Work on identifying the routes for a major railway project, the Trans-Afghanistan Railway, has been finalized and talks are underway with Uzbekistan and Pakistan officials to kick off the project, the Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA) said on Monday. The $5 billion project has been designed to connect South Asia with Central Asia through Afghanistan. The railway authority said international organizations to provide financial support to the project. Click here to read... [2]
On Monday, Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General called on the Afghan Taliban to prevent terrorist organizations from attacking Pakistan or any other neighboring country from Afghanistan soil. In response to a question, the UN chief regarding the late cross-border attacks said that Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan [TTP] has conducted several terrorist attacks against Pakistan resulting in many casualties. “We consider that it is absolutely essential for the Afghan Taliban not to allow any form of terrorist activity that might have an impact in relation to Pakistan, as in relation to any other country of the region,” the UN chief said. Click here to read... [3]
Detained Pakistani Taliban in a Counter Terrorism Department facility in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took control of the compound and held security guards as hostages, demanding safe passage to Kabul. Some Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) detainees overpowered guards overnight at a counter-terrorism facility in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, seizing police firearms, capturing hostages, and taking control of the facility, Associated Press reported citing Pakistani officials. The incident reportedly started late on Sunday, December 18, and swiftly turned into a standoff in which one counterterrorism officer was killed during the seizure at the detention facility, according to later confirmation from Pakistani officials. Click here to read... [4]
If the BNP is voted to power, it will implement reforms so that no prime minister or president can serve more than two back-to-back terms, the party has said while unveiling its set of state restructure plans. The BNP in its 27-point outline, "The structural reforms of the state", also said it would ensure a balance of power between the PM and president. Click here to read... [5]
To firm up the roadmap for negotiations on the India-Bangladesh Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Bangladesh’s commerce minister Tipu Munshi is coming later this week. During his two days visit starting December 22-23, he is expected to meet with his counterpart Minister of Commerce and Industry Trade Piyush Goyal. Financial Express Online has reported earlier that the two countries have already finalized a Joint Feasibility Study related to CEPA. However, The focus of Bangladesh’s commerce minister Tipu Munshi’s visit will also be on getting more essential items including wheat from India when the minister arrives. Click here to read... [6]
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh on December 19, 2022 congratulated the Argentinian football team on winning the FIFA World cup and proposed the two countries should open embassies in each other’s capitals. Click here to read... [7]
On this National Day, as I contemplate our history, I am filled with awe. Bhutan became a member of the United Nations in 1971. In 1972, His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo became the King of a country that was largely unknown to the rest of the world. Other than our closest neighbour India, Bhutan did not have diplomatic relations with any country. Click here to read... [8]
PTC India on Monday said it has entered into an agreement with Bhutan's electricity utility firm Druk Green Power Corporation Limited to supply 600 MW power to the neighbouring country during the winter season. "Bhutan, through Druk Green Power Corporation Limited, has entered into an agreement with PTC India Ltd, for purchase of power from Indian power market in order to meet its power requirement during the dry winter season," PTC India said in a statement. Click here to read... [9]
The United States (US) government in partnership with COVAX and the Bhutan Foundation on December 17 delivered an additional 50,000 doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11. This delivery marks the second shipment of US-donated vaccines for children in Bhutan this year, bringing the total number of pediatric vaccine donations to 83,600 to date, enough to fully vaccinate half of all Bhutanese children aged five to 11. Click here to read... [10]
On Sunday, Maldives President Ibrahim Solih signed into law the Waste Management Act, raising serious concerns about the rights to health and to a healthy environment, and the government’s obligation to address climate change. Section 44 of the law opens the door to the importation of waste into the country. Parliament on November 28 had hurriedly amended the bill without any public consultation despite strong opposition from environmental groups, who had pushed for a ban on importation of any form of waste into the country. Click here to read... [11]
The Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Southeast Asia, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, paid a courtesy call on President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The meeting was held Monday morning at the President's Office. President Solih and Dr Khetrapal Singh reflected on the Maldives' long-standing strong relationship with the WHO during the meeting. They also spoke about the improved relations and the commitments fulfilled over the years. Click here to read... [12]
Both houses of the United States (US) legislature passed the Burma Act last week, part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), to provide non-military aid to the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) and its affiliate organizations, including the National Unity Consultative Council, the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) and ethnic armed organizations (EAO). Click here to read... [13]
While resistance forces in Myanmar have successfully leveraged social media and online tools to raise money aimed at undermining the junta, efforts by the military regime to cut off funding for opposition groups have significantly hindered humanitarian aid delivery. So says a report released on Tuesday by the Brussels-based think tank International Crisis Group (ICG), titled “Crowdfunding a War: The Money behind Myanmar’s Resistance”. Click here to read... [14]
Amid calls at home and abroad to reject the Myanmar military regime’s planned election next year, the pro-junta National Democratic Force (NDF) has called the poll a solution to the ongoing political crisis in the country. The NDF has vowed to drum up support for the election, which has been called fraudulent and a recipe for continued violence by the parallel civilian National Unity Government (NUG) and much of the international community. Click here to read... [15]
India-Nepal hydro-power trade is set to become a regional game-changer say officials in Delhi and Kathmandu, pointing to the possibilities of buying power from Nepal and making it available over an electric grid system to consumers in India, Bangladesh and even Sri Lanka. However, India’s opposition to the use of Chinese contractors in the projects is delaying the process, said Nepal Electricity Authority Managing Director Kul Man Ghising, calling on New Delhi to reconsider its stand on buying electricity from Nepal’s largest 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectric Project (UTKHEP). Click here to read... [16]
The Parliament secretariat announced that the oath-taking ceremony of newly-elected representatives will take place on Thursday at 1 pm (local time). Elections were held in the Himalayan nation last month. MPs will take oath during the meeting of the House. While the eldest member will be sworn in by the President, the other members will be sworn in by eldest member who will be the pro-tem Speaker. Click here to read... [17]
Emphasis has been laid to expand bilateral relations between Nepal and Sri Lanka for mutual cooperation and prosperity. At a program organized by Sri Lankan Embassy in Nepal and Nepal Council for World Affairs here on Monday on the occasion of 65th establishment day of Nepal-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations, various speakers expressed the view that bilateral relations should be expanded on the basis of mutual cooperation and collaboration. Click here to read... [18]
Congress president reportedly has support of 55 lawmakers while the Koirala-Thapa faction jointly has 34 members. In a statement issued on Monday, the party said the election for the parliamentary party leader would be held on Wednesday. Earlier, on Sunday, the meeting of the party’s central work execution committee had formed a three-member election committee led by Joint General Secretary Bhisma Raj Angdembe with Pushpa Bhusal and Prakash Rasaili Snehi as members. Click here to read... [19]
Indicating it is closely following reports that militants have seized control of a counterterrorism centre in Bannu, the United States on Monday offered unconditional support to Pakistan in its battle against the TTP and similar groups, saying that defeating terrorism was a shared goal of both countries. At the same time, it also offered to assist India and Pakistan in resolving their differences, reminding them that they were key global partners and that America would like to continue ‘valuable partnerships’ with both. Click here to read... [20]
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed authorities concerned to take steps to reduce circular debt in the energy sector and decided to restrict market timings till 8pm to save energy. In a meeting chaired by the prime minister on ener¬¬gy sector, its participants considered adoption of a comprehensive strategy to control the present circular debt in oil and gas sectors.According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the prime minister said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government completely eradicated the circular debt during its 2013-2018 government tenure. He pledged to bring the problem of debt under control with continuous efforts and effective planning. Click here to read... [20]
In yet another hard-hitting statement against the former army chief, PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Monday said that General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa was “solely responsible for the country’s prevailing political and economic crises” — including his ouster from power in April this year. Click here to read... [21]
In a last-ditch effort to revive the stalled IMF programme, the government has made a plan with four options under consideration for slashing circular debt whereby the maximum electricity tariff can go up by Rs31.6/kWh through the imposition of a new surcharge. The proposal aims to slap a surcharge on five categories including commercial, bulk, industrial, others, and general services while protecting domestic and agriculture sectors. Top official sources confirmed to The News on Monday that the cash-bleeding power sector was heading towards a totally unsustainable level as the requirement of the power sector might escalate to a whopping Rs1.73 trillion for the current fiscal year against an initial budgetary allocation of Rs0.57 trillion mainly because of inadequate budgetary allocations.
Click here to read... [22]
Mihintale Raja Maha Viharaya Chief Incumbent Ven. Walahahengunawewa Dhammarathana Thera on Sunday said that some young monks in universities behave like Taliban terrorists. Speaking at an event in Mihintale, the Thera said that laws should be drafted to limit the number of years students can engage in academic activities at universities. The Thera said they can engage in politics, but not in a way that harms others. He went on to say that the actions of a few such monks create a bad impression in the minds of the public and reflect badly on the entire Sangha community. Click here to read... [23]
“Since 2014 the number of Indian fishermen released from Sri Lanka is 2,835,” Jaishankar said while speaking in Lok Sabha during the Winter Session of Parliament. He further said that if fishermen apprehended in Sri Lanka are released today, it is not because someone is writing letters in Chennai but because someone in Delhi is taking up the matter. Click here to read... [24]
India has expressed ‘serious concerns’ over two recent visits by Chinese ‘spy’ ships in Sri Lanka, asks Colombo to remove all hurdles from infra projects run by New Delhi over Beijing’s programmes. Click here to read... [25]
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Links:
[1] https://www.vifindia.org/2022/december/20/vif-neighbourhood-news-digest
[2] https://tolonews.com/business-181262
[3] https://www.khaama.com/un-secretary-general-urges-taliban-to-stop-terrorists-attacks-against-pakistan/
[4] https://www.khaama.com/ttp-inmates-seize-police-center-in-pakistan-demanding-safe-passage-to-afghanistan-64896/
[5] https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/politics/news/bnp-places-27-point-state-reform-plan-3200316
[6] https://www.financialexpress.com/defence/india-bangladesh-to-start-cepa-negotiations-bilateral-trade-to-touch-32-billion/2919678/
[7] https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/football-world-cup-effect-bangladesh-pm-calls-for-direct-diplomatic-relation-with-argentina/article66282903.ece
[8] https://kuenselonline.com/his-majestys-address-to-the-nation-on-national-day-2022/
[9] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/power/ptc-india-inks-pact-with-bhutans-druk-green-power-corporation-to-export-600-mw-power/articleshow/96351189.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
[10] https://kuenselonline.com/bhutan-receives-more-vaccines-from-the-usa/
[11] https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/12/19/dont-turn-maldives-worlds-garbage-dump
[12] https://raajje.mv/128174
[13] https://www.irrawaddy.com/in-person/interview/uss-burma-act-is-an-ultimatum-to-myanmar-regime.html
[14] https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3203898/myanmar-resistance-gets-millions-donor-dollars-even-junta-chokes-humanitarian-aid
[15] https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/pro-regime-ndf-backs-myanmar-juntas-election.html
[16] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/concerns-over-chinese-contractors-holds-up-expansion-of-nepal-india-power-trade-for-the-region/article66278685.ece
[17] https://theprint.in/world/newly-elected-members-of-nepals-lower-house-to-take-oath-on-dec-22/1272107/
[18] https://english.khabarhub.com/2022/19/285616/
[19] https://kathmandupost.com/politics/2022/12/20/deuba-strong-in-parliamentary-party-as-rival-camp-divided
[20] https://www.dawn.com/news/1727246/pm-shehbaz-wants-measures-to-reduce-circular-debt-in-energy-sector
[21] https://tribune.com.pk/story/2391815/gen-bajwa-solely-responsible-for-prevailing-political-economic-crises-imran
[22] https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1021915-power-tariff-may-go-up-to-revive-imf-package
[23] https://dailynews.lk/2022/12/20/local/293457/some-young-monks-universities-behave-taliban-terrorists-ven-dhammarathana
[24] https://theprint.in/india/2835-fishermen-released-from-sri-lanka-since-2014-jaishankar/1272172/
[25] https://news.abplive.com/news/india/miffed-with-recurring-chinese-spy-ship-visits-india-pushes-sri-lanka-to-prioritise-stalled-strategic-projects-1570451
[26] http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?title=VIF Neighbourhood News Digest - December 20, 2022&desc=&images=&u=https://www.vifindia.org/2022/december/20/vif-neighbourhood-news-digest
[27] http://twitter.com/share?text=VIF Neighbourhood News Digest - December 20, 2022&url=https://www.vifindia.org/2022/december/20/vif-neighbourhood-news-digest&via=Azure Power
[28] whatsapp://send?text=https://www.vifindia.org/2022/december/20/vif-neighbourhood-news-digest
[29] https://www.vifindia.org/author/Aakriti-Vinayak
[30] https://www.vifindia.org/author/Aarushi-Gupta/20220811
[31] https://www.vifindia.org/author/Anil-Kumar-20221110
[32] https://www.vifindia.org/node/7202