Neighborhood News Digest – 16 November 2023

Afghanistan

Contract Signed for Remaining Work on 500 KV Power Transmission Project – Tolo News

A contract for the 500 KV Sheberghan-Dashte Alwan electricity transmission project was signed between the Islamic Emirate and a private company. Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) said that the value of this project is $36 million dollars and its work will be completed in the next two years. Click here to read… [2]

Afghanistan: Refugees in Torkham region appeal for relocation to their homes – The Print

Refugees who have returned to Afghanistan and taken up temporary housing in the Torkham Crossing region have urged the present administration to expedite the registration and assistance distribution processes so that they can return to their homes as soon as possible, according to TOLOnews. Click here to read… [3]

Afghanistan urges Pakistan to release thousands of containers from port – The Hindu

Afghanistan urged Pakistan on November 14 to release thousands of containers of imports it said were stuck at Karachi port since Islamabad clamped down on transnational cargo. Pakistan authorities say they have lost millions of dollars in taxes because goods are being sent duty-free from its ports to land-locked Afghanistan, and then smuggled back across the border. Click here to read… [4]

Bangladesh

Bangladesh to hold general elections on January 7 next year - NewsOnAair

In Bangladesh, the 12th parliamentary elections will be held on January 7, 2024. Chief Election Commissioner, Kazi Habibul Awal announced the polls schedule in Dhaka yesterday evening. The deadline for submission of nomination papers is November 30, while scrutiny of the nominations will be done between December 1 and 4 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is December 17. Click here to read… [5]

Bangladesh: UN Rights Review Amid Violent Crackdown - HRW

The Bangladesh government should seriously respond to concerns regarding grave abuses and the crackdown on civil society raised by member states on November 13, 2023, during Bangladesh’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Human Rights Watch said today. The review took place amid a violent ongoing crackdown by Bangladesh security forces ahead of the 2024 general election. Click here to read… [6]

Deep Depression Over Bay To Intensify Further, Cross Bangladesh Coast By Nov 18 - Odisha Bytes

The depression over Westcentral Bay of Bengal has intensified into a deep depression, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed on Thursday. Click here to read… [7]

Bhutan

Nikachhu project begins pre-commissioning test – Kuensel

Even as political parties talk about starting small hydropower projects, the 118MW Nikachhu Hydropower project in Trongsa commenced its pre-commissioning test on November 13, marking a pivotal step forward for this ambitious endeavour. With the latest development – dam impoundment – underway, the project will carry out testing along with the charging of the water conductor system, which would take about a month. Click here to read… [8]

India to waive curbs, allow food items to be shipped to Bhutan - Mint

India will allow around 103,600 tonnes of food items to be exported to Bhutan under a humanitarian operation, making an exception for its strategic partners amid export restrictions, two senior government officials said. This comes after possible signs of progress in long-running boundary talks between China and Bhutan grabbed India’s attention as Beijing stepped up efforts to establish diplomatic ties with the tiny Himalayan kingdom. Click here to read… [9]

Maldives

‘Maldives is too small to be...': President-elect says 'going to work with India, China'- India Today

The incoming president of Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, who promised to remove Indian troops from the island nation after taking office, said his country is too small to be entangled in geopolitical rivalry. He added that the Maldives is going to "work together with all the countries, including India and China." In a recent interview with news agency AFP, Muizzu said, “Maldives is too small to be entangled in geopolitical rivalry. I am not very much interested to engage the Maldivian foreign policy in this.” Click here to read… [10]

India to send Kiren Rijiju to oath event of Maldives’ next Prez. Why it is a downgrade- Hindustan Times

India will be represented at the inauguration of the Maldives’ new pro-China leader by earth sciences minister Kiren Rijiju, reflecting a significant downgrade from the prime minister’s presence at the previous presidential swearing-in ceremony. Click here to read… [11]

Myanmar

Resistance group in Myanmar says entire army battalion surrendered to it - Millennium Post

A Myanmar army battalion based near the Chinese border surrendered to an alliance of ethnic armed groups that launched a surprise offensive last month against the military, a spokesperson for one of the groups said Wednesday. Click here to read… [12]

Disquiet on the Myanmar front -Hindustan Times

Anti-junta resistance forces in Myanmar have registered a string of military victories since they launched a coordinated offensive near the border with China last month, putting tremendous pressure on the State Administration Council, which has ruled the country since the coup of February 2021. The offensive, named Operation 1027 after the date when it started, was initiated by an alliance of three resistance groups in Shan State, and their successes led to similar campaigns in several other parts of Myanmar. Since the weekend, several People’s Defence Force groups and ethnic resistance organisations have carried out attacks on military camps and trade routes in Chin and Kachin States and Sagaing Region, which border India. The fighters, using drones and resorting to asymmetric warfare, have taken control of towns and military camps near the only two official border crossings with India, leading to the exodus of thousands of Myanmar citizens and dozens of military personnel to Mizoram. Click here to read… [13]

ASEAN defence chiefs call for end to Myanmar crisis, Israel-Hamas war - New Indian Express

Southeast Asian defence ministers called for an end to the Myanmar crisis and to the Israel-Hamas war on Wednesday as they gathered for talks that will include meetings with regional counterparts and the Pentagon chief. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings in Jakarta were dominated by issues ranging from the Myanmar crisis to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, as well as Beijing's growing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea. Click here to read… [14]

Nepal

EU announces €2 million in humanitarian aid for Nepal earthquake victims - LaPrensaLatina

The European Union (EU) on Wednesday announced a humanitarian aid package of 2 million euros for Nepal to assist those affected by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake earlier this month. “It will help provide shelter, access to clean water and sanitation, and health care, among other services,” the EU said in a statement. The aid includes €600,000 to support the efforts of humanitarian partners already providing assistance in the affected areas. Click here to read… [15]

Nepal investigating new international airport in Pokhara made by China -Business Standard

Nepal’s $216 million international airport in Pokhara, the country’s second-biggest city, opened in January. China agreed to provide loans to build the airport more than a decade ago. Nepal tapped China CAMC Engine- ering, the construction arm of a state-owned conglomerate, Sinomach, as the contractor. The airport has failed to attract any regular international flights, raising concerns about whether it will generate enough revenue to repay loans to its Chinese lenders. Nepali officials have asked Beijing to change the loans into a grant to ease the financial burden, but China has not agreed to do so. Click here to read… [16]

Xizang opens fourth landport, connecting China and Nepal - China Daily

A new land port linking Letse in Drongba county of Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region, and Nechung in Mustang county of Nepal was officially opened on Monday. Located around 12 kilometers from its corresponding port, the Nechung Port of Nepal, the Letse Port serves as a gateway between the two countries. It is the fourth land port in the region, following the ports of Zhangmu, Gyirong, and Burang. Click here to read… [17]

Pakistan

Senators protest resolution against SC ruling – Dawn

Mem­bers belonging to the country’s mainstream political parties on Tuesday lodged a strong protest in the Senate against the hasty passage of a controversial resolution by the House on Monday in support of military courts and called for its immediate withdrawal. Click here to read… [18]

Cash-Strapped Pakistan Sold Weapons Worth $364 Million To Ukraine: Report – NDTV

Cash-strapped Pakistan reportedly earned USD 364 million in an arms deal with two private US companies last year to supply ammunition to Ukraine in its war with Russia, according to a media report. A British military cargo plane flew from Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan in Rawalpindi to the British military base in Cyprus, Akrotiri, and then to Romania a total of five times to supply arms to the war-torn country, the BBC Urdu reported on Monday. Click here to read… [19]

Pakistan, IMF reach staff-level agreement on first bailout review – Dawn

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the first review of a $3 billion bailout, where the country will receive $700 million after approval from the Fund’s Executive Board, the organisation said on Wednesday. In June, the IMF executive board had approved the much-needed nine-month standby arrangement (SBA) with Pakistan “to support its economic stabilisation programme”. The approval had allowed for an immediate disbursement of $1.2bn, with the rest to be phased over the programme’s duration — subject to two quarterly reviews. Click here to read… [20]

Indian Navy monitoring movement of Chinese warships participating in exercise with Pakistan – The Hindu

The Indian Navy has been keeping a close watch on the movement of a Chinese submarine and warships that are participating in a naval exercise with Pakistan, government sources said on Wednesday. The Navy is monitoring the Chinese platforms from the moment they entered the Indian Ocean region through the Malacca strait, they added. Click here to read… [21]