VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: April 28, 2022

Afghanistan

Officials: Some Vaccines Not Available in Country: Tolo News

Javid Hajir, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said that although there were more than 25,000 treatment centers in the country, some vaccines, including the rabies vaccine, were not available, and neither were cold storage facilities. Click here to read... [2]

Guterres Urges Intl-Community to Create Condition for Cash Injection in Afghanistan: The Khaama Press

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres has again expressed concern over the absence of cash in Afghanistan and has urged the international community to create conditions so the cash is injected into the economy of the war-torn country. Click here to read... [3]

US Left $7bn worth of Military Equipment in Afghanistan: DoD: The Khaama Press

Department of Defense of the United States said that they have left behind $7.12 billion worth of military hardware in Afghanistan as the Taliban has taken over the country. Click here to read... [4]

Bangladesh

Bangladesh Railway: Hefty loss of Tk 13,492cr in 12 years-The Daily Star

Bangladesh Railway has incurred Tk 13,492.70 crore in losses in 12 years between fiscal 2008-09 and FY2019-20, according to BR documents. Click here to read... [5]

Jaishankar to fly in today-The Daily Star

India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is expected to land in Dhaka today for his on a one-day visit. Click here to read... [6]

Keen on taking more Bangladeshi peacekeepers-The Daily Star

Bangladesh Army Chief, General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, has held bilateral meetings with several senior officials of the UN Headquarters on various issues of mutual interest, including peacekeeping operations. Click here to read... [7]

‘No scope for complacency’-The Daily Star

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday warned that while Bangladesh is witnessing zero deaths and a very low Covid positivity rate, there is no scope for complacency. Click here to read... [8]

Parliamentary body blames foreign ministry behind US sanctions on Rab-The Daily Star

A parliamentary body has blamed the foreign ministry behind US sanctions on Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and its officials. Click here to read... [9]

Bhutan

Enagic product distribution and promotion is pyramid scheme: OCP- Kuensel

Both online and offline scheme in Bhutan that deals with Enagic machines or Kangen water filter is a pyramid scheme, according to the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP). Click here to read... [10]

Rural weavers regard National Design & Art Competition as marketing platform- BBS

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the economic sustainability of the textile sector in the country. Click here to read... [11]

External Affairs Minister Jaishankar to visit Bangladesh and Bhutan from April 28 to 30- Indian Express

The Indian foreign minister will be Bhutan’s first high-level visitor from abroad since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Click here to read... [12]

Maldives

India remains first, won’t allow China to ‘grab’ land, says ex-Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed: The Print

Former Maldives president and Speaker of the Maldivian Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has said that his country will always follow the ‘India First’ policy, and will not allow China to continue with its plan of “land grab and debt trap”, which has led to huge debt for the island nation. Click here to read... [13]

'India and Maldives plan to build transmission interconnection: Power Technology

The governments of India and the Maldives plan to establish an interconnection for transmitting clean energy between the two countries, according to Indian news agency PTI. Click here to read... [14]

India-Maldives Parliamentary Friendship Group to be constituted, Om Birla said: The Times of India

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday held a bilateral meeting with his Maldivian counterpart Mohamed Nasheed, stressing that regular dialogue between the parliaments of two countries is helpful in effective functioning of democratic institutions. Click here to read... [15]

Myanmar

Japan to Train New Cadets, Officers from Abusive Myanmar Military - HRW

During the parliamentary committee session on security on April 26, 2022, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi revealed that Japan will once again accept Myanmar military personnel for training at Japan’s defense facilities. This is the second time since the February 2021 coup in Myanmar that Japan has accepted members of the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, for a program that began in 2015. Click here to read... [16]

Is the Ukraine War Boosting China’s Influence in Myanmar? - The Diplomat

Amid Russia’s new offensive in eastern Ukraine, Myanmar’s generals continue to face fierce opposition to the February 1, 2021, coup, recently vowing to “annihilate” resistance groups across the country. Click here to read... [17]

Myanmar court sentences Suu Kyi to 5 years for corruption - NPR

A court in military-ruled Myanmar convicted the country's former leader Aung San Suu Kyi of corruption and sentenced her to five years in prison Wednesday in the first of several corruption cases against her. Click here to read... [18]

CDF-Mindat admits receiving military training and arms from Arakan Army - Narinjara

The Chin Defense Force-Mindat Township (CDF-Mindat) said on 26 April that it had received military training and weapons from the Arakan Army (AA). In a released video, the outfit stated that 30 of their soldiers have returned after receiving military training and arms. Click here to read... [19]

Nepal

Cash-strapped Nepal bans imports of cars, cuts work week- Himalayan Times

Nepal banned imports of cars, alcohol, tobacco and other luxury items Wednesday and shortened its work week to help conserve its dwindling supply of foreign exchange. Click here to read... [20]

Nepal records 11 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday- Himalayan Times

The national active Covid-19 caseload of Nepal active caseload has reached to 252 on Wednesday as eight people tested positive for the infection in past 24 hours. Click here to read... [21]

Nepali Congress in turmoil as alliance politics chafes scores of local leaders- Kathmandu Post

Insiders say leaders and cadres in lower committees deprived of their right to speak up. Click here to read... [22]

Pakistan

Investigators say varsity blast intended to sabotage Pak-China ties: Dawn

Police on Wednesday launched an investigation into the suicide bombing at Karachi University Confucius Institute that claimed lives of three Chinese academics and their local van driver and caused injuries to four others, including one Chinese teacher, on Tuesday. Click here to read... [23]

Depletion of foreign currency reserves: Pakistan to seek additional package of $3.2bn from Saudi Arabia: The News

Pakistan has decided to seek an additional package of $3.2 billion from Saudi Arabia for jacking up the total facility to $7.4 billion from the existing $4.2 billion during the ongoing visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in order to avert further depletion of foreign currency reserves. Click here to read... [24]

Petrol dealers warn of a nationwide strike: The Express Tribune

Speaking at a news conference, the association’s information secretary Nauman Ali Butt claimed that international and local companies were involved in the diesel crisis, regretting that people were unfair in casting suspicions over the petrol dealers. Click here to read... [25]

Sri Lanka

How can Sri Lanka overcome its economic emergency?: Aljazeera

Rallies against the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa escalated on April 19, after police in the central town of Rambukkana shot dead a man amid protests over fuel prices. Authorities have pledged an inquiry into the killing, the first fatality in more than a month of anti-government protests. Click here to read... [26]

World Bank to give $600-million aid to Lanka to overcome economic crisis: Business Standard

The World Bank will extend $600 million in financial assistance to Sri Lanka in two phases to address its economic crisis, according to a statement from the president’s office of the country. Click here to read... [27]

Nearly 1000 public, private unions to launch massive protest tomorrow: ANI

Protesting the Sri Lankan government led by Rajapaksa, around 1000 public and private sector unions are set to launch a massive strike on April 28. Click here to read... [28]

People Know "Who I Am, What I Am": Sri Lanka PM Says He Won't Resign: NDTV

Sri Lanka's embattled Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday said that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has not asked him to resign and claimed that they were on the "same page" to resolve the worst economic crisis, amidst reports of a rift between the two brothers in running the debt-ridden island nation. Click here to read... [29]

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa willing to form an all-party government amid economic crisis: WION

Amid an unprecedented economic crisis in the country, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday (April 27) said that he is willing to form an all-party government that can be formed after the Prime Minister and Cabinet resigns. Click here to read... [30]