Pakistan pledges $28m humanitarian aid to support Afghanistan
Afghanistan Times | 23^rd November
Pakistan has announced over $28 million in food, medical, and other humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in meeting with Pakistan’s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and top government officials ordered an immediate shipment of in-kind humanitarian assistance worth $28 million including 50,000 metric tons of wheat, emergency medical supplies, winter shelters, and other supplies to Afghanistan.

Taliban may legalize ‘cannabis processing’ to boost Afghanistan’s economy
The Khaama Press | 25^th November
The Taliban have signed a deal with Australia’s Cpharm company that is willing to invest $450,000,000.00 in the cannabis processing industry in Afghanistan, a Taliban spokesperson tweeted.
Qari Saeed Khosty, the spokesperson for the Interior Ministry has said that the deal has been finalized and its work may start within days.
The company will use process cannabis for medical purposes and will be provided with thousands of acres of land of cannabis, Khosty said.

US-Taliban to resume talks with a focus on counterterrorism operations
The Khaama Press | 24^th November
The U.S and Taliban officials will resume talks in Doha, Qatar next week to discuss counterterrorism operations against ISIS-K, Al-Qaeda, humanitarian assistance and economic crisis in Afghanistan, the U.S Department of State have revealed.
The U.S and Taliban talks refer back to February 2020, when an agreement was signed between both parties on an Afghanistan peace process to help with a political settlement, which eventually failed and the Taliban took over power by force on August 15, 2021, following the flee of Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.
 

Dhaka for commencing political dialogue with EU next year
Dhaka Tribune | 25^th November
Dhaka is looking forward to commencing a “Political Dialogue” with the European Union (EU) in 2022.
This was revealed while EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley met State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam at the latter's office, according to a press release.   
During the meeting, Alam appreciated the EU’s role as a development and trading partner amid the Covid-19 pandemic and looked forward to commencing the ‘Political Dialogue’ with the EU next year.

Bangladesh now a $411b economy
Bangladesh Post | 23^rd November
The country's gross domestic product (GDP) has reached $411 billion in the fiscal year 2020-21, up 15.70 percent from previous FY’s, thanks to a new base year adopted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). 
Planning Minister MA Mannan disclosed the information while briefing reporters after attending a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).
However, BBS now calculates the country’s economy in order for the new base year 2015-16 (FY 2016) to replace the existing FY 2006.
 

BHUTAN

MoAF’s 60 percent rice self-sufficiency target questionable
Kuensel | 25^th November
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forests’ (MoAF) target to achieve 60 percent rice self-sufficiency in the 12th Five Year Plan (FYP) remains questionable, considering the declining rice self-sufficiency ratio and the constraints facing paddy cultivation.
Food self-sufficiency is defined as a country’s capacity to meet its food requirement from domestic production.
The rice self-sufficiency in 2006 was 58.49 percent which dropped to 34.71 percent in 2019.
The status report, Self-sufficiency and Dietary Energy Supply of Food Crops in Bhutan state that there was a “corresponding rise” in the rice import dependency ratio (IDR) with the decline of rice self-sufficiency ratio over the past 14 years.
 

Maldives defence minister visits India
The Edition | 24^th November
Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi flies to India on official business.
On this six-day trip, Minister Mariya will visit Kannur in addition to Kochi.
India High Commission in the Maldives said via Twitter that Mariya will be the first Defence Minister from another country that will be attending the parade held at the Indian Naval Academy to celebrate graduates.
Mariya will visit training facilities and Maldivians in India attend training programs themselves.

Parliament passes MVR 36.99 billion budget for 2022
Sun | 24^th November
The Parliament passed the projected state budget for 2022 on Wednesday, in accordance with the changes made by the Budget Committee following its review. 
The budget proposed by the Finance Ministry, with debt repayments and payments to international financial institutions, had totaled MVR 36.9 billion. 
The committee added MVR 73.8 million to the budget, increasing total expenditure to MVR 34.10 billion and the total budget to MVR 36.99 billion.
 

In Another Snub, Myanmar Junta Barred From Asia-Europe Meeting
The Irrawaddy | 25^th November
Myanmar’s military regime, which has become notorious for its brutal crackdowns on protesters, is appearing increasingly isolated on the world stage after being shunned from another international summit, in the third such snub in two months.
The two-day virtual Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) involving leaders of Asia and Europe is being hosted by Cambodia.

Over 20 Anti-Coup Activists Sentenced to Death by Myanmar Junta
The Irrawaddy | 25^th November
Myanmar military tribunals handed down death sentences to 21 people for their alleged involvement in attacks on military targets. Another 29 people received life terms in jail.
Among those sentenced to death are people accused of killing two regime-appointed local administrators in Yangon’s South Dagon Township, as well as an alleged military informant and a ward administrator and his driver in Yangon’s Dagon Seikkan Township. The killings took place in July and August.
 

13th Nepal-EU Joint Commission meeting concludes
The Himalayan Times | 25^th November
The 13th meeting of the Joint Commission of Nepal and the European Union concluded in Kathmandu yesterday.
A broad range of issues of mutual interest is featured on the agenda.
Set up in 1996, the Nepal-EU Joint Commission has proved a useful platform for engagement and provided momentum to further deepen the partnership between Nepal and the EU.
The EU and Nepal discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and cooperation in post-pandemic recovery.

Nepal to be upgraded from LDC category
Kathmandu Post | 25^th November
The United Nations General Assembly has approved a proposal to upgrade Nepal from an underdeveloped country to a middle-income developing country by 2026.
The 40th plenary of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) unanimously adopted a resolution on Wednesday endorsing the graduation of Nepal from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category with the preparatory period of five years, according to a statement issued by the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in New York.
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PAKISTAN

Trade deficit compelled govt to approach IMF: PM Imran
Dawn | 26^th November
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that the country’s trade deficit was the basic compulsion for the government to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Although our exports are increasing, they are still less than our imports. This causes pressure on our rupee, devaluation of our currency, and inflation,” the prime minister said while addressing the launching ceremony of the Sohni Dharti Remittance Programme (SDRP), aimed at encouraging the use of formal channels for remittances.

FM urges inclusive approach to address challenges in SCO states
The Express Tribune | 26^th November
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) still faced multifaceted challenges of poverty, food security, and climate change, which could be addressed through an inclusive approach.
In his virtual address to the leaders at the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting held in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan, the foreign minister said the SCO’s emphasis on cooperation and conflict resolution offered hope to humanity.

Biden invites PM Imran at ‘virtual summit for democracy’
The Nation | 26^th November
US President Joe Biden has invited Prime Minister Imran Khan at a virtual summit for democracy being held in Washington on 9-10th December 2021.
“Yes Pakistan has received the invitation for virtual democracy summit, however, there is no further development on the invitation”, Foreign Office spokesman Asim iftikhar told The Nation when asked to confirm the invitation from the US has been received or not.,
However, high-level sources told The Nation that Foreign Office has forwarded the invitation to the Prime Minister’s office for a final decision.
 

Sri Lanka national inflation rises to 8.3 percent in October 2021
Colombo Page | 22^nd November
Sri Lanka’s nationwide inflation in October 2021 determined under the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) rose to 8.3 percent from 6.2 percent recorded in September 2021 on a year-on-year basis, the Department of Census and Statistics reported Monday.
The NCPI for all items for the month of October 2021 increased to 150.6 from 147.5 in the previous month.

Health experts raise serious concerns over new variant, SL goes on alert
Daily Mirror | 26^th November
Sri Lanka's health experts, today raised serious concerns over the new variant of the COVID-19 which had been detected in South Africa, and said Sri Lanka's borders had gone on alert. 
Health officials said while data for this new variant was still being studied, this was very bad news for all countries including Sri Lanka.

New USAID 5-year, $19m project supports Sri Lanka’s renewable energy goals
Colombo Page | 24^th November
On November 17, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced its new $19 million, 5-year Sri Lanka Energy Program.
Once finalized, this grant will support the Government of Sri Lanka’s vision to increase the generation of renewable energy to 70% by the year 2030 and will contribute to the transformation of Sri Lanka’s power sector into a market-based, secure, dependable, and long-term system.