Neighborhood News Digest - 10 March 2025

Afghanistan

Muttaqi Visits Oman to Strengthen Bilateral Ties, Economic Cooperation-Tolo News

Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister, has traveled to Oman at the invitation of Oman's foreign minister, Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi. The head of public relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zia Ahmad Takal stated that Muttaqi is expected to meet with senior Omani officials during this visit and discuss strengthening political and economic relations as well as expanding bilateral cooperation. Click here to read… [2]

Islamic Emirate: Women’s Rights in Islamic, Western Culture 'Different'-Tolo News

On the occasion of March 8, International Women’s Day, the Islamic Emirate has emphasized the protection of women’s rights within the framework of Islamic rulings. According to Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, the rights of Afghan women in an Islamic society differ from those in Western countries. Click here to read… [3]

Afghan Women Entrepreneurs Seek Support to Expand Businesses-Tolo News

Abdul Rahman Habib, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Economy, emphasized the crucial role of women in Afghanistan's economic growth. Speaking to TOLOnews, the ministry’s spokesperson stated that currently 26,000 women are employed in the public sector, while another 250,000 women are engaged informally in various economic activities across the country. Click here to read… [4]

UN warns over 4 million girls in Afghanistan will be deprived of education by 2030 if schools remain closed-The Khaama Press

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reports that the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan have already affected around 1.5 million female students. UNESCO has warned that if these restrictions continue, by 2030, the number of girls deprived of education could rise to over 4 million. Click here to read… [5]

Bangladesh

Violence against women: Govt promises speedy probe and trial – The Daily Star

Amid vigorous protests by different quarters demanding women's safety and the administration's accountability in handling incidents of sexual assault, the government has promised steps to speed up judicial processes in such cases. It has also vowed increased vigilance against mob violence in the wake of concerns over a rise in incidents related to angry crowds. Click here to read… [6]

Bangladesh sees sharp decline in female worker migration – Dhaka Tribune

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, female migration from Bangladesh has sharply declined. Before the pandemic, women made up 10% of the total migrant workforce, but this has now fallen to 5%. While there was a temporary rise in 2022, the number of female migrants dropped again in 2023 and fell further in 2024—down 19.64% from the previous year, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training (BMET). Click here to read… [7]

Stern measures from now on if ‘mob justice’ situation arises: Adviser Mahfuj Alam – Prothom Alo

The government will adopt stern measures against any form of “mob justice” from now on, information and broadcasting adviser Md Mahfuj Alam warned Sunday. A decision has been made today, Sunday, to bring to book whoever gets involved with “mob justice”, he added. Click here to read… [8]

Bhutan

India, Bhutan discuss boundary-related work – Indian Express

India and Bhutan have reviewed fieldwork along the border between the two countries and finalised a work plan for the next “three field seasons”. This was discussed at a two-day meeting in New Delhi that concluded on March 7. “India and Bhutan enjoy unique ties of friendship and cooperation, underpinned by mutual trust, shared values, and utmost goodwill at all levels,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said about the meeting on the boundary-related work. The Indian side at the talks was led by Surveyor General Hitesh Kumar S Makwana. The Bhutanese side was headed by Dasho Letho T Tangbi, Secretary, the International Boundaries of the Royal Government of Bhutan. Click here to read… [9]

Maldives

Maldives, China in talks to install research devices in Indian Ocean – India Today

The Maldives government is in discussions with China to install devices on fish aggregating devices (FADs) in the Indian Ocean, raising concerns over the strategic implications of such research. Reports indicate that these devices would collect chemical and physical data on the ocean while also tracking fish movements. The initiative comes amid a downturn in the Maldivian fishing industry, prompting Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam to engage with a senior delegation from China's Second Institute of Oceanography. Click here to read… [10]

Gov’t cornered as economic options run dry, prepares to print about MVR 15bn – Raajje

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's administration has prepared to print and release MVR 14.7 billion into the economy. According to reliable sources, the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has decided to release money into the economy by conducting a transaction to purchase 22 hectares of land from the properties of Housing Development Corporation (HDC). A financial expert highlighted that it is dangerous for a state institution, which is legally responsible for regulating money, maintaining and implementing financial policies, and should work independently, to participate in such irresponsible financial activities conducted by the government instead of fulfilling its responsibility. Click here to read… [11]

Myanmar

Myanmar's military government says it will hold elections in next year – BBC

The head of Myanmar's military government has said the country will hold a national election in December 2025 or January 2026. General Min Aung Hlaing said the elections would be "free and fair" - adding that 53 political parties had already submitted their lists to participate. It would be the first vote since his military junta seized power in a 2021 coup, arresting and imprisoning democratically elected leader Aung San Sung Kyi and making unsubstantiated claims of fraud in the previous year's elections. Since then, the country has been in turmoil, with a protest movement against the junta turning into an armed rebellion across the country. Critics have described the announcement as a sham designed to maintain the junta's power through proxy political parties. Click here to read… [12]

Thailand Repatriates Hundreds More Chinese Scam Center Workers – The Irrawaddy

Hundreds of Chinese nationals freed from Myanmar online scam centers flew home through Thailand as the kingdom said it aimed to repatriate 1,500 such workers a week. Thailand, Myanmar and China have been making efforts in recent weeks to clear out illegal cyberscam compounds on the Thai-Myanmar border where thousands of foreigners—mostly Chinese nationals—have been working. Under pressure from key ally Beijing, Myanmar has cracked down on some of the compounds, freeing around 7,000 workers from more than two dozen countries. Click here to read… [13]

Pakistan

Jirga sets forth terms for Torkham peace-Dawn

A breakthrough was finally achieved on Sunday, when tribal elders and traders met their Afghan counterparts at the Torkham border to negotiate for peace and address the issue of the Pak-Afghan border alignment. The meeting came as the border remained closed for a couple of weeks, following clashes between Pakistani and Afghan troops. Click here to read… [14]

US to deport more illegal Pakistanis as immigration crackdown continues-The Express Tribune

A second flight carrying undocumented Pakistani immigrants deported from the United States is set to arrive in Pakistan next week, sources in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said, as Washington enforces stricter immigration policies under President Donald Trump. Click here to read… [15]

At Haqqania, Fazl declares killing Muslims ‘not jihad’-Dawn

Visiting the Darul Uloom Haqqania a week after it was rocked by a deadlysuicide attack, Maulana Fazlur Rehman made a fiery speech denouncing the killing of Muslims and religious scholars as “not jihad, but militancy”. Addressing seminary students at the Akora Khattak institute, the chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) questioned whether playing with the lives of innocent Muslims could be termed ‘jihad’. Click here to read… [16]

Sri Lanka

Muralitharan’s Ceylon Beverage pulls out of Rs 1,650 crore investment in Jammu and Kashmir – Daily Mirror

A day after the allotment of “free land” to former Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan’s M/s Ceylon Beverage sparked controversy in Jammu and Kashmir, it was revealed that the company has pulled out from an over Rs 1,650 crore investment in Kathua. The withdrawal was due to the expiration of incentives under the 2021 National Sector Industrial Policy, which ended in September last year. On Saturday, opposition lawmakers in the J&K Assembly raised concerns over the 26-acre land allotment for Muralitharan’s beverage company in Kathua, questioning why land was given “free of cost” to outsiders when locals were denied land for housing under the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana (PMAY). Click here to read… [17]

Worker remittances exceed US$ 1.1mn as of February – Daily Mirror

Money sent home by Sri Lankans working abroad extended its growth through February, indicating that those who left their home country in droves in the last couple years are now sending the dollars back home and via official banking channels as opposed to the informal money changers which many of them used to use. Sri Lankans sent back US$ 548.1 million in remittances in February 2025, up from 476.2 million a year ago but down slightly from the US$ 573.0 million they repatriated a month ago in January 2025. While monthly changes can be ignored as they do not capture some of the seasonal factors associated with such inflows, the year-over-year growth puts the cumulative two months inflows to well over a billion dollars at US$ 1,121.1 million, up by a robust 16.3 percent. Click here to read… [18]

Sri Lanka tourist arrivals exceed 37,000 in first five days of March – Daily Mirror

Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka surpassed 37,000 within the first five days of March, according to provisional data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). A total of 37,768 international visitors arrived between 1 and 5 March, bringing the year-to date arrivals to 530,746. Sri Lanka also marked a significant milestone, reaching the half-million tourist arrival mark on March 1, compared to mid-March in 2024. Click here to read… [19]