Neighborhood News Digest – 7 July 2023

Afghanistan

Understanding the fall in Opium production in Afghanistan – ORF

Recent reports and satellite imagery show an almost 80 percent fall in the opium crop in the south and south-western provinces of Afghanistan. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in their latest World Drug Report also acknowledged this fall, while warning against the attendant risks that this poses for drug smuggling and the increased use of synthetic drugs. Click here to read... [2]

The Taliban Are Now Arms Dealers - Foreign Policy

The U.S. military retreated from Afghanistan two years ago, leaving behind weapons that are now turning up in far-flung trouble spots where terrorists are fighting and killing America’s allies. In markets that have sprung up across the southern and eastern badlands, where the hottest fighting of the war took place, merchants with Taliban permits are offering U.S.-made automatic assault rifles and handguns for sale alongside hardware from Russia, Pakistan, China, Turkey, and Austria. Business, like terrorism, is thriving. Click here to read... [3]

Afghanistan: Relatives of victims of raids by foreign forces in Paktika call for compensation – The Print

The relatives of victims of raids by foreign forces in Afghanistan’s Paktika are calling for compensation and justice, Tolo News reported. A village in the Mata Khan district of Paktika was raided by foreign troops 15 years ago. The residents of Ibrahim Kariz village said that 40 villagers including women and children were killed in the raid. Click here to read... [4]

Bangladesh

Bangladesh's Chinese-built Padma Bridge goes cashless with electronic toll collection system - English News

An experimental electronic toll collection system has been installed on Wednesday at Bangladesh's largest Padma Bridge to help alleviate traffic congestion, and reduce delay and fuel consumption. The smart toll collection system was inaugurated by the Secretary of Bridges Division of Bangladeshi Road Transport and Bridges Ministry Monjur Hossain on Wednesday. Click here to read... [5]

India-Bangladesh: 53 Years Of Harmony – Eurasia Review

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have built a new history of bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh. Both countries have undertaken a number of successful programs for the development of their countrymen. India granted a record number of visas last year in compliance with Bangladesh’s long-standing demand. Appropriate infrastructure for issuing more visas is being developed in Bangladesh. The top leadership of both countries understood that we complement each other. Development is not possible without neighbors. Click here to read... [6]

Bhutan

Importing sugar from India is difficult – Kuensel

Despite the lifting of restrictions on sugar exports in November 2022, the Association of Bhutanese Industries (ABI) continues to face hurdles in importing sugar from India. The Government of India (GoI), through the Directorate of Sugar and Vegetable Oils, allows the export of sugar to various countries, allocating an export quota of 0.6 million metric tonnes for the period from 2022 to 2023, until October 2023. Click here to read... [7]

Maldives

Maldives' usable reserve drops to USD148 million - Edition

Maldives' usable reserve has dropped to USD 148 million, central bank figures showed Wednesday. According to data published by Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), Maldives' reserve had decreased by USD 105 million by May, compared to the beginning of the year. The usable reserve was at USD 254 million in January. Click here to read... [8]

Myanmar

Thailand extends work permit process for migrants from 4 neighboring countries - RFA

Thailand will allow one-half million foreign migrants to stay in the country until the end of July to process work permits after they missed a mid-May deadline, a government spokeswoman said Thursday. The workers from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam are among 2.74 million foreigners employed in Thailand as of May, according to the Ministry of Labor. Click here to read... [9]

UN urges end to arms supplies to Myanmar junta - UCA News

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has recorded testimonies of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh as part of its genocide probe against Myanmar’s military. Visiting Bangladesh, home to a large number of Rohingya refugees from neighboring Myanmar, prosecutor Karim Asad Ahmad Khan on July 6 interviewed the ethnic refuges in two camps– Camp 1 and Camp 12 – in Cox’s Bazaar, the largest refugee camp in the world. Click here tom read... [10]

Nepal

Nepal PM's India Remark Stirs Up Storm, Opposition Demands His Resignation – NDTV

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda's stunning remarks that an Indian businessman settled here "once made efforts" to make him the premier has stirred up a storm in the Himalayan Nation with the Opposition demanding his resignation. Prachanda also said that Sardar Pritam Singh, a pioneer trucking entrepreneur in Nepal, played a special and historic role in enhancing Nepal-India relations. Click here to read... [11]

Nepal: 4 projects built with India’s financial assistance handed over to Dailekh local govt – The Print

Four high-impact community development projects (HICDPs) constructed with financial assistance from the Government of India have been handed over to the local government concerned in Dailekh district on July 3. Click here to read... [12]

No Nepali Gorkhas recruited to Indian Army for a year: How forces are being affected – Firstpost

India and Nepal have been at odds over the recruitment of Gorkhas since the Centre introduced its Agnipath scheme. Around 12,000 Gorkha soldiers have retired from the Indian Army since 2021 and each battalion is already facing a shortfall of around 250 soldiers. Experts say China is waiting to pounce. Click here to read... [13]

Pakistan

India slams Pakistan for 'politically-motivated' and 'venomous' remarks referring to J&K at UNSC – Hindustan Times

Counsellor in India's Permanent Mission to the UN Ashish Sharma's sharp response came at the UN Security Council open debate on Wednesday. India has slammed Pakistan for its "politically-motivated" and "venomous" remarks that referred to Jammu and Kashmir during a Security Council debate on children and armed conflict, saying those who are soaked in bigotry will find it hard to understand a pluralistic society. Click here to read... [14]

Islamist militants kill Pakistan army officer – The Print

Islamist militants killed a Pakistani army officer on Thursday during a gun battle in a tribal district close to the Afghan border, the army said, close to where three soldiers died in a suicide attack the previous day. Major Abdullah Shah, 33, was leading an operation in the Khyber region when he was shot dead in an exchange of fire, the army said, adding that “three terrorists and their facilitators” were taken prisoner. Click here to read... [15]

Imran Khan Charged For Attack On Pak Army Headquarters, Now Faces 150 Cases – NDTV

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been named in six cases, including three under the tough Anti-Terrorism Act, for the unprecedented attack on Pak Army's General Headquarters (GHQ) of the army in Rawalpindi on May 9, local media reported. Supporters of Imran Khan, also chief of the Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf party, allegedly breached the gates of the Pakistan Army's GHQ in Rawalpindi on May 9, dubbed as a "Black Day" by the country's military. Click here to read... [16]

Sri Lanka

Dutch to return colonial treasures to Indonesia, Sri Lanka - The Hindu

The Netherlands said Thursday it will hand back hundreds of colonial-era artifacts to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, including a haul of treasure and a gem-encrusted bronze cannon. The decision to return some 478 objects followed recommendations by a government-appointed commission last year looking into illegal Dutch colonial acquisitions now being displayed in museums in the Netherlands. Click here to read... [17]

India may permit Sri Lanka to repay debt over 12 years - Live Mint

India plans to allow Sri Lanka up to 12 years to repay its debt to help ease the financial burden on the island-nation, India’s Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) Ltd’s chairman-cum-managing director M.Senthilnathan said. Click here to read... [18]