Neighborhood News Digest – 06 October 2023

Afghanistan

80 Countries Condemn Diktats Against Women In Afghanistan: Report – NDTV

Around 80 countries condemned the diktats issued by the Taliban on Afghan women putting restrictions on them since the group returned to power in 2021 and urged them to reverse the orders passed by them. Amid the deteriorating conditions of Afghan women, eighty countries in a joint statement delivered to the UNGA 78th meeting expressed their concerns over the violation of women and girls' rights in Afghanistan, reported TOLO News.Click here to read… [2]

Afghanistan's Taliban needs to meet its commitments to get legitimacy: White House – The Telegraph Online

Two days after a Taliban-appointed Afghanistan minister reiterated that ’men and women are not equal’ based on Sharia, the White House has said, the Taliban needs to meet its commitments to get legitimacy from the international community.Click here to read… [3]

Pakistan bans export of 212 items to Afghanistan after imposing import fees – Business Standard

Pakistan's Ministry of Commerce has banned the export of 212 items to Afghanistan, ARY News reported on Thursday. The country has put a ban on the export of 17 types of clothes, all types of vehicle tires, tea leaves, cosmetics and dozens of toiletries. Similarly, nuts, dry and fresh fruits, home appliances including fridges, refrigerators, air conditioners, juicers, and mixer blenders have also been banned from being taken to Afghanistan.Click here to read… [4]

Bangladesh

Bangladesh receives first shipment of uranium fuel from Russia for its $12bn plant - WION News

Bangladesh received the first Russian shipment of uranium fuel for its $12.65 billion debut nuclear power plant on Thursday, making it the 33rd country in the world to produce nuclear power. The South Asian country is building the first of two nuclear power plants in collaboration with Russian state-owned atomic company Rosatom. Ninety per cent of the project is financed through a Russian loan repayable within 28 years with a 10-year grace period.Click here to read… [5]

Political imperative underlies India-Bangladesh move towards free trade - Money Control

India-Bangladesh relations cannot take off unless the two are able to conclude an agreement to their mutual satisfaction for the sharing of the waters of the Teesta. India and Bangladesh have set out on a major journey -- they have agreed to start the process which, if successfully completed, will lead to a free trade agreement. Significantly, this comes against the backdrop of a sharp drop in bilateral trade, from $18 billion in 2021-22 to $14 billion in 2022-23. Indeed, this is the right time to give trade a big leg up.Click here to read… [6]

High air pollution levels in Bangladesh despite international funding - Lancet

Bangladesh's air pollution situation has not shown any substantial improvement, despite receiving more than US$2 billion in funding between 2017 and 2021 to improve outdoor air quality, according to a report commissioned by Clean Air Fund, a UK-based organisation. The international development funders who provided funding for outdoor air quality improvement included Canada, South Korea, Japan International Cooperation Agency (Tokyo, Japan), Asian Development Bank (ADB; Manila, Philippines), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (Beijing, China), and the World Bank Group (Washington, DC, USA).Click here to read… [7]

Bhutan

Bhutan and World Bank launch PEFA report 2023 – Kuensel

Bhutan and the World Bank jointly launched the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Performance Assessment Report 2023 yesterday. The report consists of the public financial management (PFM) performance assessment, climate-responsive PFM performance assessment, and gender-responsive PFM performance assessment.Click here to read… [8]

Procedural lapses in withdrawal of Property Tax Bill raise concerns – Kuensel

The government’s decision to withdraw the Property Tax (Amendment) Bill of Bhutan 2022 from the ongoing National Assembly session violates the rules of procedure of the House, according to the Opposition Leader. The Bill was scheduled for introduction on October 2 according to the National Assembly’s agenda published on its website and distributed to the media.Click here to read… [9]

Maldives

Maldives President-Elect Calls for Respect for Sovereignty, India Stresses Cooperation on Security Challenges - The Wire

India would like to “collaborate closely” with Maldives to address regional challenges like transnational crimes and disaster relief, even as President-elect Mohamed Muizzu said that the major pressing issue that needs to be resolved after he takes over formally is relations with New Delhi.Click here to read… [10]

Myanmar

‘NUG, PDF Are Slaughtering the People’: Pro-Myanmar Junta Politicians, Journalist - The Irrawaddy

As part of a smear campaign against Myanmar’s anti-regime resistance movement, an ousted member of the former ruling party, the leader of an ethnic Rakhine party and a pro-junta journalist told Japanese lawmakers that “people were slaughtered” by resistance forces, including the country’s shadow government.Click here to read… [11]

The Border Consortium 2022 Annual Report [EN/MY] - Relief Web

This report covers the period January to December 2022 and outlines TBC’s progress based on the organisation’s Strategic Directions for Thailand and Myanmar 2020-22. TBC’s assistance reached over 460,000 men, women and children during 2022.- This included approximately 100,000 in Thailand (80,000 in refugee camps and 20,000 new arrivals outside of camps) and at least 360,000 internally displaced persons in southeastern Myanmar.Click here to read… [12]

Mizoram: Drugs worth Rs 34 crores seized in Aizawl, Myanmar national held- India Today

In yet another success in its crusade against smuggling activities, the Mizoram Police seized 11.6 kg of crystal methamphetamine with a market value of Rs 34 crore from a Myanmar national in Aizawl. As per reports, when an Aizawl District Special Branch (DSB) team examined a car at Zemabawk East, Aizawl, they found a significant quantity of crystal methamphetamine. Ropianga (37), a native of Myanmar and the son of Lalthanga, Khawmawi, Myanmar, was taken into custody. In addition to the Foreigners Act, a complaint has been filed against him, and an investigation is currently underway.Click here to read… [13]

Nepal

Nepal town imposes lockdown and beefs up security to prevent clashes between Hindus and Muslims – The Hindu

Despite quickly escalating tensions between Hindus and Muslims, the night passed peacefully after a lockdown was imposed and security heightened in a city in southwest Nepal, officials said. Trouble began in the regional hub city of Nepalgunj over the weekend after a Hindu boy posted a status about Muslims on social media. Muslims protested the status inside the region’s main government administrator’s office building, burned tires on the streets and blocked traffic.Click here to read… [14]

China vs India vs US: How Nepal PM’s diplomatic adventures square with domestic turmoil – The Indian Express

Over 29,000 government schools were shut for more than a week in Nepal as teachers went on a nationwide strike against a new law that brings schools under the management of local bodies. This will affect the education of half-a-million students. Around the same time, almost all the hospitals were shut down, providing only skeletal emergency services. Doctors were on the streets to protest the assault of doctors on duty and damage of property at the Pokhara-based Manipal Teaching Hospital following the death of a patient brought in in “critical condition”.Click here to read… [15]

Eight years after the Constitution, federalism in Nepal continues to have a bumpy ride – The Hindu

Koshi in the eastern region of Nepal is one of the seven provinces carved out after the country in 2015 adopted a new Constitution. The charter, which came amid strong protests by some sections of society, marked a watershed moment in Nepal’s history, as it entirely restructured the country. Nepal became a secular federal democratic republic, moving away from the constitutional monarchy and unitary form of governance.Click here to read… [16]

Pakistan

Weak rupee drives up external debt – Dawn

The central government’s debt, both within the country and to foreign entities, surged by nearly a third in the 12 months through August, reaching close to Rs64 trillion, State Bank of Pakistan data showed on Thursday. The 29 per cent increase in debt amounted to Rs14.4tr, as the figure stood at Rs49.57tr by the end of August 2022.Click here to read… [17]

Pakistan government says crackdown on illegal immigrants not aimed at any nationality – The Hindu

A day after the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan slammed Pakistan's decision to expel its undocumented nationals and termed it "unacceptable", Islamabad on Thursday clarified that its ongoing operation against illegal immigrants was not targeted against people of any particular nationality.Click here to read… [18]

India conveys concerns to U.S. over American envoy to Pakistan's visit to Gilgit-Baltistan – The Hindu

India on Thursday said it raised its concerns with the U.S. over American envoy to Islamabad Donald Blome's recent visit to Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and called on the world community to respect the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.Click here to read… [19]

Sri Lanka

China stalling IMF relief for debt grip Sri Lanka: Report - The Print

Sri Lanka’s is facing a big challenge from its largest bilateral lender, China to secure a concrete debt relief framework, as it is blocking access to desperately needed cash bailout of 3 billion US dollars’ from International Monetary fund, Nikkei Asia reported.Click here to read… [20]

Sri Lanka resumes rate cuts to boost growth as inflation ebbs - Reuters

Sri Lanka's central bank resumed interest rate cuts on Thursday to boost growth as the government seeks to lift revenue and repair its balance sheets in a bid to sustain financial support from the International Monetary Fund. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) lowered the standing deposit facility rate and the standing lending facility rate by 100 basis points each to 10% and 11%, respectively, it said in a statement. The cuts followed a decision at the last policy meeting in August to keep rates unchanged.Click here to read… [21]

India-China Tango Continues in Sri Lanka - The Diplomat

Sri Lanka has been caught in a tug of war between India and China. Most recently, a Chinese maritime research vessel, Shi Yan 6, was expected to enter Colombo for research in purposes, in collaboration with Sri Lanka’s National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA).Click here to read… [22]