Neighborhood News Digest – 23 November 2023

Afghanistan

Afghanistan returns 21 tankers of substandard oil to Iran – AA

Afghanistan on Wednesday returned 21 tankers of what it said was substandard oil imported from Iran. In a statement, the Afghanistan National Standards Authority (ANSA), the country's audit watchdog, said the tankers, which were transporting substandard oil, have been returned to Iran through the port of the Farah province. Click here to read… [2]

Thousands of Afghanistan-bound containers remain stranded at Karachi port – The Khaama Press

Afghan traders are facing delays as Pakistani officials have not yet allowed the release of goods stranded at the Karachi seaport, according to officials from the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce. During a recent visit by Afghanistan’s acting commerce minister to Pakistan, Pakistani officials agreed to release the goods; however, the promised implementation has yet to commence, stated Naqibullah Safi, the executive chief of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce. Click here to read… [3]

Ministers’ Council Meeting Led By Islamic Emirate Leader Held in Kandahar – Tolo News

A meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Islamic Emirate was held in Kandahar under the leadership of Mawlawi Hebatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Islamic Emirate. The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a statement that during the meeting, Mawlawi Hebatullah Akhundzada tasked the members of the political commission under the leadership of the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, to prepare internal and foreign policy procedures for the implementation of constructive policies. Click here to read… [4]

Bangladesh

Who Benefits From Street Politics in Bangladesh - The Diplomat

Conflict over a neutral election-time caretaker government between Bangladesh’s ruling party, the Awami League (AL), and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has turned violent. Both the ruling party and the opposition are taking a hard line, inspiring gloomy political prospects for both before and after the general election scheduled for January 7, 2024. Click here to read… [5]

Why Outcome Of A ‘Free And Fair’ Election In Bangladesh Could Spell Danger For The World - Swarajya Marg

Western nations — the United States, United Kingdom and Europe — have been demanding free, fair and participatory elections in Bangladesh over the past few months. These nations have been leaning heavily on the Sheikh Hasina government to accede to the Opposition’s demand and step down in favour of a neutral caretaker regime to conduct the forthcoming parliamentary elections in January next year. Click here to read… [6]

Customs officials, traders of India and Bangladesh hold meeting on border trade hours - Telegraph India

Customs officials of India and Bangladesh and traders of both countries on Wednesday attended a meeting to discuss how to implement the recently increased duration of international trade through the Mahadipur land port of Malda district. Officials of the border protection forces of both countries were also present at the meeting that was held for around three hours at the Border Security Force (BSF) office at Mahadipur. Click here to read… [7]

Bhutan

Parties exploit surging popularity of social media – Kuensel

One of the distinctive features of this election race is the spotlight on social media influencing voters and garnering support for the parties. It’s not just about WeChat, Facebook, or Messenger anymore; the real game-changers now are obviously TikTok and Telegram. Click here to read… [8]

Govt.’s Nu 5B bond offer could push domestic debt to Nu 31.1B – Kuensel

With the government offering a two-year Nu 5 billion bond, the country’s domestic debt is expected to rise to Nu 31.1 billion from Nu 26.1 billion as of September this year. The domestic debt consists of treasury bill stock of Nu 7.3 billion and government bonds of Nu 18.8 billion, which represents 12.9 percent of the estimated gross domestic product (GDP) or 9.6 percent of the total debt. Click here to read… [9]

Airline companies reduce airfare for SAARC member countries – Kuensel

What could be welcomed among the SAARC member countries, the national airline, Druk Air, has announced a reduction in airfares for SAARC countries wanting to visit Bhutan. Druk Air has a three-tier fare system, one for Bhutanese, one for SAARC nationals and one for the rest of the passengers. Druk Air Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tandi Wangchuk, said that before the Covid-19 pandemic, the airline aimed at transitioning to a single fare system, enabling a seamless move to a global distribution platform and the introduction of a dynamic pricing system. Click here to read… [10]

Bhutan Built A Bitcoin Mine On The Site Of Its Failed ‘Education City’ – Forbes

Dozens of shipping containers lie hidden behind a hillside south of Thimphu, the Himalayan capital of Bhutan, one of the world’s most isolated nations. Inside, millions of dollars of bitcoin mining machines work unceasingly to amass the valuable currency that now fascinates the country’s monarch — and his kingdom. Under the reign of Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the “Dragon King,” Bhutan has been quietly transformed into a crypto Shangri-La with its government dedicating land, funding and energy to operations like these, which it hopes will avert a looming economic crisis. Click here to read… [11]

Maldives

President appoints Special Envoy for Climate Change, 11 new state ministers- Sun Online

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has appointed Ali Shareef as the Special Envoy for Climate Change, and state ministers to several government ministries. They were presented with their letters of appointment in a ceremony held at the President’s office on November 22, afternoon. Click here to read… [12]

Pres. Muizzu commits to bring a new era of Maldives-UAE bilateral relations- Raajje

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has expressed the administration's commitment to forge a new era in bilateral relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). President Dr. Muizzu made this declaration during his address at the official reception held at Hotel Jen, commemorating the 52nd Union Day of the UAE, on November 21. Taking the podium at the event, President Dr. Muizzu stated that the world has seen the incredible feats accomplished through unity among people with a shared vision, since the unification of the Emiratis 52 years ago. He went on to say that the UAE has undergone a great deal of change and that this historic occasion is a chance to respect and applaud the UAE for its achievements. Click here to read… [13]

Myanmar

India Issues Urgent Myanmar Travel Advisory Amidst Border Unrest - North East Today

In response to the precarious situation in Myanmar, India has taken a significant step by issuing a travel advisory on Tuesday that strongly discourages its citizens from undertaking non-essential travel to the neighbouring country. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) underscored concerns over the escalating security situation, particularly highlighting violence in proximity to the India-Myanmar border, as reported. Click here to read… [14]

PetroChina takes over 100 service stations near India-Myanmar border - Petro Plaza

PetroChina has moved forward with the takeover of several service stations located near the Myanmar-India border. The state-owned petroleum company has acquired 119 locations in Myanmar amidst tension rising due to the company being targeted by the local guerrilla. Click here to read… [15]

Myanmar Junta's Airstrikes Have Taken 320 Civilian Lives in 9 Months: Report - The Wire

As many as 320 civilians and 108 volunteers of the public defence force resisting the Myanmar coup have lost their lives in air strikes carried out by the junta between October 2022 and June 2023, said the report of a study. The report, put together by Burma Affairs and Conflict Study based on publicly accessible information including news reports, said that in the nine month period, as many as 395 air strikes were conducted by the Military Council. Click here to read… [16]

Nepal

Earthquake of magnitude 4.5 jolts Nepal, no casualties - India Today

A 4.5 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal early on Thursday, as reported by the Nepal Seismological Centre. The epicentre was at Chitlang in Makwanpur district. Recorded at 1:20 am local time, no casualties have been reported. This comes as Nepal is still recovering from a 6.4 magnitude earthquake on November 3, resulting in significant loss of life and property. Click here to read… [17]

Prohibitory orders issued in parts of Nepal capital ahead of protests Indian Express

Members of the Youth Force, a militant youth wing of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), chased away women activists of a rival organisation on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday around midnight, fuelling fears that a scheduled protest by the two groups may lead to large scale violence. Click here to read… [18]

Dengue epidemic in Nepal, country witnessing surge in Dengue infections - Wion News

The Dengue epidemic in Nepal - it's surging, more than 50,000 people have been infected so far this year. At least 20 people have died from the infection till now, the infection has reached all the 77 districts in the country. Click here to read… [19]

Pakistan

Govt to send back a million ‘illegal aliens’ by Jan 2024, says minister – Dawn

Balochistan caretaker Minister for Inf­ormation Jan Acahakzai has said that the second phase of repatriation of Afg­han refugees has begun and in this phase over 2,000 illegal immigrants have been sent back to Afghanis­tan through the Chaman border, after their arrest. Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, the information minister said that law-enforcement agencies have now launched a crackdown, arresting all illegal foreigners staying in the country, including Afghan refugees. Click here to read… [20]

Pakistan applies for BRICS membership; seeks Russia's support – Hindustan Times

Pakistan has applied for membership in the BRICS grouping and sought Russia's support, the country's envoy to Moscow Muhammad Khalid Jamali has said. Pakistan has filed an application to join the BRICS group of nations in 2024 and is counting on Russia’s assistance during the membership process, Russia's official TASS news agency quoted Jamali as saying on Wednesday. Click here to read… [21]

PM to plead ‘worst-hit’ Pakistan’s case at COP28 – Dawn

Care­ta­ker Prime Minister Anw­a­arul Haq Kakar will plead Pakistan’s case as one of the worst affected countries by the impact of climate change at a key session of the upcoming 28th Conference of Parties (COP-28) scheduled to be held in the United Arab Emirates on Dec 1-2. “Despite its less than one per cent imprints on the global climate change factors, Pakistan is amon­gst the countries hugely affected by these chan­ges,” the prime minister said while presiding over an inter-provincial review meeting on Wednesday. Click here to read… [22]

Pakistan’s SC accepts jailed former premier Imran Khan’s bail plea; issues notices to FIA, federation – The Print

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted for hearing the bail plea of jailed former premier Imran Khan in the cipher case and issued notices to the Federation and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), seeking their responses in the matter. In March 2022, Khan and his foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were alleged to have violated the secret laws of the country while handling a communication (cipher) sent by Pakistan’s embassy in Washington. The diplomatic cable reportedly went missing from Khan’s possession. Click here to read… [23]

UN calls on Pakistan to halt Afghan exodus during winter – Firstpost

The U.N. refugee agency urged Pakistan on Wednesday to stop deporting undocumented Afghan refugees during the harsh winter months, while authorities kept searching homes and evicting Afghanis who had not yet fled behind. In the midst of a dispute with Kabul over accusations that it harbours militants hostile to Pakistan, Islamabad declared last month that it would deport over a million undocumented refugees, the majority of whom were Afghans. Click here to read… [24]

Sri Lanka

India-Sri Lanka ties on firm footing, says Wickremsinghe- First Post

Admitting that Sri Lanka may become a battleground in the geopolitical power struggle between India and China, President Ranil Wickremsinghe, during an exclusive interview with Network 18, assured that his country will not endanger the security of its South Asian neighbour. The issue of Chinese ‘spy ships’ visiting ports in Sri Lanka in the recent past had aroused security concerns in India. Wickremsinghe however, asserted that it will not have any negative effect on bilateral ties. Click here to read… [25]

Sri Lanka expects IMF board approval on $2.9 billion bailout's first review next Month- The Times of India

Sri Lanka expects the IMF executive board to approve the first review of its $2.9 billion bailout by December 6, the country’s treasury secretary said. The approval would unlock $ 330 million in funding from the bailout, Mahinda Siriwardana said at a post-budget discussion on November 20. Click here to read… [26]

Sri Lanka's Energy Sector to get a new law? -News First

The Sri Lankan government is preparing to introduce a new legislation that would establish independent corporate entities responsible for activities related to electricity generation, transmission, distribution, trade, supply, and procurement, already performed by the Ceylon Electricity Board. The draft bill received the green light from the cabinet recently, and it will be presented to parliament in the near future. The bill aims to establish independent corporate entities responsible for activities related to electricity generation, transmission, distribution, trade, supply, and procurement, already performed by the Ceylon Electricity Board. Click here to read… [27]