VIF Neighborhood News Digest: April 17, 2020

PAKISTAN

IMF Okays over $1.3bn aid to help Pakistan: Dawn
April 17, 2020

In a major support to shore up the declining reserves following the outflow of hot money, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday night approved the disbursement of $1.386 billion to Pakistan under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to address the economic impact of the Covid-19 shock. “The Executive Board of the IMF approved a purchase of Pakistan under the RFI equivalent to SDR 1,015.5 million ($1.386 billion, 50 per cent of quota) to meet the urgent balance of payments needs stemming from the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the IMF said in a statement. Click here to read.... [2]

AFGHANISTAN

56 New COVID-19 Confirmed Cases in Afghanistan, Total 840: TOLO
April 17, 2020

The Health Ministry on Thursday said that 56 new COVID-19 cases have been registered in the country in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 840. According to the Health Ministry, out of 56 new coronavirus cases, 37 of them were in Kabul. So far 30 deaths have been reported due to COVID-19 in the country, and 54 have recovered, said the ministry. On Wednesday, Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz addressed the Afghan parliament, saying that carelessness, and failing to abide by recommended health practices, will make each citizen's home vulnerable to the disease. Click here to read.... [3]

BANGLADESH

Coronavirus: Bangladesh records highest deaths, new cases in single day: Dhaka Tribune
April 17, 2020

Following a steep rise of Covid-19 cases in the last few days, Bangladesh on Thursday recorded its highest number of deaths and new patients in a 24-hour period. The country reported 10 new deaths, of which six were from Dhaka, and 341 new infections. No new patient recovered in the last 24 hours, with the recovery number remaining static at 49. This is the first time that the daily death toll touched double digit figures alongside the grim 300 landmark of fresh cases. The total death toll and number of cases now stand at 60 and 1,572 respectively. Click here to read.... [4]

MYANMAR

Myanmar reports 85 cases of COVID-19, including local singers from church cluster: Myanmar Times
April 17, 2020

The wife of J-Me, Myanmar’s famous hip hop singer, songwriter and rapper, is among the 11 latest COVID-19 victims, bringing to 85 the total number of infected people in the country, the health ministry said on April 16 at 10am. J-Me’s 33-year-old wife is case 77 on the ministry’s list. She lives with J-Me and a daughter in Sanchaung Township in Yangon and was tested for the virus while on quarantine at a center in Hlaing township. She was transferred to Wai Bar Gyi Hospital today and had no travel history abroad in the past 14 days. Click here to read.... [5]

NEPAL

Qatar used coronavirus pandemic as a ruse to expel Nepali migrant workers, Amnesty International says: The Kathmandu Post
April 17, 2020

The Qatari authorities used the global health pandemic of Covid-19 as a cover-up to expel Nepali migrant workers illegally, according to Amnesty International. The human rights advocacy group has accused the Qatari authorities of rounding and expelling dozens of migrant workers after telling them that they were being taken to be tested for Covid-19 in March. Amnesty International said on Wednesday it had interviewed 20 Nepali male migrant workers who were apprehended by Qatari police, alongside hundreds of others, last month. Click here to read.... [6]

Sri Lanka

Exit strategy to revive economy, restore normalcy this weekend: Daily Mirror
April 17, 2020

The exit strategy formulated to revive the economy and to ensure the return of civilian life to normalcy, which is in disarray due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be announced during the weekend, the President’s Media Division announced yesterday. The announcement followed a meeting held with secretaries to ministries on Wednesday at the Presidential Secretariat, where President Gotabaya Rajapaksa discussed rebuilding the economy in the face of the current challenges. Click here to read.... [7]

BHUTAN

Big and recent borrowers to benefit from waivers: Kuenselonline
April 17, 2020

Those who have availed loan and could afford to pay their “equated monthly instalment” (EMI) could doubly benefit from the monetary measures as the central bank directed banks to ease the burden on the people. The Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) as a relief measure during the Covid-19 pandemic has asked banks to waive off interest on loans for three months and defer monthly loan instalment repayment by three months. Click here to read.... [8]

CHINA

China’s economy shrank for the first time since 1976 in first quarter : South China Morning Post
April 17, 2020

China’s economy shrank by 6.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, the first contraction since the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, confirming the economic damage done by the coronavirus pandemic. Click here to read.... [9]

UK Warns No More ‘Business as Usual’ With China after Pandemic Ends: The Epoch Times
April 17, 2020

Britain’s relationship with Beijing will no longer be “business as usual” after the COVID-19 pandemic is over, UK foreign secretary and acting Prime Minister Dominic Raab said, in a sign of a toughening stance toward the communist regime over its handling of the outbreak. Click here to read.... [10]