Neighborhood News Digest – 29 March 2023

Afghanistan

The Taliban posted photos of hundreds of US military vehicles it said were abandoned in the chaotic pullout of Afghanistan and now form part of its army – Business Insider

The Taliban claims to have repaired and put back to use around 300 military vehicles abandoned by the US during its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. In a Twitter post by the Afghanistan defense ministry, rows of the vehicles are pictured, some of which appear to be armored trucks resembling Humvees. Click here to read... [2]

House Republicans order handover of Afghanistan dissent cable - Samaa

The new Republican-led House of Representatives on Monday ordered the State Department to hand over a dissent cable by diplomats which warned of risks as US troops withdrew from Afghanistan. Representative Mike McCaul, who leads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was sending a subpoena to make good on a threat he made Thursday at a hearing to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had offered a compromise of a briefing about the memorandum. Click here to read... [3]

Afghanistan: Girls' education activist arrested by Taliban – BBC

A prominent Afghan campaigner for female education has been arrested by the Taliban, even as teenage girls and women remain barred from classrooms. Matiullah Wesa, 30, had often received threats - he has spent years travelling across Afghanistan trying to improve access to education for all children. The Taliban did not say why Mr Wesa is in custody. His house was also raided. Click here to read... [4]

Bangladesh

Bangladesh Needs Urgent Actions to Curb Air Pollution – World Bank

South Asia is home to 9 of the world’s 10 cities with the worst air pollution, and Dhaka is one of them. Air pollution is responsible for about 20 percent of the total premature deaths in Bangladesh. A new World Bank report shows that there are economically feasible, cost-effective solutions to achieve clean air in the region, but this requires countries to coordinate policies and investments. Click here to read... [5]

Bangladesh: Bangladesh Nationalist Party to hold nationwide sit-in protests April 1-20 – Crisis24

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) will stage nationwide sit-in protests April 1-20 to demand several concessions, including a push for the next general elections under a neutral caretaker government. Organizers have announced the following gathering times and locations: Click here to read... [6]

ABB India automates India-Bangladesh cross-border oil pipeline – Economic Times

ABB India will provide automation and control solutions for the 130km-long Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL), which carries diesel from India to Bangladesh. ABB's SCADAvantage, Remote Terminal Units and leak detection system will enable remote monitoring of the pipeline's flow, pressure, temperature and leaks. The software will generate reports, history sheets, critical messages and alarms that will boost efficiency and safety, and the potential capacity of one million metric tonnes per annum will enable Bangladesh to access large volumes of energy. Click here to read... [7]

Bhutan

In Doklam Standoff, Bhutan PM's China Comment Raises Concern In India – NDTV

Six years after Indian and Chinese soldiers faced off in Doklam, Bhutan's Prime Minister has said Beijing has an equal say in finding a resolution to the dispute over the high-altitude plateau which New Delhi believes has been illegally occupied by China.
''It is not up to Bhutan alone to solve the problem,'' said Prime Minister Lotay Tshering in an interview with the Belgian Daily La Libre. ''There are three of us. There is no big or small country, there are three equal countries, each counting for a third.''Click here to read... [8]

Maldives

ADB, Maldives sign $41mn financing package to support SMEs, tourism - Investing.com

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $41 million financing package with the Bank of Maldives (BML) on Tuesday to support locally owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and tourism. As the sole mandated lead arranger and bookrunner, the Manila-based ADB has arranged, structured, and syndicated the entire financing package, comprising a loan of up to $13 million from the ADB's ordinary capital resources, a parallel loan of up to $13 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and a parallel loan of up to $5 million from the Development Bank of Austria, reports Xinhua news agency. Click here to read... [9]

Myanmar

Suu Kyi’s party among dozens dissolved by Myanmar junta as election registration deadline passes

Military leaders in Myanmar have dissolved Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) and 39 other political parties over their failure to register for the next general election, according to junta-controlled media reports on March 28, 2023. The previous day, military chief Min Aung Hlaing said in an Armed Forces Day speech that an election would be held, although no date has been set. Myanmar has descended into chaos since a February 2021 coup when the military forcefully seized control from Suu Kyi’s then-ruling party. Click here to read... [10]

Post-coup Myanmar: New Zealand and the International Response - Asia Media Centre

When the military junta in Myanmar launched a coup in early 2021, it was met with global outrage and calls for action. But more than two years on, the junta is still in power - how have world leaders responded? And what role can New Zealand play? Stan Jagger has this analysis. Click here to read... [11]

Mizoram Three Myanmar nationals among 11 people arrested with heroin worth Rs 23 lakh - The Week

Eleven people, including three Myanmar nationals, were arrested in Mizoram with heroin worth over Rs 23 lakh in the last five days, officials said on Tuesday. The Excise and Narcotics Department seized 913.8 grams of heroin in raids at seven locations in Aizawl and Serchhip districts since Friday, they said. In Serchhip, 434 gram of heroin was seized in the anti-drugs raids. Seven locals were arrested, they said. Click here to read... [12]

Nepal

World Bank Approves $120 Million To Support Nepal’s Education Sector - India Education Diary

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved $120 million in financing to support the implementation of the Government of Nepal’s flagship School Education Sector Program. The School Sector Transformation Program operation builds on the Government of Nepal’s previous school education sector programs and puts a greater focus on quality learning by establishing a teacher mentoring system at the local government level and ensuring a full complement of subject teachers (English, Math, and Science) at upper-basic and secondary levels. Click here to read... [13]

Nepal: Ruling coalition reaches power-sharing deal, cabinet to be expanded today - The Statesman

After struggling for weeks to expand the Cabinet, the prime minister and top leaders of the major ruling coalition partners are now closing in on a power-sharing deal, The Kathmandu Post reported. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal will expand his Cabinet by Wednesday if not Tuesday, said sources at the prime minister’s secretariat. According to sources, Dahal is now for inducting ministers at least in key ministries, even if he fails to give the Cabinet a full shape. Click here to read... [14]

Pakistan

Pakistan Opts Out Of Democracy Summit In Washington – NDTV

Pakistan, the closest ally of China, has decided to skip the Democracy Summit that begins in Washington on Tuesday, opting instead to engage with the US bilaterally to strengthen democratic values, the Foreign Office here said. The virtual summit is co-sponsored by the US Department of State and USAID on the theme of "Global Declaration of Mayors for Democracy".Click here to read... [15]

No talks with Imran Khan unless he apologises to public: PM Shehbaz – Geo News

In a fiery address at the National Assembly on Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was of the clear opinion that talks between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan will only be possible if the former premier admits his "wrongdoings" and apologises to people for all the things he has said and done. Click here to read... [16]

Pakistan, China to join SCO security officials’ meeting on March 29 virtually – Hindustan Times

China’s minister of public security Wang Xiaohong, who holds the rank of state councillor, is expected to join the meeting virtually, the people said. Pakistan currently does not have an NSA and the country is expected to be represented virtually by a senior official from the security establishment, the people added. A statement from Russia’s Security Council said the organisation’s secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, will participate in the meeting of security officials in New Delhi that will be chaired by NSA Ajit Doval. Click here to read... [17]

After economic and political crisis, Pakistan hit by dissent in judiciary – CNBC TV18

Already hit by economic and political crises, Pakistan is reportedly witnessing a dissent in its judiciary. On Monday, two judges - Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail - challenged the chief justice’s power to form a bench or take suo motu notices. They even called for revisiting the power of the "one-man show" enjoyed by the chief justice. Click here to read... [18]

China could project military power from Pakistan's Gwadar port – The Economic Times

The most commonly cited motive has to do with energy security, that is, as insurance against a blockade of the Strait of Malacca, a crucial shipping route for importing petroleum and liquefied natural gas. Even though overland transit is still highly vulnerable to disruption and is cost-prohibitive, transporting oil overland from Gwadar through China's in the Xinjiang region would secure an alternative route against such contingencies. Click here to read... [19]

Sri Lanka

SL to sign deal with India to shift to renewable energy for power generation - Siasat

Sri Lankan Cabinet has given approval for a MoU on the cooperation in the field of renewable energy between the two countries, a Sri Lanka Cabinet spokesman said. “The government has declared generating 70 per cent of the electricity requirement by 2030 from renewable energy sources to become independent in power supply and for neutralising carbon emissions by 2050,” the spokesman added. Click here to read... [20]

Government will make Sri Lanka the region’s first green economy – Sunday Observer

Green economic policy will be implemented in the next two months, Sri Lanka will become the first country in the region to adopt a green economy, as the Environment Ministry, the Power and Energy Ministry and the Climate Change Office work together to introduce a green economic policy focused on renewable energy within the next two months, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said. President Wickremesinghe expressed his aim to place Sri Lanka at the forefront of a green economic policy, much like its success in tea exports. Click here to read... [21]

MR hints of an election before December – Daily News

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that he thinks that an election will be held before December this year. The former President, who visited the Narahenpita Abayaramaya yesterday was responding to a question from a journalist. Former President Rajapaksa said that his team was ready for whatever type of election which comes first. Rajapaksa said that political activities are carried out successfully and everyone will be united when the time comes for an election. Click here to read... [22]