Neighbourhood News digest - 4 May 2023

Afghanistan

Taliban interfering with NGO work in Afghanistan: Report – Tribune

A Taliban fighter recently fired his rifle into the air at a food distribution event in Afghanistan, an example of their harassment of nongovernmental groups operating in the country, a report from a US watchdog said Wednesday. The Taliban last December barred Afghan women from working at NGOs, allegedly because they were not wearing the hijab — the Islamic headscarf — correctly and were not observing gender segregation rules. In April, they said this ban extended to UN offices and agencies in Afghanistan. Click here to read... [2]

Chinese FM arrives tomorrow for trilateral talks on Afghanistan - Nation

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang will visit Pakistan from tomorrow (May 5) for his maiden visit to Islamabad after taking the post. Qin Gang will land in Islamabad after attending the SCO meeting in Goa on May 5 and will lead China delegation in strategic dialogue with Pakistan on May 6. The FMs of Pakistan, China and Afghanistan will also hold a trilateral meeting Islamabad on May 6. Besides the regional situation, the FMs are likely to discuss engaging Afghanistan in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Click here to read... [3]

Bangladesh

Border Haats’ in Tripura along India-Bangladesh border to reopen after 3 yrs - Sisat

After three years of closure, one of the two ‘Border Haats’ (markets) in Tripura along India-Bangladesh border will resume trading from May 9, officials said on Wednesday. A top official of the Tripura Industries and Commerce Department said that after a recent meeting between the district officials of Feni (Bangladesh) and South Tripura, it was decided to resume the business of the Purba Madhugram (Bangladesh)-Srinagar (South Tripura) ‘Border Haats’ from May 9. “Efforts were on to restart the Kasba (Bangladesh)-Kamlasagar (Tripura) Border Haat in Sepahijala district,” the official told IANS. Click here to read... [4]

Hindu girl hacked to death for refusing Muslim man in Bangladesh – India Today

A Hindu girl, Mukti Burman (16), was hacked to death on her way back from school in Bangladesh’s Barhatta Upazila in the eastern district of Netrakona. The family claimed that the girl was murdered for not responding to a proposal from a Muslim man, Kausar Mia. She was a student of Class 10 at Premnagar Salipura High School. Click here to read... [5]

Bangladesh to amend controversial digital law by September, says minister - AA

Bangladesh's law minister on Wednesday said that the Digital Security Act (DSA) would be amended by this September. “By September, we will of course try to at least amend the Digital Security Act. We are very sincere about that,” said Anisul Haq. The minister said this in reply to a query by a journalist at a discussion titled "Shaping a Future of Rights" in the capital Dhaka on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day jointly organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB). Haq added that the office of the Human Rights High Commissioner of the United Nations had sent him a technical note regarding the DSA that had been examined by the ministry. Click here to read... [6]

Bhutan

Bhutan Plans a $500 Million Fund for Crypto Mining in the Himalayas – Bloomberg

Bhutan’s investment arm and Nasdaq-listed company Bitdeer Technologies Group plan to seek investors for a fund worth up to $500 million that will be used to develop green crypto mining in the Himalayan kingdom. Fund raising targeting institutional investors will begin at the end of May and the goal is to set up carbon-free digital mining that taps Bhutan’s abundant hydroelectric power, according to a joint statement Wednesday. Click here to read... [7]

Maldives

Rajnath, Maldives minister launch Delhi-assisted harbour construction - Indian Express

India and Maldives marked a major step in their growing defence cooperation on Wednesday by launching construction of a harbour for the Coast Guard of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF). The foundation stone for the Coast Guard ‘Ekatha Harbour’ was laid by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Maldivian counterpart, Mariya Didi, at Sifavaru in Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF) atoll, where India is assisting in construction of a naval dockyard. Click here to read... [8]

Signalling China, India and Maldives underscore ‘rules-based international order’ - The Hindu Business Line

India and Maldives have underscored the importance of “respecting international law and rules-based international order,” sending a signal to China that has been holding aggressive positions in the Indian Ocean Region. In a joint communique issued on Thursday, visiting Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Maldivian counterpart Mariya Didi “reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability and security in the region and recognised the need to work together to address common security challenges. They underscored the importance of respecting international law & rules-based international order and expressed their commitment to upholding these principles,” said the Ministry of Defence in an official statement. Click here to read... [9]

Myanmar

Adani proposed coal ventures to sanctioned Myanmar military despite public vow to cut ties, leaked documents show - ABC

Global resources giant Adani tried to develop coal ventures in Myanmar at the same time it was telling the world it would exit the country in the wake of a bloody military takeover, leaked documents show. International pressure to cut business ties with the ruling military junta, which seized power from a democratically elected government in February 2021, prompted Adani's announcement later that year that it would sell off its port in the capital, Yangon. Click here to read... [10]

China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang visits Myanmar ahead of India trip - Economic Times

China’s foreign minister Qin Gang has visited Myanmar, India’s key neighbour, ahead of his visit to Goa for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting. He met Myanmar’s junta chief on Tuesday to showcase China’s support for the military council, said people aware of the matter. Click here to read... [11]

Rohingya team to visit Myanmar for return plan - Manila Times

A Rohingya delegation will visit Myanmar on Friday as part of efforts to revive a long-stalled plan to return the stateless minority to their homeland, refugees and Bangladeshi officials said. Bangladesh is home to about a million Rohingya, most of whom fled a 2017 military crackdown in neighboring Myanmar that is now subject to a United Nations genocide investigation. Click here to read... [12]

Nepal

Government issues ordinance to criminalise loan-sharking – The Kathmandu Post

The government has issued an ordinance to criminalise the practice of loan sharking. President Ramchandra Paudel, on Wednesday, issued the ordinance, as per the recommendation of the Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday, to amend the prevailing criminal code and define the practice of loan sharking as a criminal offence. Click here to read... [13]

Nepal President calls budget session of parliament from next week – The Print

Nepali President Ram Chandra Paudel has called the budget session of the Federal Parliament starting next week on the recommendation of the government. The Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday decided to recommend to the President to convene the Parliament session. Click here to read... [14]

Nepal keeps downgrading economic growth projection – The Kathmandu Post

Nepal has been progressively downgrading its growth projection as unsound policy and political instability take their toll on the economy. At the start of the fiscal year, the government had pompously declared that the economy would grow by an astounding 8 percent. But reality set in as the economy floundered, and the figure was halved to 4 percent during the mid-term review of the budget. Click here to read... [15]

China stops Nepal’s trucks at border point – The Print

Trucks from Nepal are not being allowed to cross the border with China at Tatopani with Beijing issuing a new rule that their cargo has to be transferred to Chinese trucks for onward transport to points in Tibet, according to officials as cited by Kathmandu Post. Click here to read... [16]

Pakistan

Pakistan violates FATF redline by letting JeM seek funds for jihad – NewsX

UN-banned global terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed openly solicited funds for jihad during Eid celebrations in Peshawar and other cities. A media agency reported that Pakistan had breached a key redline set by the FATF, the global anti-terrorist financing watchdog, that took the country off the graylist last year. Click here to read... [17]

Pakistan govt, PTI agree to hold same-day elections, date yet to be finalized – Firstpost

The Pakistan’s coalition government and Imran Khan’s party achieved “big progress” when they decided to hold the nation’s general elections on the same day, although they differed on the date of the polls. The decision was made in late-night negotiations to break a political impasse on when to hold provincial and federal elections, which had been roiling the nation’s politics for months. Click here to read... [18]

Pakistan’s Election Commission files review petition against SC’s decision to hold Punjab polls on May 14 – The Print

Pakistan’s top election body on Wednesday filed a review petition with the Supreme Court against its verdict to hold the election in Punjab province on May 14, arguing that the apex court could not fix the dates for the polls. Click here to read... [19]

Pakistan drifting away from Iran – Devdiscourse

Iran has been making significant diplomatic and military overtures towards Pakistan since 2021. Tehran has been sincere and persistent towards the resolution of major issues with its eastern neighbour ranging from issues of cross-border terrorism to improvement in economic and military relations, the Pak Military Monitor reported. Click here to read... [20]

Terror attacks in Pakistan increased to 48 in April, 68 dead, 55 injured – Business Standard

Pakistan witnessed a slight increase in the number of terror attacks in April with a total of 48 incidents, which led to 68 deaths and 55 injuries, according to a new report. In its report released on Tuesday, the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies said the new figures were higher than the 39 militant attacks recorded in March, resulting in 58 deaths and 73 injuries, reports Xinhua news agency. Click here to read... [21]

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s plan to export 1 lakh crop-raiding monkeys to China sparks outrage - Scroll

Sri Lanka’s animal-human conflicts are on the rise with increasing crop raids, but a recent request from a Chinese company requesting 100,00 toque macaques from Sri Lanka has fueled a fresh debate on wildlife exploitation. Crop damage by wild animals has posed a serious problem to many people, especially farming communities, and a report last year estimated an overall loss of 30.215 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($93.6 million) during the first half of 2022. Click here to read... [22]

IAF Chief’s visit to Sri Lanka spotlights India’s focus on Trincomalee harbour and Jaffna – India Nerrative

Thanking India big time for providing the much-needed assistance as it undergoes a major economic crisis, Sri Lanka continues to seek more collaborations with New Delhi, specifically in the northern Jaffna Peninsula and Trincomalee on the northeast coast of the country. On Wednesday, the Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari called on Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at Temple Trees in Colombo to hold discussions on matters related to defence cooperation between the two countries. Click here to read... [23]

China Strengthens Grip on Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port - Diplomat

China is strengthening its grip on Colombo port after securing an agreement to build, operate, and transfer a warehousing hub within the port. The China Merchants Port Holdings Company (CMPH) will have an 85 percent stake in the warehouse facility and will operate it for 50 years. The Sri Lankan government assigned the $392 million project to CMPH, a Chinese state-owned enterprise, without open tendering. Click here to read... [24]