VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: January 21, 2022

Afghanistan
Donors at Summit Agreed Funds Should Be Released: Officials: Tolo News

The Islamic Emirate said it reached agreements with relevant stakeholders in four areas during Wednesday’s economic summit hosted by Kabul. Click here to read…

Taliban deny Kamal Khan Dam’s water flowing to Iran: The Khaama Press

Ministry of Water and Power of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan reacted to the video clip of water of the Kamal Khan Dam in the western Nimroz province flowing to neighboring Iran. Click here to read…

Bangladesh
Govt now aims to jab 70pc population- Daily Star

Bangladesh now plans to inoculate 70 percent of its population with the Covid-19 vaccine — down from the initial plan of 80 percent — in line with the World Health Organisation’s target. Click here to read…

Government finalizes initiatives to standardize the e-commerce sector- Dhaka Tribune

The ICT Ministry, through a2i, has already started to develop software for Complaint Management System (UBID) which is ready for beta testing to be launched for everyone by March. Click here to read…

The consistent chaos that is Dhaka airport- Daily Star

Airports are the most fascinating places in the world. This forced congregation of total strangers from all corners of the world, rushing off to destinations as exotic as Zanzibar or Casablanca—isn’t it just wonderful? Click here to read…

BNP seeks inquiry over appointing lobbyists- Asian Age

Turning down the allegation of hiring any lobbyist in the USA, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Thursday categorically said it is Awami League that spent huge public money by appointing lobbyists abroad to hush up its “misdeeds and repressive acts”.Click here to read…

Bhutan
Essential items stock in the country will last for 52 days: MoEA- Kuensel

Stocks of essential items in the country are estimated to last for 52 days based on the projection of the average consumption pattern as of January 18, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEA). Click here to read…

Thimphu lockdown to continue until January 22- Kuensel

Prime Minister Office (PMO) announced yesterday that lockdown in Thimphu will continue until January 22. Click here to read…

From 247 active cases to 513 active cases in 3 days: COVID’s spread into both high risk and low risk areas- Bhutan Today

It all started at around 2 am on Sunday morning on 16th January as a notification from the PMO on facebook announced a blackout in 14 Dzongkhags. Click here to read…

UN Resident Coordinator Gerald Daly’s tenure nears end- Bhutan Times

In about a month the Resident Coordinator (RC) for United Nations (UN) in Bhutan Gerald Daly will complete his five-year tenure as the RC of UN-Bhutan. Click here to read…

Maldives
Shahid: #IndiaOut isn’t patriotic, its hatemongering- Sun

The #IndiaOut campaign, backed by the opposition, has gathered fuel in Maldives in recent months. According to opposition politicians, the purpose of the campaign is to expel Indian military presence from Maldives. Click here to read…

Two Maldivian resorts on sale for non-performing loans- The Edition

The sale of the islands were announced due to unpaid loans to SBI. Dholhiyadhoo Resort, now operated by Three A company, had been announced for sale in 2019 by SBI as well. The island was then put on sale for USD 42 million (MVR 659 million). Click here to read…

UNGA President: Continued vaccine inequity will needlessly prolong pandemic- Sun

President of the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Abdulla Shahid warned on Wednesday that continued global disparities in vaccine access will needlessly prolong the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here to read…

Myanmar

The Day Hired Mobs Began Protesting the Military Proxy Party’s 2020 Election Loss- Irrawaddy

On this day last year, a series of demonstrations targeting the then Union Election Commission (UEC) over the results of the 2020 general election started in Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon. Click here to read…

Ousted Rakhine State chief minister sentenced to 9 more years in prison for corruption- Myanmar Now

Nyi Pu is sentenced to three years for each of three convictions, bringing his total prison term to 11 years. Click here to read…

Nepal
Odd/Even rule reintroduced in Kathmandu valley amid Covid-19 surge- Himalaya

The District Administration Authorities of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur have reimposed the Odd/Even rule for traffic movement, which will come into effect Friday midnight. Click here to read…

Dahal proposes mid-term polls in April- Himalaya

CPN-Maoist Centre chair’s proposal to hold parliamentary elections in April and local polls in November-December has angered the CPN-UML. Click here to read…

Women journalists say they face harassment, but actions rarely taken- Kathmandu Post

Calls for making working space safe have been lost in din of the ‘nothing unusual’ refrain. Click here to read…

Student unions demand withdrawal of petroleum price hike- Republica

Various student unions have demanded the government to withdraw the price hike of petroleum products. Click here to read…

Pakistan
Govt revises up FY21 growth rate to 5.4pc, GDP to $347bn: Dawn

The size and growth rate of Pakistan’s economy increased significantly during 2020-21, making it the second-highest economic growth recorded in the last three years of the incumbent government. Click here to read…

China resumes work on Dasu Hydropower Project: The Express Tribune

The confirmation comes days after Islamabad decided to compensate the victims of a terror attack on the dam last July in which 10 Chinese nationals died while 28 others were injured. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka
Road to Sri Lanka’s economic recovert: The Times of India

NEW DELHI: The economic roadmap charted by India and Sri Lanka. Click here to read…