Sri Lanka mulls visa-free entry to Indians, other tourist-friendly nations

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a task force to study the possibility of granting visa-free entry to visitors from certain tourist friendly nations in order to boost arrivals, authorities said on Monday.

Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said that some of the countries under consideration are India, China along with some other European and West Asian nations, reports Xinhua news agency.

Amaratunga said this proposal was aimed at encouraging more people to visit Sri Lanka and avoid "chaos" at the immigration.

Following recommendations from the task force, this proposal may be implemented in the off season months of October to November and March to April, the minister said.

He further said the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) was currently working on this plan.

Additionally, the Minister said the government was also in discussion with airlines, tour operators and hotels to provide low cost packages.

Muslims offer prayers in Kandy under Sri Lankan Army protection

Sri Lankan troops today guarded mosques and facilitated Friday prayers as authorities stepped up security in the violence-hit Muslim neighbourhoods in Kandy district after four days of riots that have left at least two people dead. Several homes, businesses and mosques in the hilly Kandy district have been damaged in anti-Muslim riots, since Monday. The violence erupted after the death of a Buddhist Sinhalese man last week. To rein in communal violence, a state of emergency has been imposed by President Maithripala Sirisena's government.

A large number of Muslim-owned businesses in the island nation remained shut in protest against attacks by mainly Buddhist Sinhalese, but some shops in the Muslim neighbourhood opened today.
Army personnel and police constables patrolled outside mosques in Kandy where prayers were offered in open grounds in many places because mosques had been burnt or vandalised.
About 3,000 police, 2,500 army personnel and 750 special task forces have been deployed in Kandy to bring the situation under control.

"There were no incidents during the Friday prayers," a police official said, adding that investigators had stepped up the search for those who took part in the violence. 

Maldives crisis: President Yameen refuses UN General-Secy's mediation offer

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen has turned down UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' offer to mediate between him and the opposition in the ongoing political crisis, Guterres's Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said.

"He offered to the President (Yameen) UN mediation but the President conveyed that mediation was not wanted at this stage," Haq said on Wednesday.

Asked about Maldives extending the state of emergency that was set to expire on Wednesday for another 30 days, he said: "The Secretary-General is following the situation in the Maldives closely and with concern."

The crisis in the island nation began on February 1 when the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the terrorism conviction of former president Mohamed Nasheed as well as that of eight other politicians on several charges.

Pak summons US ambassador over Trump's outburst over Twitter

Pakistan has summoned US Ambassador David Hale to register its protest after President Donald Trump accused the country of lying and deceiving America by sheltering terrorists while receiving billions of dollars in foreign aid, a media report said on Tuesday.

The Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) summoned Hale on Monday's night. Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua sought an explanation from Hale over Trump's remarks, The Express Tribune reported.

There was no immediate response from foreign office officials.

Trump, on Monday,  tore into Pakistan accusing it of giving nothing to the US but "lies and deceit" and providing "safe haven" to terrorists in return for $33 billion aid over the last 15 years thinking of American leaders as "fools".

In his strongest attack against Pakistan yet, Trump in his first tweet of the year on New Year's day also appeared to suggest he could cut off foreign aid to Pakistan.

"The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools," Trump tweeted on New Year's Day.

"They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!"

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif responded immediately and said, "...Will let the world know the truth... difference between facts and fiction."
READ MORE

Govt to bear MDR charges on digital transactions of up to Rs 2,000

In an effort to boost digital payments in India, the government has decided to bear the merchant discount rate (MDR) charges for transactions up to Rs 2,000 made through debit cards, BHIM-UPI or Aadhaar Pay for two years. The decision will be effective from January 1, when the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) revised guidelines on the MDR come into force. The MDR is the rate charged to a merchant by a bank for providing debit and credit card services. It is expressed as a percentage of the transaction amount.

The outgo on account of reimbursement for MDR charges is estimated to be Rs 2,512 crore over the next two years. The amount to be reimbursed to banks could be Rs 1,050 crore in FY 2018-19 and Rs 1,462 crore in FY 2019-20 for transactions of value less than Rs 2,000, said the Union government in a press statement.

The government has set up a committee to look into the industry cost structure of such transactions, which will form the basis to determine the levels of reimbursement.

“The compensation to banks will help cover the costs incurred in managing card payment operations. This should give push to volumes in digital banking space and enable to beef up merchant acquisition infrastructure,” said P K Gupta, managing director of retail and digital banking, State Bank of India.
READ MORE

US Congress passes $700 bn defence bill; seeks to advance ties with India

The United States Congress today passed a nearly $700 billion American defence budget for 2018, which, among other things, seeks advancement in defence cooperation with India.

The 2018 National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) sailed through both the chambers of the Congress House of Representatives and the Senate by a voice vote.

It now heads to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign it into law, which he is expected to do before the Thanksgiving holidays.

The budget also imposes tougher conditions on Pakistan for military and security assistance and accommodates last minute additional White House's financial request implementing its new South Asia strategy.

The NDAA-2018 asks the Secretary of State and the Defence Secretary to come out with a common definition that recognises India's status as a "Major Defence Partner".

Welcoming the move, top Republican Senator Ted Cruz said few partnerships in the 21st century carried more strategic significance than the US-India partnership.

During the legislative process, Cruz secured an amendment that calls on the Department of Defence to reassess its approach to partnering with India and to appoint an individual to oversee this process.
READ MORE

Bank of China becomes operational in Pakistan, first branch in Karachi

The Bank of China (BoC) became operational in Pakistan as it inaugurated its first branch in Karachi on Tuesday.

Emphasising that it was "a great honour" for the bank to be launched in Pakistan, BoC Chairman Chen Siqing noted that the Karachi branch was its first in South Asia.

The Dawn quoted him as saying that the bank would strengthen the "brotherly relations" between the two countries in the financial sector.

Siqing also highlighted that the bank could help Pakistan effectively reap the benefits of Beijing's economic prosperity.

Welcoming the bank to Pakistan, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Tariq Bajwa, said that the increased diversity of foreign banks would increase the country's economic resilience.

He also expressed hope that Pakistan would learn from BoC's expertise in the small and medium enterprises sector.

Speaking during the launch, Acting Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Zhao Lijian said that the opening of the bank "marked the confidence of the Chinese corporate sector in Pakistan's economic situation."

President Mamnoon Hussain, who was also present on the occasion, expressed confidence that the newly-launched bank will help accelerate infrastructure development and overall economic growth of the country.
READ MORE