South Asia Newsline - Nov 22, 2021 News Bulletin :
-Indian farmers hold mass rally, keep pressure on PM Modi despite climb-down
-International Monetary Fund to revive $6 billion Pakistan funding programme
-Sri Lanka begins trials connected to 2019 Easter bombings case
Indian farmers held a mass rally on Monday in a show of strength as they said their protests would continue despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise announcement to roll back three farm laws which they have opposed since last year. Indian Air Force ace pilot Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman was awarded Vir Chakra, the third highest wartime gallantry award on Monday by President Ram Nath Kovind at an investiture ceremony in New Delhi. Abhinandan shot down an F-16 during a dogfight over the Line of Control, a day after India carried out an airstrike on a JeM terrorist training camp in Pakistan's Balakot in 2019. The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it has reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan that will help revive a stalled 6 billion U.S. dollars funding programme for the South Asian country. Opposition Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Chairman has slammed Prime Minister Imran Khan over its incompetency amid an ongoing gas crisis in the country. A Sri Lankan court on Monday began the first of three trials connected to bombings that killed nearly 270 people on the island in 2019, amidst appeals for greater accountability from victim support groups. Vice Chairman of Opposition Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist or CPN-UML, Bhim Rawal has announced his candidacy for the post of Chairman, challenging incumbent K.P. Sharma Oli in the upcoming General Convention. UML is holding its Tenth General Convention from November 26 to 28 to elect new leadership for the next five years. After the split of Madhav Kumar Nepal faction from the CPN-UML and Oli's denial to implement a 10-point agreement for party's unity in July, Rawal was dissatisfied with the current chair. The move to announce candidacy is being considered as a challenge to the faction led by K.P. Sharma Oli. The mesmerizing autumn season is at its peak in India's Jammu and Kashmir Valley territory. Tourists from across the country are flocking to the Mughal Gardens to witness its beauty and picturesque atmosphere created by the autumn leaves of 'Chinar trees'.
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