Neighborhood News Digest – 30 October 2023

Afghanistan

Uzbekistan economic delegation arrives in Afghanistan – The Khaama Press

The government’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce has announced that a 45-member economic delegation from Uzbekistan has officially arrived in Afghanistan on a diplomatic visit. Abdul Salam Jawad, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, has announced that this delegation, led by Jamshid Khojaev, the Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, arrived in Kabul on Sunday morning. Click here to read… [2]

Muttaqi Meets With Diplomats of Islamic Emirate in Turkey – Tolo News

The acting Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, met with the diplomats of the Islamic Emirate in Turkey and urged them to perform their duties and provide services to the Afghans based in Turkey without any discrimination, the spokesman for MoFA said on X. Click here to read… [3]

Repair of Third Part of Salang Highway Begins: MoPW – Tolo News

The Ministry of Public Works announced the start of reconstruction work on the third part of the northern Salang highway. According to the ministry, the road is more than 21 kilometers long and seven meters wide, with reconstruction work handed over to two private companies. Click here to read… [4]

Bangladesh

Main opposition leader sent to jail days after anti-government rally; BNP calls for 3-day blockade - Devi Discourse

Bangladesh leading opposition leader was sent to jail after being detained in a case filed over an attack on the Chief Justice's home allegedly by activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Dhaka Tribune reported. This comes amidst tensions between the ruling party and the opposition parties ahead of general elections that are due in January 2024. The Opposition are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh's founding leader, arguing she cannot be trusted to hold free and fair elections after being in office for more than 15 years. Click here to read… [5]

Bangladesh enters new era of transportation with Chinese-built 1st underwater tunnel - People’s Daily Online

A Chinese-built underwater tunnel, the first in Bangladesh and South Asia, was inaugurated on Saturday as Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid the first toll and went through the tunnel. Hasina and Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen also attended the inauguration ceremony of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel. The much-awaited tunnel, some 242 km southeast of the capital Dhaka, was built with joint funding from the governments of Bangladesh and China, and was constructed by China Communications Construction Company Ltd. Click here to read… [6]

ADB provides 106 mn for water management, agricultural productivity in Bangladesh - Daiji World

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Bangladesh government on Sunday signed a loan agreement for 106 million US dollars to improve water resources management and agricultural productivity in the South Asian country. An agreement for a grant of 17.80 million US dollars from the government of the Netherlands was also signed, Xinhua news agency reported. Click here to read… [7]

Bhutan

More small hydropower projects begin – Kuensel

The second phase of the small hydropower project construction began with the salhang tendrel for the 4.5km access road to Druk Bindu I and II powerhouses yesterday. The Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC) has also awarded the road infrastructure contract for the Jomori in Samdrupjongkhar.
Click here to read… [8]

Historic Bhutan-India Railway Link Closer to Reality – The Bhutan Live

In a significant development, the Government of India has earmarked a staggering INR 12 billion for the extensive expansion and modernization of railway infrastructure in the northeastern region of the country. This investment serves as a timely boost for the eagerly awaited first-ever Bhutan-India railway link. Click here to read… [9]

Maldives

Maldives incoming president says talks started with India on troop removal - Reuters

With the results of 2023 parliamentary elections in Maldives tilting towards the favour of Muizzu has extends the tug-of-war between China and India for influence over the Indian Ocean. Successive governments have tilted either toward India or China. Both Asian powerhouses have invested heavily in upgrading Maldives infrastructure and extended loans, as they compete with each other. Muizzu stated in an interview, that the negotiations with the Indian government on removing its military presence had already begun, calling those talks “very successful already.” Click here to read… [10]

Ex-pres Yameen's house arrest conditions relaxed, now free to move in Male' City- Avas

The former president, Yameen, was sentenced to 11 years in jail on a money laundering and bribery conviction in relation to the MMPRC graft. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, on October 1, changed Yameen to house arrest following his defeat in the presidential election at the request of President-elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. Click here to read… [11]

Myanmar

Ethnic Alliance Report Rapid Gains From Myanmar Junta Along Chinese Border - The Irrawaddy

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) say they have seized over 12 strongholds held by Myanmar’s junta and its allied militias in northern Shan State. “Operation 1027” by the two groups, which together with the Arakan Army form the Brotherhood Alliance, has included simultaneous attacks on regime targets since Friday. Click here to read… [12]

Myanmar army seeks to restore order as rebel alliance launches surprise attacks - Deccan Herald

Myanmar's ruling military on Friday said it was seeking to restore order near the border with China after an alliance of ethnic minority armies launched a series of surprise coordinated attacks on junta targets. Click here to read… [13]

Rebel groups launch attacks against military junta - Wion News

Three ethnic rebel groups in Myanmar on Friday (Oct 27) launched coordinated attacks against the military across the country's north, posing a fresh challenge to the junta as it struggles to quell resistance to its rule. Click here to read… [14]

Nepal

UN chief meets Nepalese PM - Tribune India

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday called on Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' after arriving here on first official visit to the Himalayan nation. Guterres also held separate meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Purna Bahadur Khadka and Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud. In a post on X, Nepal's Prime Minister's office said a meeting was held between PM Prachanda and UN chief Guterres, who is here on an official visit to Nepal at the friendly invitation of the prime minister. Click here to read… [15]

More attention at COP28 urged for ‘vulnerable’ mountain range spanning Nepal, China, India - SCMP

There are an estimated 54,000 glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, and they are melting at an unprecedented rate. Glaciers in the region could lose up to 80 per cent of their current volume by 2100 as temperatures rise significantly, a June report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) warned. Click here to read… [16]

The BRI Has Failed in Nepal: Prime Minister Dahal’s Visit Confirms It - The Diplomat

On September 30, Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also called “Prachanda,” flew back to Kathmandu after concluding an eight-day visit to China. At the Tribhuvan International Airport, Dahal answered questions about his visit, and Nepali officials released a 40-point press note. Conspicuously missing from both was any mention of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Furthermore, out of the 12 MoUs that Dahal returned with, none were signed under the framework of the BRI. Click here to read… [17]

Pakistan

Jahangir Tareen’s party goes into poll mode with conciliatory tone – Dawn

The Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) announced an ambitious manifesto focusing on economic and social reforms and struck a reconciliatory tone as it held its maiden public rally on Saturday. Addressing the rally in the Jahanian tehsil of Khanewal district, Jahangir Khan Tareen, once key PTI leader and now the IPP’s patron-in-chief, pointed out that he and some other party leaders were sidelined when PTI chief Imran Khan became the prime minister. Click here to read… [18]

Sharp rise in Afghans leaving Pakistan due to migrant crackdown: UN agencies – Hindustan Times

Pakistan earlier this month said it will arrest and deport undocumented or unregistered foreigners after Oct. 31. UN agencies have reported a sharp increase in Afghans returning home since Pakistan launched a crackdown on people living in the country illegally. They urged Pakistan to suspend the policy before it was too late to avoid a “human rights catastrophe.” Click here to read… [19]

Punjab govt to present Rs2.1tr budget for next four months, today – Dawn

The caretaker Punjab government is all set to present its second four-month budget of the ongoing financial year 2023-24 before the cabinet, led by Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, on Monday (today). Earlier in June, the caretaker government had presented its first four-month — July-October — budget to the tune of Rs1.72 trillion after having spent the remaining six months’ budget (Jan­uary-June 2023) approved by the previous PTI government for FY23. Click here to read… [20]

Will Pakistan trust Nawaz Sharif one more time? – The Statesman

Nawaz Sharif is back in Pakistan after spending four years in exile in London. In fact, he had taken the plea of ill health in November 2019 when he was in jail for corruption, claiming that his platelet count had dropped, and his health had become precarious. It has come out now that then Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had arranged false medical reports to facilitate his escape from Pakistan. Click here to read… [21]

Shelling by Pakistan triggers scare in Jammu’s Arnia – The Hindu

Uneasy calm and fear prevailed in villages near the zero line in the Arnia sector of Jammu after an eight-hour skirmish between Indian and Pakistani troops which left the 2021 ceasefire agreement hanging by a thread. A Border Security Force (BSF) spokesman said constable Basava Raj sustained minor injuries in the hands. “His condition is stable. There was no other loss. The damage to material is being ascertained,” the BSF said. Click here to read… [22]

Sri Lanka

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals has become extremely challenging for developing countries, including Sri Lanka – Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena - News.lk

In the current global context, achieving Sustainable Development Goals has become extremely challenging, especially for developing countries including Sri Lanka, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Hon. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said. The Hon. Speaker further pointed out that while the current world is facing unprecedented global challenges, the situation is heightened due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, the adverse impact of climate change, and rising conflicts that have created multiple impacts on the human community and the planet. Click here to read… [23]

2024 budget based on IMF proposals; new taxes in the offing: NPP – Daily Mirror

Claiming that the 2024 budget will be totally based on IMF proposals, NPP MP Vijitha Herath said today that the government is planning to impose new taxes such as Wealth Tax and Heritage Tax from January, 2024. Addressing the NPP Pathadumbara electoral convention, he said it was customary for the Finance Ministry Secretary to publish a newspaper advertisement calling for public proposals for the budget and that surprisingly, no such practice has been adopted this year. Click here to read… [24]

France to fund setting up of regional maritime safety and security school in SL – The Island

Sri Lanka and France recently discussed progress in the establishment of a regional maritime safety and security school in Sri Lanka as part of their shared desire to promote safety, security and sustainable development in the Indian Ocean. This issue was taken up at the inaugural bilateral consultations between Sri Lanka and France at a senior official level recently in Colombo. The consultations were part of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and France which took place on 27 October 1948, according to a joint communique issued following the meeting. Click here to read… [25]