here to read...

Forecasted Heavy Rainfall and Flash Floods in 19 Provinces of Afghanistan Prompts Warning from National Meteorological Department: The Khaama Press

Meteorologists at the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan Meteorological Department (AMD) have issued a warning due to the possibility of heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, wind gusts, and flash floods in 19 provinces across Afghanistan. Click here to read...

Bangladesh
Narail communal attack: How it all went down- Dhaka Tribune

As many as 17 victims lost their valuables worth hundreds of thousands of taka due to the barbaric attack on Friday. Click here to read...

BD sets export target of $67 billion for FY23- Asian Age

This target, announced by Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Wednesday, shows an over 10% growth estate, despite the volatility in the global economy owing to the Russia-Ukraine war, UNB reports. Click here to read...

Largest loan from IMF on the cards- The Daily Star

The International Monetary Fund is expecting a formal request for a loan from Bangla-desh soon to provide a buffer to the delicate foreign currency reserves amid global eco-nomic volatility even though the government remains in two minds about it. Click here to read...

IOM deputy DG in city- The Daily Star

IOM Deputy Director General Ugochi Daniels is coming to Bangladesh on a five-day visit today. Click here to read...

Media employees bill: Make it journo friendly- The Daily Star

Leaders of different journalist organisations yesterday demanded the government bring several changes to the Mass Media Employees (Services Conditions) Bill-2022, including dropping the provision of setting up mass media court, to make the proposed law journal-ist friendly. Click here to read...

2 ministries ask officials to cut energy expenses- The Daily Star

The finance ministry yesterday directed government officials to lower fuel and lubricant expenditures for their vehicles by 20 percent while the public administration ministry asked officials not to waste power. Click here to read...

Let us know of any homeless person- The Daily Star

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said her government would ensure home for every countryman. Click here to read...

Yet-to-start mega projects: Consider putting them on hold- The Daily Star

Given the current economic situation, the government should consider suspending mega projects the physical work of which has yet to begin, economist Debapriya Bhattacharya said yesterday. Click here to read...

Narco trade rose alarmingly since Rohingya influx- The Daily Star

Trafficking of illegal drugs, notably methamphetamine or 'yaba', from Myanmar to all its neighbouring countries has risen alarmingly since the 2017 Rohingya influx in Bangla-desh. Click here to read...

Fight against Trafficking: US recognises Tariqul Islam- The Daily Star

The US government has recognised Bangladesh's Tariqul Islam, an advocate for victims of human trafficking whose work has helped increase tBangladesh government's capacity to investigate and prosecute traffickers. Click here to read...

“Padma Bridge to strengthen Bangladesh-West Bengal ties”: PM invites Mama-ta- The Daily Star

"Padma Bridge is expected to strengthen bilateral ties between Bangladesh and West Bengal, or rather entire India, and open up new avenues for bilateral trade between the two countries," PM Sheikh Hasina said in a letter to Mamata. Click here to read...

Bhutan
No vaccination for children under five for now- Kuensel

Children between the ages of six months and four years will not be given Covid-19 vac-cines for now. The National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) recom-mended this during the meeting held on July 22. Click here to read...

Coming to consensus: MMIV- Kuensel

The government’s discussion with the banks and the private sector on the monetary measures Phase IV is yet to arrive at a consensus. Click here to read...

Chinese villages in Bhutan's Doklam now fully occupied- Deccan Chronical

In a worrying sign for India, new satellite images show that a village constructed by China in Bhutanese territory near Doklam is now fully occupied with “cars parked at the door-step of virtually every home”, as part of its salami slicing tactics. Click here to read...

At least four people come in conflict with law everyday in core Thimphu- BBS

The Central Thimphu Police Station alone arrest at least four people in a day for various crimes and offences. As per the RBP’s statistical report for 2020, the highest number of arrests made in the year was for battery cases. Today, the police have brought down crime in the city, including battery cases, through intense patrolling. Click here to read...

Maldives
India and Maldives to sign MoU on judicial cooperation - The Hindu

The MoU will provide a platform to tap benefits of Information Technology for court digit-ization, and can be a potential growth area for the IT companies and start-ups in both the countries, a statement from the Law Ministry said. Click here to read...

FM Shahid hopeful that Maldives-Colombia close bonds will continue to solid-ify - Raajje

Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has expressed hope that the close bonds of friendship and cooperation that exist between Maldives and Colombia, will continue to so-lidify in the future. Click here to read...

Pres. ratifies International Trade Controls on Endangered Species Act - Raajje

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ratified the bill (No. 13/2022) on Wednesday, following which it has been publicized in the government gazette. The bill will come into effect three months from the date of ratification. The People’s Majlis passed the bill at the 22nd sitting of the second session of 2022, on June 30. Click here to read...

Myanmar
Coup, Covid, climate: the triple threat chasing citizens from Myanmar’s rice bowl - The Guardian

Climate changes in the baking heartlands, Covid-19 and the military’s violent attacks on villages since its coup in 2021 have prompted an exodus of young people from the region. Click here to read...

Regime's Foreign Currency Restrictions Push Myanmar Towards Bankruptcy - The Irrawaddy

The new restrictions on US dollars introduced last week by the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) have come as a crippling blow to businesses already struggling in an economic re-cession resulting from post-coup political turmoil and the COVID-19 pandemicClick here to read...

ASEAN special envoy plans third trip to Myanmar; hopes to use Aung San Suu Kyi’s influence to end violence - Channel News Asia

The Southeast Asian bloc's special envoy for the crisis in Myanmar said on Wednesday (Jul 20) that he is planning a third official trip to the crisis-hit country and that if he meets Aung San Suu Kyi, wants to use her influence to end the violence there. Click here to read...

Military-Ruled Myanmar Facing Second Year of Negative Growth - The Diplo-mat

Myanmar is due for a second successive year of economic contraction, as global financial turbulence converges with the political and economic turmoil triggered by the February 2021 coup d’état, according to a prominent risk assessment agency. Click here to read...

The rapid rise of the Arakan Army - Mizzima

The Arakan Army (AA), despite being one of the more recently formed ethnic armed or-ganisations (EAOs) has rapidly risen to become one of the most powerful. The AA was formed in December 2009 in Kachin State by Tun Myat Naing, an ethnic Rakhine. It is the military wing of the United League of Arakan (ULA). The AA's ideology is based on what they call The Rakhita Way. Click here to read...

Australian embassy spends $750,000 at luxury hotel linked to Myanmar's military junta - ABC Net

Since last year's military coup in Myanmar, an Australian embassy has spent more than $750,000 at a hotel in Yangon with links to the country's junta, FOI documents show. Ac-tivists say Australian taxpayer dollars should not be spent at the hotel, which is built on land owned and leased by the country's military. Click here to read...

Nepal
Aimless Nepali tourism awaits post-pandemic recovery- Kathmandu Post

Government fails to promote country after it reopened to foreign tourists following virus closures, travel traders say. Click here to read...

Bhim Rawal holds House to ransom- The Himalayan

On June 20, the government had decided to withdraw from the SPP after communist par-ties created a ruckus over the programme. Click here to read...

HoR endorses NEC (First Amendment) Bill- Himalayan

A meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) today unanimously endorsed the Nepal Engineering Council (First Amendment) Bill, 2019. Click here to read...

Nepalis on foreign trips allowed to swap $200 thru money changers- Himala-yan

Nepali citizens travelling abroad can now exchange a maximum of $200 from the coun-try's licensed money changers. Click here to read...

Victims object to proposed changes in laws that aim to absolve perpetrators- Kathmandu Post

There’s demand for withdrawal of the bill registered in parliament secretariat to amend the transitional justice Act so as to make it in line with the 2015 Supreme Court order. Click here to read...

Pakistan
Miftah sees economy stabilising with inflows ‘on cards’: Dawn

Blaming political factors for the latest downturn in currency and share markets, Pakistan’s economic managers tried on Wednesday to reassure that macroeconomic fundamentals were stabilising and $8.5-10 billion inflows have been lined up from friendly countries against a financing gap of $4bn estimated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Click here to read...

IMF not adding new conditions to pact: Ahsan Iqbal: Dawn

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said on Wednesday that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not added new conditions to the staff-level agreement it concluded with Pakistan last week. Click here to read...

Rupee slides to record low of Rs226 against USD: The Express Tribune

The rupee's downward spiral continued on Wednesday for the third consecutive day as it plunged by Rs4 against the greenback and was being traded at Rs226.51 in the inter-bank market. Click here to read...

PML-N in no mood to give PTI walkover in CM vote: The Express Tribune

The PTI has slogged it out in the heat and dust of legal cases to win back the country’s po-litical capital after being ousted from Islamabad and now, the long-anticipated nail-biting test match in Punjab is finally set to play out on Friday. Click here to read...

Horse-trading charges fly in Punjab: The News

Barbs and allegations kept flying on Wednesday between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) leaders about horse-trading, with demands from the former to send Asif Zardari, Rana Sanaullah and Atta Tarar to jail for indulging in illegal and unconstitutional act of buying loyalties of the Punjab MPAs. Click here to read...

Bound to increase electricity prices: Miftah: The News

Ruling out the possibility of breaching the IMF agreement, Minister for Finance Miftah Is-mail on Wednesday shared an ambitious plan to generate $11 billion, including sale of two RLNG-based power plants to a friendly country. Click here to read...

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka made 'dumb bets' on China: CIA chief on crises-hit country: Hindu-stan Times

The chief of the US spy agency on Wednesday blamed “dumb bets” on high-debt Chinese investment as a factor in Sri Lanka's economic collapse that triggered a political crisis in the island nation. Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, CIA chief Bill Burns said the mis-take should serve as a warning to other nations. Click here to read...

Sri Lanka's economic collapse needs immediate global attention: UN experts: National Herlad

Sri Lanka's economic collapse needs immediate global attention, not just from humanitari-an agencies, but also from international financial institutions and other countries who must come to the bankrupt country's aid, according to UN human rights experts. Click here to read...

Ray of hope for Sri Lanka as India likely to begin trading with crisis-hit island nation in rupee: The News Indian Express

India sees a ray of hope in Sri Lanka with the election of Ranil Wickremesinghe as the President of the island nation caught in economic bankruptcy and subsequent social un-rest. Click here to read...

Dinesh to be sworn in today- The Daily Mirror

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Parliamentarian Dinesh Gunawardena will take oaths as the Prime Minister today morning along with the previous cabinet of ministers, a senior SLPP source told Daily Mirror last night. Click here to read...

US concerned about actions taken against protesters- The Daily Mirror

US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung today said that they are deeply concerned about actions taken against protesters at Galle Face in the middle of the night. Click here to read...

Tense situation at Galle Face protest site as security forces move in- The Daily Mirror

A tense situation is reported at the Galle Face protest site near the Presidential Secretariat as Police and troops moved in and remove protesters from the area. Click here to read...

National Fuel Pass QR code successfully experimented: Minister- The Daily Mirror

Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijeskera today said that the QR code system un-der the National Fuel Pass portal was successfully experimented after the initial technical flaws.
https://www.dailymirror.lk/latest_news/National-Fuel-Pass-QR-code-successfully-experimented-Minister/342-241532" target="_blank">Click here to read...

President visits Defence Ministry- The Daily Mirror

General Kamal Gunaratne, the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence received the President upon his arrival at the Ministry. Click here to read...

UN acknowledges constitutional transfer of power in SL- The Daily Mirror

The United Nations has acknowledged the constitutional transfer of power to a new Pres-ident in Sri Lanka. Click here to read...

CIA chief says SL made ’dumb bets’ on China, and all the latest news- The Dai-ly Mirror

China's debt trap diplomacy is believed to have become a major cause of Sri Lanka's un-precedented economic crisis as it failed to take better steps to restructure its debts in dia-logue with the IMF. Click here to read...

20-25 member Cabinet to be appointed- The Daily Mirror

A Cabinet of 20-25 members will be appointed within the next few days to serve under President Ranil Wickremesinghe who will be sworn in tomorrow, Daily Mirror learns. Click here to read...

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