Neighbourhood News Digest - 14 December

Afghanistan

Attack in Pakistan Not Related to Afghanistan: Mujahid- Tolo News

The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that attacks in Pakistan on December 12 were not related to Afghanistan and called Pakistan’s claim baseless. Mujahid said that if information is shared with the Islamic Emirate by Pakistan, it will investigate the incident, but he added that Pakistani soldiers should prevent such incidents in their territory. He also stressed that there is no threat from Afghan soil to any country. The attack, which has been claimed by Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan, a group affiliated with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), resulted in multiple casualties, including the killing of 23 security personnel, according to the statement. Click here to read... [2]

OCHA: $46 Billion Can Restrict Humanitarian Crisis- Tolo News

The United Nations has requested $46 billion for the prevention of the humanitarian crises in the next year. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that Afghanistan is one of five countries which needs humanitarian assistance. OCHA requested $3 billion for Afghanistan. Click here to read... [3]

UK Ministry of Defence fined £350,000 for data breach during Afghan nationals’ evacuation- The Khaama Press

The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has imposed a £350,000 fine on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for a significant data breach. According to the statement posted on the UK Information Commissioner’s Office website, “during the Afghan evacuation after the Taliban’s 2021 takeover, personal details of 245 Afghan nationals eligible for evacuation were accidentally disclosed. The breach was caused by an email error, it has endangered lives by exposing sensitive information to potential Taliban access. The MoD has since implemented new measures to prevent future breaches and cooperated fully with the ICO’s investigation.” Click here to read... [4]

Bangladesh

Ahead of Bangladesh election next year, Sheikh Hasina regime doubles down on propaganda - Scroll.in

A general election is scheduled in Bangladesh for January 7, but if it is anything like the last two elections, most people in the country are not expected to cast their ballots. The election in January 2014 was boycotted by the main opposition, which feared widespread rigging. The ruling Awami League attained a majority: even before election day, 153 of 300 seats were declared uncontested. Click here to read... [5]

How will the election boycott by the BNP affect Bangladesh - The Hindu

On October 28, during a rally organised by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the chief Opposition party of Bangladesh, a fight broke out between the BNP cadre and law enforcement officials which led to the death of a policeman and incidents of arson. The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina responded by jailing most of the top Opposition leaders of BNP including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. This confrontation came in the backdrop of the long pending demand of the BNP to hold elections under a ‘caretaker’ government. It has refused to participate in any other election even as the Election Commission of Bangladesh announced the poll date for January 7. Click here to read... [6]

Bhutan

Change in Australia’s immigration rule concerns Bhutanese- Kuensel

The Australian government’s new migration strategy for the next 10 years is expected to affect a lot of Bhutanese students applying for international student visas. According to media reports, the revised strategy aims to reduce the annual intake to approximately 250,000 by June 2025, aligning with the pre-pandemic levels. This reduction involves tightening visa rules for international students and low-skilled workers to reduce the pressure on housing and infrastructure. Click here to read... [7]

Alarming Surge in Attrition Rates Raises Concerns for Government Workforce Stability- Bhutan Today

The attrition rate among civil servants in Bhutan has surged to a staggering 14.3% from January to November 2023, as per the latest attrition report. This marks a significant leap from 6.45% during the same period in 2022, pointing towards a worrisome increase in employee turnover within the government sector. There are 29,060 civil servants in total, and within the initial 11 months of the year, 4,282 civil servants have been separated. In 2023, the month witnessing the highest number of separations was February, totalling 934, followed by January with 598. Click here to read... [8]

Maldives

Indian Navy to re-induct ship gifted & decommissioned by Maldives- Business Line

The Indian Navy will be re-inducting a refurbished 22-year-old fast attack craft, INS Tarmugli, on December 14, in a ceremonial commissioning ceremony at the naval dockyard, Visakhapatnam, more than seventeen years after she was gifted to Maldives which used it for years and returned to India in May this year. Commissioned in the Indian Navy as INS Tillanchang, a Trinkat Class ship, she was in active service till 2006, and thereafter gifted to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) by the Govt of India, as part of diplomatic outreach in the Indian Ocean Region. Click here to read... [9]

Discussions held on strengthening technological cooperation with Ooredoo Group- Raajje

On December 13, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu and Deputy Group CEO of Ooredoo Group Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulla Al Thani, had discussions on strengthening technological cooperation. Ooredoo Group a Qatari multinational telecommunications company. The Ooredoo Group’s CEO was called on the Maldivian leader along with other senior management of the company, at the President’s Office. Expressing his gratitude to the leadership of Ooredoo Group including the team at the Maldives branch for the exceptional telecommunications services provided to Maldivians, President Muizzu engaged in discussions regarding enhancing technological cooperation in the island nation. Click here to read... [10]

Myanmar

‘Fighting is all around’: Myanmar faces deepening humanitarian crisis – AlJazeera

In late October, Sai Lam had an uneasy feeling. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an ethnic armed organisation operating in Myanmar’s northern Shan State, was massing forces near his village on the Chinese border and he sensed that fighting was imminent. Click here to read... [11]

Myanmar military escalates airstrikes on civilians - Dhaka Tribune

Myanmar’s military regime executed airstrikes on Tuesday across four regions, which killed seven, injured nine, and caused significant destruction to residences and vehicles, The Irrawaddy reported, citing locals. The junta’s warplanes and artillery intensified indiscriminate assaults on civilian targets, coinciding with the progression of the resistance’s Operation 1027 offensive nationwide. Click here to read... [12]

Nepal

Recent hauls affirm Nepal’s image as a gold smuggling hub - Asia News Network

Nepal’s infamy as a hub for gold smuggling, which had reached a new high back in July after the seizure of 60kg gold, continues to grow. And latest seizures have once again raised concerns if the government has taken any effective measures to control the smuggling of gold which has been making headlines for the last one year. On December 7, Chandra Ghale of Barpak, Gorkha who arrived in Kathmandu by a flydubai flight, was arrested with 14 kilograms of gold at the airport. He had concealed the gold bars in a waistcoat-like vest that he had worn. Click here to read... [13]

Nepal to host maiden international LGBT+ tourism conference – LaPrensalatina

Nepal will host its first LGBT+ tourism conference next month, aiming to position the Himalayan nation as a welcoming destination for sexual minorities on the global travel map. The two-day conference, commencing on Jan. 18 in Kathmandu, follows a historic decision in November, making Nepal the first South Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage. Click here to read... [14]

Nepalese safety efforts not yet sufficient to lift European blacklisting - flight Global

European regulators remain dissatisfied with Nepalese authorities’ efforts to bring the country’s civil aviation safety and oversight into line with international standards, following an on-site assessment conducted in September. Nepal has been the subject of a blanket blacklisting by the European Commission for a decade. While the on-site assessment – carried out by the Commission and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency – was intended to explore whether the restriction could be eased, air safety specialists have disclosed multiple issues which are yet to be resolved. Click here to read... [15]

Pakistan

Pakistan court indicts jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, aide in cipher case - Telegraph India

Jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan pleaded not guilty to charges of leaking state secrets under an indictment on Wednesday that dealt a new blow to his chances of contesting Pakistan’s general election in February. The charges are related to a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington last year, which Khan is accused of making public. Click here to read... [16]

Federal cabinet approves Pakistan’s first-ever National Space Policy - Asia News Network

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Caretaker Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Dr Umar Saif said that the federal cabinet had approved three “landmark decisions” for the IT and telecom sector. He said the National Space Policy would enable private sector companies to “offer affordable internet services in Pakistan while enabling increased investment in our national space programme”. Click here to read... [17]

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka awards $1.7 billion solar project to Australian firm- Energy Economic Times

Sri Lankan Energy minister Kanchana Wijesekera has approved plans to build the country's largest solar energy plant on December 12. The 700-megawatt facility is to be built by Australia’s United Solar Energy, in the Kilinochchi district to address the power crisis caused by blackouts last year. Click here to read... [18]

Sri Lanka to get access to $337 million from IMF- Deccan Herald

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board concluded the first review under the 48-month Extended Fund Facility with Sri Lanka, on December 12, providing the cash-strapped country with access to about $337 million to restore macroeconomic stability and debt stability. The second tranche worth $337 million would bring the value of disbursements to $670 million in the four-year facility. Announcing this, Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka also said that the debt restructuring with China was concluded on a strictly confidential basis for the IMF to conclude its first review of the USD 2.9 billion bailout. China holds 52% of Sri Lankan Debt. Click here to read... [19]