Neighborhood News Digest – 07 February 2023

Afghanistan

Saudi diplomats leave Afghanistan, relocate to Pakistani capital -sources – The Print

Saudi diplomats have left Afghanistan for “training” and will return, the Taliban administration said on Monday, though three sources familiar with the matter said security concerns had contributed to their departure. Click here to read... [2]

Dollars Smuggled From Pakistan Provide Lifeline for the Taliban - Bloomberg

Millions of dollars are being smuggled into Afghanistan from Pakistan every day, providing some support for the squeezed economy after the US and Europe denied the Taliban regime access to billions in foreign reserves. For Islamabad, the outflows are exacerbating a rapidly developing economic crisis. Click here to read... [3]

Qatar Envoy Speaks with Kabul Officials About Economy, Girls' Education – Tolo News

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Counterterrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution, Dr. Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani, had discussions with the Islamic Emirate officials regarding politics, the economy, girls' education, and women’s employment in Afghanistan. Click here to read... [4]

Bangladesh

Bangladesh could buy 10-12 spot LNG cargoes in Feb-June - Reuters

Bangladesh will buy 10-12 spot LNG cargoes between February and June if prices soften further, an energy adviser to the prime minister told Reuters on Monday, in a reversal of a government decision last year to halt spot purchases after prices spiked. "This is a high demand season for us. Ramadan is coming, this is also irrigation season, therefore, if market softens, we will buy 10-12 more spot LNG cargoes," Bir Bikram Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury said on the sidelines of the India Energy WeekClick here to read... [5]

Idols at 14 Hindu temples vandalised in Bangladesh: Report – Hindustan Times

As many as 14 Hindu temples in Bangladesh were vandalised by "unidentified miscreants" on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, sparking fear among locals. The incident took place in Baliadangi Upazila area, news agency ANI reported citing local media. Click here to read... [6]

4 direct questions to Bangladesh Home Minister after 14 attacks on Hindu temples | Exclusive

India Today’s Shahidul Hasan Kokhon spoke to Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to understand how he perceived the issue and his party’s stand on it. Click here to read... [7]

Bhutan

Bangladesh could buy 10-12 spot LNG cargoes in Feb-June - Reuters

Bangladesh will buy 10-12 spot LNG cargoes between February and June if prices soften further, an energy adviser to the prime minister told Reuters on Monday, in a reversal of a government decision last year to halt spot purchases after prices spiked. "This is a high demand season for us. Ramadan is coming, this is also irrigation season, therefore, if market softens, we will buy 10-12 more spot LNG cargoes," Bir Bikram Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury said on the sidelines of the India Energy WeekClick here to read... [5]

Idols at 14 Hindu temples vandalised in Bangladesh: Report – Hindustan Times

As many as 14 Hindu temples in Bangladesh were vandalised by "unidentified miscreants" on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, sparking fear among locals. The incident took place in Baliadangi Upazila area, news agency ANI reported citing local media. Click here to read... [6]

4 direct questions to Bangladesh Home Minister after 14 attacks on Hindu temples | Exclusive

India Today’s Shahidul Hasan Kokhon spoke to Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to understand how he perceived the issue and his party’s stand on it. Click here to read... [7]

Maldives

Beyond Realpolitik: Enlisting the Maldives into the U.S. Indo-Pacific Vision – South Asian Voices

In February 2020, then-U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo visited the Maldives to announce plans to open a resident U.S. embassy in the country. That same year, the United States also entered into a “Framework for Defense Cooperation” with the Maldives, committing both countries to uphold peace and security in the Indian Ocean and to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. While bilateral relations date back to 1966, this will mark the first time Washington will have resident diplomatic representation in the Maldives, symbolizing a growing mutual interest in strengthening relations. Click here to read... [8]

Myanmar

Myanmar Junta Rewards Crony Arms Dealer With Palm Oil Plum - Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s military regime has permitted the US-sanctioned Htoo Group, owned by a notorious arms dealer, to import over US$5.4 million worth of palm oil per month, according to operators in the edible oil business. The Htoo Group of companies is owned by junta crony U Tay Za, who was sanctioned by the US last year for providing arms to Myanmar’s military. The group is currently led by his sons, who have also been targeted by US sanctions. Click here to read... [9]

10 Myanmar immigrants held in Manipur – Times of India

At least 10 Myanmar nationals, including five women, were arrested from Churachandpur district on Sunday afternoon for crossing into the Indian territory illegally without any valid papers. The development took place after 80 illegal immigrants from Myanmar were arrested by a joint security team from Tengnoupal district last month. Click here to read... [10]

Nepal

Nepal's RSP quits coalition government, 3 ministers resign – The Telegraph

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), the third largest member of the ruling coalition in Nepal, has quit the government led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' after he denied reinstatement of the party's chairperson Rabi Lamichhane to the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister. Three ministers of the RSP on Sunday resigned after a joint meeting of the party's central members and lawmakers decided to quit the government. Click here to read... [11]

After Power, another senior US official is visiting Nepal - The Kathmandu Post

The Administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power starts her two-day Nepal visit on Tuesday. And a week after her return, another senior official of the Biden administration is visiting Kathmandu, foreign ministry officials said. Click here to read... [12]

Amid slump in power generation, NEA reduces supply to industrial sector – The Kathmandu Post

The Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, the country’s largest power project with a capacity of 456 megawatts (MW), is currently producing just around 77MW of electricity. This, according to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), is due to the reduced water level in the Tamakoshi river with the country seeing no winter rainfall. Click here to read... [13]

Pakistan

Normalisation of India-China relations better for the world; weak Pakistan would not be better for the region, says Russian envoy – The Hindu

The sooner there is normalisation in India-China relations, the better it would be for the world, Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov said, adding that a weak Pakistan would not be better for the region, India or Afghanistan, and Russia would not do anything detrimental to India in its relations with Islamabad. Mr. Alipov acknowledged that India-Russia ties have been under stress for sometime in terms of economic ties, which had accelerated since last year due to the “tectonic geopolitical” shifts in Europe, referring to the war in Ukraine. Click here to read... [14]

Pakistan will lose moral ground on Kashmir if it gives recognition to Israel, says Imran Khan – The Print

“Because Kashmir is a disputed territory between Pakistan and India, we do make statements on that. About Israel, it was the stated position of the founder of Pakistan and the situation is similar to what is happening in Kashmir,” he said, responding to a query about him not commenting about China’s atrocities towards Uyghur Muslims. Click here to read... [15]

Split-up polls unaffordable, agree Punjab, KP governors – Dawn

Khyber Pakhtun­khwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on Monday met his Punjab counterpart Balighur Rehman and caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi and agreed that the country could not afford separate elections in current circumstances and, therefore, polls for national and provincial assemblies should be held later this year after the completion of the federal government’s tenure in August. Click here to read... [16]

Analysis: How dependable is US offer of help with terror threat – Dawn

A SPIKE in terrorist attacks in Pakistan has once again forced the United States and its old — but not always close — ally to consider reviving their coordination against terrorism. “There are groups in Afghanistan that pose a threat to both of us, and it’s only appropriate that we coordinate our efforts to counter them,” Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari told Dawn. Click here to read... [17]

Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan President Pledges Full Implementation of 13th Amendment - Diplomat

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe informed the All-Party Leaders Conference on Reconciliation on January 27 that the Cabinet was agreeable to fully implementing the 13th amendment to the constitution. Wickremesinghe said that he is bound to implement the laws of the land. The 13th amendment, he pointed out, is part of the constitution. He reiterated this in his address to the nation on Sri Lanka’s Independence Day. Click here to read... [18]

Prez Wickremesinghe Assures To Fix Sri Lanka’s Debt-Ridden Economy – Business World

Amidst the ongoing financial crisis in Sri Lanka, President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday assured of fixing the debt-ridden country by treating the "root cause" of the malaise and not by administering "painkillers." The president in his series of tweets suggested systematic change and national unity in conjunction with economic reforms can help the country to achieve prosperity. He further pointed out many of his decisions as unpopular. But this will not let any of my fellow citizens starve or die in queues, he added. Click here to read... [19]

South Asian countries endorse SL’s proposal to set up climate change university – Daily News

Bhutan Education and Skills Development Minister Jai Bir Rai called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at Temple Trees yesterday and held detailed discussions on bilateral relations, potential for investments and regional issues. The Prime Minister referred to the historic religious and cultural relations between the two countries and said the efforts must be made to enhance trade, investments and tourism. Minister Jai Bir Rai thanked Sri Lanka for providing scholarships to Bhutanese students to study medicine, engineering, information technology and other courses in premier universities. He also expressed willingness to send Bhutanese teachers and educationists to the South Asian Teacher Education Development Centre set up in Sri Lanka with assistance from UNESCO. Click here to read... [20]