Afghanistan

Why India is cautiously engaging with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan -Scroll

In February, the Indian budget for 2023 allocated Rs 200 crore in aid to Afghanistan. It was an indication of how far India’s engagement with the Taliban has progressed, even as New Delhi has yet to officially recognise the regime in Kabul. This is in stark contrast to the position India took during the Taliban’s previous stint in power from 1996 to 2001, when the regime was overthrown by an American-led military coalition. Click here to read…

Will China’s latest investment in Afghanistan actually work? – Aljazeera

The Taliban-run Afghanistan saw its first significant foreign investment last month when a Chinese firm signed a 25-year-long, multimillion-dollar contract to extract oil. Experts are cautiously optimistic the project may bring jobs and income despite China’s sketchy record on executing deals. Click here to read…

Pakistan threatens Afghanistan with war even as Taliban refuses to act against TTP bases – First Post

Pakistan has warned of military action inside Afghanistan if the Afghan Taliban continues to provide support to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). However, the Afghan Taliban has denied the presence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) bases inside Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban told the Pakistani delegation that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – also known as the Pakistani Taliban – has no presence in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban also claimed that all members of the TTP leadership had relocated to Pakistan after the Taliban captured Kabul. Click here to read…

Bangladesh

Argentina reopens embassy after 45yrs – Daily Star

Overwhelmed by Bangladesh’s support for the Argentine football team that went on to win the FIFA World Cup 2022, Argentina reopened its embassy in Dhaka yesterday, 45 years after it had closed it. “The people of Bangladesh never forgot to show love for Argentina. So, we today humbly came here and reopened the embassy in Bangladesh as a new channel to cement our relations,” Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said, inaugurating the embassy in the city’s Banani in the afternoon. Click here to read…

Bangladesh adds 44 countries in the list of dual citizenship, total rises to 101 – NewsOnAir

Bangladeshi citizens can now avail citizenship of 44 more new countries while keeping their Bangladeshi citizenship.The decision to expand the existing list of 57 countries to 101 countries for which the Bangladeshi people can keep dual citizenship was cleared by the cabinet on Monday. Out of these 44 countries 19 countries are in Africa, 12 countries are in South America, 12 countries are in the Caribbean region and one in Oceania. The new list includes Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Algeria, Sudan, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Fiji among others. Click here to read…

Khaleda Zia is disqualified from participating in any election, says Bangladesh Law Minister – First Post

Bangladesh Law Minister Anisul Huq has clarified the confusion over Khaleda Zia’s involvement in the upcoming polls. “Khaleda has been released from jail temporarily for medical treatment. Apart from that, her current physical condition is not suitable for politics,” the law minister said while speaking at an event in Brahmanbaria on Saturday. Khaleda Zia is named in two corruption cases, the law minister added. “While one case has already been tried, the other one is still under trial. As per Article 66 of the constitution, she is disqualified from participating in any election due to being sentenced,” said Huq. Click here to read…

Bhutan

Bhutan aims to eliminate malaria by 2025 – The Print

Bhutan, which had earlier failed to meet targets for the elimination of malaria in 2018 and 2020, now aims to eliminate the disease by 2025, The Bhutan Live reported. Bhutan’s Health Minister said that cross-border issues in the south especially during the COVID-19 pandemic have hampered the country’s progress to eliminate malaria. Click here to read…

Maldives

President concludes unofficial visit to Singapore – Raajje

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has concluded his unofficial visit to Singapore. The President departed on the unofficial visit to Singapore on 20 February. He returned to Malé on 26 February. 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…

Maldives: Persistent Threat – Eurasia Review

Maldives recorded no terrorism-linked fatality in 2022, as in 2021. The abduction and killing of blogger Yameen Rasheed by a local affiliate of Al-Qaeda on April 23, 2017, was the last fatal incident of terrorism recorded in the country. There have, however, been at least nine terrorist attacks in the country since the Rasheed killing, including three in 2019, four in 2020 and one each in 2021 and 2022. Click here to read…

Myanmar

Beyond the Headlines: China’s special envoy meets ethnic armed organisation representatives on Myanmar visit – Myanmar Now

Members of the anti-regime People’s Defence Force (PDF) in the junta capital of Naypyitaw launched two handmade rockets into a compound where the 2031st Air Defence Battalion is based at 9:30am on February 22. The explosives struck a building in the site, which is some 23 miles southeast of Naypyitaw’s centre, according to a spokesperson of the resistance group. He added that they could not confirm the extent of the damage caused by the attack, but described it as a “test hit.” Click here to read…

Nestle to close factory, head office in Myanmar – Vietnam Plus

Swiss food giant Nestle is set to halt all production in Myanmar, but it has yet to give a time frame, according to international media. This is the latest foreign company planning to draw back from the country. A spokesperson of Nestle said on February 27 that due to the “current economic situation”, Nestle’s factory in Yangon, as well as its head office, will “cease operations”. Click here to read…

Chairman of Myanmar’s USDP meets youths in Yangon – The Star

Khin Yi, chairman of Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) met with youths at Myanmar Convention Center(MCC) in Yangon Region, on Saturday (Feb 25). In attendance was USDP’s vice-chairman Myo Zaw Thein, Yangon Region USDP’s chairman Khin Maung Soe who is also USDP’s CEC, the CEC members from USDP’s headquarter and 3,226 youths in the Yangon region. Click here to read…

Nepal

Nepal heads towards fresh instability as Oli ditches Prachanda – Economic Times

India’s key northern neighbour Nepal may again be heading towards political instability with KP Oli led – CPN-UML – on Monday withdrawing its support to Prachanda-led government following a rift over backing the main opposition party’s candidate for the presidential polls. However, the exit of CPN-UML may not immediately affect the Prachanda-led government, which is supported by the Nepali Congress (NC) which has 89 MPs in the House. Click here to read…

Community cooperation across Nepal-India border saves lives during floods – the Third Pole

Nagdev Yadav is president of the Community Development and Advocacy Forum Nepal (CDAFN), an NGO involved in coordinating local stakeholders to ensure the functioning of the early warning system. He tells The Third Pole that the system helps around 64,000 people every year in Nepal and India. CDAFN’s counterpart in India is an NGO called Yuganter. Its executive director Sanjay Pandey says around 10,000 families in India benefit from the system. Government agencies in both countries, including Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology and Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, provide support to the system from time to time. Click here to read…

India hands over Madan Bhandari Memorial College built with Indian assistance to Nepal – ANI News

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava handed over the college building of Madan Bhandari Memorial College, Kathamndu, built with Indian assistance to Nepal. Click here to read…

Pakistan

Pakistan economic crisis results in big layoffs; 1 million textile workers to be hit – Business Today

The industrial sector in Pakistan is preparing for more job cuts and a sharp decline in production. As a result of the economic uncertainty that has gripped Pakistan, more than 1 million informal workers in the textile sector are likely to be impacted, National Trade Union Federation Pakistan (NTUF) Secretary General Nasir Mansoor said. Click here to read…

Forces ready to take ‘fight back to the enemy’ if war imposed on Pakistan: Army – The Hindu

Pakistan’s civil and military leadership said on Monday that the armed forces were ready to take the “fight back to the enemy” if a war was imposed on the “peace-loving nation”. In a statement on the anniversary of an aerial skirmish between the air forces of India and Pakistan, the army said that Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, three services chiefs and the armed forces “pay tribute to the resilience of the nation and resolve of armed forces displayed during Operation Swift Retort”. Click here to read…

Defaulting Pakistan takes the steam out of CPEC – The Print

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project that was commenced a decade ago was held as a harbinger of prosperity for Pakistan. However, seven years later, many projects under the CPEC still remain non-starters while some of those being operational have become liabilities and are incurring losses. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka

Pakistan Navy Chief calls on President – Daily News

Chief of the Pakistan Navy Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi who is currently on an official visit to Sri Lanka met President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the President’s Office yesterday (27). During the discussion, the emphasis was placed on enhancing maritime regional cooperation between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, alongside exploring opportunities for the further expansion of maritime activities between the two nations. Symbolizing this meeting, the Pakistan Navy Chief presented a commemorative gift to President Wickremesinghe. A group of senior naval officials from both countries attended the event. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka: Authorities must exercise restraint in use of force and facilitate the right to peaceful assembly – Amnesty

Responding to the news that one protestor had been killed and dozens injured as a result of the unlawful use of water cannons and tear gas by the police in Colombo in Sri Lanka on Sunday, Harindrini Corea, Regional Researcher for the Right to Protest at Amnesty International said, “It is worrying that even after months of widespread protests in the country, the Sri Lankan police needs to be constantly reminded of their duty to facilitate the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and exercise restraint in the use of force while policing assemblies. Their actions over the last several months have cost the lives of many peaceful protestors including another death today. Click here to read…

Ranil proposed winding up UNP – Daily Mirror

United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had proposed to wind up the party following its humiliating loss at the last elections, former Minister Navin Dissanayake revealed. Dissanayake said that Wickremesinghe had several discussions with party seniors and questioned the relevance of the UNP after it lost the elections. However, some UNP members wanted the party to continue, especially since some UNP supporters did not vote
at the last General Election. “I was firmly of the view that we can get those UNPers back,” he said. Click here to read…

Afghanistan

Aid Chief Says NRC Cannot Work without Women: Tolo News

The Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugees Council, Jan Egeland, said on Monday that without female staff, they cannot work and will not work in Afghanistan. Egeland arrived in Kabul on Sunday to meet with the Islamic Emirate’s officials about the ban on women aid workers. “I am here in Afghanistan to meet Taliban leaders and try to find a way to get out of the current ban on our female workers, which is paralyzing all our humanitarian work in Afghanistan,” he said. Click here to read…

United Nations provide clarification on the cash shipments to Afghanistan: The Khaama Press

The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan has distributed a press release providing clarification on the cash shipments to Afghanistan. The statement read that The United Nations transported cash to Afghanistan for use by UN agencies. The UN uses the money to carry out its missions in Afghanistan, mainly to provide life-saving humanitarian aid to the many millions of Afghans in need. Click here to read…

Bangladesh

Bangladesh, US discuss defence cooperation – New Age

Bangladesh and the United States on Monday discussed defence cooperation, Indo-Pacific Strategy, development cooperation, maritime safety and security, strengthening capacities of law enforcing agencies and cyber security. The two sides also discussed different bilateral issues of mutual interests and priorities, particularly in the sectors of humanitarian assistance, Rohingya repatriation and resettlement. Click here to read…

Chinese FM lands in Dhaka for stopover – Daily Star

China’s new Foreign Minister Qin Gang landed in Dhaka at 2:00am today for a two-hour stopover on his way to five African countries. “The Chinese foreign minister will have the stopover from 1:00am as the plane carrying him will refuel at the Dhaka airport,” a foreign ministry official said. Qin, who was Chinese ambassador to the US, will visit Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin and Egypt from January 9 to 16. Click here to read…

After getting out of jail, Fakhrul vows to intensify movement – Daily Star

Soon after getting out of jail today, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir took a fresh vow to intensify the ongoing movement to oust the government and restore democracy and people’s voting rights. “The more they repress us, the more people will burst into anger and defeat them through a movement,” he said. Click here to read…

Bhutan

India-Led Hydro Project Handed Over to Bhutan – NEBM

Bhutan is the world’s first and only, carbon-negative country thanks to its focus on clean energy and environmental protection. India has immensely supported the government to make the Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Project a reality which was handed over in December 2022. The North-Eastern states of India are similar to Bhutan in resources and topography and will benefit from gaining a perspective of the pros and cons of hydropower generation.Click here to read…

Indian tour operators to help promote Bhutan as a high-end destination – Kuensel

While the concern was that the Sustainable Development Fee of Nu 1,200 imposed on tourists from India would restrict tourists from the neighbouring country, a group of 36 tour operators from India had better ideas, in line with the tourism policy. The group during a recent visit committed to promote Bhutan as a quality tourism destination by bringing quality tourists. They appreciated the policy and wanted to help Bhutan fulfill the policy of high-value, low-volume tourism. Click here to read…

All Powers Combined: Why It’s Time for An India-Bangladesh-Bhutan-Nepal Regional Electricity Grid – Swarajya

2023 will be a difficult year for the world economy, is more or less certain. For the first time since the end of the Cold War; the US, Europe and one-time growth engine China, are together entering a recessionary phase. 2023 will be tough. Time for Bangladesh and Nepal to expand energy trade with India, to survive the double attack of low export opportunities and high import bills. Click here to read…

Maldives

Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas: India saved us from COVID, says Maldives minister – New Indian

Maldives deputy minister speaks to The New Indian at Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas convention. He speaks on several facets of India-Maldives relationship. Minister Saudulla Ahmed thanks India for helping Maldives during Covid crisis. ‘India has helped Maldives in sectors of health, education and infrastructure development’. Ahmed seeks New Delhi’s help to develop aviation, IT and construction sectors in Maldives. Click here to read…

Covid-19 caseload continues to drop across Maldives – Raajje

Maldives continues to confirm low numbers of weekly Covid-19 cases. This was revealed by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in its latest figures publicized on Monday. As such, over the past week, Maldives confirmed nine new Covid-19 infections out of which just two were detected from the Greater Malé Region and seven were reported from others including industrial islands, liveaboard vessels and resorts. Click here to read…

Myanmar

Myanmar junta keeps border gates with China closed following COVID-19 surge – Mizzima

China opened three border gates to Myanmar on 8 January, but Myanmar refused to open the gates on its side of the border, despite announcing that it would. The Chinese Embassy in Yangon said that the three border gates on the Myanmar border in China’s Ruili City in Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province, opposite Muse in Myanmar’s Shan north, would be opened at 8:00 a.m. on 8 January, after having been closed for the last three years. Click here to read…

Myanmar jails 112 Rohingya who tried to leave country – Aljazeera

Myanmar has jailed 112 people, including 12 children, from the minority Rohingya after they were caught attempting to leave the country. The court in Bogale in the southern Ayeyarwady region of Myanmar sentenced the group on January 6, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Tuesday, citing local police. Click here to read…

Pro-Junta Militias Forcing Myanmar Voters to Attend Election Propaganda Sessions – The Irrawaddy

Pro-regime militias are forcing voters in Sagaing and Mandalay regions to attend election campaign meetings where junta administrators are canvassing for the military’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), local sources say. Pyu Saw Htee militias have reportedly been forcing households in Shwebo and Kantbalu districts, Sagaing, and Mandalay’s Myingyan district to attend meetings on the so-called election that the junta plans to hold in August. One person per household is required to attend the meetings, where junta officials are canvassing for the USDP. Click here to read…

With Eye on Poll, Myanmar Military-Allied USDP Meets Charities, Social Groups – The Irrawaddy

The Myanmar military regime-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has met with some pro-junta social organizations and charities in Yangon ahead of a so-called election the junta plans to hold in August. Since he was installed as the chair of the military-backed party in October last year, Khin Yi, a former brigadier general and a henchman of successive juntas, has been doing his job, making moves to solidify the USDP’s position ahead of the planned poll. Click here to read…

Nepal

China’s new envoy vows to further enhance bilateral ties with Nepal – Business Standard

China is willing to work with Nepal to stay true to their original aspirations, join forces to seek common development and build a closer community with a shared future in the new era, the new Chinese ambassador here said on Sunday. Ambassador Chen Song, one of the senior diplomats in China, also vowed to work to write a new chapter of the strategic partnership between the two countries. Chen was appointed as ambassador to Nepal in November. However, Chen’s arrival in Nepal was delayed after he and his wife got infected with Covid-19. Click here to read…

Ruling parties commit to bring back territories – Kathmandu Post

The ruling alliance has promised to play an effective role to bring back territories. According to the ruling coalition’s common minimum programme document unveiled on Monday, the government will try to bring back the territories of Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulek that are currently under India. Click here to read…

Nepal PM set to take vote of confidence in parliament, parties remain undecided – The Print

Nepal’s newly appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda is set to test the floor of parliament on Tuesday amid the uncertainty whether the parties on board will vote for him or not. Prachanda last month broke off a democratic-communist alliance forging another alliance with CPN-UML (Communist Party of Nepal- Unified Marxist Leninist) and five other parties along with 2 other independent lawmakers. Click here to read…

Pakistan

$10.7b pledged as Pakistan races against time: The Express Tribune

Pakistan on Monday said that donors had so far committed $10.7 billion to help it recover from last year’s devastating floods at the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan which was co-hosted by the government of Pakistan and the United Nations in Geneva. Click here to read…

Skyrocketing prices making flour inaccessible: The News

The highly subsidised 10 and 20kg flour bags in Punjab province are still short in supply despite issuance of wheat to mills in sizeable quantity. The price of 15kg bag went through the roof as it is available at around Rs133 per kg or over Rs2000 per bag. The whole wheat flour on the other hand soared to Rs150 per kg in the province. Click here to read…

Talks with IMF end without ‘breakthrough’: The Express Tribune

The purpose of the meeting was to reach a consensus on the measures that would ensure the negotiations for the 9th programme review. But surprisingly, the finance ministry tweeted that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter “discussed challenges to regional economies in the wake of climate change”. Sources from Geneva told The Express Tribune that Pakistan would have to take certain measures before the IMF sent a staff-level mission. Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced that the IMF team would visit Pakistan in three days for programme negotiations – a deadline that has already passed. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka

SL welcomes over 20,000 tourists in first week of Jan. – Daily Mirror

Sri Lanka continues to maintain the momentum in tourist arrivals witnessed over the last few weeks, as it welcomed over 20,000 international visitors in the first seven days of the New Year. The provisional data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority showed that for the January 01-07 period, a total of 20,875 tourists entered the country. When compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, the arrivals were up by a marginal 1.6 percent. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka out of intensive care, but still in the trauma ward – East Asia Forum

If there’s a silver lining to the hard years ahead for Sri Lanka, it is to be found in the hope that its elites will never allow a repeat of the abysmal policymaking that its people are now paying for with their economic livelihoods. Click here to read…

Indian envoy highlights strengthening connectivity with India, SL for benefit of both countries – Daily Mirror

Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay stressed the importance of strengthening connectivity with India for enhancing pilgrimages, tourism, trade and economic benefits for the people of both countries. The High Commissioner highlighted that India has executed projects of over USD 1 billion in the Railways sector under 5 Indian LOCs. In addition, projects of about USD 180 million are either ongoing or in pipeline under existing LOCs. He underscored the importance of modernization of Railways in enhancing mobility of goods and services in Sri Lanka thereby boosting economic activity. He stated that India will work with Sri Lanka to introduce green and sustainable transport solutions. Click here to read…

Bangladesh

US to keep working with Bangladesh in different areas: Biden – New Age

United States president Joe Biden has said that his country acknowledges their enduring partnership with Dhaka and termed Bangladesh’s economic growth in the past 50 years as a ‘remarkable story’. ‘I hope our nations will continue to work on democratic governance, climate change, refugees, and maritime security. We are invested in your success and support the ability of all Bangladeshis to freely participate in and contribute to their country’s development,’ he said. Click here to read…

US National Security Council delegation visits Rohingya camps – Daily Star

Additional Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Shamsuddouza Nayan told our Cox’s Bazar staff correspondent that a 10-member delegation visited various Rohingya camps located in Ukhiya upazila. Click here to read…

10 lakh Bangladeshis get Indian visas in 8 months last year – TBS

Over 10 lakh Bangladeshis received Indian visas, including 2.73 lakh medical visas, in eight months last year (from January to November) for travelling to the neighbouring country, according to the data provided by the Indian High Commission, Dhaka. Click here to read…

India-Bangladesh pipeline: energy transport likely to start by Feb – Daily Star

The much-awaited 130-km India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) for cross-border transportation of energy is likely to start by February, Indian officials were quoted as saying. The Rs 337.08 crore pipeline will carry fuel from state-owned Numaligarh Refinery Ltd’s (NRL) marketing terminal at Siliguri in West Bengal to the Parbatipur depot of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC). Click here to read…

Bhutan

China lens on Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and India -Telegraph

Shedding some of the subtleties known for its diplomatic approach, China under President Xi Jinping has made a series of uncharacteristically candid comments and in-depth reportage seeking to alert Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim against foreign forces trying to use them as geostrategic pawns, while sternly warning India against the United States’ moves termed “China containment”. Click here to read…

What’s brewing in Bhutan? Japan eyes sake production after symposium in Thimphu – Mainichi

Following a symposium on sake in Bhutan in late October, which was presented by a brewer from this east Japan prefecture, the industry sees a bright future for the production of its famed beverage in the south Asian country. Click here to read…

Melting glaciers of Tibet may impact regional security in S Asia: Report – Business Standard

Melting glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau can result in excess water in some places and shortages in others, says a report in Hamrakura, adding that the melting of glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau could impact regional security. Click here to read…

Maldives

Maldives ends first week of 2023 with 37,209 tourist arrivals – Raajje

Maldives has welcomed more than 37,000 tourists during the first week of 2023. Statistics publicized by the Ministry of Tourism shows that Maldives has welcomed, 37,209 tourists between 01 January 2023 and 07 January 2023. As such, 4,625 tourists were welcomed on 01 January, followed by 6,487 tourists on 02 January and 6,232 tourists on 03 January. Click here to read…

“Maldives will not stop advocating for the rights of Palestine” – Raajje

Maldives will not stop advocating for the rights of Palestine, says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Maldives. The Ministry stated this in their statement made public, condemning the action of the Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex on 03 January. Foreign Ministry’s statement went on to highlight that this action of the Israeli National Security Minister is against all the international laws and regulations and the agreements that have been signed. Click here to read…

Myanmar

Myanmar’s domestic fuel prices fall slightly – Mizzima

Domestic fuel prices in Myanmar were stable last week at around 2,100 kyat per liter and now it is learned that they fell slightly to below 2,000 kyat on 5 January. The fuel price fell by about 100 kyat per litre as per the reference price set by the Fuel Import, Storage and Distribution Supervisory Committee on 5 January. The reference petrol retail price for one week in Yangon starting from 5 January is 1,975 kyat per litre for 92 Ron and 2,045 kyat per litre for 95 Ron. Click here to read…

New hope for India-Myanmar transit Kaladan project with new consultant – New Indian Express

Hope of the completion of the last 109 km of Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport (KMMTT) project has been rekindled after IRCON was recently appointed at the Project Management Consultant (PMC). This ambitious project would link India and Myanmar via the Bay of Bengal. Click here to read…

ASEAN needs to look beyond Myanmar’s Five-Point Consensus – The Jakarta Post

Patience has its limits, even for ASEAN, famous or notorious, some argue, for its tardiness in taking action. The regional group must do something drastic soon in its dealing with Myanmar, the belligerent member which has defied its promise to end violence in the country. Failing that, the Myanmar issue is dragging the entire group down. Click here to read…

USDP chairperson meets 37 political parties in Naypyitaw – Mizzima

Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) chairperson Khin Yi held an informal meeting with 37 political parties on 5 January at the USDP headquarters in Naypyitaw. The pro-junta USDP chairperson Khin Yi had not yet held a meeting with other political organizations since he took over the party’s chairperson position, so he organized the meeting, said a central executive of the USDP. “One thing he [Khin Yi] said was to help the nation all around with the power of consolidation. This is his main point,” said National United Democratic (NUD) Party leader Sein Win, who attended the meeting. Click here to read…

Nepal

UML set to govern 3 provinces, Maoists 1, 3 CMs to be rotated – Kathmandu Post

According to a leader present at the meeting, the ruling coalition has decided to divide the chief ministers of the seven provinces—Province 1, Gandaki and Lumbini going to the UML and Karnali to the Maoist Centre. The two parties will head governments in Bagmati and Sudurpaschim by turns. As per the deal, the Maoist Centre will lead the Bagmati government in the first half of the five years, while the UML will lead the Sudurpaschim government first. Click here to read…

Nepal says it’s making efforts to activate SAARC – Economic Times

Nepal on Sunday said it was making efforts to activate the eight-member regional grouping SAARC, which has not been very effective since 2016. Speaking at a meeting of the National Concern and Coordination Committee under the National Assembly, Secretary and spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bharat Raj Paudel said the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) could not be made effective due to the lack of consensus among all member states. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka

India provides 75 buses to Sri Lanka to support public transport system – The Hindu

India has handed 75 passenger buses to Sri Lanka as part of its assistance towards strengthening public transport infrastructure in the cash-strapped country. As part of its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, India has extended multi-pronged assistance to Sri Lanka to help the country tide over its worst economic and humanitarian crisis since its independence from Great Britain in 1948. Click here to read…

Sri Lanka to restart trade deal talks with India, China and Thailand, says official – DeccanHerald

Sri Lanka will restart negotiations on trade pacts with India, China and Thailand after a four-hear hiatus, an official said on Thursday, as the crisis-hit country races to seal deals to help it rebuild its economy. Click here to read…

Choking on politics – The News International

The vicious cycle in Sri Lanka started with a ‘currency crisis’ followed by devaluation, hyperinflation, fuel shortages, food shortages, loadshedding, medicine shortages followed by violent street protests and then troop deployment. The three things that take place in a ‘normal’ state are: politics, a security policy and an economic policy. We have become an ‘abnormal’ state in the sense that the only thing that takes place in our country is politics. Click here to read…