Neighborhood News Digest - 29 November 2024

Afghanistan

Moscow: More Cooperation Wanted, but Not While Islamic Emirate on Blacklist-Tolo News

The spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova stated that the country intends to expand its cooperation with Afghanistan's caretaker government in various areas, including counterterrorism and combating drug trafficking. Maria Zakharova said in her remarks that Russia, like other powerful nations of the world, is interested in expanding relations with Afghanistan’s caretaker government. However, this would not be possible without removing the Islamic Emirate from Russia’s “terrorist organizations." Click here to read... [2]

UAE Accepts Credentials of Islamic Emirate’s Ambassador in Abu Dhabi-Tolo News

The president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has accepted the credentials of Badruddin Haqqani as the Islamic Emirate's ambassador in Abu Dhabi. In a statement, the UAE government announced that Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the UAE, emphasized strengthening relations between nations during a ceremony held for this occasion. He stated that these relations will move forward based on mutual respect. Click here to read... [3]

Islamic Emirate: Eight Million Textbooks to Be Printed-Tolo News

Officials from the Ministry of Education have announced the printing of eight million textbooks to address the challenges faced by students in the country. Habibullah Agha, acting Minister of Education, during a meeting with the head of education and tribal elders of Khost province, stated that the Islamic Emirate is committed to the pursuit of modern sciences. Click here to read... [4]

Bangladesh

Polls date after reforms - The Daily Star

The government will announce the date of the national election immediately after completing the reforms, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, environment, forest, and climate change adviser, reiterated yesterday. She said six reform commissions are supposed to submit their reports by December 2024, but some commissions have informed them that they may need one or two more weeks to submit their reports. Click here to read... [5]

Jamaat delegation in meeting with Yunus – The Daily Star

A delegation of Jamaat-e-Islami, led by its Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, is currently holding a meeting with Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus at the state guest house Jamuna. The delegation entered Jamuna around 6:00pm, Jamaat sources said. Click here to read... [6]

July Revolution: Student leaders to launch new political party aiming at national election – Dhaka Tribune

Following the success of the July-August revolution, the Anti-Discriminatory Student Movement leaders plan to form a new political party and aim to participate in the next national parliament election. While the name and leadership of the party remain undecided, sources confirm that the party will be established within two to three months. Click here to read... [7]

It’s now time to unite, build Bangladesh: Tarique Rahman – Prothom Alo

BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman on Thursday said it is now time to build Bangladesh with united efforts after the ouster of autocratic regime. "The people of Bangladesh have overthrown autocracy. We are now free from it. It is now time to focus on building the nation through united efforts," he said while virtually addressing the final match of the Shaheed Zia Memorial Football Tournament as the chief guest. Click here to read... [8]

Bhutan

India approves 61 PTA projects– Kuensel

The Government of India (GoI) has approved 61 Project Tied Assistance (PTA) projects under Bhutan’s 13th Plan, with the first tranche of Nu 49,578.75 million already approved. Finance Minister Lekey Dorji informed the National Assembly about this development on November 25. Between July and November 2024, Bhutan has received Nu 1,796.46 million from the total amount, with additional funding expected in the coming months. Lyonpo also said that the GoI has committed a programme grant of Nu 5 billion. Under this agreement, Nu 250 million will be disbursed every three months, with the first installments for July, August, and September already received. The finance minister’s remarks came in response to a query from Rinchen Wangdi, Member of Parliament (MP) from Bartsham-Shongphu Constituency in Trashigang, who sought an update on the total PTA funds received so far and the number of projects approved. Click here to read... [9]

Maldives

Govt refuses to comply with ICOM order to disclose details of Indian "civilians" operating military aircraft– Adhadhu

Defense Ministry has refused to comply with an Information Commissioner's Office (ICOM) order to disclose details of the "civilians" brought to replace Indian soldiers operating military aircraft in the Maldives. On May 12, Adhadhu filed a request under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to find out how they were confirmed as civilians, their details and how they operated the military aircraft. But the Defense Ministry decided to classify the information on their profile, age, gender and whether they had previously served in the Indian military. The ministry also decided to classify the number of trips made by the aircraft since November 17, 2023. Click here to read... [10]

President lauds decision on bill requiring USD 500 exchange– Adhadhu

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has lauded the decision to require the exchange of USD 500 in the Foreign Currency Exchange Bill, calling it a positive step that will bring dollar prosperity to the general public and small and medium enterprises. The President expressed his views in a post on social media regarding the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA)'s foreign currency exchange bill. In the post, President Muizzu reiterated his earlier remarks from November 17, 2024, stressing the importance of the MMA initiating a Foreign Currency Exchange Act to strengthen enforcement. He affirmed that the rule, which mandates tourist establishments to exchange USD 500 per person, would remain in place and be enforced. He also mentioned that Parliament would pass a special "flex law" to address the ongoing foreign currency exchange shortage and provide further support to the MMA. Click here to read... [11]

Pakistan

Barrister Ali Zafar denies reports of change in PTI leadership-The Express Tribune

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Barrister Ali Zafar has denied reports claiming that he met with party founder Imran Khan to discuss changes in the party leadership, including the nomination of Asad Qaiser as PTI chairman, as reported by local media on Thursday. Click here to read... [12]

Pakistan backs Palestinian cause at Global Alliance meeting for two-state solution-The Express Tribune

Pakistan reaffirmed its steadfast support for the Palestinian cause during the second meeting of the 'Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution' held in Brussels on Thursday, the Foreign Office (FO) confirmed. The meeting was part of ongoing efforts to advance a fair and lasting peace in the Middle East, including the end of Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Click here to read... [13]

ADB to help Pakistan, three nations in climate-smart urban development-Dawn

The Asian Deve¬lop¬ment Bank has agreed to provide technical assistance to Pakistan and three other regional countries in advancing climate-smart urban development. The ADB assistance to Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Uzbekistan will be provided in climate-informed urban development planning, identifying climate change investments, and exploring innovative climate financing solutions for scaling up urban climate actions. Click here to read... [14]

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka should not bow to external pressure: Chinese Envoy– Daily Mirror

Sri Lanka must not bow to external pressure and must maintain an independent foreign policy, especially at a time when some ‘parties’ are trying to take advantage of its economic situation, China’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong told a group of journalists in Colombo last evening. In an in-depth interaction, clearing China’s stance and future relations with Sri Lanka, Qi said that some parties had portrayed it to the Sri Lankan side that the island needs the help of other countries to recover from its economic situation. Qi said this statement was incorrect, as the Sri Lankan people must be confident in themselves and look at strengthening ties with friendly partners such as China. Click here to read... [15]

Indian Navy seizes two Sri Lankan vessels with 500kg of ICE – Daily Mirror

In a coordinated operation between the Indian Navy and the Sri Lanka Navy, two Sri Lankan-flagged fishing vessels were intercepted and seized with 500 kg of narcotics (Crystal Meth) in the Indian Ocean. According to a spokesperson from the Indian Navy, the operation was initiated after receiving credible intelligence from the Sri Lanka Navy about potential narcotics smuggling by these vessels. Click here to read... [16]

New envoys present credentials to President – Daily Mirror

Ten newly appointed ambassadors and one high commissioner to Sri Lanka presented their credentials to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake this morning (28) at the Presidential Secretariat. The new ambassadors represent Burkina Faso, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Armenia, the Kingdom of Spain, the Republic of Congo, and the Republic of Guinea. Additionally, a new high commissioner has been appointed to represent the Republic of Kenya. Click here to read... [17]