Neighborhood News Digest- 03 September 2024

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Suicide bomber kills 6 and injures 13 in Kabul explosion-The Khaama Press

The Kabul Police Command reports that today’s explosion in Kabul resulted in the deaths of six civilians, including one woman, and injured 13 others. Mohammad Khalid Zadran stated in a press release that this afternoon, Monday, September 2, an individual detonated explosives in the Bakhteyar Khail area of the sixth district. As a result, six civilians were killed, and 13 others were wounded. Click here to read... [2]

Ministry of Agriculture Delegation Visits China-Tolo News

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock has sent an eight-member delegation of its experts to China to participate in the trilateral "China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Agriculture" meeting. Musbahuddin Mustaeen, spokesperson of the ministry, told TOLOnews that the meeting will be held for ten days and will discuss China's agricultural programs, the factors behind the transformation and progress of its agriculture, and other related topics. Click here to read... [3]

Afghanistan, Turkmenistan Sign MoUs for Infrastructure, Energy Projects-Tolo News

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum announced the signing of a number of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) for the implementation of joint projects between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. The spokesman for the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, Homayoun Afghan, said that these MoUs were signed in a meeting between officials of the two countries to carry out major projects such as the TAPI gas pipeline project and many more. Click here to read... [4]

Over 72,000 people leave Afghanistan in one week-The Khaama Press

The International Organization for Migration has reported that between August 19 and August 24, a total of 72,624 people left Afghanistan for Iran and Pakistan. According to the report, Iran is the destination for 51% of the migrants who left Afghanistan during this period. Click here to read... [5]

Bangladesh

BTRC’s curious U-turn on Summit Communications - The Daily Star

The telecom regulator has walked back on its decision just two months ago to allow Summit Communications to transfer its shares without any fee, in a development that raises questions about the extent of benefits the company received during the 15 years of the previous Awami League government. Click here to read... [6]

Unrest hits industries – The Daily Star

Workers from different sectors continued their demonstrations in Ashulia, Savar, Dhamrai, and Gazipur yesterday demanding equal rights in jobs, increase in salaries, and regularisation of contractual workers. Click here to read... [7]

High-level US delegation likely to visit Dhaka this month – Dhaka Tribune

A senior-level US delegation is expected to visit Bangladesh this month to discuss with the interim government ways to take forward the relations between the two countries in a changed political scenario. Click here to read... [8]

Water sharing: Talks between Bangladesh and India held hostage to political whims – Dhaka Tribune

Fifty-seven transboundary rivers feed into Bangladesh, carrying an enormous volume of water flow. And Bangladesh shares 54 of these rivers with India. These rivers effectively create one of the world’s largest riverine drainage basins, the Ganges--Brahmaputra--Meghna (GBM) Basin. The GBM river systems drain a total catchment area of 1.72 million square kilometres through Bangladesh into the Bay of Bengal. As the lower riparian country within the GBM Basin, Bangladesh is highly dependent on and susceptible to run-off from India, with over 90% of the country’s surface water provided by out-of-country sources. Click here to read... [9]

Bhutan

Bhutanese students return to Bangladesh as situation improves-Kuensel

With the political situation in Bangladesh improving after a month of unrest, Bhutanese students are beginning to return for their studies. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade (MoFAET), about 237 Bhutanese are studying in Bangladesh, of which 230 had returned to the country during the political turmoil. Click here to read... [10]

Dr Karma Phuntsho wins the Nobel Prize of Asia-Kuensel

The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) has announced that Dr Karma Phuntsho (PhD), a Bhutanese thought leader and founder of the Loden Foundation, will be honored with the Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2024. The award ceremony is set to take place on November 16 in the Philippines. Click here to read... [11]

Maldives

BML provides official statement for financial coup investigation– Adhadhu

Police have taken an official statement from the Bank of Maldives (BML) in connection with the alleged collusion between the bank and the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to overthrow the government. The government claims BML and MDP attempted to overthrow President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's government on August 25. Police say people were urged to take to the streets against the government following BML's decision to suspend the dollar limit. Click here to read... [12]

Pakistan

PM expresses satisfaction as Pakistan's inflation rate drops to single digits-The Express Tribune

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday expressed satisfaction over the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics report, which announced that inflation had fallen to single digits in August 2024. According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) earlier in the day, the country’s consumer price index (CPI) rose by 9.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in August, marking a 34-month low. Click here to read... [13]

Pakistan has lowest rate of plastic waste leakage in region: World Bank-The Express Tribune

A recent World Bank report reveals that Pakistan and India, along with four other South Asian nations, are contributing to the cross-border transport of pollutants like solid waste, plastics, industrial effluents, domestic wastewater, and microplastics through 20 major rivers. Click here to read... [14]

Terrorist attacks surge to 59 in August from 38 in July-Dawn

The country continues to experience increased terrorist attacks as a total of 59 terrorist attacks occurred across the country in August 2024 compared to 38 such attacks in the previous month. These incidents included 29 attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 28 in Balochistan and two in Punjab, killing 84 people and 166 others injured, according to the digital database of security incidents managed by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think-tank. Click here to read... [15]

Mehmood Achakzai says ready to talk to ‘establishment’-Dawn

Pakhtun¬khwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) president Mehmood Khan Achakzai on Monday declared on the floor of the National Assembly that he was ready to engage in talks with the ‘establishment’ for the sake of the supremacy of constitution and to bring the country out of the prevailing crisis. Click here to read... [16]

Sri Lanka

The other three candidates come with serious, troubled pasts, I do not-Namal – Daily Mirror

SLPP’s Presidential Candidate, Namal Rajapaksa said that the other three leading candidates - Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake came with serious, troubled pasts, but he was the only candidate who did not have any such allegations. Click here to read... [17]

Differences brew in ITAK over decision to back Sajith Premadasa – Daily Mirror

Resentment brews within the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) over the decision by the party’s Central Committee to back Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa in the absence of some its leaders such as former MP Mavai Senathirajah and S. Sridharan. Click here to read... [18]

Candidates who cross spending limit will lose civic rights: EC – Daily Mirror

The presidential candidates who are found to have spent more than the allowed amount per voter, which is Rs. 109, will face serious consequences, the Election Commission said. According to Commissioner General of Elections Saman Sri Ratnayake, this includes losing their position and losing their civic rights for three years. Click here to read... [19]