BEIJING, 22 March, 2021, (TON): India, Pakistan, China, and different individuals from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will hold a joint anti-terrorism oppression practice this year, the eight-part coalition said.

The choice to hold the joint exercise "Pabbi-Antiterror-2021" was reported during the 36th gathering of the Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on March 18.

At the gathering, delegates of the SCO part states likewise endorsed the draft program of collaboration for 2022-2024 to counter-illegal intimidation, dissidence, and radicalism.

“Decisions have been made to improve cooperation between the competent authorities of the SCO member states in identifying and suppressing channels that finance terrorist activities,” China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Assignments of the skilled specialists of India, Kazakhstan, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and the RATS Executive Committee went to the gathering, Xinhua revealed. Rodents, settled in Tashkent, is a lasting organ of the SCO which serves to advance the participation of part states against terrorism oppression, nonconformity, and radicalism. The SCO is a monetary and security coalition in which India and Pakistan were conceded as full individuals in 2017.

WELLINGTON, 22 March, 2021 (TON): New Zealand’s Transport Minister said on Monday, that the government has extended support to the aviation sector through the end of October in an effort to help keep the country connected with trade partners and maintain international passenger services.

Wood said, "Airfreight capacity is at 90 percent of pre-Covid levels thanks to the International Airfreight Capacity (IAFC) scheme, which has meant our exporters have been able to get their products to market on time, and critical goods like medicine have been able to come into New Zealand."

The Minister added the government support has enabled over 6,000 flights carrying over 120,000 tonnes of airfreight worth NZ$8 billion ($5 billion) since May 2020.

"Extending support gives a predictable and regular schedule of air services to safeguard New Zealand's international connectivity, he added.

However, it was made clear that more than 60,000 people have returned to New Zealand on flights supported by the government’s scheme.

SYDNEY, 22 March, 2021 (TON): On Monday, several thousand people are to be evacuated from the flood-affected suburbs in Sydney’s West as the area is set for worst flooding in 60 years, the authorities said.

Unrelenting rains over the past three days swelled rivers in Australia's most populous state of New South Wales (NSW), causing widespread damage and triggering calls for mass evacuations and the forecast continues for few more days as well.

NSW State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said, "We need to brace ourselves, it will be a very

"I don't know any time in a state history where we have had these extreme weather conditions in such quick succession in the middle of a pandemic," Berejiklian said.

Authorities said around 18,000 people have been evacuated from low lying areas of the state as Sydney on Sunday recorded the wettest day of the year with almost 111 mm (4.4 inches) of rain, while some regions in NSW's north coast received nearly 900 mm of rain in the last six days.

However, until now and later a severe flood warning has been issued for large parts of NSW as well as neighboring Queensland.

DHAKA, 22 March, 2021 (TON): To join the celebrations of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary and the golden jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence, the Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari arrived in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Monday.

A Nepal Airlines flight carrying the president reached Shahjalal International Airport at 10 amin the morning where she was greeted by President Abdul Hamid upon arrival.

The occasion marks the first time a Nepalese president has visited Bangladesh.

Bhandari is accompanied by several high-ranking officials, including Nepal’s foreign minister and the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the trip.

She will pay respects to the Liberation War martyrs at the National Martyrs' Memorial in Savar on the first day of her visit. Later Bhandari will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and will join a program at the National Parade Ground as a special guest in the afternoon.

DHAKA, 22 March, 2021 (TON): The UN completed its first visit to the 14,000 refugees relocated island in Bangladesh.

The three-day visit to Bhasan Char, dubbed Rohingya Island, began on 17 March with UN experts traveling by boat from Chottogram.

Louise Donovan, spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at Cox’s Bazar said, “The UN team was made up of 18 experts from different UN agencies engaged in the Rohingya refugee response in Bangladesh. The visit was facilitated and accompanied by officials of the government of Bangladesh.”

Located in the Bay of Bengal, 60 km from the mainland, Bhasan Char was built by Bangladesh in 2006 using Himalayan silt, at the cost of more than $360 million, to ease the overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Each Bhasan Char house has concrete rooms measuring 2m x 2.5m, with small windows and a toilet, for 11 people.

However, the UNHCR said it was concerned about Bhasan Char’s vulnerability to severe weather and flooding, leading to a UN proposal in December 2019 for a “technical assessment” of the island.

Wednesday’s visit marked a breakthrough as it follows various attempts by the UN refugee agency to visit the facility, awaiting government permission to carry out the evaluation, amid concerns about whether the relocation was safe. However, similar concerns were raised by several international rights organizations who urged Bangladesh not to relocate the Rohingya to the island, reasoning it was located in an area prone to cyclones.

RAMALLAH, 22 March, 2021 (TON): A Palestinian official confirmed on Sunday that the Israeli authorities have impounded the VIP border pass of the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki upon his return to the West Bank from a meeting at the International Criminal Court.

The official at the FM’s office, Ahmed al-Deek, told the media about the move when Maliki visited the ICC lead prosecutor Fatou Bensouda at her office in The Hague on Thursday.

Maliki's ICC visit was the reason for the revocation of his VIP card, an Israeli-granted pass that enables dozens of senior Palestinian officials to move freely through border crossings, said the Israeli officials.

"This is the Foreign Minister of the State of Palestine. He doesn't represent himself. He represents the State of Palestine, and we regard this as an attack against the State of Palestine," said Deek.

However, no response came from the Israeli Foreign Ministry over the move neither did the PM of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to comment.

ISLAMABAD, 22 March, 2021 (TON): Marking the celebrations on Pakistan’s National Day, a famed Turkish Air Force aerobatic team has arrived in Pakistan to showcase their unique display.

The arrival was also confirmed by Turkey's National Defense Ministry on Sunday.

The ministry tweeted, "SOLOTURK, the demonstration team of the Turkish Air Force will conduct a demo flight by participating in friendly and brotherly Pakistan's National Day activities."

It added, the team arrived in the capital Islamabad to join the activities to be held on Tuesday.

It was pointed that the Turkish F-16 demo and stunt team SOLOTURK performed its first demonstration in 2011.

RIYADH, 22 March, 2021 (TON): On Sunday, a meeting was held between the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal bin Farhan and the Chadian FM Amine Siddick in the capital Riyadh.

The meeting was confirmed by the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday.

Areas of joint cooperation between the countries and mutual interest on the most prominent regional and global developments were made into discussion during the meeting.

The reports confirmed that the meeting ended on signing a general agreement for cooperation between the two countries.

COLOMBO, 22 March 2021, (TON): Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said in  a statement, “the allegations of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka by several countries including the UK, Canada and Germany is an action taken for political purposes, by concealing the truth.”

A vote is scheduled to be held on 22 March 2021 on the allegations made by several countries against Sri Lanka, at the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. Responding to a question raised by journalists at the Foreign Ministry in this regard today, the Minister pointed out that it is not the responsibility of an internationally recognized Human Rights Council to accuse or take a vote on the internal affairs of our country.

NEW DELHI, 22 March, 2021 (TON): Chief Minister Mizoram Zoramthanga called on the Indian PM Modi to provide asylum, food, and shelter to the Myanmar refugees who arrived in the state last month.  

Zoramthanga in a letter to Modi sought his intervention so that the refugees from Myanmar are given asylum, food, and shelter in India.

“I understand there are certain foreign policy issues where India needs to proceed cautiously. However, we cannot ignore this humanitarian crisis,” CM said in the letter.

He said “This is not acceptable to Mizoram,” while referring to the Union Home Ministry’s advisories to the Chief Secretaries of the four northeastern states bordering Myanmar and also to the Assam Rifles and Border Security Forces for taking action to prevent illegal influx from Myanmar into India.

Zoramthanga said He added that the Mizoram’s Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs met the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday and Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday and discussed the issue during the Parliament session.

Zoramthanga said in his letter that India is the largest democracy in the world and Myanmar’s immediate neighbor needs to do more and open up more in this matter. Keeping in view his concerns, Zoramthanga Sunday held a virtual meeting with Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung.

However, the state governments and UT administrations have no power to grant “refugee” status to any foreigner and India is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention of 1951 and its 1967 Protocol. The four northeastern states share a 1,643 km unfenced border with Myanmar.