Afghanistan

UN Aid Chief Pushes for Restart of Afghanistan Development Aid: Tolo News

Countries should restart some development aid for impoverished Afghanistan that was halted a year ago when the Islamic Emirate seized power, the UN aid chief said on Monday, as the US told Russia and China to “put your money where your mouth is.” Click here to read…

Taliban’s Door-to-Door Searches in Northern Afghanistan Extends to Faryab, Takhar, and Jawzjan: The Khaama Press

Local sources in Taloqan, Sheberghan, and Maimana, the provincial capitals of the northern Afghan provinces of Takhar, Jawzjan, and Faryab respectively, said that Taliban forces have started conducting extensive house-to-house searches. The sources say that since early on Monday, the 29th of August, about a thousand Taliban forces have dispersed across Maimana city, the central district of Faryab province, and have begun searching homes. Click here to read…

Important Documents at Bamyan Education Directorate Destroyed by Floods in Province: The Khaama Press

Local sources in the central Afghan province of Bamyan say that important documents, including results and records from the Bamyan Education Directorate’s 1398–1400 years, were destroyed by floods in the province. A source said yesterday, on Sunday, August 28, the Bamyan Education Directorate’s Results and Certificate division, together with at least seven computer workstations and 30 volumes of record booklets, were all destroyed. Click here to read…

Bangladesh

UN human rights expert on climate change to visit Bangladesh in September: Dhaka Tribune

UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, Ian Fry, will visit Bangladesh from September 4 to 15. This is the first official visit by the UN official, an international environmental law and policy expert, since he took office on May 1 this year. Click here to read…

Padma Bridge: Upto 30 launch services from Sadarghat forced to fold: Dhaka Tribune

State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury on Monday told the Parliament that Bangladesh’s southern region-bound passengers on almost all waterways declined significantly due to the advent of the Padma Bridge. Click here to read…

Khulna-Mongla rail line: Not opening this year: The Daily Star

When Bangladesh Railway in December 2010 took up the project for constructing Khulna-Mongla new rail line without any feasibility study, its deadline was December 2013. But its physical work began around six years after approval, driving the project cost up to Tk 4,260.88 crore from Tk 1,721.39 crore. The deadline was extended up to December this year after several revisions. Click here to read…

Bhutan

BCCI to launch micro-finance loan scheme for SMEs – Kuensel Online

To help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) self-sustain, the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) is working on a micro-finance loan scheme to be launched early next year. BCCI’s President, Tandy Wangchuk said that the private sector members had strongly raised their voices on the need for micro-finance loans since the SMEs were badly affected by the pandemic for the past two years. Click here to read…

Bhutan Bans Import Of Most Vehicles As Foreign Exchange Reserves Plummet – Kuensel Online

Bhutan will ban the import of all vehicles except utility vehicles, heavy earthmoving machines and agriculture machinery to save dwindling foreign exchange reserves, the government said in a notice seen by Reuters on Friday. Click here to read…

Export prices rise by 16 percent in first quarter – Kuensel Online

Export prices of goods rose by 16.1 percent in the first quarter (January to March) of the year compared to the figure in the same quarter of last year, according to a report National Statistics Bureau released recently. The export price index was recorded at -0.98 percent in the first quarter of last year. Click here to read…

Maldives

External Affairs Minister Jaishankar meets Maldives Speaker, minister –

Indian Express

President of the United Nations General Assembly Abdulla Shahid from Maldives Monday stressed the role played by India at the UN and acknowledged the pivotal role the country played during the Covid-19 recovery phase. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, after meeting him, said India’s “Neighbourhood First” and the Maldives’ “India First” policies complement each other. Click here to read…

Discussions held on agreements being negotiated between Maldives, Indonesia – Raajje

Discussions have been held on the agreements being negotiated between the governments of Maldives and Indonesia. This was done during a courtesy call paid by the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Republic of Maldives, Dewi Gustina Tobing on Vice President Faisal Naseem on Monday morning. Click here to read…

Maldives confirms 68 new Covid-19 cases, additional death – Raajje

Maldives has confirmed 68 new Covid-19 cases and an additional death from the virus. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) in its latest figures publicized on Monday, revealed that 68 new infections were detected between August 21 – 27. Within this period, eight new hospital admissions were also recorded. Click here to read…

Myanmar

Over 28,000 Homes Torched by Myanmar Junta Forces Since Coup – The Irrawaddy Myanmar junta forces have burned down 28,434 houses in 645 locations since last year’s coup, with Sagaing Region suffering the heaviest damage, according to the independent research group Data For Myanmar. Click here to read…

Myanmar’s Military Regime Cannot Withstand the Revolution – The Irrawaddy

Our resistance forces were established overnight out of the necessity of the revolution. They are made up of civilians who joined the PDFs after a few months of military training. The chain of command is not systematic and there is still room for improvement. There must be a systematic and swift chain of command from the most basic unit of a squad to platoon, company and battalion level right up to the NUG’s defense ministry. Click here to read…

From The Field: Restoring Myanmar’s Mangroves – UN News

Myanmar is believed to be experiencing one of the highest rates of mangrove loss in the world. When a company bought land containing a mangrove forest in the country’s Tanintharyi region, with plans to convert it into prawn farms, the local community fought back. Click here to read…

Myanmar Military Invited to Weapons Expo in Bangkok – The Irrawaddy

The Myanmar military has been invited to an arms fair, defense and security related seminars and technical presentations officially supported by neighboring Thailand’s Ministry of Defense. Click here to read…

India running out of options in Myanmar as a civil war rages and China backs the junta – National Herald

India was caught unawares by events in Myanmar within a month of its election for the seventh time as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. India shares with Myanmar a land border of over 1600 km and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. But New Delhi was also grappling to regain a toehold in Kabul, leaving it too preoccupied to take events in Myanmar seriously, until refugees from Myanmar came streaming into North-eastern states. Click here to read…

Nepal

President consults parties as Parliament ignores her concerns on Citizenship bill – Kathmandu Post

President Bidya Devi Bhandari has expressed concern over the lower house’s endorsement of the amendment bill on Citizenship Act without discussions on her suggestions. On Monday, Bhandari invited office bearers of the ruling Nepali Congress and the main opposition CPN-UML separately and expressed her concerns about the bill which she had returned to the House of Representatives for a review. Click here to read…

India to grant Nepal access to two key ports in Gujarat & Odisha under trade, transit treaties – The Print

Despite several challenges plaguing the bilateral relationship of late, India and Nepal are all set to upgrade their bilateral trade and transit ties under which Kathmandu will be given access to some of the key Indian ports along with enhanced reach for its agriculture produce, ThePrint has learnt. Click here to read…

31 member Indian Army team arrives in Nepal on five-day visit – The Print

A 31-member delegation of the Indian Army’s “Defence Course” arrived in Nepal on Sunday. The visiting team includes students participating in the ‘National Defence Course-62’ that was held at the National Defence College in New Delhi, according to a press release issued by Nepali Army. Click here to read…

3 Arrested With Heroin Worth Rs 60 Lakh From Uttar Pradesh Town On India-Nepal Border – Outlook India

Three people were arrested with heroin on Sunday in two separate incidents from Sonauli town on the Indo-Nepal border here, by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Police, a senior officer said. Click here to read…

Pakistan

Govt to form response centre to manage flood crisis: Dawn

The ruling alliance on Monday held threadbare discussions to devise comprehensive plans for the relief and rehabilitation of millions of flood victims, as well as chalking out a strategy to meet natural catastrophes of this magnitude in future as the flooding caused by unprecedented monsoon rains swept nearly a third of the country. Click here to read…

IMF approves much-needed $1.1bn payout: Dawn

The Exe¬cu¬tive Board of the Interna¬tional Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday completed the combined 7th and 8th revi¬ews of a loan facility for Pak¬is¬tan, allowing immediate disbursement of $1.1 billion to the country, said an official IMF announcement. Click here to read…

‘Betrayal of country’: Bilawal slams Imran for trying to ‘sabotage’ IMF deal: The Express Tribune

PPP Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has accused former prime minister Imran Khan of exploiting PTI-led governments in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to “sabotage” the IMF bailout programme amid devastation caused by floods. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka

Govt. agrees to submit documents in Parliament over Ranjan’s release: Daily Mirror

The government today agreed to submit in Parliament the documents pertaining to the presidential pardon to former MP Ranjan Ramanayake. Responding to a request made by Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told Parliament that he would submit in Parliament the relevant documents. Click here to read…

Jet fuel shortage worsens SLA’s woes: Daily Mirror

SLA posted a loss of US $ 1.5 million in July, as the airline was forced to make fuel stops outside the country, due to the jet fuel shortage in the country. After 16 years, SLA reported a US $ 10.66 million profit in December 2021 and a profit of US $ 1.7 million in the March 2022 quarter. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka president to present first budget with hopes for IMF loan: The Indian Express

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will on Tuesday slash defence and other expenditures in a bid to win International Monetary Fund (IMF) support as he presents his first budget since taking over as leader of his crisis-hit country. Click here to read…