Neighborhood News Digest – 31 January 2023

Afghanistan

U.S. arms left in Afghanistan are turning up in a different conflict – NBC News

Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir tell NBC News that militants trying to annex the region for Pakistan are carrying M4s, M16s and other U.S.-made arms and ammunition that have rarely been seen in the 30-year conflict. A major reason, they say, is a regional flood of U.S.-funded weapons that fell into the hands of the Taliban when U.S.-led NATO forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. Click here to read... [2]

UN: Taliban ban on women aid workers is potential death blow – Hindustan Times

If the Taliban don't make exceptions to their edict “this would be catastrophic,” Martin Griffiths said at a news conference. He said a delegation including international aid groups made the case that Afghan women are critical to humanitarian operations during meetings last week with nine Taliban officials, including Afghanistan's foreign affairs and economy ministers. Click here to read... [3]

Iran's Foreign Minister Calls to Create Inclusive Govt in Afghanistan – Tolo News

Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in a meeting with Qatar's foreign minister, Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, discussed regional developments and particularly Afghanistan. In a meeting with his counterpart from Qatar, the foreign minister of Iran stressed the need for an inclusive government in Afghanistan and referred to this as crucial for the country's return to stability, peace, and prosperity. Click here to read... [4]

ISIS-Khorasan increases its attacks on Chinese Projects in Afghanistan – The Khaama Press

Since August 2021, China has increased its diplomatic relations and economic investments with Afghanistan’s de facto government. In the recent past, Islamic State-Khorasan and other terror outlets in Afghanistan have targeted these significant investments. Sources reported that an attack on Chinese projects is considered a kind of retaliation for the cruel behaviour of the Chinese government against the Uyghur Muslim population in China. Click here to read... [5]

Bangladesh

IMF board approves $4.7 billion support program for Bangladesh – Dhaka Tribune

The International Monetary Fund on Monday said its executive board approved a support program for Bangladesh worth $4.7 billion at current exchange rates, making the South Asian country the first to access its new Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The funding includes $3.3 billion under the IMF's Extended Credit Facility and Extended Fund Facility programs and $1.4 billion under the new RSF, which aims to help vulnerable middle-income countries and island states. Click here to read... [6]

‘Biggest militant threat’ country has ever faced – Daily Star

Jama'atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya posed a bigger security threat than any militant outfit ever did, law enforcers said. Commenting on Jama'atul Ansar's combat training, operational tactics and activities, officers said members of the newly emerged militant outfit were highly motivated. Several officers who seized documents during raids on Bandarban hills said the militants followed the code of conduct of global terror organisations Al Qaeda and Islamic State. Click here to read... [7]

BNP’s road march a march towards victory: Fakhrul

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, said on Monday that the party’s road march programme was a march for the victory of democracy, for civilization, for people’s rights, and for freeing BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia. The BNP leader came up with these remarks while launching the road march programme of the party’s Dhaka South City unit towards Jurain from Jatrabari to press home its 10-point demand, including holding the next general election under a non-party caretaker government. Click here to read... [8]

Bhutan

SML is critically important for Bhutan’s economy – Kuensel Online

Sustainable land management is critical for Bhutan’s success in the agriculture sector. In the past 16 years, more than 26,000 acres of land have been developed to enable our farmers to enhance farm productivity without degrading land resources. Click here to read... [9]

MoF conducts training on impact investment analysis for agriculture sector – Kuensel Online

A five-day training to build the technical capacity of the government, state-owned enterprises, and non-governmental organisations on financial investment and return analysis concluded on January 27. The training focused on conducting economic and financial investment, and environmental analysis for investment proposals and developmental projects. Click here to read... [10]

Maldives

Solih’s win in primary ahead of Maldives Presidential polls shot in arm for India – Economic Times

Solih defeated Mohamed Nasheed, the parliament speaker and a former president, in the Maldivian Democratic Party primary held Saturday night. Since being elected, Solih has largely stabilized the nation. Compared to his predecessor’s tenure India-Maldives ties have achieved several milestones since Solih became President in 2018 with New Delhi rolling out assistance for several development projects. Maldives is a key pillar of New Delhi’s Indian Ocean Region policy amid China’s growing interests in the region. Click here to read... [11]

Taj Exotica to develop one of Maldives’ largest floating solar parks – Times of India

Taj Exotica Resort & Spa in Maldives has signed an agreement with Swimsol, a leading offshore marine photovoltaics, to induct a floating solar park. The 1.05 MW solar park will save 1,189 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per annum; reduce 4.4 lakh liters of diesel consumption annually while simultaneously decreasing noise pollution by 40%, IHCL says. Click here to read... [12]

Myanmar

At Least 17 Myanmar Junta Forces Killed in Four Days of Resistance Attacks – Irrawaddy

At least 17 Myanmar junta forces were killed in the last four days as People’s Defense Force groups (PDFs) continued to attack regime targets across the country. In one clash, a convoy of Chinese mining company Wanbao reportedly carrying a senior junta official was ambushed with land mines by resistance groups in Upper Myanmar. Incidents were reported in Sagaing, Magwe and Bago regions and Mon State. The Irrawaddy has collected the following reports of significant attacks from PDFs. Some military casualty figures could not be independently verified. Click here to read... [13]

Myanmar junta prepares for poll, raising fears of more bloodshed – Bangkok Post

Two years after a coup snuffed out Myanmar's short-lived democratic experiment, the country's military is planning elections that analysts warn could spark further bloodshed as opposition to junta rule rages on. Observers also say the planned poll cannot be free and fair under the present circumstances, with one analyst characterising it as a mere "performance" aimed at justifying the junta's hold on power. Click here to read... [14]

Myanmar, Bangladesh 'cement Diplomacy' – Scoop

During the first six months of FY22-23 (July-December), Bangladesh's cement industry earned export revenue of US$4.69m on the export of cement, mostly to neighbouring Asian countries, compared to US$3.91m in the same six months last year. This translates to growth of 20 per cent YoY but marks a shortfall of 9.1 per cent to meet the target of US$5.166m set for these months of the ongoing fiscal year. The figure also includes a minor amount of salt, stone and related products, says the Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data. Click here to read... [15]

Nepal

Senior US diplomat Nuland meets Nepal PM Prachanda; pledges USD 1 billion in investments – The Print

A top US diplomat on Monday met Nepal’s senior leadership, including Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”, to further consolidate bilateral ties, and pledged USD 1 billion in investments in the Himalayan nation over the next five years. US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland arrived here in Kathmandu on Sunday on a two-day visit. Click here to read... [16]

Nepal Presidential Elections to be Held on March 9 – Zee News

Nepal will hold Presidential elections on March 9, said the Election Commission of Nepal. The Election Commission of Nepal also decided to hold the vice presidential elections on March 17. Notably, Nepal’s President Bidhya Devi Bhandari is due to retire on March 13. Her successor is being elected four days in advance. The Nepal Vice President’s election is due to be held one day before incumbent Nanda Bahadur Pun retires. Click here to read... [17]

Nepal seeks 90 MW power supply from Bihar – The Tribune

The Nepal Electricity Authority has reportedly urged the Bihar government to supply an additional 90 Mega Watt (MW) of power. This is to deal with the power deficit that the country is currently going through. This is excluding the 90 MW that Nepal has currently been importing from India. Click here to read... [18]

Nepal’s ruling alliance in trouble after youth leader threatens to quit – India Narrative

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), one of the key partners in Nepal’s seven-party ruling alliance, has threatened to pull out of the government if it is not allocated the home ministry portfolio, sources said. In a meeting with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda on Sunday evening, RSP Chairman Rabi Lamichhane conveyed his party’s position that his party will be forced to quit the government if the home ministry portfolio is not given to his party. RSP Chairman Lamichhane was serving as the home minister until Friday before the country’s Supreme Court annulled his citizenship certificate on the ground that that he never applied to reclaim his Nepali citizenship after renouncing his American citizenship. Click here to read... [19]

Pakistan

Suicide Bombing Tears through Pakistan Mosque, Killing Dozens – The New York Times

A powerful suicide bombing on Monday ripped through a mosque frequented by police officers in a highly secured part of the city of Peshawar, killing at least 59 people and wounding nearly 160 in the worst attack in Pakistan in months, police and hospital officials said. The attack broke a period of relative calm in Peshawar, the capital of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province in northwestern Pakistan. The northwest has been the site of several attacks on police and military targets in recent months, especially in areas that straddle the border with Afghanistan, and the Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for them. Click here to read... [20]

Russia to ‘cooperate fully’ with Pakistan on energy: Lavrov – Pakistan Observer

A week after Pakistan and Russia signed an agreement on the supply of Russian crude oil and oil products, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that his country would “cooperate fully” to meet the energy needs of Pakistan. Speaking at a joint press conference with his Pakistani counterpart, the Russian FM commended Pakistan for maintaining a neutral position in the Russian-Ukraine war and said that the two countries would continue to cooperate in various fields. Click here to read... [21]

On the Indus Water Treaty: Hedging and entrenched attitudes from India and Pakistan are a reminder that technical agreements are only a partial solution – Indian Express

As of now, both countries have opted for diplomatic hedging. This attitude has framed the water diplomacy between the two countries as well. By raking up the issue of hydroelectric projects, Pakistan has reiterated its desire for third-party mediation while India has reinforced its call for revisiting the Indus Water Treaty (IWT). Click here to read... [22]

Debt restructuring framework must improve to help distressed countries, Pakistan’s ex-central banker says – CNBC

Global bodies like the IMF need to step up and improve the framework for sovereign debt financing so that emerging market economies, like Sri Lanka, can get out of their debt distress problems faster, says the former central bank governor of Pakistan. Reza Baqir, currently the global head of sovereign advisory services at Alvarez & Marsal, said the South Asian nation is still waiting for the International Monetary Fund for debt relief to help the country from dire economic conditions. Click here to read... [23]

Subsidies, security costs ‘on chopping block’ to placate IMF – Dawn

The government may have to withdraw energy subsidies to big export industries, besides cutting non-salary, non-essential civil and security costs as part of harsh reforms required to obtain the International Monetary Fund’s consent for an economic bailout that ensures soft landing for the poor and vulnerable. Senior government officials said IMF mission chief for Pakistan Nathan Porter had already arrived in Islamabad to start a technical discussion with authorities on Tuesday (today), which would continue till Friday (Feb 3). Click here to read... [24]

Sri Lanka

Despite economic crisis, Treasury allocates billions for Offices of President, PM, Ministers – Daily Mirror

The budget allocated for the President's Office, the Prime Minister's Office and the Office of the Cabinet of Ministers still remain in billions with no major cost cuts in sight. The budgets allocated under 'Special Spending Units' for the President's Office, the Prime Minister's Office as well as the Office of the Cabinet of Ministers in 2023 are more or just the same when compared to what was allocated in 2022Click here to read... [25]

President expects positive economy in 2024 – Daily News

State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya yesterday said that Sri Lanka’s economic growth stood at -10 per cent during the last financial year. “The economic growth during last quarter alone stood at -11 during the last quarter of 2022,” he said.He was hopeful that the country’s growth rate could be between -3.5 and-4 per cent during 2023. Speaking at a press conference at the Government Information Department yesterday, Siyabalapitiya said that President Ranil Wickremesinghe has given a clear message to the people that they can expect a positive economy in 2024.”President Wickremesinghe had assured this to the people at a recent function held in Anuradhapura that the people can expect a positive economy in 2024,” he said. Click here to read... [26]

Future of Sri Lanka is fisheries and tourism – Daily News

The Government must pay more attention to the fisheries sector and provide fishermen with new boats and sea water cooling systems under a concessionary scheme to improve the catch and introduce a monitoring mechanism to end illegal fishing methods and more funds should be allocated to the Fisheries Ministry, opined Sri Lanka Canned Fish Manufacturers’ Association President Shiran Fernando. Click here to read... [27]