Neighborhood News Digest – 24 April 2023

Afghanistan

Women in Afghanistan banned from participating in Eid celebrations - Mid Day

In another harsh restriction, the Taliban has prohibited women from attending Eid celebrations in two provinces of Afghanistan reported local media. The instructions came from the de-facto authorities for the women of Baghlan and Takhar provinces of the country on Friday to not go out in groups during the days of Eid ul-Fitr. Click here to read... [2]

U.S. taxpayers helping fund Afghanistan's Taliban? Aid workers say they're forced "to serve the Taliban first" - CBS

Aid workers at non-profit organizations in Afghanistan that receive financial support from the U.S. government say they're being forced to pay fees and provide services to the Taliban. They spoke to CBS News days after the head of a U.S. government oversight office tasked with monitoring how U.S. tax dollars are spent in Afghanistan told lawmakers that his staff "simply do not know" the extent to which the American people may unknowingly be funding the terrorist group. Click here to read... [3]

Taliban Reject Leaked US Assessment IS Using Afghanistan as Terror Base - VoA

Afghanistan's Taliban have pushed back against a leaked American military assessment claiming the Islamic State is using the country to plan and coordinate international terrorist attacks against the United States and its allies. The secret document has reportedly portrayed the threat as a growing security concern. It noted that Afghan soil had become a base for the regional affiliate of the terrorist outfit, known as Islamic State-Khorasan or IS-K to conduct "aspirational plotting" against U.S. and European targets. Click here to read... [4]

Bangladesh

Md Sahabuddin to take oath as 22nd president of Bangladesh this morning – Daily Star

President-elect Md Sahabuddin will take oath as the 22nd president of Bangladesh today. The oath-taking ceremony will be held in Historic Durbar Hall of the Bangabhaban. Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will administer the oath of the office of the President, according to Bangabhaban. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, cabinet members and hundreds of distinguished guests will attend the event. Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain will conduct the programme. Click here to read... [5]

De-dollarisation: Bangladesh dumps US currency, becomes 19th country to trade with India in rupees - FirstPost

Bangladesh has become the 19th nation to settle bi-lateral trade with India in Indian rupees. Both the countries were in talks for months to give up dollar and use their local currencies for clearing transactions. To initiate settling cross-border trade with India, two of the Bangladesh’s banks — Sonali Bank and Eastern Bank Limited (EBL) — will open vostro accounts in two Indian lenders — State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank. Similar accounts will be opened by these two Indian banks in the two Bangladeshi banks. The transaction between the two countries will take place in taka-rupees without the inclusion of any third currency. Click here to read... [6]

Bangladesh suffers widespread power outages during relentless heat – Indian Express

Bangladesh is being forced to cut power to millions of people as a relentless heatwave brings a surge in demand for power causing electricity supply shortfalls during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Greater use of irrigation pumps by farmers and an increase in commercial activity during Ramadan have contributed to increased power demand, officials say. “It’s difficult for us to sleep at night without power, and it is even more painful after fasting all day,” said Munna Khan, a resident of the town of Ashulia on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka. Click here to read... [7]

Where is Bangladesh in the global race towards renewable energy? – Daily Star

The last two years have been exciting for the renewable energy sector, as the energy market turmoil stoked by recent events, like the Russia-Ukraine war, gave an impetus for an accelerated green transition. Bangladesh's renewable energy policy of 2008 set the goal of 10 percent total electricity generation from renewable sources by 2020. However as of 2022, we have managed to get only three percent of the power from renewable energy sources, including off-grid solar home systems. This is unsustainable in the coming years due to several factors. Click here to read... [8]

Bhutan

Why Thimphu voters went for new candidate? – Kuensel

Leki Tshering worked hard to gain the NC seat from Thimphu. He kept in touch with the voters and identified himself with the commons. And he won the 2023 NC elections. After the 2018 NC election, Leki Tshering did not give up. He worked in tourism industry for a few years. When the tourism industry was badly hit by the pandemic, he walked back to his village and ventured into farming. Click here to read... [9]

India, Bhutan reaffirm long-standing bilateral ties to build stronger friendship – The Statesman

The King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel, embarked on a three-day visit to India in early April. His visit presented an opportunity for both nations to reflect on their long-standing bilateral ties and further reinforce their friendship. The joint statement issued after the visit underlined the extensive cooperation between India and Bhutan in different sectors, reported The Bhutan Live. Click here to read... [10]

Maldives

Youth Ministry to host first-ever international art festival in the Maldives - Raajje

Titled ‘Faruma International Youth Art Festival 2023’, the event is an initiative of the youth ministry, organized in collaboration with the Maldivian Artist Community (MAC), an NGO dedicated to art incepted in 2016. Minister Mahloof highlighted that the art festival will proceed from May 8 – 13. The Faruma International Youth Art Festival 2023 will be held at the Social Center in the capital city, Malé. Click here to read... [11]

Russia continues to top Maldives tourist arrival markets - Raajje

Russia continues to top the Maldives tourist arrival markets, as the fourth month of the year nears its end. This was revealed by the Ministry of Tourism in its latest weekly statistics, publicized on Friday. As such, the statistics revealed that Russia continues to top the source markets for the archipelago nation’s tourism, contributing 12.1 percent of the market share with 75,594 arrivals recorded from the country by April 19. Click here to read... [12]

Myanmar

Track 1.5 Dialogue: Delhi to host talks on Myanmar tomorrow - Indian Express

DAYS AFTER the Myanmar Air Force carried out an airstrike that is reported to have killed more than 170 of its people, officials and non-government foreign policy experts of countries neighbouring Myanmar will gather in Delhi on Tuesday for a brainstorming session on how to find “reconciliation” and an end to the crisis that has engulfed the country since the February 2021 military coup. Click here to read... [13]

Asean risks losing its grip on Myanmar crisis - Strait Times

Prospects for a political resolution to Myanmar’s turmoil have darkened after the military junta recently dissolved the only civilian party that has won all polls in the past decade. They are not helped by the junta’s aerial bombardments of civilian targets, killing more than 160 people in one day in April, which has hardened the people’s resolve against the military. Click here to read... [14]

Two-lane road till Myanmar border in Nagaland soon: Union min Murugan - Economic Times

Union minister L Murugan said that work on the two-lane road from Meluri in Nagaland’s Phek district to Avangkhu along the India-Myanmar border will begin soon. Murugan, who became the first central minister to visit the border village on Saturday said the road will pave the way for the development of the border areas. Click here to read... [15]

Senior military-linked election official shot dead in Myanmar - Aljazeera

The deputy head of Myanmar’s military-appointed election commission has been shot dead in the country’s commercial capital Yangon by rebels, authorities said, the latest killing of a high-profile individual linked to the country’s military rulers. Sai Kyaw Thu, deputy director of the Union Election Commission, was killed in the township of Thingangyun in eastern Yangon on Saturday, the army’s information team said in a statement. Local media reported that he was shot multiple times in the chest, neck and head. Click here to read... [16]

Nepal

Need to do ‘home-work’ before visiting India: Nepal PM ‘Prachanda’ on first foreign trip – Hindustan Times

Earlier this year, Prachanda announced that he would visit India on his first foreign trip after assuming the post. Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ is making elaborate preparations ahead of his much-publicised trip to India next month, saying he needs to do “home-work” before embarking on the visit. Click here to read... [17]

Nepal: Seven years since transit deal with China, no shipment has moved – The Print

After the signing of the Trade and Transit Agreement with China seven years ago, which gave Nepal access to seven Chinese ports for third-country trade, not a single shipment has moved, Kathmandu Post reported. Then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in April 2016, paid an official visit to China where two sides signed an agreement that gives Nepal access to four Chinese seaports in Tianjin, Shenzhen, Lianyungang and Zhanjiang, and three land ports in Lanzhou, Lhasa and Shigatse for third-country imports. Click here to read... [18]

Nepal's border points with India sealed ahead of by-polls – India Today

Nepal's border points with India in the country's southern Bara district have been sealed for 72 hours in view of the by-election in Bara-2 constituency on Sunday. Nepal’s Election Commission is conducting by-elections for the House of Representatives (HoR) in the three constituencies of Tanhun-1, Chitawan-2 and Bara-2. Click here to read... [19]

New census data creates ripples in Nepal – ORF

Recently, Nepal’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) released its 12th National Census in the presence of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. It showed that Nepal’s total population in November 2021 had risen to 29.2 million from 26.4 million in 2011. Despite the rise in population, the rate of growth fell perceptibly to 0.92 percent in 2021 from 1.35 percent in 2011. Click here to read... [20]

Pakistan

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia may ink deal for $2 billion deposits – Zee Business

Pakistani authorities hope that Islamabad will sign a deal for additional deposits of $2 billion from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) after Eid, media reports said. A top government official said that the State Bank of Pakistan will sign a deal with the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) soon after Eid for an additional $2 billion deposits, The News reported. Click here to read... [21]

Imran Khan-led PTI to begin election campaign for Punjab polls tomorrow in Pakistan – Firstpost

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Asad Umar on Sunday announced that the party will launch its election campaign for Punjab polls on Monday, Geo News reported. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Asad Umar stated, “Tehreek-e-Insaf will officially launch its election campaign from tomorrow. They (PDM) may not be ready but we are ready.” Earlier this week, the PTI finalised a list of 297 candidates for the elections. PTI’s announcement of launching the election campaign comes despite uncertainty over the polls. Click here to read... [22]

Pakistan crisis deep enough for military takeover, warns former PM – Siasat

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has warned that the country’s current economic and political crisis has all the makings of attracting a military takeover, noting that the army intervened in the past in much less severe circumstances as he urged the top stakeholders to initiate a dialogue, media reports said. Click here to read... [23]

PoK impressed by J-K's development, questions Pakistan's fraud narrative – The Economic Times

The News Intervention reported on the devastation caused in Kashmir during the 1980s and 1990s, as young men were brainwashed into believing in the "Jihad" to liberate Kashmir. Millions of rupees that could have been invested in human development were instead invested in negativity and destructive activities, while the Pakistani generals, politicians, and clerics who supported the Jihad benefited financially. Click here to read... [24]

Growing proof of China’s role in Pakistan-sponsored proxy war – The Tribune

With the probe into the Poonch terror attack that left five Army soldiers dead hinting at the use of Chinese armour-piercing bullets, it is being seen as another evidence of Beijing’s growing involvement in the Pakistan-sponsored proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir. ‘Made-in-China’ drones and weapons have earlier been used by Pakistani smugglers to push narcotics into India. Click here to read... [25]

Sri Lanka

Tamils flag escalating attacks on temples in northern Sri Lanka – Hindu

Tamils in Sri Lanka have witnessed an escalation in the attack on Hindu temples in recent weeks, a trend that they note is part of the State’s “ongoing Sinhalisation project” in the island’s north. In recent weeks, Tamil media reported multiple incidents of vandalism at temples, where Hindu deities were found missing or damaged. In Jaffna, some Tamils have sought to counter the trend by placing a Hindu deity in a public space, prompting police to petition the court seeking its removal. Several Tamil political parties have called for a protest on April 25 against the recent temple attacks, among other issues. Click here to read... [26]

Special cover for Sita Temple in Sri Lanka – Tribune

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena unveiled a special commemorative cover for Sita Temple near the historic town of Nuwara Eliya on Sunday and laid the foundation stone for the meditation centre at Ramayana fame Ashoka Vatika site to boost tourism in the cash-strapped island nation. Click here to read... [27]

Sri Lanka seeks Indian FDI for state corporate sector restructuring: Report - Live Mint

Sri Lanka is implementing measures to rejuvenate its economy after receiving the initial instalment of financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and as a result, this could create possibilities for the Indian corporate sector. Click here to read... [28]

Minor Earthquake near Hambanthota coast – Daily News

An earthquake of magnitude 4.4 has been recorded near Hambanthota. According to the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau the tremor has occurred around 25.8km off the coast of Hambanthota towards the South-Eastern direction at around 12.45am. There is no immediate threat of Tsunamis according to Disaster Management Centre. Click here to read... [29]