Neighborhood News Digest – 13 December 2023

Afghanistan

Taliban Should Change Their Policy: Andisha - Tolo News

The permanent representative of Afghanistan to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Nasir Ahmad Andisha, on the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), emphasized the importance and support of women's education, work and participation in society. Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate commented on the need for a presence of the representative of the Islamic Emirate at such conferences. Click here to read... [2]

Afghanistan excluded from COP28 as climate impacts hit home – Dawn

Humanitarian concerns have been raised over Afghanistan being left out of United Nations climate negotiations for a third year in a row, as the country grapples with worsening drought and floods. Click here to read... [3]

Bangladesh

Boeing wants to sell planes to Bangladesh at lower prices - The Daily Star

The US wants to sell Boeing planes to Bangladesh at lower prices, said Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, as Bangladesh plans to buy planes from the European aviation giant Airbus. "The US made a proposal for buying aircraft from Boeing long ago, not before elections. They said if we buy Airbus aircraft, it may create problems. Also, Boeing then said it can provide us with aircraft at lower prices. This is good," he told journalists at the foreign ministry yesterday. Click here to read... [4]

IMF approves $681m in 2nd tranche of loans – The Daily Star

The IMF board yesterday approved the second instalment of $681 million for Bangladesh, putting to bed the uncertainty surrounding the loan tranche given that the country failed to meet two of the conditions needed for its release. The development, which was confirmed to The Daily Star by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, will go some way towards easing the jitters surrounding the Bangladesh economy in the face of depleting foreign currency reserves and elevated inflation. Click here to read... [5]

Land policies in West Bengal slowing Indo-Bangladesh border fencing work: Centre to SC – The Hindu

The Centre in the Supreme Court on Tuesday blamed the policies followed by the West Bengal government for creating a hurdle in the timely completion of fencing the Indo-Bangladesh border to prevent infiltrators and illegal immigrants from entering the country. Appearing before a Constitution Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, said the “far slower and more complex” land acquisition policies in West Bengal had been a thorn in the side of even a vital national security project such as border-fencing. Click here to read... [6]

Bhutan

Bhutan to graduate from LDC category today – The Bhutan Live

Bhutan is set to mark its official exit from the United Nations category of Least Developed Countries or LDCs today. The country will become the only seventh nation to graduate from LDCs set up by the UN in 1971. According to UN reports, Bhutan has successfully met the LDCs graduation criteria in two UN reviews of 2015 and 2018, following which Bhutan was scheduled to graduate on 13th December 2023. Click here to read... [7]

Thousands of postal ballots rejected in recent primary – Kuensel

Approximately 8,900 postal ballots were declared invalid or not counted out of the total 126,360 postal ballots dispatched for the recent primary round of National Assembly elections in Bhutan. The Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) designated 25 percent of the total eligible voters as postal voters, with 126,360 eligible voters registered for postal voting. This included 124,273 in-country and 2,087 overseas postal voters. However, only 117,443 postal ballots were counted across 47 constituencies during the primary round of elections. Click here to read... [8]

Maldives

Pres Dr. Muizzu announces decision to establish the Maldives Embassy in Ankara- Avas

On Human Rights Day, December 10, 2023, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Declaration, a milestone celebration called Human Rights 75 (HR 75), in Geneva. Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef, represented the Maldives Government and made 5 pledges on, December 11, at the Pledging Tree session of the 'Human Rights 75' summit. The pledge included, positive efforts towards the domestic normative framework, constructively engaging with human rights mechanisms, Women participation, Climate Resilience, and Child Protection. Click here to read... [9]

Pres. Muizzu calls to boost cooperation for a more interconnected South Asia- Raajje

President Muizzu sent a message to the Secretary-General, the Secretariat, and all institutions affiliated with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the people of the South Asian region on the occasion of the 39th SAARC Charter Day, December 8. He expressed an inclination towards increased cooperation to develop a more interconnected and resilient South Asia. President Muizzu called upon renewed commitment to the principles of the SAARC Charter. Click here to read... [10]

Myanmar

Shan Fighting Continues Despite China’s Talks with Myanmar Junta - The Irrawaddy

Clashes continue across northern Shan and Rakhine states amid China-brokered peace talks between Myanmar’s regime and the Brotherhood Alliance. The regime’s spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun said the junta’s National Solidarity and Peacemaking Negotiation Committee had met representatives of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Arakan Army (AA), which form the Brotherhood Alliance. Click here to read... [11]

US Red-Faced as Contractor Lists Myanmar Resistance Groups in Terrorism Index - The Irrawaddy

The inclusion of Myanmar’s anti-regime ethnic armed groups and resistance forces in a terrorism report prepared by a US State Department contractor has attracted condemnation from security experts and the Myanmar community in the US while putting the US government in an awkward position. The Annex of Statistical Information 2022, which is attached to the department’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2022 was made public on Nov. 30, 2023. The State Department’s Reports on Terrorism itself makes no mention of Myanmar or the resistance groups. Click here to read... [12]

Myanmar Junta’s Losses Not Confined to Battlefield: NUG Foreign Minister - The Irrawaddy

The success of the ongoing anti-regime resistance offensives against the Myanmar junta’s military has made headlines, but according to Daw Zin Mar Aung, foreign minister of the civilian National Unity Government (NUG), this has yet to translate into an increase in international engagement with the anti-regime movement, particularly among Myanmar’s neighbors. In the following interview with The Irrawaddy, she discusses the NUG’s cooperation with ethnic armed organizations, her government’s diplomatic efforts to isolate the junta and starve it of funds, the need to fill political vacuums in areas where the junta has been uprooted, and how an increase in foreign support could end the suffering of Myanmar’s people more quickly. Click here to read... [13]

Nepal

Indian Embassy hosts seminar on DPI with emphasis on Indo-Nepal digital connectivity - ANI News

Indian Embassy in Kathmandu organized a seminar on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) on Tuesday evening with an aim of driving innovation in the digital economy, with a special emphasis on India-Nepal Digital Connectivity. Click here to read... [14]

Nepal’s Earthquake Survivors Need Relief Aid to Survive Winter – HRW

More than a month after an earthquake struck Nepal’s remote Karnali province, people are dying in the cold because the government has failed to meet the basic needs of survivors. Tens of thousands of families are still sheltering under tents and thin tarpaulins as winter sets in. Click here to read... [15]

Min: Centre seeks details for high dams on Nepal border - Times of India

Union home minister Amit Shah has asked the Bihar government to furnish the details regarding the construction of high dams along the Indo-Nepal border so that the matter could be pursued at appropriate national and international forums, state’s water resources minister Sanjay Kumar Jha said. Click here to read... [16]

Pakistan

IMF review: MoF takes step towards ensuring desired outcome – Business Recorder

Ministry of finance (MoF) has asked all Ministries/ Divisions and entities to meet commitments made with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) within the stipulated time to ensure successful completion of the review, as well as the overall programme, well informed sources told Business Recorder. Click here to read... [17]

Nawaz gets clean slate after final acquittal – Dawn

The conviction of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Al-Azizia case — one of the three refe­ren­ces instituted against him in light of the Panama Papers — was dec­lared void on Tue­sday, as the Islamabad High Court acq­­u­i­tted him despite a National Accou­n­tability Bureau (NAB) request for a re-trial. Following the reversal of his conviction in the Al-Azizia and Avenfield cases, legal experts believe that the PML-N supreme leader may also become eligible to contest polls and hold public office. Click here to read... [18]

23 Killed In Suicide Bombing Attack At Pakistan Army Base: Report – NDTV

At least 23 people were killed in a suicide bombing at a Pakistan army base on Tuesday, an official said, in an attack claimed by militants affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban. The early-morning attack targeted a base in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghan border, according to a local official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Click here to read... [19]

Sri Lanka

IMF wants SL to finalize deals with creditors ahead second review in June – Daily Mirror Online

Sri Lanka needs to enter into agreements with its official and private creditors before the second review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which is expected to be concluded by the end of the first half of next year, IMF Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka, Peter Breuer said. He said the agreements that have been entered with creditors in-principle need to be converted into real agreements before the second review. Click here to read... [20]

Indian company bags contract to build hybrid recycled power plants in Sri Lankan islets – The Economic Times

An Indian company has bagged the contract to build hybrid recycled power plants in three islets of Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna district, a senior minister said here on Tuesday. The decision to award the contract to U Solar Clean Energy Solutions (Pvt) Ltd to build hybrid recycled power plants in Delft, Nainathivu and Analathivu was taken at a cabinet meeting held on Monday. Click here to read... [21]

Sri Lanka projected to end 2023 with US $ 3.8bn foreign reserves: IMF– Daily Mirror Online

Sri Lanka's gross foreign reserves are projected to reach US $3.8 billion by the end of 2023, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections. This figure falls short by US $600 million compared to the programme request, reflecting a slowdown in reserves accumulation during the second half of the year due to heightened demands for foreign exchange by banks. During the first half of 2023, a current account surplus of approximately US$1 billion was realized, driven by a 19 percent year-on-year reduction in imports and a robust 75 percent year-on-year growth in remittances. Click here to read... [22]