Neighborhood News Digest – 18 December 2023

Afghanistan

India's approach to Afghanistan continues to be guided by historical relations, friendship with Afghan people: Jaishankar- The Hindu

In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on December 15 said India's approach to Afghanistan continues to be guided by its historical relations, friendship with its people and relevant UN resolutions. Click here to read... [2]

Islamic Emirate Calls UN Chief's Report 'Optimistic'- Tolo News

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, called the quarterly report of the UN Secretary-General regarding Afghanistan “optimistic." UN’s Chief Antonio Guterres in his report to the United Nations Security Council highlighted the security, political, economic and social developments in Afghanistan. The Report further mentioned that, “actual attacks on the de facto authorities were fewer in number, despite an increase in the number of claimed attacks by groups on social media.” Click here to read... [3]

7,500 Development Projects Incomplete in Afghanistan: Minister- Tolo News

Muhammad Younus Akhnudzada, the acting minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, said 7,500 projects remain incomplete in the country due to the halt of foreign aid to Afghanistan. As a result, thousands of people have become unemployed due to the halt of these projects funded by foreign countries and international organizations. Click here to read... [4]

Afghanistan: Taliban sends abused women to prison – UN- BBC News

The Taliban government in Afghanistan is putting women abuse survivors in prison and claiming it is for their protection, according to a UN report. Moreover, there remains no more state-sponsored women's shelters as the Taliban government sees no need for such centres, the report noted. Click here to read... [5]

Bangladesh

1,896 candidates to contest election - The Daily Star

A total of 1,896 candidates will run in the January 7 polls amid boycott by major opposition BNP, its allies and some other likeminded parties. Of them, 1,506 are nominees of 27 registered political parties while the rest are independents, said Election Commission Secretary Jahangir Alam at a press briefing last night. Campaigning for the polls will begin today after the allocation of electoral symbols to the candidates by returning officers. Click here to read... [6]

Visiting Indian, Russian war veterans call on army chief – The Daily Star

Visiting delegation of Indian and Russian war veterans paid a courtesy call on Bangladesh Army Chief General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed at the Army Headquarters yesterday. During the meeting, the army chief recalled with gratitude the contribution of all members of allied Indian forces who took part in the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, said an ISPR release. Click here to read... [7]

40 noted citizens demand scrapping of polls schedule – The Daily Star

Forty eminent citizens have demanded cancellation of the polls schedule and dissolution of parliament in the third week of January to pave the way for a free, fair, and competitive election. In a joint statement yesterday, they urged the government and the Election Commission to hold an election within 90 days after dissolving parliament. They also stressed the need for creating scope for all political parties to participate in the election. Click here to read... [8]

Bhutan

Bhutan to have 1,000-sq. km. green city along Assam border ‘connecting South Asia to Southeast Asia’ – The Hindu

Bhutan plans to build a massive “international city” in an area of over 1,000 sq. km. on its border with Assam, Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck announced to applause from a packed audience of 30,000 at the Changlimathang stadium in Thimpu on December 17, pitching the project as an “economic corridor connecting South Asia with Southeast Asia via India’s northeastern States”. Click here to read... [9]

Domestic revenue up by 15 percent – Kuensel

The domestic revenue saw a growth of 14.94 percent with the collection of Nu 44.87 billion in the fiscal year 2022-23 compared to the previous fiscal year. This, according to the finance ministry, was equivalent to 18.93 percent of the gross domestic product. Tax revenue accounted for 70.12 percent of the domestic revenue while non-tax revenue accounted for 29.88 percent. Click here to read... [10]

Bhutan climbs to lower middle-income status – Kuensel

With Bhutan graduating from the least developed countries (LDCs) category to lower middle-income countries group on December 13, the country needs a plan to avoid bumps on the way, including macroeconomic stability, product diversification, and disaster resilience. For the smooth transition, the UN’s Committee for Development Policy (CDP) shared the challenges, that includes mobilisation of domestic resources and prudent management of hydropower revenues to substitute for declining foreign grants and maintain macroeconomic stability. Bhutan received USD 181 million as official development assistance in 2019. Click here to read... [11]

Maldives

Maldives lifts ban on recruitment of unskilled laborers from Bangladesh- Sun Online International

Maldives has lifted the ban on recruitment of unskilled laborers from Bangladesh – a ban imposed in 2019 in a bid to tackle the longstanding problem of undocumented migrant workers. In a statement published on the Government Gazette on Sunday, the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology announced that the government has decided to allow the recruitment of unskilled laborers from Bangladesh. But the recruitment of unskilled laborers from other countries is suspended at this time. Click here to read... [12]

Minimum USD 100 million set for SEZ investments – The Edition

The minimum amount of investment in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) under a presidential decree has been set at USD 100 million (MVR 1.5 billion). According to the decree, as published in the gazette, there are nine categories of investment. Former President Abdulla Yameen's government anticipated substantial state revenues from SEZ projects. However, as his term concluded, no projects under the SEZ had been initiated. During President Yameen's term, a resolution was issued to invest USD 150 million in the SEZ. Details of projects under SEZs will be disclosed through a presidential decree on the advice of the Board of Investment by February every year. Click here to read... [13]

Myanmar

Myanmar refugee crisis hits Manipur, over 6,000 takes shelter in state - India Today NE

In the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, a significant refugee crisis has unfolded. Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh reported that around 6,000 individuals from Myanmar have sought refuge after violence broke out in the neighbouring country. The influx of refugees is a direct consequence of the violence and military coup in Myanmar, which has led to widespread unrest and the displacement of civilians. Click here to read... [14]

The Tatmadaw | Junta down but not out - The Hindu

In a world and time where absolute rule by a military junta in a country is considered an anachronism, the Tatmadaw, or the military in Myanmar, seeks to maintain such a regime after gaining absolute power through a coup in February 2021. But the backlash against the coup has arguably been the severest that the Tatmadaw has faced in six decades of dominance in Myanmar post independence. Click here to read... [15]

Arakan Army Claims Victories Over Myanmar Junta Across Rakhine State - The Irrawaddy

The Arakan Army (AA) says it has seized 142 Myanmar junta positions across 15 out of 17 townships in Rakhine State and Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State. It stated on Thursday that during 45 days of attacks major targets, including a base in the state capital Sittwe and outposts in 14 other townships in Rakhine State, had been seized along with around 17 positions in Paletwa. Click here to read... [16]

Nepal

SAARC can change the development landscape of our region: Prime Minister of Nepal – GeoTVNews

During the two-day visit, the delegation also met with Foreign Minister of Nepal Narayan Prakash Saud and Secretary General of SAARC, Dr. Ghulam Sarwar, followed by celebrations of the 39th SAARC Charter Day and the 82nd meeting of the SAARC Executive Committee. SAARC CCI. The meeting with Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal focused on revitalizing the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation mechanism and the importance of strengthening regional cooperation despite the great difficulties and emerging challenges. Click here to read... [17]

Remittance outflows from Nepal surge by 46 percent to Rs 3.16 billion - My Republica

Amid an impressive growth in remittance inflows, the outflow under the same heading is found to have increased by 46 percent in the first four months of the current fiscal year. The records maintained by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) show that foreign employees working in various organizations inside the country took away Rs 3.16 billion during mid-July and mid-November. The amount was Rs 2.17 billion during the same period last year. Click here to read... [18]

Pakistan

Pakistan seeks probe into source of TTP weapons – Dawn

Pakistan has urged a UN panel to find out how the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is acquiring modern weaponry to carry out terrorist attacks in the country. Pakistan’s Deputy Permanent Representative Usman Jadoon highlighted the alarming trend during a UN Security Council open debate on the threat posed by the diversion, illicit trafficking, and misuse of small arms and light weapons. Click here to read... [19]

Dawood Ibrahim, 1993 Mumbai blasts mastermind, 'poisoned' in Pakistan, kept in Karachi hospital – Firstpost

Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim has reportedly been hospitalised in Pakistan’s Karachi after he was allegedly poisoned. As per reports, the mastermind of 1993 Mumbai blasts has been kept under tight security at the hospital. Dawood Ibrahim was reportedly hospitalised two days ago, however, there has been no confirmation from Pakistan authorities about the matter. Click here to read... [20]

Pakistan uses artificial rain for the first time to fight pollution – AlJazeera

Artificial rain has been used for the first time in Pakistan in a bid to combat hazardous levels of pollution in the megacity of Lahore, says the provincial government. Planes equipped with cloud-seeding equipment flew on Saturday over the eastern city, often ranked one of the worst places globally for air pollution. Click here to read... [21]

Internet, social media disrupted in Pakistan ahead of Imran Khan's party online rally – Hindustan Times

The disruption coincided with the virtual power show by former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), scheduled to begin at 9 pm. Internet services were disrupted across Pakistan and people complained about difficulties accessing social media platforms on Sunday night, Internet Monitor Netblocks reported. Click here to read... [22]

Sri Lanka

Island-wide operation nets 2,121 suspects in 24 hours – Daily Mirror Online

A total of 2,121 suspects were arrested within the last 24 hours during island-wide operations launched yesterday. Police said that during this period, they recovered 2kgs and 232gms of heroin, 178kgs of cannabis, 769gms of Ice drugs, 35kgs of Ash, 626gms of Mawa, 30,550 cannabis plants, and 3,489 narcotic pills. Click here to read... [23]

Sri Lanka welcomes over 73, 000 tourists in first 13 days of December – Daily Mirror Online

Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka for the first 13 days of December surpassed 73,000, signalling an improved influx of international visitors. Provisional data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed that during the period from December 1 to 13 Sri Lanka welcomed a total of 73, 590 tourists. India continues to retain its position as the largest source market for Sri Lanka tourism, bringing in 20 percent of the total tourism arrivals for the month so far. Click here to read... [24]

Decentralized budget for each district from next year: President - Daily Mirror Online

President Ranil Wickremesinghe said a decentralized budget would be allocated for each district based on the available number of seats starting next year. He said this while attending the Special District Coordination Committee (DCC) meeting in Badulla District yesterday (16). The President anticipates commencing these initiatives by July of the upcoming year. Click here to read... [25]