Neighborhood News Digest – 05 December 2023

Afghanistan

The Vienna Conference: Amplifying Anti-Taliban Voices for Democracy- Hasht e Subh Daily

The Vienna Conference, organized by the Austrian Institute for International Affairs, is being held for the third time from December 3rd to 5th 2023 with the participation of over 40 political figures opposing the Taliban. At this conference, prominent figures such as Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta, national security advisor and former foreign minister of Afghanistan, some former cabinet ministers and ambassadors, political personalities, journalists, and members of civil society, including women, are in attendance. Click here to read... [2]

Japan provides $58.4 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan- The Khama Press

The Japanese Embassy in Kabul has announced that it has provided $58.4 million in humanitarian aid and essential assistance to those in need in Afghanistan. On Monday, the embassy said on its social media platform X that the country intends to provide additional assistance packages to Afghanistan. Click here to read... [3]

EU to aid in building and repairing 400 schools in Afghanistan-The Khama Press

The European Union, in its ongoing efforts to aid Afghanistan, will be supporting the reconstruction of 400 schools, as confirmed by EU Charge d’Affaires Rafaela Judicé. On Monday, Rafaela Judicé, the Charge d’Affaires of the European Union, announced during a meeting with Habibullah Agha, the Taliban acting Minister of Education, that the European Union will fund the reconstruction of 400 schools inside Afghanistan. Click here to read... [4]

Bangladesh

Equity funds from foreign investors dip - The Daily Star

Bangladesh received 41 percent lower equity capital from foreign investors in fiscal year (FY) 2022-23 compared to a year ago as it faces challenges in stabilising the exchange rate amid shortage of foreign currencies and managing its external accounts comfortably. Bangladesh received US$795 million in the FY2022-23, down from $1,346 million a year ago, according to a Bangladesh Bank (BB) report released on Sunday. Click here to read... [5]

Over $1bn in loans expected next week – The Daily Star

Bangladesh is expected to receive more than $1 billion in budget support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week, which could bring some relief to the nation's dwindling foreign currency reserves. A finance ministry official said a loan proposal of $400 million is likely to be placed at the ADB board meeting on December 12. On the same day, Bangladesh's proposal to get the second tranche of the IMF's $4.7 billion loan, amounting to around $681 million, will also be placed at an IMF board meeting, the official said. Click here to read... [6]

Political Violence: Charges framed against Rizvi, Aman, 43 others – The Daily Star

A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against 45 leaders and activists of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami and their front organisations in a case filed over political violence in the capital in 2015. BNP leaders Aman Ullah Aman, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Barkat Ullah Bulu, Ruhul Kuddus Talukder Dulu and Jubo Dal's former president Saiful Alam Nirob are among the accused. Click here to read... [7]

Bhutan

Carbon negative countries place their demands – Kuensel

Dubai, UAE—Bhutan, Panama, and Suriname, the first carbon-negative countries globally, advocate for climate finance, emissions reduction, and increased international co-operation to achieve sustainable development goals. The session titled “Lessons from Carbon Negative Countries: Keeping the Ambition Alive” on December 2 at the Bhutan Pavilion in the ongoing 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) discussed the achievements of Bhutan, Panama and Suriname as the pioneers in carbon negativity, setting a path for others to follow. Click here to read... [8]

ADB to Support Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment in Bhutan and Nepal – Kuensel

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has initiated a new program to facilitate the evaluation and management of climate and disaster risks in the Hindu Kush Himalaya regions of Bhutan and Nepal. According to ADB’s news release, the program aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis of multi-hazard risks, encompassing landslides, earthquakes, floods, and glacier lake outbursts. Click here to read... [9]

Maldives

India pushes to maintain military presence in the Maldives- Bloomberg

India is pressing to keep its troops and military equipment in the Maldives, a strategically important island nation. The two countries have set up a committee to discuss India’s deployment in the archipelago. A press release from the Maldivian president’s office, on December 3 stated, an agreement has already been reached to remove 77 Indian troops, Indian Ministry of External Affairs declined is yet to make an official statement on the issue. In the Maldives, India operates and maintains radars, helicopters and aircraft, some of which are used for medical evacuations. The Indian Navy also patrols surrounding waters. Click here to read... [10]

Chances of reclaiming lost maritime territory has improved, Maldives must initiate talks- Sun Online International

Jumhoory Party (JP)’s leader Qasim Ibrahim urged the Maldivian government to initiate talks with the United Kingdom as soon as possible on Monday, stating that the chances of Maldives reclaiming the maritime territory it lost to Mauritius has improved, after Britian reportedly scrapped plans to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius. Click here to read... [11]

Myanmar

Manipur news: Fresh violence leaves 13 dead in gunfight near Myanmar border - Live Mint

Manipur witnessed fresh violence in a series of violent incidences that has gripped the state since May, 2023. According to media reports citing officials, 13 people were killed in a gunfight between two groups of militants in Manipur's Tengnoupal district. The incident took place at Leithu village on Monday afternoon, PTI reported. Click here to read... [12]

Myanmar junta leader says armed organisations must solve their problems 'politically' - state media - Reuters

Myanmar's junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has called on armed ethnic groups involved in an offensive against the country's ruling military to solve their problems "politically", state media reported on Tuesday. "(He) warned that if armed organisations keep on being foolish, residents of the relevant regions will suffer bad impacts. So, it is necessary to consider the lives of the people, and those organisations need to solve their problems politically," the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported. Click here to read... [13]

No, China Is Not Intervening in Myanmar’s Civil War - The Diplomat

Affected by the conflict, a large number of refugees are flocking to Yunnan’s border. This situation has resulted in increased living costs and poses high risks to the social stability of local regions of Yunnan. Additionally, it should not be forgotten that four Chinese citizens were killed in air strikes during the Myanmar military’s fighting with the MNDAA in 2015. Therefore, China must closely monitor the ongoing fight in northern Myanmar and take preventive actions to avoid air strikes and minimize the risk of Chinese casualties. Click here to read... [14]

Nepal

If secularism collapses, the republic too will: Nepal PM - Indian Express

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda today said that all kinds of pressure — external and internal — to have Nepal’s old status of Hindu Kingdom restored must be defeated and the government is not going to budge on the secular state of the country. Talking to the media in his office, the PM said that if “secularism collapses, the republic will meet the same fate.” Click here to read... [15]

Nepal Urges Russia Not To Recruit Its Citizens Into Army After 6 Killed - NDTV

Nepal said it has asked Moscow not to recruit its citizens into the Russian army and immediately send back any Nepali soldier commissioned there back to the Himalayan nation after revealing six soldiers serving Russia's military had been killed. Click here to read... [16]

Nepal starts repair of border pillars along the border with India - The Print

Nepal on Monday began the repair work of 317 border pillars in the Jhapa district of Koshi province along the border with India. A technical team from the Armed Police Force, Bhadrapur-2, launched the drive by repairing the reference border pillar (No 91/1) under the permanent border pillar (No 55) at Satighatta of Mechinagar Municipality-7, local media reports said. Click here to read... [17]

Pakistan

Who is Sajid Mir, 26/11 Mumbai Attacks conspirator reported to be poisoned inside Pakistan jail – Firstpost

One of the main conspirators of the dastardly 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Sajid Mir, who was lodged in the Central Jail of Dera Ghazi Khan in Pakistan has been poisoned, according to unconfirmed reports. A few months back Mir was shifted from Lahore Central Jail. Click here to read... [18]

Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode, nephew of Bhindranwale, dies in Pakistan – India Today

Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode, nephew of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, died in Pakistan on December 2, sources said. Rode reportedly suffered a heart attack. Sources also said Rode's last rites were secretly performed in Pakistan following Sikh customs and traditions. Click here to read... [19]

Pakistan: Imran Khan, former foreign minister Qureshi to be indicted in cipher case again on December 12 – The Telegraph Online

A special court in Pakistan on Monday ruled that jailed former prime minister Imran Khan and his close aide ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi would be indicted again on December 12 in the cipher case for allegedly leaking state secrets and violating the laws of the country. Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqernain heard the case in the Adiala Jail Rawalpindi where the two leaders have been incarcerated in the case. Click here to read... [20]

Commodities being imported by TCP: Govt decides to change payment mechanism – Business Recorder

The federal government has decided to change payment mechanism of commodities being imported by Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) mainly urea, sugar and wheat as the stock of current circular debt has reached over Rs 259 billion with $ 0.6 million payables to banks as interest. This was revealed at a meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Commerce, which met with Senator Zeeshan Khanzada in the chair on Monday. Click here to read... [21]

Sri Lanka

SL needs US $ 1.4tn additional investment to realise SDGs by 2030: IPS study – Daily Mirror Online

As efforts are underway to fulfil the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Sri Lanka will need an estimated additional investment of approximately US $ 1.4 trillion or 12.5 percent of GDP, by 2030, the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) said. A study on ‘Public Investment for Closing the SDG Financing Gap: Sri Lankan Perspective’ asserted that renewed efforts are needed to secure the additional funds. On average, Sri Lanka’s public investment is around 5-7 percent of GDP over the last decade. Hence, the allocation of additional funds for the SDGs is challenging. Click here to read... [22]

November records highest tourist arrivals since pandemic outbreak – Daily Mirror Online

November has recorded the highest tourist arrivals for the year so far, bringing in a total of 151,496 international visitors. However, despite much confidence of the tourism authorities, the monthly target was missed by 25 percent. For the first time since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic (March 2020), the island nation crossed the 150,000 tourist arrival mark. While the authorities projected an influx of 204,114, only 75 percent of the target was realised. The tourist arrival target set for November 2023 was 204,114. The daily arrival average too reached a new milestone, crossing the 5,000 mark. Click here to read... [23]