Neighborhood News Digest – 13 September 2023

Afghanistan

'Afghanistan headed for civil war with Taliban splitting into...:' Ex-commander – India Today

Two years after the US forces abruptly left Kabul, Afghanistan is headed towards a civil war, the Taliban is now riddled with factionalism, and the country is fast becoming a safe haven for foreign terrorists, a former Afghan commander has said.Click here to read… [2]

‘We continue to monitor developments related to human rights in Afghanistan’: India – The Print

India on Tuesday said that it continues to monitor developments related to human rights, including those of women and girls, in Afghanistan and has “abiding stakes” in return for peace and stability in the country.Click here to read… [3]

Bangladesh

Bangladesh at the G-20 Summit: Strengthening its Relations with Key Global Players – Modern Diplomacy

The participation of Bangladesh at the G-20 summit has attracted considerable interest from the global powers. Bangladesh, situated in South Asia, has emerged as an economic powerhouse and has membership in several regional and international organizations.Click here to read… [4]

Bhutan

ISRO Conducts 5-day Remote Sensing Training For 35 Bhutan Officials In Thimphu – Republic World

In a significant step towards strengthening bilateral ties and enhancing technological cooperation between India and Bhutan, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is currently conducting a comprehensive training program on remote sensing technology for Bhutanese officials. The training, which began on September 10, 2023, is being organised in Thimphu, Bhutan, and is set to last for five days.Click here to read… [5]

Maldives

Maldives participates in the 54th session of UNHRC – Raajje

The government of Maldives is participating in the 54th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The 54th Session of the UNHRC commenced in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday. It will proceed through October 13 and the delegation from Maldives will be delivering national statements under several agenda items, in accordance with the government’s key policies and priorities.Click here to read… [6]

Myanmar

Myanmar Will Start Accepting Russian ‘Peace’ Bank Cards Next Month – The Irrawaddy

Myanmar will begin accepting cards from the Russian Mir payment system in October, according to Kan Zaw, the junta’s minister of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations said on Monday. He made the comment to reporters on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, Russia on the first day of the three-day forum.Click here to read… [7]

Cash-Starved Junta Milks Myanmar Migrant Workers With New Remittance Rule – The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s cash-strapped regime is now demanding that expatriate workers remit at least 25 percent of their foreign currency income back home through the country’s banking system. CB Bank, one of the country’s largest private banks, recently told migrant workers they must remit a quarter of their salaries either monthly or every three months through official channels.Click here to read… [8]

Nepal

US job promise turns nightmare for many. Nepali agent arrested – The Kathmandu Post

There are 19 people seated in black chairs in a small hall on the first floor of the Babarmahal-based Anti Human Trafficking Bureau. Three are women and the rest are men, as they sit there with their pale faces. They all have had their dream of going to their dream country, the United States, dashed. They lost a lot of money in the process, a sum they could never expect to earn back by working in Nepal.Click here to read… [9]

Pakistan

Nawaz to return to Pakistan on Oct 21: Shehbaz – Dawn

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif is set to return to Pakistan on October 21, ending his four-year exile in the UK, his brother and party president Shehbaz Sharif confirmed on Tuesday. A statement by Shehbaz, shared by PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb on social media platform X, said that the party founder would be given a grand welcome upon return.Click here to read… [10]

‘This is my objection’: Bilawal bemoans lack of ‘level-playing field’ for political parties – Dawn

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday decried the “absence of a level-playing field” in the current political landscape of the country, saying he had an “objection” to alleged inequality faced by political stakeholders as the country was heading towards elections.Click here to read… [11]

Sri Lanka

Gazette issued declaring railway services as essential service – Daily Mirror

President Ranil Wickremesinghe issued a gazzate notification declaring railway services as essential service with immediate effect under the Essential Public Service Act, President's Media Division (PMD) said.Click here to read… [12]