Afghanistan
9 killed, 13 Wounded in Two Blasts in Balkh: Tolo News
At least nine people were killed and 13 others were wounded in two blasts occurring on Thursday evening in Mazar-e-Sharif of Balkh province, security officials said. Both blasts targeted public transportation. Click here to read…
Russia to Work Towards ‘Full Diplomatic Recognition’ Under Conditions: The Khaama Press
Russia says it wants to work towards “full diplomatic recognition” of the Taliban leadership under a condition, where the Islamic Emirate will establish an inclusive government in Afghanistan. Click here to read…
EU Delivers 34 Tonnes of Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan: The Khaama Press
European Commissioner for Crisis Management Jenez Lenarcic on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, said that the European Union has delivered 34 tonnes of food and medical supplies to Afghanistan in a bid to help medicated the Afghan humanitarian crisis. Click here to read…
Bangladesh
Offshore Smart City: Can a parliamentary committee recommend a project to PM without due diligence?-The Daily Star
Can a parliamentary standing committee recommend a project directly to the prime minister without any due diligence? The law explicitly does not permit it. Click here to read…
Rohingya camps: Support community learning-The Daily Star
At least 25 national and international rights bodies and civil society organisations have made an urgent call for the government to support the community-led learning facilities in Cox’s Bazar’s Rohingya refugee camps. Click here to read…
Procurement of paddy begins countrywide-The Daily Star
The government has started procurement of paddy directly from farmers at Tk 27 per kg, said Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder yesterday. Click here to read…
Dutch exhibit: Agri ministry defends its decision to send officials-The Daily Star
The agricultural ministry defended the participation of officials’, in phases, in a six-month-long exhibition in the Netherlands, without mentioning the exact number of delegates. Click here to read…
Bangladesh most important in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’: Jaishankar-The Daily Star
India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today stressed that Bangladesh features as the most important country in the Indian Foreign Policy objectives of “Neighbourhood First Policy”. Click here to read…
If connectivity is increased, India’s northeast can have access to Ctg port: PM tells Jaishankar-The Daily Star
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (April 28, 2022) emphasized the importance of improving connectivity between Bangladesh and India for mutual benefit, saying that steps have been initiated to reopen various cross-border roads between the two nations that were closed in 1965. Click here to read…
Bhutan
Government stops scholarship to private schools this year- Kuensel
The government will not provide scholarships for class XI students to study in private schools this year. Click here to read…
India’s External Affairs Minister to visit Bhutan tomorrow- Kuensel
India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar, will be on a two-day official visit to Bhutan from April 29 to 30. Click here to read…
‘Druk Neykor’ – TCB launches nationwide pilgrimage attraction- BBS
An interesting element of the Druk Neykor package is the use of the Druk Neykor Stamp Book (DNSB) which contains pictures of 108 sites consisting of temples and sacred places spread across the country. Visitors can get the seal/stamp of the sites as a souvenir of the visit. Click here to read…
Construction of a state-of-the-art infectious hospital to commence soon- BBS
An initiative of Health Minister Dechen Wangmo, the RCID, a 100-bedded state-of-the-art hospital is the first of its kind in the country that was planned even before the global pandemic started. Click here to read…
Maldives
Maldives and India to constitute parliamentary friendship group- The SUN
The leaders of the parliaments of Maldives and India have discussed creating a ‘friendship group’ between the parliaments. Click here to read…
Dhiraagu renews support to Blind and Visually Impaired Society of Maldives- The SUN
Dhiraagu has announced the renewal of its support for the Blind and Visually Impaired Society of Maldives – a non-governmental organization that advocates for the rights and wellbeing of the blind and visually impaired. Click here to read…
Nasheed: India first, won’t allow for China to ‘grab’ land- The SUN
Parliament Speaker, former president Mohamed Nasheed states Maldives will continue to uphold its ‘India First’ policy, will not allow China to ‘land grab and debt trap’. Click here to read…
https://en.sun.mv/74395
President ratifies Electronic Transections bill- The SUN
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Wednesday ratified the Electronic Transactions Bill (Law No: 2/2022). Click here to read…
Gender Ministry: Women played major frontline-role in combatting covid- The SUN
State Minister for the Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services Zifleena Hassan has stated that women played a major role on the front lines in combatting the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Click here to read…
Maldives-China sign Certificate of Assistance for Foreign Ministry- The SUN
Maldives and China on Wednesday signed the Certificate of Assistance for the Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Click here to read…
Case filed at Civil Court to null presidential decree on ‘India Out’ campaign- The SUN
Main opposition party, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has filed a case at Civil Court to nullify the decree issued by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih last week declaring the ‘India Out’ campaign as a threat to national security. Click here to read…
Myanmar
Thai Foreign Ministry Appoints Special Envoy for Myanmar Issues – The Diplomat
Thailand has appointed its first special envoy for Myanmar, who will be tasked with representing the country at meetings and summits pertaining to the country’s escalating crisis. The appointment of Pornpimol Kanchanalak was made in a letter dated April 25 and signed by Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai. Click here to read…
Junta troops torch 500 homes in 3 days in Myanmar’s Sagaing region- RFA
Junta troops torched more than 500 homes in five villages over the past three days in Myanmar’s Sagaing region, residents said Thursday, where nearly three-fourths of townships have been cut off from internet access since early March amid ongoing military raids. Click here to read…
How Myanmar’s military supporters are using Facebook to justify violence – Global Voices
In Myanmar, conversations about the military regime happen on Facebook. On the platform’s groups, pages, and individual profiles, the population is divided between democracy and military supporters. Every social media post carries evolving narratives that shape the makeup of the convulsed nation, yet mainstream media outside Myanmar have failed to report on them. Click here to read…
Myanmar Junta Officially Endorses Militias to Attack Anti-Regime Civilians – The Irrawaddy
Myanmar’s regime has officially endorsed pro-junta militias that are increasingly targeting civilians who oppose military rule. Junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun told the regime-controlled media in Naypyitaw on Wednesday that the regime was implementing a “public security system” and will strengthen them to eliminate “terrorist” forces. Click here to read…
Myanmar’s Revolution Must Succeed: NUG Humanitarian Minister – The Irrawaddy
Myanmar’s military regime has killed civilians, torched houses and looted valuables in resistance hot spots across the country. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by fighting and Dr. Win Myat Aye, the humanitarian affairs and disaster management minister in the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), recently talked to The Irrawaddy about how his team is helping displaced people. Click here to read…
Nepal
Visitors trickle back, but climbing mecca Nepal seeks more- Himalayan Times
Nepal is putting a 21st-century spin on a tourism sector dominated by activities unchanged for generations as it looks to boost a vital part of an economy decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring import bills. Click here to read…
Two Indian nationals arrested with 150kg marijuana in Bara- Himalayan Times
Bara police have arrested two Indian nationals with 150 kilo grams of marijuana from Kalaiya Sub-Metropolitan City-10 of Bara district on Wednesday. Click here to read…
Nepal economy projected to grow by 5.84 percent this fiscal year- Kathmandu Post
Statistics bureau’s projection is higher than that by World Bank and ADB, which estimated 3.7 percent and 3.9 percent respectively. Click here to read…
Private domestic airlines threaten to halt services- Kathmandu Post
The operators say they’ll ground their planes from Friday after the civil aviation authority’s order to reschedule flights to night without consultation. Click here to read…
NAC wide-body aircraft makes successful test flight at Gautam Buddha Int’l Airport- Republica
A wide-body aircraft of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has successfully conducted an ‘operational performance test flight’ at the Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) on Thursday evening. Click here to read…
Pakistan
Country-swelters-as-power-outages-disrupt-daily-life: Dawn
The menace of loadshedding swept across the country on Thursday, leaving homes and businesses in the dark as temperatures continued to rise ahead of a forecast heatwave. Click here to read…
Pti-makes-ready-for-islamabad-push: Dawn
In a meeting, chaired by PTI chairman Imran Khan, it was decided that two million people would be gathered in the federal capital for the “freedom and independence of Pakistan”. The meetings of PTI’s core committee and parliamentary party will be held on May 9 to finalise arrangements for this ‘Azadi March’. Click here to read…
SBP reserves fall $328m to $10.56b: The Express Tribune
On April 23, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $10,558.2 million, down $328 million compared with $10,885.7 million on April 16. Click here to read…
Violation of Constitution: High treason case on the cards: The News
The PMLN-led coalition government has decided to file a high treason case against President Arif Alvi, ex-PM Imran Khan, National Assembly’s ex-deputy speaker Qasim Suri and Punjab Governor Umar Sarfraz Cheema for allegedly violating the Constitution. Click here to read…
Sri Lanka
Lankan Hospitals in crisis: Indonesia throws a lifeline- The Island
Faced with an unprecedented shortage of medicine and medical equipment amidst the worst ever forex crisis, Sri Lanka has sought assistance from friendly countries. In response to Sri Lanka’s request, Indonesia has assured 3.1 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka. Click here to read…
Myanmar white rice controversy: House probe on, Trade Ministry claims agreement rescinded- The Island
Chairman of the Committee of Public Finance (COPF) Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, MP yesterday (27) said that for want of proper Finance Ministry supervision, cash-strapped Sri Lanka suffered staggering losses in both local and foreign transactions. Click here to read…
Int’l humanitarian assistance, including medicine, for cash-strapped Lanka- The Island
The ICRC has indicated its readiness to provide humanitarian assistance, based on Sri Lanka’s requirements. The Foreign Ministry, in a communique, said yesterday that the offer of assistance had been made when head of the ICRC Delegation in Sri Lanka Loukas Petridis paid a farewell call on the Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris, on 25 April, 2022, at the Ministry. Click here to read…
Strike today to pressure President, govt. to quit- The Island
Over 1,000 unions would join today’s strike, to pressure President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the government to resign, Ravi Kumudesh of the Collective of Trade Unions and Mass Organisations said, adding that the striking unions were from the state, semi-government and private sectors. Click here to read…
PM may resign soon– MP- The Island
Communist Party Member of Parliament for the Matara District Weerasumana Weerasinghe said yesterday that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa might resign, paving the way for an interim government. Click here to read…
Business disrupted at country’s biggest fish market- The Island
Yesterday’s countrywide strike badly affected business the fish market at Peliyagoda yesterday with only 10 per cent of the scheduled lorries carrying fish, crabs, prawns and cuttlefish arriving, traders said. Click here to read…