COLOMBO, 26, March, 2021, (TON): Stuart Gibson, Co-Founder, and Co-CEO of Hong Kong recorded ESR Cayman Ltd, one of Asia Pacific (APAC) biggest logistics property platforms, visited Sri Lanka as of late.

 Gibson and his senior management team held talks with the top level of the Sri Lankan government including President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, State Ministers Nivard Cabraal, Tharaka Balasooriya, D.V. Chanaka, BOI Chairman Sanjaya Mohottala, Airport and Aviation Chairman Major General (Rtd.) G. A. Chandrasiri, as well as other key heads of state bodies.

ESR is said to be exploring investment and development opportunities to build modern, large-scale industrial and logistics parks in the country.

DHAKA, 26 March, 2021, (TON): Police suspect that the object was stored to orchestrate violence during Indian PM Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh

Law authorities on Thursday cordoned off an under-development working close to Chittagong's Kalurghat Radio Station as they found a bomb-like object alongside a huge supply of sticks and lights.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police's (CMP) Chandgaon Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mustafizur Rahman said, "We are suspecting that the object and sticks were stored to orchestrate violence during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bangladesh visit."

Tipped off, a large number of policemen sealed off the 10-storey building of Bashudha Builders, located opposite the Kalurghat Radio Station, at around 8pm, Mustafizur said.

"After that, the police searched every floor of the building. One person was arrested while trying to flee during the drive,” he added.

It was also learned that the BNP planned to carry out a day-long program on March 26 in the Kalurghat Radio Station area – which bears the memory of its founder and former president Ziaur Rahman – to mark the golden jubilee of Bangladesh's independence.

However, the program was later postponed in response to Covid-19 infections and fatalities in the country.

COLOMBO, 26 March, 2021, (TON): Wimal Weerawansa, Minister of Industries, pinpoints that countries like China, Vietnam, and South Korea are successfully coping with global economic crises owing to their high-tech industries and in order to attract such high-tech industries to Sri Lanka, the country requires human resources armed with such knowledge. Thus, enhancing the computer literacy of children could be the first step to achieve the said goals. 

The Minister said while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Computer Technology Training School established jointly by the Kaduwela Municipal Council and the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) on the 25th.

Premanath C. Dolawatta, M.P, Kaduwela Mayor Buddhika Jayawilal, Director of the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology Prof. Lalith Gamage, and many government officials including the Kaduwela Municipal Commissioner were also present on the occasion.

KATHMANDU, 26 March, 2021, (TON): Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has urged the bodies concerned to utilize the agriculture grants.

Addressing a program to declare self-reliance in livestock products here today, PM Oli argued that such grants made available in the agriculture sector should be utilized for sustainable development of the sector.

Prime Minister Oli said that the government was providing grants at nominal interest rates for modernization and equipment and irrigation. As per the United Nations, Nepal has become self-reliant in some livestock products.

PM Oli declared that Nepal had become self–reliant on egg and meat products of late. Nepal is producing Rs one billion and 600 million worth of eggs, and 255,000 metric tons of meat and fish annually.

However, Nepal needs to improve production by 12 liters of milk for every individual yearly to act naturally dependent on dairy items. PM Oli grumbled that however, the nation was expanding awards in the agro areas, production was not expanding as projected.

ISLAMABAD, 26 March, 2021, (TON): A Pakistan International Airline (PIA) flight landed at the Saidu Sharif airport in Swat on Friday after 17 years.

An introduction function was held at the air terminal which was gone to by Federal Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar and KPK Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.

"The resumption of flight operations in Swat will benefit the tourism industry here," Sarwar said.

Earlier this week, the national carrier announced that it will operate flights to Swat from Lahore and Islamabad. According to the PIA spokesperson, the national carrier will initially operate two flights a week.

The airline has plans to operate flights from Lahore to Skardu and Lahore to Gilgit as well. The Saidu Sharif airport was closed in 2014 after PIA stopped its commercial flights to the station

LASHKARGAH, Afghanistan, 26 March, 2021, (TON): Suspected Taliban insurgents shot and killed a persuasive ancestral senior in this capital city of southern Helmand region, the lead representative said on Friday.

Governor Abdul Nabi Ilham said the elder was gunned down in the Nehr Siraj zone of Lashkargah last Thursday. He identified the slain elder as Ghulam Jan Aka, a previous top of the social gathering of the Sangin area and commander of Afghan local police.

The governor said Jan Aka had delivered various penances during his battle to keep solidarity among individuals and make ready for improvement just as for the insurance of the dirt and public honor.

The governor instructed intelligence agencies to find the killers and punish them for their actions. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the killing.

COLOMBO, 26 March, 2021, (TON): While refuting claims that the parliamentarians were not informed of an imminent attack on Easter Sunday on April, 21, 2019, SJB MP Kumara Welgama said today he had also been informed of such an attack by his Personal Security Officer (PSO).

He informed Parliament that he had mentioned it in Parliament on April 24 just three days after the attack.

“We all were informed of an impending attack on Easter Sunday in 2019. No one can claim that he was not informed. I have mentioned it in my speech in parliament on April 24 just a few days after the attack. It is there in the Hansard also,” he said.

BERLIN, 26 March, 2021, (TON): Germany has up to 1,300 soldiers in Afghanistan who will stay until January 2022.

Germany's Parliament extended the presence of German troops in Afghanistan for another 10 months, media reports say. Germany has up to 1,300 soldiers in Afghanistan under NATO’s Resolute Support’s train, advice, and assist mission to Afghan forces who will stay until January 2022.

 This comes as the Biden administration is still reviewing the 2020 agreement with the Taliban and it is not yet clear whether or for how long NATO troops will stay in the country. US President Joe Biden on Thursday said it will be hard to meet the May 1 deadline for getting troops out of Afghanistan for "tactical reasons."

WASHINGTON, 26 March 2021, (TON): US President Joe Biden on Thursday said it will be difficult to comply with the May 1 time constraint to pull out US troops from Afghanistan according to the arrangement made during the Donald Trump organization.

Speaking at his first press conference since taking office, Biden said that, "It is going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline. In terms of tactical reason, it is hard to get those troops out. We have been meeting with our allies, those who also have troops in Afghanistan. If we leave we will do it in a safe and orderly way. We are in consultations with our allies and partners on how to proceed."

"It is not my intention to stay there for a long time. But the question is how and under what circumstances do we meet that agreement that was made by (former) President Trump," Biden said when asked about the exit of US troops from Afghanistan.

Lastly, Biden said, "We (US) will leave (Afghanistan), the question is when we will leave.

"Since coming to power the Biden administration has made it clear that it is not willing to let the Taliban have its way as the price for ending the war in Afghanistan amid reports of al Qaeda gaining strength in the country.

On February 29, 2020, the US and the Taliban development marked a harmony bargain in Doha, Qatar, specifying a progressive withdrawal of US troops just as the start of intra-Afghan dealings and prisoner exchanges.

The discussions were postponed on different occasions until the Afghan government and the Taliban figured out how to concur on the prisoner exchange measure.

KATHMANDU, 26 March, 2021, (TON): Four CPN-UML leaders including Madhav Kumar Nepal have reacted to the explanation looked for by the gathering. Leaders Nepal, Bhim Bahadur Rawal, Surendra Pandey, and Ghanashyam Bhusal have presented their explanation today, said the party office secretary Iswari Rijal.

Blaming them for neutralizing the party, the party’s focal advisory group meeting on March 20 had chosen to look for explanation from the four chiefs. The letter looking for their explanation was shipped off them by party General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel on March 21, with seven days' cutoff time.

It very well might be noticed that after the reestablishment of the UML by the Supreme Court, leader Nepal has been running equal exercises, in challenging the choice of the gathering seat to make arrangements singularly.