VIF Neighborhood News Digest: April 23, 2020

PAKISTAN

Sindh govt challenges high court verdict in Daniel Pearl case: DAWN

The Sindh government challenged the Sindh High Court (SHC) verdict in the Daniel Pearl kidnapping and murder case before the Supreme Court on Wednesday. In its April 2 order, the SHC had overturned the conviction of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh for killing the South Asia Bureau Chief of The Wall Street Journal. The SHC had also acquitted three other accused namely Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib, who had been earlier sentenced to life imprisonment by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of Karachi. Click here to read.... [2]

SBP offers more incentives for businesses to avoid layoffs: DAWN

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday announced another incentive package to help businesses avoid layoffs while directing banks to provide refinancing at zero per cent. “These additional incentives include relaxations in collateral requirements, further reduction in end-user rate, reimbursement of wages, special accounts for employees to receive wages, borrowing from banks other than maintaining payrolls, simplification of application form for small and medium enterprises and bank’s exposure limits,” said the SBP. Click here to read.... [3]

AFGHANISTAN

Updated: 30 Afghan Forces Killed in Taliban Attacks, Says Source: TOLO News

At least nineteen--and as many as 30--Afghan security forces members were killed in separate Taliban attacks in northern Sar-e-Pul and central Logar provinces on Tuesday night, local officials said on Wednesday. Eleven Afghan security forces were killed in clashes with the Taliban in Sar-e-Pul province in Sozma Qala and Sancharak districts when the Taliban attacked security checkpoints, said Zabihullah Amani, a spokesman for the provincial governor. “The clashes continued for three hours and most of the fighters came from Jawzjan province,” Amani said. The Taliban also took casualties but “we don’t have the exact number,” he added. Click here to read.... [4]

COVID-19 rips through fragile Afghan health system: Anadolu Agency

Frontline Afghan health workers find themselves in dire straits as the coronavirus pandemic ripped through their ranks with an upward trajectory killing at least three doctors in the capital Kabul alone, officials confirmed. As the war-ravaged country grappled with the pandemic, Dr. Hanifullah Hanif, a specialist physician for internal medicine at a private hospital in the city, was the first person in the fragile health system to lose his life to the virus. Click here to read.... [5]

BANGLADESH

Banks’ liquidity increases by Tk 46,000cr after BB’s policy interventions: Dhaka Tribune

Scheduled banks’ lending capacity has increased by above Tk46,000 crore, thanks to a number of monetary measures undertaken by the Bangladesh Bank to boost liquidity in the money market. The BB on April 9 slashed banks’ CRR (cash reserve ratio) by 150 basis points to 4%. Earlier, the central bank on March 24 cut CRR from 5.50% to 5% to ease liquidity flow in the economy. The cut in cash reserve would inject an additional amount of about Tk19,200 crore into the economy, according to an estimate of BB. Click here to read.... [6]

Survey: People want timely distribution of govt aid amid coronavirus pandemic: Dhaka Tribune

People are losing trust in the government due to their delayed assistance and lack of information regarding aid programs amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a survey has found. Respondents to the survey said they wanted immediate relief, adding that they didn’t trust most of the government issued data, but they do believe the information provided by the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control, and Research (IEDCR) and mainstream television channels. Click here to read.... [7]

MYANMAR

DASSK chastises factory owners for staying open despite instructions not to: Myanmar Times

Action will be taken against factory owners who have flouted a government order to shut down factories and avoid mass gatherings at workplaces until COVID-19 inspections have been carried out at their premises, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said on April 22. Factories and workshops around the country will be allowed to reopen after the inspections have taken place between April 20 and 30, with those manufacturing essential goods such as pharmaceuticals and food to be given priority. Click here to read.... [8]

Yangon opens new facility to treat up to 2000 COVID-19 patients: Myanmar Times

The Yangon regional government has opened a medical centre in the outskirt of the country’s most populous city that can treat up to 2000 people infected with the COVID-19, a regional official said. U Naing Ngan Lin, Yangon Region minister of social affairs, said on April 21 that the Phaunggyi Medical Centre located at the Central Institute of Civil Services (Lower Myanmar) in Phaunggyi Village, Hlegu Township, is ready to treat up to 2000 positive patients. Click here to read.... [9]

NEPAL

Udayapur is a ticking time bomb, warn doctors, as more Covid-19 cases are identified: The Kathmandu Post

With 14 Covid-19 cases reported from one neighbourhood–Bhulke of Triyuga Municipality–in Udayapur in a span of two days, public health experts warn of a sudden surge in the days to come as they believe there is a strong possibility of community transfer. With three new cases on Wednesday, Nepal’s Covid-19 tally has reached 45 with more than half from Udayapur alone—three cases on Wednesday, 11 on Tuesday, one on Saturday, and 12 on Friday. Click here to read.... [10]

Sherpas rendered jobless by lockdown to be hired to clean up trekking trails: The Kathmandu Post

The government plans to create jobs for sherpas who were put out of work after the lockdown turned the spring mountaineering and trekking season into a wash-out by hiring them to repair and clean up trekking trails in the Himalaya. Cleaning Everest will not be technically or financially possible this spring, officials said, so they will focus on trekking routes. All Everest expeditions slated for this spring season were cancelled on March 12, and climbers and the Nepal Mountaineering Association suggested that the government turn the upset into an opportunity by mobilising tourism workers for an Everest clean-up campaign. Click here to read.... [11]

BHUTAN

His Majesty grants audience to DeSuups: Kuensel

His Majesty The King granted an audience to 399 volunteers of the 38th batch (accelerated) DeSuung programme at Paro Drukgyal Central School yesterday. The accelerated programme was held upon Royal Command to impart health and security training to DeSuups so that they can supplement the work of existing personnel working across the country in various capacities to combat Covid-19. His Royal Highness Prince Ugyen Jigme Wangchuck is among the DeSuups undergoing training in Paro. Click here to read.... [12]

Short-term loans to help industries: Kuensel

Industries will now have access to more than Nu 500 million (M) in short-term working capital loans to import raw materials. The Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) launched the monetary measure yesterday as part of its push for financing to help the industrial sector deal with the impactsof the Covid-19 pandemic. The working capital will be provided at an interest rate of 7.02 percent or the institution specific minimum lending rate or whichever is higher. Click here to read.... [13]

SRI LANKA

Sri Lankan consumer retail, construction, hotels most affected: Fitch Ratings: Lanka Business Online

Fitch-rated Sri Lankan corporates in consumer goods retail, construction and hotels will be among the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic in Sri Lanka, says Fitch Ratings. Companies in consumer goods retail and construction-related activities also have lower rating headroom than in most other sectors. The ultimate impact on ratings over the next one to two years is highly uncertain and will depend on its eventual spread, the knock-on effects of measures introduced to control it, and how long these effects last. Click here to read.... [14]

CHINA

Coronavirus study points to vast number of cases under the radar in China: South China Morning Post

China’s official tally of coronavirus cases could have quadrupled in mid-February if one broader system for classifying confirmed patients had been used from the outset of the pandemic, according to researchers at the University of Hong Kong. Click here to read.... [15]

EU urged to remove market obstructions: China Daily
April 23, 2020

China called for the European Union to remove unreasonable market access thresholds and avoid overregulation of Chinese companies investing in the bloc, experts said on Wednesday. Click here to read.... [16]

Coronavirus Crisis Offers Taiwan a Chance to Push Back Against China: New York Times
April 23, 2020

They are sending millions of masks, emblazoned with the words “made in Taiwan,” to the United States, Italy and other countries hit hard by the coronavirus. They are denouncing Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Organization. They are flaunting celebrity endorsements and creating hashtags like #TaiwanCanHelp. Click here to read.... [17]