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Neighbourhood News, Uncategorized

Neighborhood News Digest – 25 January 2023

Afghanistan
Taliban Discuss Restoration of Historical Sites with UNESCO – The Khaama Press

Mawlavi Atiqullah Azizi, Deputy Minister of Culture and Information of Afghanistan met with Brendan Cassar, UNESCO Culture Program Officer on Monday to discuss the restoration of historical sites. During the meeting, Mr. Azizi shared his concerns with Brendan about restoring historical sites and ancient reservoirs in some provinces of the country, which are on the verge of collapse. Click here to read…

Uzbekistan to Supply Electricity Amid Energy Crisis in Afghanistan – The Khaama Press

The Ministry of Energy and Water announced that Uzbekistan has assured to resume supplying electricity to Afghanistan after weeks of complete blackout. Authorities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan have acknowledged that they will resume supplying power to Afghanistan from January 25 onward according to the Ministry of Energy and Water. Reportedly, the power supply stopped on January 14 due to extreme cold, causing problems in the gas supply to thermal power plants (TPPs), which run on this type of fuel and provide 90% of electricity generation in the country. Click here to read…

Guterres Calls on ‘Taliban’ to Reverse Ban on Female Access to Education – Tolo News

On UNESCO’s International Day of Education, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the “Taliban to reverse the outrageous and self-defeating ban on access to secondary and higher education for girls & women in Afghanistan.” Schools for female students in grade 6-12 have remained closed for nearly one and a half years. Last month, the Ministry of Higher Education announced that female students are banned from going to university. Click here to read…

Lithium: China’s Afghanistan design – The New Indian

Provinces like Nangarhar, Badakhshan, Nuristan and Kunar were the centres of smuggling syndicates. Gemstones like lapis lazuli, talc powder, copper, iron and coal along with poppy (heroin), were some of the main items that were extracted illegally, smuggled into Pakistan, and then exported to China and other countries under the Pakistani name. Click here to read…

7th ‘Kindness Train’ carrying aid from Turkey arrives in Afghanistan – Pakistan Observer

The seventh “Kindness Train” that departed from Ankara with the coordination of the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) reached Afghanistan’s Herat province on Monday. Sinan Ilhan, Turkey’s consulate general to Herat, welcomed the train with AFAD and Turkish Red Crescent officials. AFAD officials told Anadolu Agency the train carried over 500 tons of humanitarian aid, which would be distributed to families in need in various provinces over the next few days. Click here to read…

Bangladesh
Keep economy in mind – Daily Star

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday directed the deputy commissioners to cut their use of public funds and rein in non-essential projects. She asked them to keep the global economic situation in mind and take measures to increase food production to be ready for a possible food crisis. Click here to read…

Protest Programmes: BNP plans to get back momentum – Daily Star

Fearing that their programmes are losing steam, top BNP leaders are considering new programmes that would bring back the pace to the movement for national election under a non-partisan interim administration. Excitement among the activists peaked ahead of BNP’s December 10 rally in Dhaka, leaders said, adding that their plan now is to revive that momentum through different programmes in February. Click here to read…

Big Powers Battle for Influence in Bangladesh – Diplomat

Bangladesh is emerging as an important site of big power competition. The country has witnessed a flurry of visits from U.S. and Chinese officials in recent weeks. Since it emerged as an independent country in 1971, Bangladesh’s foreign policy has been based on “friendship to all and malice to none.” This strategy has worked well for the country. However, increasingly, the big powers are pressuring Dhaka to take sides in their rivalries. Click here to read…

Bhutan
BKP deregisters with ECB – Kuensel

One of the oldest political party, Bhutan Kuen-Nyam Party (BKP) has deregistered as a political party with the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB). The ECB notified that BKP stands deregistered as a political party and its name has been removed from the register of political parties maintained with the ECB, yesterday. Click here to read…

Steep decline in winter tourist arrivals – Kuensel

DoT officials said that tourism has declined owing to the pandemic which resulted in arrivals being low. “The introduction of the new Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) and other changes in the tourism strategy has contributed to a drop in arrival numbers,” a DoT official shared. The department added that there are other existing issues for the decline. “One factor is Bhutan’s ability to rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic. We only communicated the reopening of Bhutan’s border along with the new tourism strategy only two weeks prior, which was, unfortunately, a late notice,” he said. Click here to read…

Maldives
Maldives welcomes Czechia for adopting gov’t strategy for Gender Equality 2021-2030 Raajje

The government of Maldives has welcomed the Czech Republic for adopting the Government Strategy for Gender Equality 2021-2030. This was done during the 42nd Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) which commenced at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on Monday. Click here to read…

Myanmar
Opium production booming in Myanmar after the coup: report The Globe and Mail

Economic instability and armed conflict have left farmers in parts of the country “little option” but to start growing the drug, undoing years of work to reduce opium production in Myanmar’s border areas, said Jeremy Douglas, Bangkok-based regional representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Click here to read…

A Human Rights Organization Is Filing a Case In Germany Against The Myanmar Army – Globe Echo

A human rights organization and 16 people from Myanmar filed a “criminal complaint” in Germany to demand the punishment of Myanmar army generals for allegations of their involvement in “genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity”, after the seizure of power in 2021, and during a crackdown on the Rohingya Muslims in 2017. Click here to read…

Thai military’s close ties with Myanmar junta compromising ASEAN efforts to resolve crisis – ThaiPBSWorld

Thailand’s lenient stance as well as the close ties between its armed forces and the Myanmar military — also known as Tatmadaw — would undermine the efforts of ASEAN and the international community to ease the ongoing crisis in that country, according to many independent observers. Click here to read…

Nepal
Nepal: Man tries to self-immolate in front of federal parliament building – Free Press Journal

The man was identified as Prem Prasad Acharya. “The 37-year-old has been identified as Prem Prasad Acharya from Illam District. He has been shifted to a hospital in Kirtipur.” Dinesh Raj Mainali, SP of Metropolitan Police Complex Kathmandu told ANI over the phone. Click here to read…

Another earthquake in Nepal, tremors felt in Delhi-NCR – Times of India

Tremors were felt in Delhi-NCR at 2.28pm on Tuesday due to a moderate earthquake of 5.8 magnitude on Richter scale, National Centre for Seismology said. Click here to read…

Pakistan
Pakistan’s nationwide power cuts highlight escalating economic crisis – The Washington Post

Three weeks ago, Pakistani authorities ordered all markets, restaurants and shopping malls to close early, part of an emergency plan to conserve energy as the country of 220 million struggled to make overdue payments on energy imports and stave off a full-fledged economic collapse. But the measures were too little, too late. On Monday morning, the country’s overburdened electrical system collapsed in a rolling wave of blackouts that began in the desert provinces of Baluchistan and Sindh but quickly spread to nearly the entire country, including the densely crowded cities of Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi. Click here to read…

US ‘prevented’ South Asia nuclear war in 2019, claims Pompeo – Dawn

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has revealed that India and Pakistan came close to nuclear war in 2019 following the Balakot airstrike, and that US intervention helped prevent an escalation, the Press Trust of India and AFP reported. In Feb 2019, India launched airstrikes inside Pakistani territory after blaming a militant group for a suicide bombing that killed 41 paramilitary soldiers in Indian-held Kashmir. Pakistan then shot down an Indian warplane, capturing the pilot. Click here to read…

Outages to continue until nuclear plants restored to full capacity – Dawn

Federal Minister for Energy Khurram Dastgir Khan has said the government has ordered an audit to identify weaknesses in transmission system across the country and would soon introduce new technologies and practices to ensure power breakdowns are geographically contained and have ‘blackstart’ facility for quick recovery of the entire national grid. Click here to read…

US Help Won’t Solve Pakistan’s Terrorism Problems – The Diplomat

It could be argued that the United States, Europe, and other countries and international organizations were already helping Pakistan improve governance, infrastructure, economy, and counterterrorism capacities in the newly merged districts (NMD), the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). So long as Pakistan lacks the political will to root out terrorism on its western borderlands, any international efforts would be in vain. Until Pakistan’s policy elite and civil society demonstrate a serious commitment and consensus, foreign investment in governance and policing system alone would fall short of eliminating terrorism and violent extremism in the country. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka
President tells UNP to prepare for an election – Daily News

President Ranil Wickremesinghe informed the United National Party (UNP) yesterday (24) to prepare for an election. The President made this announcement when the Management Board of the United National Party met at the President’s Office in Colombo under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. United National Party General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara said the President instructed the United National Party officials to continue the election work. The President has informed all UNP officials to go to Sirikotha party headquarters and engage in election activities. Click here to read…

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Sri Lanka: Key takeaways – Indian Express

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Sri Lanka, after his visit to the Maldives, conveyed 1) glad tidings, 2) a much delayed invitation, and 3) two strong messages on India’s expectations of its nearest Indian Ocean neighbour. Taken together, the three provide an understanding of how Delhi views its relations with Colombo. Click here to read…

IMF confirms receipt of India’s financing assurances for Sri Lanka – The Hindu

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed receiving India’s written financing assurance in support of Sri Lanka’s economic revival, Reuters news agency reported, while Sri Lanka has expressed hope of completing talks on debt restructuring in six months’ time. Click here to read…

Uncategorized

Neighborhood News Digest – 06 January 2023

Afghanistan
Contract for Extraction of Amu Darya Oil Signed with CPEIC: Tolo News

The contract for the extraction of oil from the Amu Darya basin was signed with a Chinese company, the CPEIC, on Thursday. The contract was signed at a ceremony in which senior members of the Islamic Emirate and the Chinese ambassador in Kabul Wang Yi participated. Speaking to the ceremony, the acting minister of mines and petroleum, Shahabuddin Delawar, said the first three years will be exploratory and that in this period more than $540 million will be invested. Click here to read…

Talking to Terrorist, Militant Groups, not an Option: Pakistani Interior Minister: The Khaama Press

Pakistan has witnessed an unprecedented rise in terror activities throughout the country in the recent past, believe to have been planned and operated by the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) based in Afghanistan.The common belief is that TTP has an ideological connection with the Afghan Taliban, the group currently ruling Afghanistan. Pakistani Taliban have conducted more than 100 terror attacks across Pakistan after their months-long ceasefire with the Pakistani government ended on November 28. Click here to read…

Bangladesh
Hydropower imports from Nepal, Bhutan: Bangladesh for ‘visible’ Indian cooperation – The Daily Star

State Minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has sought “visible Indian cooperation” for importing hydropower from Nepal and Bhutan.He joined a bilateral meeting on electricity cooperation between Bangladesh and India in New Delhi on Wednesday. Click here to read…

Envoy: Indian companies to help manufacture agro machinery in Bangladesh – Dhaka Tribune

Indian High Commissioner Pranay Kumar Verma yesterday said steps will be taken so that Indian companies can set up factories and produce agricultural machinery in Bangladesh. Click here to read…

Kashi to Dibrugarh via Bangladesh: Everything you need to know about world’s longest river cruise – Times of India

The river cruise from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh, billed as the world’s longest, will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 13. The luxury cruise with foreign tourists will cover around 3,200 km of 27 river systems including Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly, Brahmaputra and West Coast Canal in India in a span of 50 daysClick here to read…

Bhutan
Concerned but not shocked! – Kuensel Online

In the latest barrier to access to information, public servants could face disciplinary or even criminal sanctions if they share official information, even if the information is non-confidential in nature without authorisation from superiors. This was the new year’s gift from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in the form of its model public service code of conduct launched on December 30. Click here to read…

Maldives
Maldives welcomes Chinese decision to ease travel restrictions

The Government of the Republic of Maldives has welcomed the announcement made by the Government of the People’s Republic of China to end the Covid-19 restrictions for travelers. The Government of China announced that the Covid-19 restrictions for travelers announced in the country will be dissolved starting from 8 January 2023. The Government of China will re-open the country to those with work and study visas, or seeking to visit family, and will no longer implement quarantine measures. However, travelers going to China will require a negative test result within 48 hours of departure. Click here to read…

Myanmar
‘No guarantee’ that 7,012 prisoners released by Myanmar junta are truly free – jurist.org

Myanmar state broadcaster MRTV reported Wednesday that 7,012 prisoners, including political detainees, will be released by the military-controlled government of Myanmar in commemoration of the nation’s independence day. But a JURIST correspondent in Myanmar doubts that the announcement signals a positive trend for the junta. “We can’t expect much improvement because they do that [release prisoners] for show,” she told JURIST Thursday. Click here to read…

Min Aung Hlaing’s Mania for the Presidency Is Alive and Well—and May Soon Bear Fruit – The Irrawaddy

Myanmar military regime chief Min Aung Hlaing’s mania for the presidency is increasingly unchecked and, infuriatingly for the Myanmar people, grows more visible with each passing day. In recent days, they have cringed at the sight of the coup leader dressed in presidential attire handing out decorations to those who have earned his favor, at commemorations of New Year and the country’s 75th Independence Day. Then, he attended a grand military review, putting on airs and posing as the country’s legitimate president. Click here to read…

Myanmar junta sentences teacher to death on murder, terror charges – Myanmar Now

A junta-controlled court sentenced a primary school teacher to death last Friday for his alleged role in the killing of a suspected military informant in Ayeyarwady Region’s Myan Aung Township more than a year ago, according to sources. Kaung Khant Kyaw, 25, was sentenced after being found guilty of murder and terrorism in connection with the shooting death of Win Myint Aung, also known as Gyat Gyi, in the Myan Aung village of Thapyay Kone in October 2021. Click here to read…

Nepal
Controversy in Nepal over China’s BRI project – The Statesman

A controversy has erupted in Nepal over Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) after the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu unilaterally declared that the Pokhara International Airport is a “flagship project of China-Nepal BRI cooperation”. At a time when Nepali and Chinese officials themselves admitted that not a single project under the BRI, the multi-billion dollar flagship project of Chinese President Xi Jinping, has been signed in Nepal under the BRI framework, a recent announcement made by the Chinese side in Kathmandu has courted a huge controversy. Click here to read…

Trust vote: Hectic parleys in Nepal – The Tribune

Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda has intensified negotiations with other parties to secure the required majority votes ahead of a vote of confidence in Parliament next week. The Prachanda-led coalition requires at least 138 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives to survive the vote of confidence. Prachanda claims that he has the support of 169 lawmakers. Click here to read…

PM Dahal directs supplies secretary to cut fuel prices – The Kathmandu Post

The prime minister summoned Toya Narayan Gyawali, commerce and supplies secretary, to the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and directed him to cut fuel prices, citing a price drop in the international market and revised pricelist of the Indian Oil Corporation. PM Dahal instructed the secretary to lower the fuel prices to provide relief to consumers. Click here to read…

Pakistan
PM steps in to break deadlock with IMF: The Express Tribune

In a bid to break the deadlock, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday made a telephonic call to International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and urged her to relax conditions regarding increase in energy prices and imposition of more taxes. Click here to read…

Parvez Elahi distances himself from JIT probe into Imran Khan Attack: The News

Informed sources said that from the constitution of a JIT and all those assisting it, the Chief Minister has not interfered and let the PTI leaders appoint their choice officers as its members. From the very beginning, the Chief Minister did not agree with Imran Khan’s nominations of those who he alleged were behind an attempt on his life. A senior PMLQ source, when approached, sounded upset with the “conspiracy theories” of PTI. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka
India to support Sri Lanka uplift dairy sector – Daily News

A meeting took place between Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay and President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Secretariat on Wednesday (04).The discussions focussed on raising national milk production and providing necessary technical support to the production of liquid milk in Sri Lanka together with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) of India and Amul Milk Company. Click here to read…

No action from govt. on most pressing concerns of Tamils, says TNA – The Hindu

Citing the “lack of any action” by the government on Tamils’ urgent demands, Sri Lanka’s Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said it would “rethink” its decision to engage in talks with President Ranil Wickremesinghe, unless his government reports “actual progress” at the next scheduled discussion on January 10. Click here to read…

Indian External Affairs Minister to visit Sri Lanka this month – Daily Mirror

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar is slated to visit Sri Lanka this month for two days for bilateral talks, Daily Mirror learns. However, the final dates of the visit are still being worked out. This is his first visit to Sri Lanka after President Ranil Wickremesinghe took office in July, last year. During the crisis period, Sri Lanka and India had made key engagements and framed a four-point package including a line of credit to import food, medicines and fuel. India has already extended US $ 4 billion finance assistance in terms of loans, deferment of payments and currency swap arrangements. Click here to read…

Uncategorized

VIF Neighbourhood News Digest – January 03, 2023

Afghanistan
Defense Ministry Rejects Pakistan Official’s Remarks on TTP in Afghanistan: Tolo News

The Ministry of Defense reacted to recent comments by Pakistan’s interior minister about the presence of Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the possibility of a raid on them by Pakistan in Afghanistan, saying that the Islamic Emirate is prepared to protect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Ministry of Defense in a statement called the remarks provocative and baseless and said that any issues or problems should be resolved through understanding. Click here to read…

Taliban (IEA) to Prosecute Afghan Media Outlets Operating from Abroad: The Khaama Press

The Taliban courts will soon announce its decision regarding the media outlets whose executives have fled the country and run the outlet from outside the country Afghanistan International reports. Abdu Haq Hemad, director of media assessment at the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s ministry of information and culture has accused the media organizations of spreading propaganda against the ruling regime. “A decision has been made regarding these media outlets. It is expected that the court’s decision will be announced in the near future,” Hemad said. He further stated that “no law allows the executive of media outlets to operate from outside and promote propaganda against the regime.” Click here to read…

Bangladesh
6 youths remanded on charge of being radicalised by al-Qaeda ideology – New Age

A Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Monday placed six youths, who have allegedly been radicalized by the ideology of al-Qaeda and were planning to stage armed jihad in the country, on five-day remand each in a case lodged under the Anti-Terrorism Act…According to the CTTC, the arrested in primary interrogation confessed that Abdur Rab was working as the organizer and gathered the group together with the help of social networking sites. They were planning to go to Teknaf to train in extremism. Click here to read…

Bangladesh envoys asked to respond anti-Bangladesh propaganda spontaneously – TBS

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has directed all Bangladesh envoys abroad to respond “spontaneously” against all sorts of anti-Bangladesh propaganda in their respective host countries without waiting for Dhaka’s permission. Click here to read…

Between the hammer and the anvil – Dhaka Tribune

The US and Russian embassies have engaged in a Twitter spat, commenting and counter-commenting on each other’s viewpoints towards Bangladesh, particularly with regard to the topic of non-interference in domestic matters like the upcoming national election and human rights issues. Click here to read…

Bhutan
Residents complain of inflation – Kuensel Online

Despite the recent measures, many residents complain that after the pandemic, goods and services prices have been soaring, forcing them to compromise on their consumption. The enactment of the Tax Act of Bhutan, 2022 last month, sales tax and customs duty of close to 142 goods have been reduced. Taxes were reduced with the aim of easing inflationary pressure in the market. Click here to read…

Maldives
Maldives assumes membership of UN Human Rights Council for 2023-2025

The Maldives has begun its membership of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the term 2023-2025. Maldives won a seat on the Human Rights Council following the elections held on 11 October 2022, in New York. The election saw 17 countries competing for 14 vacant seats. The Maldives competed in the Group of Asia-Pacific States, for one of the 4 vacant seats. Click here to read…

Export container fees decreased by nearly 75 percent

Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) has decreased fees taken from containers that are being exported from Maldives. MPL started implementing the change from 01 January, 2023 onwards. The company highlights that the change was brought to help Maldivian businesses who export their goods. MPL notes that with the changes, the fees have been decreased by nearly 75 percent. As such, the fee of MVR 4,419.03 taken from 20 feet containers has been decreased to MVR 1,132.08 and fee of MVR 8,767.51 taken from 40 feet containers has been decreased to MVR 2,264.14. Click here to read…

Myanmar
Acting President: 2023 Will Mark Turning Point for Myanmar’s Revolution – The Irrawaddy

Acting President Duwa Lashi La of Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government (NUG) said in his new year’s speech that 2023 will mark the turning point in the war against military rule and called for continuous revolution. “When we are fighting against the brutalities of the terrorist military regime, resilience is really important. The regime is waiting for the time when the people and the revolutionary forces are exhausted, so all of us must continue to work hard and speed up the revolution,” Duwa Lashi La said in his state of the union address. Click here to read…

Revolutionary Armies Demand Unified Attacks on Myanmar Junta – The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s powerful ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) have vowed to uproot the country’s military dictatorship, despite junta promises of peace talks and a general election. In his new year’s speech on Sunday, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing promised greater opportunities for ethnic minorities if the armed conflict is resolved. Click here to read…

Thailand temporarily closes a Thai-Myanmar border trade gate – Mizzima

Thailand is reported to have temporarily closed a border trade gate temporarily where Myanmar fishery and aquatic products are being exported and traded. This gate is the Mawtaung-Sinkhun Thai-Myanmar border in Myeik District, Tanintharyi Region. This border trade gate was opened on 1 August 2022. The border trade gate closed for three days in New Year holiday from 30 December to 1 January 2023. Click here to read…

Nepal
China pushes for stronger presence in Nepal, but India can breathe easy – Times Now

China wants a stronger presence in Nepal and one way is by strengthening its embassy in Kathmandu, the capital. Already a strong presence in Nepal, Beijing has asked the government of Nepal for approval to move two additional security officers in its embassy. Both will be Police Liaison Officers — one will be at a counsellor level and the other as secretary. The request is under active consideration by Nepal’s foreign and defence ministries. Click here to read…

Concerns in Nepal as Indian Supreme Court validates Modi’s demonetization move – My Republica

Nepal’s banking system holds demonetized Indian currency (IC) worth over Rs 50 million, which the Indian authorities have refused to take back. The government authorities of Nepal at various levels have requested the Indian authorities time and again to take back the banned Indian currency. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, in his previous stint as the PM, had requested his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during his state visit to India in 2017 to take back the banned banknotes. Nepal had also requested high-ranking officials of the Reserve Bank of India during their visit to Nepal in January 2017, to consider taking back the Indian currency held by the Nepali banks. But all these requests from the highest political level in Nepal have gone unheard. Click here to read…

PM Dahal to take vote of confidence in parliament on January 10 – My Republica

Prime Minister Dahal needs to secure at least 138 votes in the 275-member parliament to continue his term as the prime minister. Prime Minister Dahal has registered a letter to the Federal Parliament Secretariat to put the proposal of taking a vote of confidence on the agenda of parliament on January 10– a day after the first meeting of the newly-elected House of Representatives (HoR). Click here to read…

Jayanagar-Kurtha trains will keep rolling for now – The Kathmandu Post

The Nepal Railway Company (NRC) that runs the Jayanagar-Kurtha cross-border railway has agreed to a temporary arrangement with India’s Konkan Railways Corporation Limited (KRCL) to continue operating the country’s sole railway service. The railway had come into operation from April 2022 when it was jointly flagged off by then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was considered a milestone in strengthening cross-border connectivity between Nepal and India. Click here to read…

Pakistan
The curious case of JUI-F’s sudden rise in Balochistan: Dawn

Recently, several politicians and electables have joined the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl), and most of them seemed confident that this is the party that would clinch a majority of seats in the upcoming elections. It is said that electables and senior politicians, who are close to the establishment, do not join a political party until prospects of its victory are assured. Despite having a decade-old presence on Balochistan’s political landscape, JUI-F has traditionally found success in the Pashtun belt of the province. However, this time around, Baloch politicians also seem to be migrating towards the JUI-F. Click here to read…

Inflation rate bounces back ahead of IMF talks: The Express Tribune

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), the inflation monitor, rose by 24.5% in December compared to the same period of last year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Monday. The prices of a majority of consumer goods remained out of the reach of people, and the major surge was in rural areas where income levels were already low. The surge might force the consumers to change their expenditure patterns to spare more money to buy essential foods. Click here to read…

Imran believes establishment still involved in political engineering: The News

PTI leader and Imran Khan’s chief of staff Shibli Faraz when contacted on Monday lamented that the anti-PTI policies of the previous establishment are still continuing. Faraz spelled out the reasons for Imran Khan’s complaint against the present establishment. However, he admitted that their conclusion regarding the establishment’s involvement in political engineering to hurt the PTI is mainly based on circumstantial evidence. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s new austerity measure: No government jobs – Hindustan Times

Sri Lanka began a fresh austerity drive under which there will be no government recruitment. In the island nations new taxes and higher electricity prices were started as the authorities aim to secure an IMF bailout, news agency AFP reported. As one of the preconditions to securing the $2.9 billion bailout from IMF is achieving debt sustainability, Sri Lanka has been bringing new changes after the country defaulted in April as its economy went into crisis. Click here to read…

Former British PM David Cameron meets President – Daily Mirror

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron, who is on a personal visit to Sri Lanka, met President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday, according to a statement from the President’s Media Division (PMD).
“During a friendly discussion, Mr. Cameron extended his best wishes to President Wickremesinghe for the New Year.
President’s Senior Adviser on National Security and President’s Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayake, President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake and Director of International Affairs for the President were also present at this discussion,” the statement said. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka’s ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa applies for US citizenship restoration, says report – Indian Express

The former president and his immediate family are currently in Dubai on holiday. Rajapaksa, 73, had made the appeal for the restoration of his US Citizenship after he failed to seek asylum in any country upon fleeing Sri Lanka during the anti-government protests in 2022. An appeal to restore US citizenship previously held is a costly legal process and time-consuming, the report said. Click here to read…

Uncategorized

China: Daily Scan, December 26, 2022

Xi meets with HKSAR chief executive: Xinhuanet
December 23, 2022

President Xi Jinping on Friday met with Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) John Lee, who is on a duty visit to Beijing. During the meeting, Xi heard a report from Lee on Hong Kong’s current situation and the HKSAR government’s work. Click here to read…

Chinese FM holds phone talks with U.S. secretary of state on bilateral ties: Xinhuanet
December 23, 2022

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation Friday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the latter’s request. Wang said that last month, President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden met successfully in Bali, which provided strategic guidance for steering bilateral relations out of grave difficulties and back to a healthy and stable track, sending a positive signal to the outside world. Click here to read…

China vows further judicial protection for traditional medicine intellectual property: Xinhuanet
December 23, 2022

China’s apex court has introduced guidelines on strengthening the judicial protection for intellectual property in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in all respects. The 16-article guidelines issued recently by the Supreme People’s Court put forth targeted measures regarding major areas and key issues of TCM, providing clear guidance for the adjudicatory work related to TCM intellectual property. Click here to read…

China to rectify medical insurance constraints: Xinhuanet

December 23, 2022

China’s National Healthcare Security Administration has launched a campaign to identify and remove inappropriate constraints concerning medical insurance to protect the interests of the insured, according to a circular recently issued by the administration. Click here to read…

Resilient China injects certainty into global economic recovery: Qiushi
December 23, 2022

The Chinese economy demonstrated remarkable resilience in a tough year, bringing much-needed certainty and vitality to a world facing unprecedented challenges amid COVID-19-induced disruptions and geopolitical tensions. Click here to read…

Chinese mainland opposes Taiwan-related provisions in US defense act: China Military
December 24, 2022

A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Saturday voiced firm opposition to Taiwan-related provisions in a new US defense act. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, as a domestic law of the United States, blatantly makes irresponsible remarks on the Taiwan question, and includes provisions of providing “military financing” and selling arms to the Taiwan region, said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. Click here to read…

Former mayor receives suspended death sentence for corruption: China Daily
December 23, 2022

A former mayor of Hegang, a city in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on Friday for multiple crimes involving corruption, according to a local court. Click here to read…

Large fever clinic opens in Foshan convention center: China Daily
December 23, 2022

A large clinic was launched inside a convention and exhibition center in Foshan, Guangdong province, on Thursday to facilitate treatment of people with fever.

Medical workers are being sent by a number of hospitals to the new clinic in the Tanzhou Convention and Exhibition Center, which initially allocated 10 rooms for both adult and minor patients and offers 24-hour services. Click here to read…

China develops first home-grown DPU chip: China Daily
December 23, 2022

Yusur, a leading Chinese startup on data processing units, or DPUs. Chinese researchers have developed the country’s first Data Processing Unit (DPU) chip, marking a milestone in the domestic chip industry. Click here to read…

Chinese experts say second booster still necessary for people who have been infected: Global Times
December 23, 2022

Is the second booster shot still necessary for people who have been infected with COVID-19? China’s State Council joint epidemic prevention team said yes, calling on the public to choose a different vaccine from the previous three doses as their second booster shot. Click here to read…

E-commerce platform links China’s cryptocurrency: Global Times
December 23, 2022

With China’s digital yuan becoming more widely used across a growing number of scenarios and platforms, it will serve the real economy and people’s lives by being better, faster and more inclusive in usage, experts told the Global Times. Click here to read…

Chinese mainland opposes Taiwan-related provisions in US defense act: China Military
December 24, 2022

A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Saturday voiced firm opposition to Taiwan-related provisions in a new US defense act. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, as a domestic law of the United States, blatantly makes irresponsible remarks on the Taiwan question, and includes provisions of providing “military financing” and selling arms to the Taiwan region, said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. Click here to read…

China central banker calls for strengthening property sector policies: Reuters
December 24, 2022

A top advisor to the People’s Bank of China on Saturday called for strengthening of real estate policy in light of sluggish economic growth over the past several years as China has pursued its zero-COVID policy. Click here to read…

China turns to online help as Covid outbreaks swamp health facilities: South China Morning Post
December 24, 2022

Earlier this week, Amy Luo, who lives in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, tested positive for Covid-19. While she struggled with a fever, she managed to obtain hard-to-find medicines at a pharmacy, but as her symptoms began to change, she was not sure how often, or how much of the medicine to take. “I didn’t go to a nearby hospital to see the doctor,” Luo said. “Too many people were there. I was afraid to get cross-infected.” Instead, she turned to Ask Doctor, a mini-programme offered on the Baidu Health platform, which is operated by China’s biggest search engine. Click here to read…

Xi stresses building up China’s strength in agriculture at key rural work conference: Xinhuanet
December 24, 2022

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for enhanced efforts to build up China’s strength in agriculture and do a good job in work on agriculture and rural areas. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while addressing the annual central rural work conference held from Friday to Saturday in Beijing. Click here to read…

Eight major achievements of China’s major-country diplomacy in 2022: Xinhuanet
December 25, 2022

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday that over the year 2022, China has conducted major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in an all-round way, making new contribution to upholding world peace and promoting common development. Click here to read…

China’s National Health Commission stops publishing daily COVID information: Xinhuanet
December 25, 2022

China’s National Health Commission (NHC) has stopped publishing daily epidemic information starting from Sunday, and relevant epidemic information will be released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for reference and research, according to a notice on the NHC website. Click here to read…

China prioritizes people’s health in COVID-19 fight: Xinhuanet
December 25, 2022

Unlike the ordeal at the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic three years ago, Wuhan resident Huang Jianmei was not in a state of panic after getting infected with the Omicron variant this time. Huang caught a cough, but the symptom was mild. She took some medicine and recovered, without going to the hospital. She has completed a full course of vaccination against COVID-19 including a booster shot. Click here to read…

Daily new COVID infections in Zhejiang reach over 1 mln, peak expected with 2 mln daily around New Year’s Day: Global Times
December 25, 2022

With daily new infections surpassing 1 million, the COVID-19 epidemic in East China’s Zhejiang Province is expected to peak earlier around the New Year’s Day and enter a high-level stage with the highest daily tallies reaching 2 million, local authorities said on Sunday. Click here to read…

China navigates complex international issues, striking balance in major-country diplomacy in 2023: Global Times
December 25, 2022

China has greatly advanced its diplomatic agenda in 2022 with head-of-state diplomacy setting the pace for the country’s overall diplomatic work, which was highlighted by one home-ground event, two major initiatives and three important visits, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday in reviewing the country’s diplomatic work for 2022. Chinese experts believe that the overall successful diplomatic work helped China navigate complex global and regional issues, consolidate consensus and strike a balance in maintaining strategic stability in relations with other major countries such as the US and Russia. Click here to read…

New improvements expected for China’s J-20 stealth fighter jet: Global Times
December 25, 2022

Chinese military analysts said constant upgrades are expected for China’s J-20 fighter jet, after foreign media reported recently that a new and more powerful variant of the stealth aircraft has appeared. Click here to read…

Railway transportation in Xinjiang region completes annual target ahead of schedule: Global Times
December 25, 2022

Railway transportation in Northwest China’s Xinjiang region has completed its annual work load target at 201.3 million tons set for the year eight days ahead of schedule on Friday, domestic news portal chinanews.com.cn reported over the weekend. Click here to read…

Xizang’s largest photovoltaic supply project begins grid-connected power generation : Global Times
December 25, 2022

A 120,000-kilowatt photovoltaic plant, the largest photovoltaic supply project in Southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region constructed by China Huadian Corporation connected with the grid and began power generation on Sunday, the company said via its official Wechat account. Click here to read…

China stages ‘strike drills’ around Taiwan, citing provocation: Reuters
December 25, 2022

China’s military said it had conducted “strike drills” in the sea and airspace around Taiwan on Sunday in response to what it said was provocation from the democratically-governed island and the United States. Click here to read…

China must raise self-reliance in agricultural technology, Xi says: Reuters
December 25, 2022

President Xi Jinping wants China to accelerate efforts to achieve self-reliance in agricultural technology, identifying seed development and core equipment among areas to focus on, state media reported. Click here to read…

Estimated several million daily COVID cases in China amid virus surge: Kyodo
December 25, 2022

Daily new COVID-19 infections in China are believed to have reached several hundred million based on figures released by regional authorities, amid the rapid spread of the coronavirus since the government significantly relaxed its strict antivirus measures earlier this month. Zhejiang Province in eastern China said Sunday the number of new daily COVID-19 cases in the area has topped 1 million and that the figure is expected to double around the turn of the year. Click here to read…

Hong Kong to reopen China border in mid-January: Taipei Times
December 26, 2022

Hong Kong intends to start reopening its borders with mainland China before mid-January, aiming to return to pre-2020 cross-border travel arrangements, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said. Click here to read…

China stops reporting daily cases: Taipei Times
December 26, 2022

Authorities are making nearly no effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 ahead of Lunar New Year travel, analysts said in a report The Chinese National Health Commission (NHC) yesterday ceased publishing daily COVID-19 data amid doubts about the reliability of numbers, as infections explode in the wake of an abrupt easing of tough restrictions. Click here to read…

Why has China had such a struggle vaccinating the elderly against Covid-19? : South China Morning Post
December 26, 2022

Chinese cancer patient Xiao Cuiru, 75, has been unsure about whether to have a Covid-19 jab. He has had several operations to remove malignant bladder tumours since July last year and this summer, after finishing the first phase of chemotherapy, received conflicting advice about vaccination. Two doctors from Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, who first detected his cancer, advised him to wait and prepare instead for a second round of chemotherapy three months later. But two other doctors, from his hometown in Hunan province, said his condition was stable enough for him to get jabbed. Click here to read…

Opening-up in major sectors seen next year: Qiushi
December 26, 2022

Advanced manufacturing, smart power, modern services to attract foreign funds. China will continue to widen opening-up and guide foreign companies to invest in key areas such as advanced manufacturing, modern services and energy conservation in its market in 2023, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday. Click here to read…

New high-speed railway line linking Chengdu and Kunming opens to traffic: China Daily
December 26, 2022

A new railway line in China’s southwestern region opened on Monday, rediucing travel time between the region’s two major cities Chengdu and Kunming, capitals of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, respectively. Click here to read…

Grassroots fever clinics open across China as COVID-19 cases surge: Global Times
December 26, 2022

Grassroots clinics for fever patients are being opened in many places across China, especially in small towns and cities, to enhance the capacity of the local medical system to deal with the epidemic. These changes are among the latest efforts by Chinese cities to cope with rising numbers of COVID-19 cases. Click here to read…

China Digest, Uncategorized

China Daily Scan, December 13, 2022

Senior Chinese official stresses national defense, military modernization: Xinhuanet
December 12, 2022

A senior Chinese military official has stressed resolving major issues in theory and in reality and opening a new page in the modernization of national defense and the armed forces. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks on Monday when he spoke at the end of a six-day seminar for senior military officials to study the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).Click here to read…

China-U.S. climate collaboration hailed despite difficulties: Xinhuanet
December 12, 2022

The potential for climate change collaboration between China and the United States has great significance for the world, although barriers remain, observers and experts have said. Click here to read…

China refutes U.S. ambassador’s wrongful remarks on human rights issue: Xinhuanet
December 12, 2022

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday refuted U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns’ erroneous comments about China’s human rights situation, saying such remarks expose U.S. political agenda of using human rights as a pretext to interfere in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of human rights and undermine China’s stability, development and ethnic unity. Click here to read…

Shandong enterprises to embrace opportunities in overseas trade activities: Xinhuanet
December 12, 2022

Enterprises from east China’s economic powerhouse Shandong Province will seek business opportunities in overseas trips planned from mid-December to mid-January next year, according to local authorities. Click here to read…

Beijing sets up fever clinics in all community health service centers: Xinhuanet
December 12, 2022

All 349 community health service centers operational in Beijing have set up fever diagnosis areas to provide medical services for patients with fevers, local authorities said on Monday.
Li Ang, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, said at a press conference that when residents show symptoms such as fever and cough, and they do not get better after home treatment, they can seek medical treatment at the community health service centers near their place of residence or contact their family doctors for help. Click here to read…

China’s mega water diversion project benefits 150 mln people: Xinhuanet
December 12, 2022

More than 150 million people have directly benefited from a massive water-diversion project that has been pumping water from major rivers in the south to the drought-prone north over the past eight years, authorities said Monday.Click here to read…

Beijing records surge in flights amid COVID-19 policy adjustments: Xinhuanet
December 12, 2022

The Chinese capital Beijing has reported a surge in the number of flights recently after the country fine-tuned its COVID-19 response. The total number of flights soared by 169 percent on Sunday from the beginning of December at the Beijing Capital International Airport and the Beijing Daxing International Airport, data from the north China branch of the country’s civil aviation regulator showed. Click here to read…

Role of China’s Constitution strengthened: China Daily
December 12, 2022

Throughout the past four decades, the Constitution has been revised and improved in keeping with the times, and implemented to play its important role in the country’s governance. Especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the theories, systems and practices of the Constitution have seen sustained progress through innovative development. Click here to read…

Number of patients in Beijing fever clinics 16 times higher: China Daily
December 12, 2022

The number of patients in fever clinics in Beijing on Sunday has jumped to 16 times more from a week earlier to 22,000, showing that the COVID-19 epidemic is spreading quickly in the city, said a local health official. Click here to read…

Warplanes of PLA Air Force, Navy share airfield in joint exercise: Global Times
December 12, 2022

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recently organized a joint exercise in which warplanes of the Air Force and the Navy used the same airfield and received ground maintenance, a method analysts said on Monday reflects the PLA’s high level of cross-service support in joint operations and will provide tactical advantages in combat. Click here to read…

China’s top cyberspace regulator issues rules to regulate application of ‘deepfake’ technology to protect personal info, safeguard national security: Global Times
December 12, 2022

China’s top cyberspace regulator issued new rules to regulate the application of “deepfake” technology and services that alter facial and voice data with deep learning or virtual reality in a bid to curb risks that might arise from activities provided by related platforms.
Click here to read…

Beijing combats medicine supply shortage after surge in number of flu-like patients: Global Times
December 12, 2022

Beijing on Monday said the city’s medicine supplies have faced great pressure at short notice, as the capital’s second-class hospitals reported 19,000 patients with flu-like symptoms last week, 6.2 times higher than in the previous week.
Click here to read…

Hong Kong youth ‘key targets’ for national security education: Global Times
December 12, 2022

In his first policy address delivered in October, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu highlighted the importance of advancing national security education in Hong Kong. Recently, the National Security Education Centre of the International Probono Legal Services Association (IPLSA), a non-profit organization registered in Hong Kong, launched a national security education instructor training program, and more than 100 people have obtained the qualifications to become instructors who will teach national security knowledge in Hong Kong’s primary and middle schools as well as in other institutions.
Click here to read…

Chinese, US officials conclude candid talks, agree to properly handle Taiwan question: Global Times
December 12, 2022

Senior Chinese and US officials met in North China’s Hebei from Sunday to Monday, with both sides saying that the latest meeting was candid, in-depth and constructive, and agreeing to maintain communication, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday. Chinese experts believed that the continuing communication and cooperation between the world’s two largest economies, which clearly benefits the world, should be based on taking each other’s core interests into account, while warning of duplicity in Washington’s China policy.
Click here to read…

China slams U.S. sanctions over alleged rights abuses in Tibet: Reuters
December 12, 2022

U.S. sanctions on two senior Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses in Tibet were illegal and seriously harmed Sino-U.S. ties, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday. China rejects accusations that it has used harsh policies to quell ethnic dissent and control religious activities in the rugged Himalayan region of Tibet. The comments came after the U.S. Treasury department said on Friday it imposed sanctions on Wu Yingjie, the chief of the ruling Communist Party in Tibet between 2016 and 2021, and Zhang Hongbo, a senior public security official in the region.
Click here to read…

Islamic State claims responsibility for Kabul hotel attack -group on Telegram: Reuters
December 12, 2022

Islamic State claimed on Monday responsibility for an attack on a hotel in central Kabul popular with Chinese nationals, the group said on its channel on Telegram. Armed men opened fire on Monday inside the hotel, and at least three gunmen were killed by security forces. Kabul’s Emergency Hospital, run by an Italian non-profit, reported receiving 21 casualties – 18 injured and three dead on arrival. Click here to read…

Indian, Chinese troops suffer minor injuries in clash on Dec 9: Reuters
December 12, 2022

Indian and Chinese troops suffered minor injuries in a clash in the Tawang sector of India’s Arunachal Pradesh state on Dec. 9, the Indian army said on Monday, the first such incident since the deadly clash between the two neighbours in June 2020. Arunachal Pradesh is located on India’s eastern tip and shares a border with China. “Both sides immediately disengaged from the area,” the army said, adding that the incident was followed by its commander in the area holding a meeting with his Chinese counterpart to discuss the issue.
Click here to read…

China axes travel tracking app in latest easing of COVID curbs: Reuters
December 13, 2022

People in China celebrated the withdrawal on Tuesday of a state-mandated app used to track whether they had travelled to COVID-stricken areas, in the latest loosening of some of the world’s toughest anti-virus rules. China last week started axing key parts of its stringent ‘zero-COVID’ regime in the wake of widespread protests against the curbs last month which had marked the biggest show of public discontent in mainland China since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012.
Click here to read…

China starts WTO dispute against U.S. chip export curbs: Reuters
December 13, 2022

China has launched a trade dispute at the World Trade Organization against the United States over its chip export control measures, China’s commerce ministry said. The United States passed a sweeping set of regulations in October aimed at kneecapping China’s semiconductor industry, prompting a complaint from a top China trade group.
Click here to read…

Editor for liberal Hong Kong media outlet out on bail after year behind bars: Reuters
December 13, 2022

The former editor of a major Hong Kong media outlet, who stands accused of publishing seditious materials in a landmark press freedom case in the China-ruled city, was released on bail on Tueesday after being remanded in custody for nearly a year. Chung Pui-kuen, 52, the former editor in chief of the now-shuttered liberal news site Stand News, was granted bail by district court judge Kwok Wai-kin.Click here to read…

Hong Kong drops curbs on incoming travellers, scraps COVID app: Reuters
December 13, 2022

Arrivals in Hong Kong from Wednesday will no longer receive an ‘amber’ code barring them from some venues, Chief Executive John Lee said, while dropping use of a government-mandated COVID-19 mobile application. The news of a further loosening of COVID-19 curbs in the global financial hub, which has trailed most of the world in easing them, is set to boost resumption of travel and business, as the code had limited access to bars and restaurants. Click here to read…

China sues US in WTO over chip export control measures: Global Times
December 13, 2022

China took legal action against the US in the WTO over chip export control measures on Monday, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said in a statement posted on its website. Filing a lawsuit with the WTO is a way of seeking to address Chinese concerns through legal means, and a necessary way to defend China’s legitimate interests, the ministry said. Click here to read…

China Zhi Gong Party convenes 16th national congress: Xinhuanet
December 13, 2022

The China Zhi Gong Party opened its 16th national congress in Beijing on Monday. Li Xi, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the CPC, attended the opening of the congress and delivered a congratulatory message on behalf of the CPC Central Committee. Click here to read…

Chinese mainland reports 2,270 new local confirmed COVID-19 cases: Xinhuanet
December 13, 2022

The Chinese mainland on Monday reported 2,270 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, the National Health Commission said Tuesday. Altogether 5,181 local asymptomatic carriers were newly identified. Click here to read…

Refining the Social Security System: Qiushi
December 13, 2022

As mentioned in the Chinese classics, “there are some fixed principles in governing a state, among which benefiting the people should be the root.” Working for the wellbeing of the people is an embodiment of the CPC’s commitment to serving the public good and exercising power in the interests of the people. Click here to read…

China, Arab countries deepen cooperation on technology: Qiushi
December 13, 2022

At a bar in Yinchuan, the capital of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, football fans are watching an exciting match from the 2022 FIFA World Cup. What many of them don’t know is that their region has a hand in making the tournament a success, with the turf at the Qatar World Cup stadiums maintained by irrigation technology developed by Ningxia University. Click here to read…

China-UAE industrial zone sees first operational project: Qiushi
December 13, 2022

In the Khalifa Industrial Zone in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, one building is particularly eye-catching, featuring facades decorated with red patterns that resemble Chinese seals. It is situated amid new modern factories, with asphalt roads extending in various directions. Click here to read…

Build a Modern Socialist Country Under the Rule of Law: Qiushi
December 13, 2022

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core has put the rule of law high on its strategic agenda for upholding and developing Chinese socialism. In building up legal systems and rigorously exercising law-based governance, it has put forward a series of new ideas, new thinking, and new strategies as guides to action, giving shape to Xi Jinping thought on the rule of law. This landmark thinking is of great immediate importance and profound historical significance for the efforts to advance socialist rule of law in China. Click here to read…

Rural ICUs prepare for surge in cases: China Daily
December 13, 2022

China is shoring up intensive care facilities in rural areas and strengthening the training of grassroots medical staff to improve capacity before possible surges in cases of COVID-19, the top health authority said. Click here to read…

Uncategorized

China: Daily Scan, July 04, 2022

Senior CPC official urges actions, progress to set stage for Party’s 20th National Congress: Xinhunaet
July 1, 2022

Huang Kunming, a senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official, has urged concrete actions and progress to set the stage for the Party’s 20th National Congress. Huang, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks during an inspection tour to northwest China’s Gansu Province from Tuesday to Friday. Click here to read…

Major project of China’s west-to-east power transmission program starts operation: Xinhunaet
July 1, 2022

A major part of China’s west-to-east power transmission program kicked off operation Friday, a further boost to the coordinated development among different regions. With its transmission line stretching about 2,080 km, the Baihetan-Jiangsu 800-kilovolt ultra-high-voltage (UHV) direct current power transmission project transmits clean hydropower from the southwestern province of Sichuan to east China’s economic powerhouse Jiangsu Province. Click here to read…

China to use policy-based, developmental financial instruments to support major projects, expand work-relief programs in key projects: China Daily
July 1, 2022

China will adopt policy-based and developmental financial instruments to support the development of major projects, in an effort to expand effective investment and spur employment and consumption, according to the decision made at the State Council’s Executive Meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday. Click here to read…

Senior CPC official underscores implementation of Party’s Xinjiang policies: Xinhunaet
July 2, 2022

A senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official has stressed the need to fully and faithfully implement the Party’s Xinjiang policies in the new era to make due contributions to maintaining a stable and healthy economic environment, a peaceful social environment and a sound political environment. Click here to read…

Full text of Xi Jinping’s address at the meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: Xinhunaet
July 2, 2022

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, on Friday made an address at the meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Click here to read…

China’s two policy banks to raise 300 bln yuan to finance major projects: Xinhunaet
July 2, 2022

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the country’s central bank, will support two policy banks to raise up to 300 billion yuan (44.87 billion U.S. dollars) via financial bond issuance to fund the country’s major projects, a PBOC official said. Infrastructure investment remains an important measure of stabilizing the macro economy, the official added. Click here to read…

Chinese ship making industry eyes on green, intelligent vessels: People’s Daily
July 2, 2022

Clean energy, such as hydrogen fuel, liquefied natural gas and methyl alcohol, is gradually replacing traditional fuels as a primary power source for vessels, offering a new alternative for the navigation industry amid the global green and low-carbon transition. Click here to read…

Three Chinese airlines to purchase nearly 300 Airbus aircraft: Global Times
July 2, 2022

Three state-owned airlines – China Southern, Air China and China Eastern – announced on Friday a deal with France-based Airbus to buy 292 aircraft valued at around $37 billion in total. It is the second time China has signed such a big deal since Chinese leaders visited Europe in March 2019, when Airbus signed a deal worth tens of billions of dollars to sell 300 aircraft to China. Click here to read…

Chinese ship making industry eyes on green, intelligent vessels: People’s Daily
July 2, 2022

Clean energy, such as hydrogen fuel, liquefied natural gas and methyl alcohol, is gradually replacing traditional fuels as a primary power source for vessels, offering a new alternative for the navigation industry amid the global green and low-carbon transition. Click here to read…

Mystery over purpose of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation’s new lab: South China Morning Post
July 2, 2022

A key player in China’s plans to develop spacecraft and missiles has opened a new laboratory in Beijing. The China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, which was sanctioned by the United States for engaging in unspecified “missile technology proliferation activities” in January, made the announcement on Friday. The state-owned company did not give details, but said in social media posts that the lab has opened and started trials, and that its chairman Yuan Jie and vice-chairman Liu Zuoping attended the opening ceremony. Click here to read…

27 missing after floating crane sinks in south China: Xinhunaet
July 3, 2022

Twenty-seven people were missing after a floating crane sank in waters off the coast of south China’s Guangdong Province on Saturday morning, according to the provincial maritime search and rescue center Sunday. Click here to read…

E China’s Anhui Party chief urges some local officials to rectify bureaucratic work style, not engage in vanity projects: Global Times
July 3, 2022

Some local officials have problems with their work style, which is a manifestation of their flawed views and mistakes in decision-making, said Zheng Shanjie, Party chief of East China’s Anhui Province, at a quarterly meeting of 16 cities on Saturday, according to media reports. Click here to read…

Aircraft carrier Shandong wraps up maintenance, prepares for voyage: Global Times
July 3, 2022

As China’s second aircraft carrier, the Shandong, has reportedly left the port where it received its first scheduled maintenance since it was commissioned, analysts said on Sunday the domestically built carrier will be well prepared for far sea operations thanks to the refurbishment. Click here to read…

Chinese property developer Shimao misses repayment on $1 billion bond: Reuters
July 3, 2022

Chinese property developer Shimao Group (0813.HK) has missed the interest and principal payment of a $1 billion offshore bond due on Sunday, in the latest blow to China’s embattled property market. Click here to read…

U.S.-led Pacific naval drill launched amid rising China tensions: Kyodo
July 3, 2022

A major multinational naval exercise led by the U.S. Navy has been launched in the Pacific with 25 other nations participating amid growing U.S.-China tensions. U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region including Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines are participating in the biennial Rim of the Pacific exercise, regarded as the world’s biggest naval training starting from Wednesday, according to the U.S. Navy. Click here to read…

Remote no longer, roads link county to country: China Daily
July 4, 2022

Nyima will always remember the hardship he and his fellow villagers endured when his home county was isolated from the outside world because there were no proper roads. Nyima is from a village in Metog, a remote county deep in the Himalayas in the Tibet autonomous region. He is a member of the Monba ethnic group, one of the smallest in China. Click here to read…

New volume of president’s book on governance published: People’s Daily
July 4, 2022

The fourth volume of President Xi Jinping’s book Xi Jinping: The Governance of China has been published by Foreign Languages Press in both Chinese and English. The book is a compilation of 109 speeches and writings of Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, dating from Feb 3, 2020, to May 10,2022. The new volume, which also has 45 photographs taken since January 2020, will be made available both at home and abroad. Click here to read…

China casts giant shadow over emerging nations’ chase for debt relief: Reuters
July 4, 2022

From a $360 million project to expand Zambia’s international airport in Lusaka to a $1.4 billion city port in Sri Lanka’s capital of Colombo, China is the missing piece in the puzzle of a number of debt talks under way in developing markets. Click here to read…

The Taiwanese musician mapping mainland China’s military sites – one airfield at a time: South China Morning Post
July 4, 2022

Taiwanese university student Joseph Wen has just graduated with a degree in music but for the past two years his personal obsession has been mainland China’s military. Since 2020, Wen has been systematically creating an interactive online map for the public detailing more than 1,500 People Liberation Army sites on the mainland and around the world.
The map has attracted nearly a million views and has surprised some military experts with its accuracy. Click here to read…

Top Chinese diplomat visits Myanmar: Taipei Times
July 4, 2022

China’s top diplomat on Saturday arrived on his first visit to Myanmar since the military seized power last year to attend a regional meeting that the Burmese government said was a recognition of its legitimacy and opponents protested as a violation of peace efforts. Click here to read…

Chinese mainland reports 41 new local confirmed COVID-19 cases: Xinhunaet
July 4, 2022

The Chinese mainland Sunday reported 41 locally-transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, 29 of which were in Anhui Province, the National Health Commission said Monday. A total of 339 local asymptomatic carriers were newly identified on Sunday in nine provincial-level regions, including 258 in Anhui and 52 in Jiangsu. Click here to read…

Uncategorized

Afghanistan and Neighbourhood

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China Digest, Uncategorized

China: Daily Scan, December 20, 2021

China’s State Council appoints, removes officials: Xinhuanet
December 17, 2021

China’s State Council, the cabinet, on Friday announced the appointment and removal of officials. Yu Jiadong was appointed vice minister of human resources and social security. Sheng Qiuping was appointed assistant minister of the Ministry of Commerce.Yan Qinghui was appointed deputy head of the National Healthcare Security Administration. .Click here to read…

Zhang Guoqing elected Party chief of China’s Liaoning: Xinhuanet
December 18, 2021

Zhang Guoqing has been elected secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Zhang was elected to the post at the first plenary session of the 13th CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee on Saturday.Click here to read…

Chinese researchers develop light-splitting solar greenhouse roof: Xinhuanet
December 17, 2021

Chinese researchers have developed a new type of light-splitting greenhouse roof that can allow visible light to enter while converting near-infrared light into electricity. A group of researchers from the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, developed this new greenhouse covering structure based on the solar spectral splitting utilization, according to China Science Daily.Click here to read…

China to create 1 mln innovative SMEs by 2025: Quishi
December 20, 2021

China aims to cultivate 1 million innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by 2025, according to a government guideline on the development of SMEs during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). By then, the country will also incubate 100,000 SMEs that feature specialization, refinement, uniqueness and innovation, and 10,000 “little giant” firms, which refer to small enterprises in their early stage of development and focusing on high-end technologies, said the guideline jointly released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and 19 other ministries and government departments. .Click here to read…

Xi stresses building unified national market, enhancing government oversight: China Military
December 18, 2021

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday urged efforts to build a unified national market at a faster pace and enhance government oversight efficacy. Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, also stressed furthering the construction of world-class universities and first-class disciplines. .Click here to read…

China issues white paper on HKSAR democracy, stresses CPC, central govt’s role as guardian of its democracy: Global Times
December 20, 2021

Shortly after the Legislative Council election in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) concluded on Monday morning with all 90 seats elected, the Chinese central government released a white paper on Monday titled Hong Kong Democratic Progress Under the Framework of One Country, Two Systems, which stresses that there is no question that the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government designed, created, safeguarded and pushed forward Hong Kong’s democratic system. .Click here to read…

China’s 2nd aircraft carrier conducts exercises in South China Sea: Global Times
December 19, 2021

The Shandong, the second aircraft carrier of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, recently set out for realistic combat-oriented drills in the South China Sea, in a move experts said on Sunday will enhance its capabilities. Since reports suggested that the Liaoning, the PLA Navy’s first aircraft carrier, is also currently undertaking drills in the Pacific Ocean, observers are looking forward to seeing the Liaoning and the Shandong form a dual carrier group for the first time in the not-too-distant future. .Click here to read…

Pro-Beijing candidates sweep ‘patriots’-only Hong Kong vote amid low turnout: Reuters
December 20, 2021

Pro-Beijing candidates swept to victory in an overhauled “patriots”-only legislative election in Hong Kong that was deemed regressive by critics, with turnout hitting a record low amid a crackdown on the city’s freedoms by China. The turnout of 30.2% was almost half that of the previous legislative poll in 2016, with the latest results showing almost all of the seats being taken by pro-Beijing and pro-establishment candidates. .Click here to read…

China’s future spaceplane may be able to take off and land at airports: South China Morning Post
December 19, 2021

China’s space flight technology may have advanced beyond that of the United States as it can now launch spaceplanes without rocket propulsion, according to a Chinese military magazine. It means the spaceplanes will not need launch sites and will be able to take off and land at airports – a cost-saving development that has added to concerns over the weaponisation of space. China is developing a spaceplane known as Tengyun, which has a horizontal take-off and horizontal landing (HTHL) system. That gives it an advantage over the US equivalent, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), which is rocket-launched, according to military magazine Naval and Merchant Ships. .Click here to read…

Hit back when criticised on human rights’: Xi to officials: South China Morning Post
December 18, 2021

Chinese officials should “resolutely hit back” whenever confronted by the West on human rights, President Xi Jinping instructed China’s ruling elite in 2014, a new book has revealed.
In a February meeting that year, just 11 months into his first term as state president, Xi told about 170 ministerial-level officials that there were plenty of problems in the West. “When Western leaders talked to me about human rights, I always said there’s no such a thing as best human rights, only better human rights,” he said. “By saying that, I mean of course China’s human rights need development but you also have lots of problems on human rights, too.” .Click here to read…

China’s hydrogen energy industry accelerates as country races towards carbon neutral goal: South China Morning Post
December 17, 2021

China’s hydrogen energy industry is taking off thanks to huge investment over the past five years, as the country pushes towards peaking emissions by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060, industry insiders and experts say. Authorities’ tolerance for trial and error and China’s huge market potential are key factors in its world-leading hydrogen energy development, according to observers. In 2016, key components and materials for hydrogen fuel cell electric cars in China relied on imports, and most domestic products were only in the R&D stage, according to Li Wei, vice general manager of the China Automotive Technology & Research Centre. .Click here to read…

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VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: October 12, 2021

Afghanistan

Islamic Emirate, US Conclude ‘Candid’ Discussions: Tolo News

The two-day meeting between delegates from the United States and the Islamic Emirate in Doha concluded on Sunday after both sides discussed a range of issues. Click here to read…

Afghanistan’s Only Sports Channel Stops Operating: Tolo News

3Sport, the only sports TV channel in the country, stopped functioning after nearly one decade due to the economic crisis as well as the imposition of restrictions, said the organization’s head. Click here to read…

Addressing crisis in Afghanistan, Italy to host G20 summit today: The Khaama Press

The conference which is due to be held online will concentrate on humanitarian aids, security concerns, and guaranteeing safe passage abroad for thousands of western-allied Afghans. Click here to read…

Afghanistan’s interim cabinet makes key decisions: The Khaama Press

Afghanistan’s caretaker cabinet in a ministerial meeting in Presidential Palace on Monday, October 11 made some key decisions in security and economic spheres. Click here to read…

Iran to provide humanitarian aid to victims of Kunduz mosque blast: The Khaama Press

Iran’s embassy based in Kabul in a Twitter post on Monday, October 11 said that they are willing to send humanitarian aids to the victims of the blast that targeted a mosque in Khan Abad port of Kunduz province. Click here to read…

Bangladesh

PM Hasina seeks Russia’s support for building a second nuclear power plant- Dhaka Tribune

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday sought constant support from Russia for building another nuclear power plant in Bangladesh’s southern region. Click here to read…

Covid-19: Bangladesh records 11 deaths, 599 cases in 24 hrs- Dhaka Tribune

Bangladesh recorded 11 more deaths from Covid-19 and 599 fresh cases in the 24 hours between 8am Sunday and 8am Monday. Click here to read…

Leather goods export exceeds pre-pandemic level- Daily Star

Exports of leather and leather products from Bangladesh exceeded the pre-pandemic level in the first quarter of the current fiscal year as Western economies reopened following extended coronavirus pandemic-induced closures, pushing up demand. Click here to read…

Food Prices: Not coming down soon- Daily Star

The shroud of pandemic gloom is finally lifting after a solid year and a half. But for ordinary citizens, that is bringing no solace with the prices of everyday essentials spiralling — beyond their mean. Click here to read…

7 including two Chinese nationals sent to jail- Asian Age

A Dhaka court on Monday ordered to sent jail seven people including two Chinese nationals over an illegal money lending case. Click here to read…

HC suspends order for allocation of 700 acres of land- Observer

High Court has suspended the order for allocation of 700 acres of forest land for construction of a training academy for government officials in Cox’s Bazar for the next three months. Click here to read…

HC stays allotment of 700-acre protected forest for civil service academy- Prothom Alo

The High Court on Monday stayed for three months a government order on allotment of 700 acres of land of protected forest in Cox’s Bazar for building a civil service academy. Click here to read…

What did BNP achieve in 45 hours of discussions?- Prothom Alo

Over the past one-month BNP held a series of meetings over a span of 10 days with the party leaders and professionals. Click here to read…

Bhutan

422 receive citizenship kidu- Kuensel

His Majesty The King granted citizenship kidu to 422 individuals. The recipients of the citizenship kidu took part in a ceremony at the Tashichhodzong to offer their Oath of Allegiance to the Tsawa Sum as Bhutanese citizens. Click here to read…

Entertainment businesses open in low-risk areas- Kuensel

Except for drayangs, all entertainment centres in low-risk areas were officially allowed to reopen their businesses, as of last night. Click here to read…
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RIGSS study shows prospects of professionalising domestic help- Kuensel

Despite the adverse impact of the pandemic, the Bhutanese way of life has long been fast-paced, complex, and busy with a growing need for domestic helpers. However, the sector still remains untapped. Click here to read…

Cellular companies to introduce 5G by the end of this year- Kuensel

Tashi InfoComm Limited (TICL, “TashiCell”) is gearing up to launch 5G by the end of this year in Paro, Thimphu, and Phuentsholing. Click here to read…

First Judo Dojo Center in Bhutan Inaugurated- Bhutan Times

As part of the Japan week 2021, the first Judo Dojo Center in Bhutan was inaugurated in the capital on 9 October. Click here to read…

Forest and Nature Conservation Act of Bhutan, 1995 needs amendment, Agriculture Minister- BBS

The remote village of Jangbi in Langthil Gewog of Trongsa is still reeling from the recent leopard attack on two men inside a house. Click here to read…

Maldives

President Solih ratifies Maldives Energy Act – Raajje

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ratified the act on Monday. It received parliament approval on September 21, at the 16th sitting of its third session of the ongoing year. Click here to read…

Pres. urges SAARC members to ensure protection of human rights, address climate emergency – Raajje

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has urged member states of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to amp up efforts to ensure the protection of human rights as well as addressing the climate emergency. Click here to read…

UNWTO committed to support Maldives in road to sustainable tourism development – Raajje

UNWTO SG Pololikashvili, who paid a courtesy call on President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Monday, applauded the government’s positive strides in the progress of the country’s tourism industry, which was on a downward spiral following the closure of borders on 27 March 2020. Click here to read…

Egypt remains committed to enhance cooperation with Maldives – Raajje

The government of Egypt remains committed to enhance cooperation in fields of mutual interests with Maldives, says the Egyptian Ambassador Hussain Al Saharty. Click here to read…

Nasheed returns to Maldives after five months – Avas

Speaker of the Parliament and former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed has returned to the Maldives after five months. Click here to read…

Myanmar

Myanmar’s Ousted Civilian Leader Suu Kyi and President Deny COVID-19 Charges – The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s detained State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint have pleaded not guilty to breaching COVID-19 rules during the 2020 election campaign. Click here to read…

Myanmar Junta Media Accuses EAOs of Terrorism – The Irrawaddy

Six ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) have been accused of aiding and abetting so-called ‘terrorist’ attacks in Myanmar. Click here to read…

Rohingyas rejoice at Bangladesh-UN Bhasan Char deal – Dhaka Tribune

Over 1,000 Rohingyas join joyous procession to celebrate MoU signing. The Rohingya community on Sunday brought out a procession to celebrate the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Bangladesh government and the United Nations on humanitarian services to Rohingyas relocated to Bhasan Char. Click here to read…

Myanmar Junta Condemns Foreign Recognition of Civilian Government – The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s military regime has slammed foreign diplomats and legislators, the United Nations and international organizations for extending support to the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) and its parliamentary committee despite its objections. Click here to read…

Myanmar Regime Has no Evidence of Corruption Against Suu Kyi

Myanmar’s military regime has filed 11 charges, including five corruption cases, against detained State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Click here to read…

Nepal

888 recover as 663 new Covid-19 cases surface; 12 deaths reported- Himayala

Nepal’s coronavirus caseload reached 802,861 on Monday with 663 more people testing positive for the infection in the past 24 hours. Click here to read…

Unresolved disputes likely to delay Nepali Congress general convention by at least a month- TKP

While the party hasn’t been able to confirm active members in Bara, Rasuwa and Rautahat, ten districts are planning their conventions after Dashain. Click here to read…

Nepal set to sign deal to buy 6 million doses of Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine- TKP

Officials say the vaccine is being purchased under a non-disclosure agreement with World Bank funding. Click here to read…

Four deaths in Rupandehi put spotlight on Nepal’s trigger-happy cops- TKP

Law enforcement agencies tend to show discriminatory behaviour against protests and crowds in the Tarai and by the underprivileged, rights activists say. Click here to read…

Phulpati being observed today- Republica

Nepali people, mainly Hindus, are observing Phulpati, the seventh day of Dashain festival. Click here to read…

The new normal: Why Nepal should embrace and extend digital marketing now- OnlineKhabar

Marketing is restless. It is changing every time as it is a dynamic business activity. Click here to read…

Two Teenagers Rescued From India- Rising Nepal

Pravasi Nepali Mitra Manch Bharat and Manav Kalyan Mitra Manch Nepal have rescued two teenagers who were taking shelter in a children’s home in India. Click here to read…

Pakistan

PTI obtains access to financial documents of PML-N, PPP: Dawn

The Elec¬tion Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday allowed the ruling Pakistan Tehre¬ek-i-Insaf (PTI) to peruse documents related to foreign funding cases against the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Click here to read…

Iranian armed forces chief due in Islamabad today: Dawn

Gen Bagheri would be leading a high-ranking military delegation. Click here to read…

If abandoned, Taliban may revert to 20 years back: PM: The Express Tribune

In an interview with Middle East Eye, a London-based online news outlet, Prime Minister Imran asked the United States to “pull itself together” or face the collapse of the war-torn country, Click here to read…

PDM puts off huddle scheduled for today till Oct 18: The Express Tribune

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on Monday put off it’s meeting, scheduled to be held today, till October 18. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka

681 persons test positive for COVID-19 – Daily FT

Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 detections rose to 527,064 with the detection of 681 COVID-19 positive persons yesterday. Click here to read…

Saving GSP+ Requires Genuine Progress on Human Rights – Ground Views

The Sri Lankan government has pledged to scale back its violations of the human rights in order to protect a valuable trade deal with the European Union (EU). Click here to read…

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