VIF Neighbourhood News Digest: November 25, 2021

Afghanistan

US Envoy on Afghanistan to Return to Doha to Meet Taliban: Tolo News

The US Special Representative for Afghanistan will visit Doha next week for two weeks of meetings with leaders of the Taliban, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Tuesday. Click here to read... [2]

Islamic Emirate Appoints 27 Senior Officials: Tolo News

The Islamic Emirate officials said they appointed 27 people in senior positions to ministries as well as to other departments and to the military. Click here to read... [3]

US-Taliban to resume talks with a focus on counterterrorism operations: The Khaama Press

The U.S and Taliban officials will resume talks in Doha, Qatar next week to discuss counterterrorism operations against ISIS-K, Al-Qaeda, humanitarian assistance and economic crisis in Afghanistan, the U.S Department of State have revealed. Click here to read... [4]

Bangladesh

UNGA adopts resolution to graduate Bangladesh from LDC- Dhaka Tribune

In a historic move, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has adopted a resolution to graduate Bangladesh and two other countries from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category. Click here to read... [5]

President Hamid to people: Unite to build Bangabandhu's 'Sonar Bangla'- Dhaka Tribune

President Md Abdul Hamid on Wednesday called for forging unity among the people, irrespective of religion, caste and creed, to implement Bangabandhu's pledge to build 'Sonar Bangla. Click here to read... [6]

State-run fertiliser factories: White Elephants they’re now- Daily Star

The factories are consuming natural gas heavily, but producing urea fertilizer much less than their modern peers do. Click here to read... [7]

Bangladesh, China not invited to Biden's democracy summit- Asian Age

Bangladesh and China are not seen on the list of the invitees. Taiwan's inclusion is sure to infuriate the Chinese government, which views the self-governing island as a breakaway territory and opposes any attempts to legitimize it on the international stage. Click here to read... [8]

Bhutan

CSOs should serve society, not selves: MPs- Kuensel

The review of the CSO (Amendment) Bill 2021 by National Assembly (NA) members on November 18 highlighted widespread concerns about activities and financial operations of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the country. Click here to read... [9]

New road safety regulations to begin from January 2022- Kuensel

The Road Safety and Transport Authority (RSTA) came up with new regulations to cope with the emerging issues of the growing number of vehicles and new technology. Click here to read... [10]

A Perspective on the Construction Industry- Bhutan Times

Construction is a global industry, with a total estimated annual output of US$11 trillion in 2020, and is projected to hit US$15 trillion by 2030. Click here to read... [11]

Wungchilo marijuana field attracts miscreants- Trashi Yangtse- BBS

Wungchilo in Trashi Yangtse is a safe haven for abusing and making drugs. As the place is far from the settlement and with plenty of marijuana plants, miscreants visit the place to abuse drugs and make hashish to sell. Click here to read... [12]

Maldives

Maldives reports 123 new Covid-19 cases, 139 recoveries - Raajje

Maldives confirmed 123 new Covid-19 cases alongside 139 additional recoveries by sundown on Tuesday. According to the latest figures publicized by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), 3,516 samples were tested for the virus between 6pm Monday and 6pm Tuesday. Click here to read... [13]

Agoda Signs Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) With Maldives Border Miles Initiative to Boost Post-Pandemic Tourism - Business Wire

Maldives Border Miles (MBM), a loyalty program initiated by Maldives Immigration in collaboration with key government stakeholders, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with global digital travel platform Agoda, (part of Booking Holdings, Nasdaq BKNG), to boost tourism in the countryClick here to read... [14]

Myanmar

Tatmadaw Raids Catholic Institutions in Kayah State, Myanmar - persecution.org

On November 22, the Myanmar military junta known as the Tatmadaw raided a cathedral, bishop’s house, and church-run clinic in the primarily Catholic Kayah State in Myanmar. Over 200 soldiers and police officers raided Christ the King Cathedral in Loikaw, Kayah State’s capital, as well as raided the Karuna clinic and bishop’s houseClick here to read... [15]

Myanmar’s Army Is Fighting a Multi-Front War - The Diplomat

A town of 8,000 people in Myanmar’s Chin State has been emptied of all its residents following a confrontation between the local self-defense force and the soldiers of the junta. Click here to read... [16]

Rumbles in Rakhine amid strains between Myanmar military, rebels - Aljazeera

Since Myanmar’s military staged a coup against Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government on February 1, triggering mass unrest, the formerly restive far-western state of Rakhine has remained relatively peaceful. Click here to read... [17]

Mizoram: Cross-border transport project nearing completion, say officials - East Mojo

Mizoram Public Works Department said over 96% “physical progress” has been already achieved in the ambitious cross-border Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP) on Mizoram side, an official said on Wednesday. Click here to read... [18]

Nepal

NBA threatens to intensify stir against CJ- Himalaya

The Nepal Bar Association and dissident justices of the Supreme Court continued to protest against Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana today as well and threatened to intensify their agitation. Click here to read... [19]

Health Minister Khatiwada promises measures against tobacco use- Himalaya

Minister for Health and Population Birodh Khatiwada has said that appropriate measures would be taken to control and regulate the use of tobacco products. Click here to read... [20]

Upcoming upper house polls could leave a weakened UML even weaker

A loss may be solely the UML’s but holds the potential for affecting national understanding by deepening the divide. Click here to read... [21]

Agroecology, Nepal’s answer to climate change

The answer to addressing climate impact is to regenerate the most important ecosystem of all: the soil. Click here to read... [22]

Population Census 2021: Data Vs Reliability- Republica

A high alert during the entire process of data collection under the census is of paramount importance to ensure the quality and reliability of the outcome of the census. Click here to read... [23]

Pakistan

NA panel’s head disallows vote on NAB bills: Dawn

Of the 20 committee members including its chairman Riaz Fatyana, six members from the treasury and 10 opposition members were present at the meeting that had been convened to consider five bills, including the NAO (Second Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the NAO (Third Amendment) Bill, 2021. Click here to read... [24]

Ecnec okays Rs190bn road infrastructure projects: Dawn

A meeting of Ecnec, chaired by Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar and attended by Minister for Industries Khusro Bakhtiar and federal secretaries, approved the Pakistan Optical Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS-02) project of Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) worth Rs27.913bn. Click here to read... [25]

SBP projects up to 5% economic growth despite challenges: The Express Tribune

The central bank has projected the economy to grow strongly in the range of four to five per cent in the current fiscal year 2021-22, but warned of challenges including exponentially high global commodity prices, elevated import payments, increase in utility tariffs, higher inflation and expansion in services deficit. Click here to read... [26]

Pakistan’s debt, liabilities cross Rs50tr: The Express Tribune

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) released the debt figures till September 2021, a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan described the increasing debt as a “national security issue”. Click here to read... [27]

COAS for global convergence on Afghanistan: The News

Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has reiterated the need for global convergence on Afghanistan for avoiding humanitarian crisis and coordinated efforts for economic uplift of the Afghan people. Click here to read... [28]