India's Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Farm Laws Repeal Bill 2021 completing the formalities to revoke the three controversial farm laws in the upcoming winter session of the parliament from November 29. The farmers have welcomed the move, but warned their year-long agitation against the legislation would continue until their other demands including a law on guaranteed prices for all crops, are addressed. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the growing foreign debt and low tax revenue have become an issue of 'national security' because his government has no enough resources to spend on people's welfare. Residents in Pakistan-administered Kashmir have claimed the frequent price hike of gas and food items in recent days has adversely affected their lives. The Taliban administration has released a set of restrictions on Afghan media, including banning television dramas that included female actors and ordering women news presenters to wear "Islamic hijab" or headscraf. Some edicts were targeted specifically at women, a move likely to raise concerns among the international community. Bangladesh's envoy to India, Muhammad Imran on Wednesday lauded the role played by Indian political and military leadership in his country's 1971 Liberation War during an event in New Delhi. Sri Lanka rowed back on its goal to become the first country to fully adopt organic farming on Wednesday by removing the ban on use and importation of chemical fertilisers after months of mass protests by farmers and a surge in food price inflation. The government had completely banned chemical fertilisers when it unveiled a new agricultural policy in April. Explaining the U-turn at a weekly Cabinet briefing, Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said only the private sector would be allowed to resume imports, which would still be expensive as a subsidy for chemical fertilisers would not be reinstated. The two-day monastic festival popularly known as 'Thiksey Gustor' in India's Himalayan desert of Ladakh saw a grand religious ceremony attended by monks, devotees and tourists. The festival, which is celebrated over a course of two days, concluded on Tuesday with mask dance, traditional rituals, colourful costumes, and cheering visitors.
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