Neighborhood News Digest – 17 February 2023

Afghanistan

US weapons left in Afghanistan are becoming a new threat to Pakistan and India | OPINION – India Today

Approximately, $7 billion of military equipment the US transferred to Afghan Defense Forces over 16 years was left behind in Afghanistan after the US completed its withdrawal from the country in August 2021. This equipment went into the hands of Afghan Taliban and TTP. Click here to read... [2]

Ruling Taliban display rare division in public over bans in Afghanistan – Economic Times

In recent months, the group's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has appeared to take a stronger hand in directing policy. In particular, it was on his orders that the Taliban government banned women and girls from universities and schools after the sixth grade. Click here to read... [3]

China, Iran call on Afghanistan to end restrictions on women – Indian Express

China and Iran have urged mutual neighbor Afghanistan to end restrictions on women’s work and education. The call came in a joint statement Thursday issued at the close of a visit to Beijing by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during which the two sides affirmed close economic and political ties and their rejection of Western standards of human rights and democracy. Click here to read... [4]

The Taliban are digging an enormous canal – The Economist

Taliban officials have started talking up a new canal under construction in the arid north of Afghanistan. A video recently posted on YouTube shows shiny diggers roaring over sand dunes and workers from different ethnic groups toiling together. The Islamist regime says some 5,500 people are working around the clock on the project, using over 3,300 bits of machinery. Click here to read... [5]

Afghanistan Protected Against Pakistan Economic Crisis: Official – Baaghi TV

The Afghan Ministry of Economics said that the current government is working so that Afghanistan does not suffer more from the economic problems in Pakistan. “Every kind of political, economic, and security crisis in the region can affect Afghanistan’s political and economic situation, but management, planning, and policymaking in Afghanistan has caused it to not be affected much by the economic problems of its neighbors, including Pakistan,” said Abdul Latif Nazari, Deputy Minister of Economy. Click here to read... [6]

Bangladesh

Bangladesh sanctions to remain until police reform: US – New Age

The United States will not lift sanctions on an elite Bangladesh police unit accused of extrajudicial killings until it is reformed, a top US envoy visiting the country has said. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet visited Bangladesh this week and he discussed security cooperation with government representatives in Dhaka. Click here to read... [7]

We want peace, but ready to repel external attacks: PM – Daily Star

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the armed forces are being developed appropriately to give a fitting reply if the country comes under attack by external forces. "If external forces attack, we have to face that. For that we have to build up appropriate armed forces and accordingly we have taken various steps," she said while addressing the 10th Tigers' Reunion of the East Bengal Regiment at Bangladesh Military Academy (BMA). Click here to read... [8]

AL, BNP take to city streets today – Daily Star

The Awami League and its associate bodies will hold programmes across the capital today, countering the BNP's pre-scheduled road march.Dhaka's north and south units of the BNP will bring out processions around 2:30pm to press home its 10 demands that include the next national election under a non-partisan caretaker government.On the other hand, the ruling AL will hold programmes at 3:00pm and 4:00pm protesting "terror and anarchy of the BNP".Click here to read... [9]

Bhutan

125 aspiring NC candidates register with ECB – Kuensel

There could be fewer candidates vying for a seat at the National Council (NC) in the upcoming elections than 2018 going by the record of registered candidates with the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB). The ECB has registered 125 aspiring National Council (NC) candidates including nine female candidates from all dzongkhags as of yesterday. In 2018, there were 177 aspiring candidates including eight female candidates. Click here to read... [10]

Bhutan Airlines loses Nu 150M in the first quarter – Kuensel

The winter holidays have come to an end and intake in universities in Australia ending in March means bad news and business for the airlines. Passengers travelling out for a vacation to Bangkok and those going to Australia have kept the business alive, but the traffic is expected to decline as schools reopen in the country and admission for the spring semester closes in March. Click here to read... [11]

Capital budget use slows in first half of fiscal year - Kuensel

The country has spent Nu 9.9 billion (B) as capital expenditure in the first half of the fiscal year 2022-23, according to the budget performance report for the second quarter of the fiscal year. This makes up about 24 percent of the total capital budget for the fiscal year, which has been revised to Nu 41.83B. Click here to read... [12]

Maldives

Maldives can adapt to sea-level rise. Here’s how - Down to Earth

Low-lying island countries like the Maldives have been experimenting with raising the height of such islands to cope with sea-level rise and a new study showed that these efforts are efficient. Using simple engineering techniques to elevate islands threatened by submergence and creating new islands entirely where people can be moved to can help small island nations like the Maldives, according to a report by researchers from the University of Southampton, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and TEDI-London, along with Maldivian scientists. Click here to read... [13]

Two Years Later: The Campaign to Protect Maldives’ Waves - Save the Waves

It has been two years since Save The Waves and local partners launched the “Save Our Waves Maldives” campaign. Our fight to reverse the ongoing damage to the famous wave of Chickens continues while also advocating for the protection for all of Maldives’ treasured surf spots, which are under constant attack from coastal development and infrastructure. Chickens Surf Break in The MaldivesThe campaign has two primary goals: the first is to restore the wave at Chickens and the second is to create legal protection for Maldives surf ecosystems across the island chain. Click here to read... [14]

Myanmar

China, Myanmar to promote economic cooperation in post-pandemic era - The Star

China's Yunnan provincial department of commerce and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) held a meeting here on Wednesday (Feb 15) to promote economic and trade cooperation. Speaking at the meeting, UMFCCI President U Aye Win (pic) said that it is a timely meeting to promote the economic and trade cooperation between Myanmar and China's Yunnan province, adding it will assist Myanmar's economic development and private business sector development. Click here to read... [15]

Civilians Resort to Suicide as Myanmar Junta Steps Up Attacks - The Irrawaddy

At least four people in Sagaing Region’s Kantbalu District have killed themselves over the past year due to mental trauma caused by junta raids, according to local sources. Junta troops and affiliated Pyu Saw Htee militias have subjected locals to frequent raids in the past year, detaining and torturing residents, abducting them for ransom, making death threats, and torching their homes. Click here to read... [16]

Myanmar plans to sell gold to Japan - The Star

Myanmar is planning to sell gold to Japan, said U Myo Myint, chairman of the Yangon Region Gold Entrepreneurs Association. "Now a Japanese company inquired to buy gold from Myanmar. We are also planning to export," U Myo Myint said. During 2017 and 2018, gold was sold to Japan, but it had to be stopped due to the situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said. “It has been exported before. It was stopped because of Covid-19. Now they are asking about price and market situation," U Myo Myint continued. Click here to read... [17]

Nepal

India, Nepal jointly inaugurate two Dharchula International Suspension bridges - The Print

District Magistrate Pithoragarh Reena Joshi and District Magistrate Darchula, Nepal Dirghraj Upadhyay jointly inaugurated two Dharchula International Suspension bridges in the border area Dharchula of Pithoragarh district. Click here to read... [18]

Nepal plane crash: Investigators suspect human error in preliminary report. Details here - live Mint

A preliminary probe report in the Yeti Airlines crash that killed 71 people, including five Indians suspect human error behind the deadly crash. Yeti Airlines flight 692 lost thrust and fell after the propellers of both engines went into a feathered position. The flight had taken off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport on 15 January, crashed on the Seti River gorge between the old airport and the new airport in the resort city of Pokhara. As per International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the state investigating an accident or incident must produce a preliminary report within 30 days of the accident. Click here to read... [19]

Pakistan

TTP rejects UNSC report, says it has no presence in Afghanistan, slams Pakistan govt – News Vibes of India

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) tonight rejected a report of the UN Security Council (UNSC) which has suggested that the outfit has presence in Afghanistan and blamed the “duplicitous policy of the government of Pakistan” for such a “biased” view. Click here to read... [20]

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves rise above $3bn – Dawn

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank rose by $276 million to $3.2 billion in the week ending on February 10, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday. According to the state bank, net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.5bn, bringing the country’s total liquid foreign reserves to $8.7bn. Click here to read... [21]

Pakistan, Polish entities ink MoU for supply of defence equipment to Ukraine – Economic Times

Poland is going beyond just being a transit state for transfer of Pakistani arms to Ukraine, with a Polish entity signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Pakistani company for supply of defence equipment to Kyiv. Some other Pakistani and Polish companies are also involved in transfer of the equipment, while a Canadian firm is acting as an intermediary. Click here to read... [22]

US Concerned About Debt Owed To China By Cash-Strapped Pakistan – NDTV

The United States is concerned about debt owed to China by Pakistan and other countries, US State Department Counselor Derek Chollet said on Thursday during a visit to Islamabad as the country dealt with an economic crisis. Pakistan, historically a close ally of Washington, has become increasingly close to China, which has provided billions in loans and is Islamabad's largest single creditor. Click here to read... [23]

Is China and Pakistan's 'iron brotherhood' crumbling? – Times of India

For years, China and Pakistan have been tom-tomming their ever-tightening geopolitical embrace to the entire world. With Pakistan at the centre of its Belt and Road ambition, China has pumped billions of dollars worth of investment into the country and has extended diplomatic support to Islamabad at every global platform - directly or indirectly. Click here to read... [24]

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka economic crisis: Power prices hiked by 66%; aims to gain IMF support – Business Today

Sri Lanka in the midst of an economic crisis, is hiking up prices as it aims to persuade the International Monetary Fund to lend it a helping hand. Sri Lanka hiked up prices of power by 66 per cent, following an increase in electricity prices by 75 per cent last year. The country’s inflation was above 54 per cent on-year in January and income taxes as high as 36 per cent. Click here to read... [25]

Sri Lanka’s Local Elections Are a Major Threat to the Ruling Class – The Wire

Two themes dominate the political debate in Sri Lanka at present: managing the economic crisis through restructuring sovereign debt and the local government elections announced for March 2023. Click here to read... [26]

Constitutional reforms within unitary system – Daily News

The obstinate refusal by the Tamil political parties to give up federal demand, which every sane opinion labelled as a ‘non-starter’ has deadlocked the recent attempts to find a lasting solution to the minority demands for devolution. Click here to read... [27]