Afghanistan

Main Afghanistan-Pakistan border crossing closed, residents report gunfire – Deccan Herald

Taliban authorities have closed the main border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan, an Afghan official said on Monday, and residents in the area reported the sound of gunfire near the normally bustling border transit point. A Taliban provincial information official said the Torkham border crossing, near the Khyber Pass, was closed for all trade and travellers. “The Pakistan side hadn’t committed to their promises, they have promised to create facilities for transit, sick people and passengers,” said Siddiqullah Quraishi, the head of the Afghan province of Nangahar’s information department, as the reason for the closure. Click here to read…

China to become Afghanistan’s second-largest trade partner in 2023 – The Print

China’s trade with Afghanistan has been growing fast and it may become the second-largest trading nation with Afghanistan in 2023 after Pakistan, a situation that bodes well for the continuation of the CPEC part of the Belt & Road Initiative into Afghanistan, as per Silk Road Briefing (SRB). Click here to read…

Donor organisations suspend budget for at least 40 COVID-19 hospitals in Afghanistan, says Health Minister – Firstpost

Donor organisations have suspended the budget for at least 40 COVID-19 hospitals in Afghanistan over the past 18 months after political developments in the country, said Health Minister Qalandar Ebad. According to a report in Tolo News, Ebad added, “The suspension of the budget and restrictions on health projects have affected health services in Afghanistan.” Click here to read…

The Future of the Belt and Road Initiative in Afghanistan: Obstacles, Opportunities, and The Taliban’s Perspective – Silk Road Briefing

China has also considered Afghanistan’s membership and participation in the BRI with a delegation from Afghanistan participating in its forum in 2017. Afghan delegations have also been participating in Russian economic and trade development forums. However, despite some agreements in including Afghanistan as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), no progress has currently been made regarding China’s economic presence through the BRI in the country. Click here to read…

Bangladesh

Bangladesh Youth Delegation Corner inaugurated, alumni portal launched in Dhaka – NewsOnAir

Bangladesh Youth Delegation is an International Youth Exchange programme between the governments of India and Bangladesh. It aims to promote cultural exchange, leadership development, and people-to-people contacts between the two countries. Since its inception, nearly 800 Bangladeshi youth selected under the BYD programme, have visited India to participate in various activities that promote cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the two countries. Click here to read…

Japan to provide grant aid for 2 projects in Bangladesh – New Age

Bangladesh and Japan on Monday signed the exchange of notes on the Japanese grant Aad for two projects. One is to provide the grant for the ‘Project for Improvement of Equipment for Technical Education’ – up to JPY 997 million, approximately USD7.7 million. Another is to provide an additional grant for the costs of the development of the Bangladesh Institute of Governance and Management, the augmented grant of which is up to JPY 2,762 million, about USD 21 million. Click here to read…

Bangladesh shuts down main Opposition newspaper – The Hindu

The only newspaper of Bangladesh’s main Opposition party halted printing on Monday after a government suspension order was upheld, stoking fears about media freedom in the South Asian nation. Campaigners and foreign governments including the U.S. have long expressed worries about efforts by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to silence criticism and what they see as creeping authoritarianism. Click here to read…

Bhutan

Committee yet to review barrage or PI dam option – Kuensel

The committee of experts from Bhutan and India, which was supposed to review and present its recommendations on the proposal to build a barrage at the 1,200MW Punatsangchhu Hydroelectric Project (PI) by January-end was only formed around that time. Click here to read…

Youth unemployment increases in 2022 – Kuensel

The youth unemployment rate in 2022 is estimated at 28.6 percent which is an increase by 7.7 points compared to 20.9 percent in 2021, according to the Labour Force Survey Report, 2022. Of the 101,170 youth population, 8,496 youth were unemployed and actively seeking work. Click here to read…

President Solih heads to Singapore on unofficial visit – Raajje

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has left to Singapore on an unofficial visit. The Maldivian leader departed on the unofficial visit from Velana International Airport (VIA) on Monday. His last unofficial trip to Singapore was in October 2022. The president had made four previous trips to Singapore in 2022, the first being from February 10 – 15 and the second being from February 23 – March 6. Click here to read…

Myanmar

EU imposes new sanctions on Myanmar’s junta -AA

The European Union adopted its sixth sanctions package Monday against the military junta in Myanmar for human rights violations. EU foreign ministers approved “restrictive measures against nine persons and seven entities in view of the continuing escalation of violence, grave human rights violations and threats to the peace, security and stability in Myanmar,” the Council of the European Union, an EU institution representing member states, said in a statement. Click here to read…

Over 100 Myanmar Junta Forces Killed in Four Days of Resistance Attacks – Irrawaddy

At least 106 Myanmar junta troops were killed in four days of attacks as People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) escalated their attacks on regime targets across the country. In one case, a PDF couple was arrested and killed by junta troops a day before their wedding in Magwe. Incidents were reported in Mandalay, Sagaing, Magwe, Bago and Tanintharyi regions and Kayah and Mon states. The Irrawaddy has rounded up the following reports of significant attacks from PDFs. Some military casualty figures could not be independently verified. Click here to read…

Opium farming has flourished under Myanmar’s junta – UCANews

Everything in Myanmar is in the worst-ever state. The Southeast Asian nation has a broken economy and a broken society. To add salt to the wound, it is home to more than 1.3 million displaced people. But when it comes to narcotics, Myanmar still holds the dubious distinction of being the world’s second-largest producer of opium, a key source of many psycho-tropical substances such as heroin, morphine and codeine. Despite the chaos, social unrest, and civil war, the army-ruled nation managed to increase opium cultivation last year. Click here to read…

Nepal

India donates 20 kidney dialysis machines to Nepal – The Economic Times

India on Monday handed over the first tranche of the 200 kidney dialysis machines to the Government of Nepal as part of its effort to develop the health infrastructure in the Himalayan nation. Click here to read…

Late Gen. Bipin Rawat honoured in Nepal, bell in his name placed inside revered temple – India Narrative

In commemoration of India’s late Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, a bell has been placed at Nepal’s revered Shree Muktinath Temple. The bell named “Bipin Bell,” has been installed at the revered Hindu temple in Mustang district during the visit of four former Indian army chiefs namely Gen VN Sharma, Gen JJ Singh, Gen Deepak Kapoor and Gen Dalbir Suhag. Click here to read…

Assessment of India’s Approach to Nepal – Indian Defence Review

As per International Monetary Fund, India is fastest growing economy in the world. Indian economy is crossing Chinese economy that will grow just by 5.2% in 2023. Economy and security are the two faces of the same coin. In other words, both affect each other, and most importantly both have the potential to transform the regional and international polity and economy. Economic growth and military might both determine any country’s stature in international system of states. Click here to read…

Maoists cotton to Congress, as Dahal, Oli size each other up – The Kathmandu Post

Even with just four days to go for the filing of nominations for the presidential election, the CPN (Maoist Centre) is still keeping its cards close to its chest. There have been no clear indications about whom it will support as the new head of state, even though the party seems to be inching closer to the Nepali Congress on the issue. Click here to read…

Pakistan

Dialogue with India ‘need of Pakistan’: Former Pak Army spokesperson – India Today

Dialogue is a need of Pakistan, the former chief of the country’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Athar Abbas, said. “The way forward is not just the state apparatus, because if you leave it [solely] to the security establishment, there will be no move forward. It will be like taking one step forward and two steps backwards,” he added. Click here to read…

Section 144 imposed in Lahore for 7 days citing terror threats: Mint

The caretaker government of Punjab province in Pakistan imposed Section 144 in Lahore for seven days, citing terror threats amid the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) protest and rallies, ARY News reported. Click here to read…

Pakistan’s elite in trouble amid bankruptcy as IMF tells Shehbaz Sharif govt to tax only the rich – Firstpost

Pakistan last week increased prices of commodities that are now weighing on people of the cash-strapped country. Concerned about poor in the bankrupt South Asian nation, IMF said that the Shehbaz Sharif government to tax its high earners and ensure that only poor get the subsidies. Click here to read…

Imran gets preventive bail from arrest in 1 case, Lahore HC disposes plea in 2nd – Hindustan Times

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has secured preventive bail from arrest by the Lahore high court till March 3 in a case pertaining to protests outside the Election Commission of Pakistan office, Geo TV reported. The second plea was disposed of by the high court after Khan’s counsel withdrew the petition, Dawn reported. Click here to read…

Cash-starved Pakistan’s current account deficit shrinks 90% to $0.24 billion in January – The Economic Times

“Current Account Deficit (CAD) recorded USD 0.2 billion in Jan 2023 against a deficit of USD 2.5 billion in Jan 2022,” the central bank said in a brief statement on Twitter. The decrease in the deficit is also 16.55 per cent lower than December when the SBP announced that the deficit was USD 0.29 billion. Click here to read…

Pakistan Covid Scam: Amid bankruptcy, 2 of 4 billion rupees of corona relief fund vanish without trace – Firstpost

In a major embarrassment for the Shehbaz Sharif-led Pakistani government, a recent inquiry has revealed financial discrepancies in the allocation of and expenditure on medical resources in the Corona Relief Fund (CRF). This comes amid looming fears of a default as the country is going through a severe economic crisis. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka

Ranil govt. faces mounting pressure for ‘attempt to postpone’ polls in Sri Lanka – The Hindu

Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe is facing mounting pressure from the political Opposition and civil society over his government’s apparent attempts to postpone local government polls, scheduled in early March, citing the lack of funds. Click here to read…

Sri Lankans attacked Tamil Nadu fishermen: CM Stalin tells Centre – India Today

Sri Lankans assaulted Indian fishermen, took away their catch and equipment, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin apprised the Centre on Monday and urged that the matter be taken up with Sri Lanka to ensure action against assailants and prevent recurrence of such attacks. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka’s great IMF lie – Himal

Sri Lanka has been subject to a great lie: the IMF solution! For close to a year now, the country has been implementing the International Monetary Fund’s recommendations with complete obedience. The sudden devaluation of the Sri Lankan rupee, a drastic increase in interest rates, the withdrawal of fuel subsidies and severe cuts to state expenditure all amount to harsh austerity measures. The consequence is economic devastation as the country sinks into a depression. Click here to read…

Afghanistan

Taliban Discuss Restoration of Historical Sites with UNESCO – The Khaama Press

Mawlavi Atiqullah Azizi, Deputy Minister of Culture and Information of Afghanistan met with Brendan Cassar, UNESCO Culture Program Officer on Monday to discuss the restoration of historical sites. During the meeting, Mr. Azizi shared his concerns with Brendan about restoring historical sites and ancient reservoirs in some provinces of the country, which are on the verge of collapse. Click here to read…

Uzbekistan to Supply Electricity Amid Energy Crisis in Afghanistan – The Khaama Press

The Ministry of Energy and Water announced that Uzbekistan has assured to resume supplying electricity to Afghanistan after weeks of complete blackout. Authorities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan have acknowledged that they will resume supplying power to Afghanistan from January 25 onward according to the Ministry of Energy and Water. Reportedly, the power supply stopped on January 14 due to extreme cold, causing problems in the gas supply to thermal power plants (TPPs), which run on this type of fuel and provide 90% of electricity generation in the country. Click here to read…

Guterres Calls on ‘Taliban’ to Reverse Ban on Female Access to Education – Tolo News

On UNESCO’s International Day of Education, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the “Taliban to reverse the outrageous and self-defeating ban on access to secondary and higher education for girls & women in Afghanistan.” Schools for female students in grade 6-12 have remained closed for nearly one and a half years. Last month, the Ministry of Higher Education announced that female students are banned from going to university. Click here to read…

Lithium: China’s Afghanistan design – The New Indian

Provinces like Nangarhar, Badakhshan, Nuristan and Kunar were the centres of smuggling syndicates. Gemstones like lapis lazuli, talc powder, copper, iron and coal along with poppy (heroin), were some of the main items that were extracted illegally, smuggled into Pakistan, and then exported to China and other countries under the Pakistani name. Click here to read…

7th ‘Kindness Train’ carrying aid from Turkey arrives in Afghanistan – Pakistan Observer

The seventh “Kindness Train” that departed from Ankara with the coordination of the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) reached Afghanistan’s Herat province on Monday. Sinan Ilhan, Turkey’s consulate general to Herat, welcomed the train with AFAD and Turkish Red Crescent officials. AFAD officials told Anadolu Agency the train carried over 500 tons of humanitarian aid, which would be distributed to families in need in various provinces over the next few days. Click here to read…

Bangladesh

Keep economy in mind – Daily Star

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday directed the deputy commissioners to cut their use of public funds and rein in non-essential projects. She asked them to keep the global economic situation in mind and take measures to increase food production to be ready for a possible food crisis. Click here to read…

Protest Programmes: BNP plans to get back momentum – Daily Star

Fearing that their programmes are losing steam, top BNP leaders are considering new programmes that would bring back the pace to the movement for national election under a non-partisan interim administration. Excitement among the activists peaked ahead of BNP’s December 10 rally in Dhaka, leaders said, adding that their plan now is to revive that momentum through different programmes in February. Click here to read…

Big Powers Battle for Influence in Bangladesh – Diplomat

Bangladesh is emerging as an important site of big power competition. The country has witnessed a flurry of visits from U.S. and Chinese officials in recent weeks. Since it emerged as an independent country in 1971, Bangladesh’s foreign policy has been based on “friendship to all and malice to none.” This strategy has worked well for the country. However, increasingly, the big powers are pressuring Dhaka to take sides in their rivalries. Click here to read…

Bhutan

BKP deregisters with ECB – Kuensel

One of the oldest political party, Bhutan Kuen-Nyam Party (BKP) has deregistered as a political party with the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB). The ECB notified that BKP stands deregistered as a political party and its name has been removed from the register of political parties maintained with the ECB, yesterday. Click here to read…

Steep decline in winter tourist arrivals – Kuensel

DoT officials said that tourism has declined owing to the pandemic which resulted in arrivals being low. “The introduction of the new Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) and other changes in the tourism strategy has contributed to a drop in arrival numbers,” a DoT official shared. The department added that there are other existing issues for the decline. “One factor is Bhutan’s ability to rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic. We only communicated the reopening of Bhutan’s border along with the new tourism strategy only two weeks prior, which was, unfortunately, a late notice,” he said. Click here to read…

Maldives

Maldives welcomes Czechia for adopting gov’t strategy for Gender Equality 2021-2030 Raajje

The government of Maldives has welcomed the Czech Republic for adopting the Government Strategy for Gender Equality 2021-2030. This was done during the 42nd Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) which commenced at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on Monday. Click here to read…

Myanmar

Opium production booming in Myanmar after the coup: report The Globe and Mail

Economic instability and armed conflict have left farmers in parts of the country “little option” but to start growing the drug, undoing years of work to reduce opium production in Myanmar’s border areas, said Jeremy Douglas, Bangkok-based regional representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Click here to read…

A Human Rights Organization Is Filing a Case In Germany Against The Myanmar Army – Globe Echo

A human rights organization and 16 people from Myanmar filed a “criminal complaint” in Germany to demand the punishment of Myanmar army generals for allegations of their involvement in “genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity”, after the seizure of power in 2021, and during a crackdown on the Rohingya Muslims in 2017. Click here to read…

Thai military’s close ties with Myanmar junta compromising ASEAN efforts to resolve crisis – ThaiPBSWorld

Thailand’s lenient stance as well as the close ties between its armed forces and the Myanmar military — also known as Tatmadaw — would undermine the efforts of ASEAN and the international community to ease the ongoing crisis in that country, according to many independent observers. Click here to read…

Nepal

Nepal: Man tries to self-immolate in front of federal parliament building – Free Press Journal

The man was identified as Prem Prasad Acharya. “The 37-year-old has been identified as Prem Prasad Acharya from Illam District. He has been shifted to a hospital in Kirtipur.” Dinesh Raj Mainali, SP of Metropolitan Police Complex Kathmandu told ANI over the phone. Click here to read…

Another earthquake in Nepal, tremors felt in Delhi-NCR – Times of India

Tremors were felt in Delhi-NCR at 2.28pm on Tuesday due to a moderate earthquake of 5.8 magnitude on Richter scale, National Centre for Seismology said. Click here to read…

Pakistan

Pakistan’s nationwide power cuts highlight escalating economic crisis – The Washington Post

Three weeks ago, Pakistani authorities ordered all markets, restaurants and shopping malls to close early, part of an emergency plan to conserve energy as the country of 220 million struggled to make overdue payments on energy imports and stave off a full-fledged economic collapse. But the measures were too little, too late. On Monday morning, the country’s overburdened electrical system collapsed in a rolling wave of blackouts that began in the desert provinces of Baluchistan and Sindh but quickly spread to nearly the entire country, including the densely crowded cities of Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi. Click here to read…

US ‘prevented’ South Asia nuclear war in 2019, claims Pompeo – Dawn

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has revealed that India and Pakistan came close to nuclear war in 2019 following the Balakot airstrike, and that US intervention helped prevent an escalation, the Press Trust of India and AFP reported. In Feb 2019, India launched airstrikes inside Pakistani territory after blaming a militant group for a suicide bombing that killed 41 paramilitary soldiers in Indian-held Kashmir. Pakistan then shot down an Indian warplane, capturing the pilot. Click here to read…

Outages to continue until nuclear plants restored to full capacity – Dawn

Federal Minister for Energy Khurram Dastgir Khan has said the government has ordered an audit to identify weaknesses in transmission system across the country and would soon introduce new technologies and practices to ensure power breakdowns are geographically contained and have ‘blackstart’ facility for quick recovery of the entire national grid. Click here to read…

US Help Won’t Solve Pakistan’s Terrorism Problems – The Diplomat

It could be argued that the United States, Europe, and other countries and international organizations were already helping Pakistan improve governance, infrastructure, economy, and counterterrorism capacities in the newly merged districts (NMD), the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). So long as Pakistan lacks the political will to root out terrorism on its western borderlands, any international efforts would be in vain. Until Pakistan’s policy elite and civil society demonstrate a serious commitment and consensus, foreign investment in governance and policing system alone would fall short of eliminating terrorism and violent extremism in the country. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka

President tells UNP to prepare for an election – Daily News

President Ranil Wickremesinghe informed the United National Party (UNP) yesterday (24) to prepare for an election. The President made this announcement when the Management Board of the United National Party met at the President’s Office in Colombo under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. United National Party General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara said the President instructed the United National Party officials to continue the election work. The President has informed all UNP officials to go to Sirikotha party headquarters and engage in election activities. Click here to read…

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Sri Lanka: Key takeaways – Indian Express

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Sri Lanka, after his visit to the Maldives, conveyed 1) glad tidings, 2) a much delayed invitation, and 3) two strong messages on India’s expectations of its nearest Indian Ocean neighbour. Taken together, the three provide an understanding of how Delhi views its relations with Colombo. Click here to read…

IMF confirms receipt of India’s financing assurances for Sri Lanka – The Hindu

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed receiving India’s written financing assurance in support of Sri Lanka’s economic revival, Reuters news agency reported, while Sri Lanka has expressed hope of completing talks on debt restructuring in six months’ time. Click here to read…