VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: August 03, 2022

Afghanistan

Biden: Zawahiri 'Mastermind Behind Attacks Against Americans': Tolo News

US President Joe Biden in a live address on Tuesday morning, Afghanistan time, announced the death of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. In his speech, Biden said that Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in an American drone strike in Kabul. Click here to read... [2]

Afghan Refugees in Iran, Pakistan Call for UNHCR to Act: Tolo News

Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan have once more voiced their concerns about the lack of progress being made in their applications for asylum. They said that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Western nations' agencies in Pakistan have not paid attention to their requests. Click here to read... [3]

Student Enrollment Plummets at Private Universities in Kunduz: Officials: Tolo News

The Union of Private Universities in Kunduz Province said that the number of students attending private universities has dropped by 65 percent in recent months. Officials at these universities added that in seven private universities of Kunduz the total number of students was around 5,000, whereas under the previous government the number exceeded 11,000. Click here to read... [4]

Amount of Cash Aid to Afghanistan Surpasses $1 Billion 33 Million: The Khaama Press

According to the Taliban-run Central Bank of Afghanistan, a cash package containing $40 million arrived in Kabul on Tuesday, August 2, as part of continuous humanitarian assistance from the international community. The aid shipment, which arrived in Kabul today, was placed at one of the commercial banks, while a shipment totaling $40 million was handed to a commercial bank in Kabul two days ago. Click here to read... [5]

Bangladesh

Khalid welcomes US support for inland waterways management: Dhaka Tribune

State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, has expressed hope that the US investment and technology will improve the waterways management of Bangladesh. Click here to read... [6]

Minister: Madhukhali-Magura rail project to miss deadline: Dhaka Tribune

The railway project from Madhukhali to Magura via the Kamarkhali Broad Gauge will not be completed within deadline, says Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan. Even though the deadline will be extended, the project cost will remain unchanged, he said on Tuesday. Click here to read... [7]

Wheat prices may cool off in local market: The Daily Star

The price of wheat in Bangladesh may come down as its export from Ukraine has resumed following an agreement with Russia. Prior to the Russia-Ukraine war, 40 per cent of Bangladesh's wheat import was made from the two countries. Click here to read... [8]

Trade with neighbours to soar come 2029: The Daily Star

Bangladesh's regional trade can increase by a staggering 93 percent thanks to the $1.4 billion project the World Bank has set in motion to accelerate trade and transport connectivity in Eastern South Asia -- a development that can cushion the country from the anticipated export losses from LDC graduation. Click here to read... [9]

Bhutan

Saving the majestic big cats - Bhutan Times

The Bhutan Center for Tigers and Department of Forests and Parks Services (DoFPS) had proposed for community-based tiger conservation fund to mitigate human-wildlife conflict which is the biggest threat in protection and conservation of tigers in Bhutan. Click here to read... [10]

Concerns regarding loan repayment in the agricultural sector - Bhutan Times

Loan recipients from the agriculture sectors are concerned about their loan repayments after the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMA) released the terms of the fourth phase of monetary measures. A low-risk area, according to the RMA’s most recent risk assessment, is the agriculture sector. Click here to read... [11]

Maldives

During Visit, Maldives President Reaffirms ‘India-First’ Policy - The Wire

Maldives President Ibrahim Solih on Tuesday reaffirmed the island nation’s “India-first” policy during his visit to New Delhi, with both countries reassuring each other that they continued to remain mindful of the other’s security concerns. Click here to read... [12]

President Solih pays courtesy call on the President of India - Raajje

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has paid a courtesy call on the President of India Droupadi Murmu. The call took place at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, India on Tuesday evening. During the meeting President Solih congratulated President Murmu on her inauguration to office. Click here to read... [13]

President assures of conducive environment for foreign investments - Raajje

The President made this remark while addressing the India-Maldives Business Forum in New Delhi, India, on Tuesday. Inviting Indian entrepreneurs to the Maldives to explore business prospects, the President assured them of his commitment to facilitate a conducive environment for foreign investments. Click here to read... [14]

India is highest priority, says Maldives President Solih after signing six agreements - the Hindu

The Maldives on August 2 signed a cyber security agreement with India as both sides affirmed bilateral will to strengthen ties to take on “transnational crimes and terrorism” in the Indian Ocean region. Addressing the media after the signing of six agreements, President Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Solih expressed gratitude to India for the help extended to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and for providing a landing craft and utility vehicles to the Maldives National Defence Force. Click here to read... [15]

Myanmar

Myanmar: Detainees tortured to crush opposition to coup - Amnesty.org

Authorities in Myanmar’s prisons and interrogation centres routinely subject people detained for resisting the 2021 military coup to torture and other cruel or degrading treatment, Amnesty International said today in a new briefing, more than a year and a half after the power grab shattered the country’s halting transition to civilian rule. Click here to read... [16]

Myanmar Military’s Proxy Party Involved in Pro-Execution Rallies - The Irrawaddy

The Myanmar junta’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) was involved in organizing pro-execution rallies held last week in Yangon and Mandalay. The rallies came as the executions of four pro-democracy activists in late July sparked condemnation around the world. Click here to read... [17]

Myanmar’s Unfulfilled Irenic Dream - The Irrawaddy

Now, “Peace in our time” as in 1938, is more than unlikely: a slogan rather than a plan. A need for hope sustains a beleaguered population, but a constant call for hope defies reality. Would that it were possible to offer it, but illusions destroy policyClick here to read... [18]

Drugs smuggled from Myanmar seized in Assam, 3 held - Mangalorean

Smuggling of drugs from Myanmar continues unabated in northeast India with drugs, valued at Rs 15 crore, being seized by Assam Police and three persons were arrested in this connection on Tuesday, officials said. Click here to read... [19]

Myanmar-China border town hit by bomb blast and shootings, killing 2 - SCMP

A bomb blast and a spate of shootings in a Myanmar-China border town have killed two people and wounded at least nine, rescuers and locals said.
No group has so far claimed the attacks in Muse – Myanmar’s main gateway to China – which is home to several militia groups jockeying for control over lucrative casinos and the drug trade. Click here to read... [20]

Myanmar's junta using Chinese face recognition tech to eliminate opponents - Business Standard

In order to expand its public surveillance capabilities, Myanmar's military regime is using facial recognition technology, raising fresh concerns about the safety of democracy activists and resistance groups in Myanmar. Click here to read... [21]

Russia's Lavrov to meet military leader on visit to Myanmar -TASS - Reuters

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Myanmar on Wednesday, TASS news agency reported, marking one of the most high-profile visits to the Southeast Asian country since the military seized power in a coup last year. Click here to read... [22]

Nepal

India-Nepal Ties Finally Easing Down, But Will the Momentum Last? - The Quint

As a result of the recent political engagements between the prime ministers of Nepal and India, some gains are visible in the relations between the two countries, which, not very long ago, witnessed a strain in the combined aftermath of the map row, COVID-19 related problems and domestic politics in Nepal. Click here to read... [23]

A safer journey for vaccines - Relief Web

Across Nepal, cold chain support provided by the Government of Japan through UNICEF is helping to ensure that vaccines – both for routine immunization of children and COVID-19 protection – reach communities safelyClick here to read... [24]

UN watchdog asks Nepal to split Civil Aviation Authority- Kathmandu Post

United Nations aviation watchdog International Civil Aviation Organisation has formally asked Nepal to split the civil aviation body into two entities—service provider and regulator. The separation is a crucial organisational reform agenda which has been a work in progress for the last one and a half decades. Click here to read... [25]

Nepal Nearly Triples Its Wild Tiger Population in 13 Years - Yahoo

According to a report recently released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), there are almost three times as many tigers in Nepal today as there were in 2009. This good news follows the upward trend of other tiger populations — 2016 marked the first time in 100 years that the world population of tigers increased. Click here to read... [26]

Nepal doesn’t produce its 2 biggest export items - Nepal Times

How is that possible when the country does not even produce these commodities? The reason is that Nepal’s private traders import soyabean and palm oil in bulk and re-export them to India exploiting tariff differentials. Click here to read... [27]

Pakistan

After 22 months, exports tumble 24pc in July: Dawn

The export proceeds fell 5.17 per cent to $2.21 billion in the first month of the current fiscal year from $2.34bn in the corresponding month last year, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday. Click here to read... [28]

Govt leaders want Imran banned, disqualified over ECP ‘charge sheet’: Dawn

Terming the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) verdict in the prohibited funding case of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) a “charge sheet” against the party, members of the ruling coalition claim it has proved ‘anti-Pakistan forces’ were behind establishment of the party, and labelled party chief Imran Khan everything from a liar, corrupt, foreign agent to a money launderer. Click here to read... [29]

IMF toughens stance on loan tranche release: The Express Tribune

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday conditioned the approval of the $1.2 billion loan tranche in late August with Pakistan’s ability to timely secure ‘adequate assurances’ from friendly countries for more loans to bridge financing gap, exposing Islamabad to demands by its bilateral creditors. Click here to read... [30]

Govt weighs knock-out punch: The Express Tribune

The ECP’s ruling that the PTI did receive prohibited funding after an eight-year delay has come as a shot in the arm of the beleaguered ruling coalition that swung into action on Tuesday to find ways to knock out the Imran Khan-led party. Click here to read... [31]

Imran approves Punjab cabinet; no PMLQ member included: The News

According to sources, the cabinet consists of PTI MPAs only, while the party chief also withdrew two ministries given to the PMLQ in former Chief Minister Usman Buzdar’s cabinet. Mian Mehmood-ur-Rashid is likely to get the Ministry of Local Government, Yasmin Rashid the Ministry of Health, Mian Muhammad Aslam Iqbal the Ministry of Housing and Works and Dr Murad Raas the Ministry of Federal Education. Click here to read... [32]

Sri Lanka

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed makes phone call to Sri Lankan President: Daily Mirror

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has made a phone call to the President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, congratulating him on his election as the country's new president. Sheikh Mohamed also wished him success in leading Sri Lanka towards stability and peace and overcoming the circumstances it is going through. Click here to read... [33]

Immediate government assistance sought to avoid paralysis of tea exports: Daily Mirror

The Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) along with industry stakeholders seeks a well-coordinated and synergised mechanism from the government to resolve the fuel and agrochemical shortages threatening Sri Lanka’s tea production and industry sustainability. Click here to read... [34]

Bankrupt Sri Lanka seeks urgent help to feed children: Deccan Herald

The Ministry for Women and Child Affairs said they were seeking private donations to feed possibly several hundred thousand children wasting due to insufficient food. The bankrupt state, grappling with Sri Lanka's worst economic crisis. Click here to read... [35]

Foreign Minister to attend 29th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Cambodia: News.Ik

Minister of Foreign Affairs, M.U.M. Ali Sabry will travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia to take part in the forthcoming 29th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting from 4 to 5 August, 2022. The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is composed of 27 members, Click here to read... [36]