Neighborhood News Digest - 22 July 2024

Afghanistan

Public Health Minister's Switzerland Trip to Boost Health Collaboration- Tolo News

The Ministry of Public Health reported that Noor Jalal Jalali, the acting Minister of Public Health, has travelled to Switzerland and met with the Director-General of the World Health Organization. According to Sharafat Zaman Amarkhil, the spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health, Jalali discussed with officials from partner organizations in the health sector about controlling contagious diseases, eradicating polio, and standardizing health services in Afghanistan during this trip. Click here to read… [2]

Russia and Afghanistan businesses switch from dollar to ruble, and Afghani-The Khaama Press

Russia and Afghanistan are abandoning the dollar in mutual settlements, switching to rubles and Afghanis, according to Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov. “Russia and Afghanistan are under unilateral illegitimate sanctions, and moving away from the dollar is one of the options,” Zhirnov said, as reported by TASS news agency. Click here to read… [3]

US Commission launches inquiry into Afghanistan war-The Khaama Press

A coterie of former US government officials and academics began an extensive examination of America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan on Friday. Congress tasks the 16-member bipartisan panel to determine what went wrong and what US leaders could do differently in future wars. Their mandate includes policies and actions by four presidential administrations, the US military, the State Department, US allies, and various agencies. Click here to read… [4]

Bangladesh

Bangladesh job quota row: Will Mamata Banerjee speak to PM Sheikh Hasina over protests? TMC leader says… – Mint

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee can speak to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about the ongoing violence over quota system for civil service jobs in the country, said TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay highlighting their “good relationship”. Click here to read… [5]

More than 4,500 Indians return from violence-hit Bangladesh, says MEA - Hindustan Times

The Indian high commission in Dhaka has been arranging security escorts for the safe travel of Indian nationals to land border crossing points, the MEA stated. More than 4,500 Indian nationals and nearly 540 citizens of Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives have returned from Bangladesh with the assistance of Indian authorities following violent protests against job quotas in the neighbouring country. Click here to read… [6]

Amid violent protests, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court scales back govt job quota – Indian Express

Days after a nationwide unrest that claimed 151 lives, Bangladesh's Supreme Court Sunday scaled back the 30 per cent quota in government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971. Click here to read… [7]

Bhutan

Bhutan’s PM, King to visit Statue of Unity today-The Indian Express

Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk and Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay will visit the Statue of Unity (SoU) and Sardar Sarovar Dam in Narmada district Monday, an official release stated on Sunday. This is for the first time that the king and prime minister of a country are visiting the site together, the release added. Click here to read… [8]

India agrees to consider providing Rs 1,500 cr economic stimulus to Bhutan-Business Standard

India has agreed to positively consider providing Rs 1,500 crore to Bhutan as part of the Economic Stimulus Programme in the next 18 months, the two governments said on Saturday at the end of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's visit and his wide-ranging talks with the Himalayan nation's leadership. Click here to read… [9]

Maldives

Parliamentary delegation visits China – Avas

A delegation of Parliament members has traveled to China, led by the Parliament's Deputy Speaker and Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim. The team is attending the China-South Asia Cooperation Forum, where MP Nazim is scheduled to deliver a speech. The delegation includes PNC MPs Maafannu South MP Abdulla Rifau, Feydhoo South MP Ibrahim Didi, Milandhoo MP Hassan Mufeed Abdul Ghadhir, and MDP Vaikaradhoo MP Hussain Ziyad. Relations between China and Maldives have strengthened since President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu took office. Three cabinet ministers are also currently in China on an official visit. Click here to read… [10]

PNC takes vacant Male' and Kulhudhuffushi city council seats – Adhadhu

Candidates from the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) won by-elections held on July 20, for vacant seats on the Male' and Kulhudhuffushi city councils. PNC won all three seats on the Male' city council and one seat on the Kulhudhuffushi city council. Click here to read… [11]

Myanmar

Myanmar’s NUG addresses minority community rights – Mizzima

The Ministry of Human Rights of the National Unity Government (NUG) appears to have embraced a thorny subject that so often divides the Myanmar community. Responding on 9 July to the UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrew’s recent report on human rights in Myanmar, the NUG appears to say the right thing in relation to racial and religious division that dogs the country. To quote the NUG report: “In his presentation to the Council, the Special Rapporteur gave deserved attention to the situation in Rakhine State, particularly the plight of the Rohingya people. To Mr Andrews, forced conscription, forced displacement and the dire humanitarian situation in Rakhine State carry ‘echoes of the lead-up to genocidal violence in 2016 and 2017.’ Click here to read… [12]

Indian Nationals Rescued From Crime Syndicate in Myanmar - Republic World

Eight Indian nationals, who were working at a scam centre in Hpa Lu, Myawaddy, were successfully rescued and handed over to Myanmar police and immigration authorities yesterday. The Indian Embassy in Myanmar expressed gratitude to the Myanmar authorities and local support for their crucial role in the rescue operation. Click here to read… [13]

8 Indians trapped in Myanmar job scams rescued: Embassy - Indian Express

Eight Indian citizens, victims of job scam, who were stuck in Myanmar’s strife-torn Myawaddy region, located close to the Thailand border, were rescued Saturday and handed over to the local authorities, the Indian Embassy in Laos said Sunday, adding that over the last two days, 11 other Indian nationals, who were similarly held up in another spot in Myawaddy, were rescued. Click here to read… [14]

British and US embassies issue statements commemorating Myanmar’s Martyrs’ Day - Mizzima

Both the British and US embassies have issued statements commemorating Myanmar’s Martyrs’ Day. In observance of Martyrs’ Day, the US Embassy said it commemorates Bogyoke Aung San and the eight other leaders assassinated in 1947, who worked tirelessly for independence. Shortly after her arrival last year, US Chargé d’Affaires Susan Stevenson visited the former Secretariat building and paid her respects to the nine martyrs. The embassy said they reflect on the spirit of those who paid the ultimate price. Click here to read… [15]

South Africa court orders suspension, review of arms exports to Myanmar - Mizzima

A South African court ordered the national arms regulator Friday to suspend and review all permits granted for the sale of weapons to Myanmar as well as other governments suspected of coups or war crimes, legal and rights groups said. The High Court in Pretoria issued the ruling after an application filed in 2022 by the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, both groups said in a statement. The order sets “aside permits that were granted by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) to facilitate arms transfers to Myanmar,” the statement said. Click here to read… [16]

Nepal

Nepal’s never-ending power flips, and why India needs a new strategy - Times of India

In the current episode, within days of PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ forming a new coalition with former Communist ally K P Sharma Oli after parting ways with Sher Bahadur Deuba’s Nepali Congress, there was yet again a switching of sides between coalition partners and foes. Oli (now Nepal’s new PM) and Deuba reached an ‘understanding’ on sharing the prime ministership under a new rotational arrangement to ensure stability until the next elections due in 2027, which is theoretically possible since between them they command 167 out of 278 parliamentary seats as the two largest parties. Click here to read… [17]

Nitish Kumar ‘repeatedly’ raised Bagmati river flooding concerns with former Nepal PM Prachanda - The Hindu

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has “repeatedly” raised his concerns about the annual flooding of the Bagmati river with multiple leaders from Nepal, including Nepal’s former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, a senior leader of the Janata Dal (United) told The Hindu. The Bagmati, which is currently in spate and sparking fears of flooding in Bihar, is one of the major cross-border rivers that flow through Bihar’s plains carrying a large amount of water from the upper reaches of the Himalayas in Nepal. Click here to read… [18]

Nepal Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal to Address China-South Asia Forum - Devidiscourse

Nepal's Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal is slated to visit China this week to attend the 5th China-South Asia Cooperation Forum. The announcement was made public on Sunday. According to the ministry, Lamsal will deliver a keynote speech at the forum on July 24. In addition to her address, she will hold bilateral meetings with high-level dignitaries on the sidelines of the event in Kunming city. Click here to read… [19]

Pakistan

Pakistan to urge Chinese power firms in country to shift to local coal-The Express Tribune

Pakistan this month will ask Chinese power plants operating in the country to shift to using coal from Pakistan's Thar region rather than imported coal, the power minister said on Sunday. Islamabad may also begin talks on re-profiling Pakistan's energy sector debt during the visit to Beijing, Awais Leghari, head of the energy ministry's Power Division, told Reuters. Click here to read… [20]

FO summons German ambassador over vandalism attack on diplomatic mission in Frankfurt-The Express Tribune

In a rare move, the Foreign Office on Sunday summoned the German ambassador in Islamabad to lodge a strong protest over the vandalism of Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Frankfurt by Afghans. The incident happened on Saturday when Afghan nationals protested outside the Pakistani Consulate in Frankfurt. Some of the protesters, as visible in social media videos, scaled the walls of the mission, removed the Pakistani flag and attempted to burn it. Click here to read… [21]

KP points to ‘miscreants’, Centre blames PTI for unrest in Bannu-Dawn

While the provincial government blamed ‘miscreants’ for the violence that claimed at least one life during a peace rally in Bannu last week, the federal government on Sunday held the PTI — which governs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — responsible for the unrest. A 40-member jirga — formed to smooth things over after violence marred the peace rally in Bannu — will meet KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur today (Monday) to relay the public’s concerns. Click here to read… [22]

Sri Lanka

Prasanna urges Ranil to declare candidacy promptly – Daily Mirror

During a spirited rally in Kadawatha today, Minister Prasanna Ranatunga passionately urged President Ranil Wickremesinghe to promptly announce his candidacy for the presidency within the upcoming week. Click here to read… [23]

It is regretted that President places blame on me for current constitutional error - Jayampathi – Daily Mirror

Dr. Jayampathi Wickramaratne, the former MP who played a key role in drafting the 19th Amendment , said the upper limit of the term of President and Parliament as mentioned in Article 83 of the Constitution was not touched at that time only to avoid a referendum, and therefore it is regretted that President Ranil Wickremesinghe placing the blame solely on him for the constitutional error. Click here to read… [24]

IMF to review SL’s economic progress next week – Daily Mirror

A delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka next week to assess the country’s economic progress. The delegation will evaluate the current economic situation and recommend future actions to strengthen the economy. Click here to read… [25]