RIYADH, 11 January 2022, (TON): Saudi state TV reported “the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen said on Monday that 220 Houthi militants were killed in airstrikes on Shabwa province.”

The coalition added that 29 military vehicles were also destroyed during 38 operations targeting the Iran-backed Houthi militia over the last 24 hours.

In a separate statement the coalition said “it had carried out 11 other operations targeting the Houthis in Marib, killing 50 fighters and destroying seven vehicles.”

Meanwhile, pro-government forces in Yemen backed by the coalition said they had seized control of the northern oil-rich Shabwa province from the Houthis rebels.

The pro-government Giants Brigade announced in a statement the “liberation of the district of Ain” after a 10-day assault, which it said had been the last area of the province left in Houthi control.

WASHINGTON, 11 January 2022, (TON): US and Egyptian naval forces have begun joint military exercises in the Red Sea.

This comes within the framework of the Egyptian military’s plan to carry out training and exchange experiences with the forces of friendly countries.

The joint naval exercises include the participation of Egyptian frigate Alexandria, the USS Cole and the USS Jason Dunham.

Egyptian military spokesman Col. Arkan Harb Gharib Abdel Hafez said “the exercises include various combat and transportation activities, training in security procedures in the Red Sea, confronting atypical maritime threats, and simulated protection of a ship carrying important cargo.”

MOSCOW, 11 January 2022, (TON): Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the situation in Kazakhstan by telephone and expressed concern about the participation of foreign mercenaries in destabilizing the situation in the republic.

This is stated in the disseminated message of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“The main attention was paid to the situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Both sides expressed firm support for the efforts of the Kazakh leadership to restore the constitutional order in the country,” the Russian diplomatic service informed. including the participation of foreign mercenaries in attacks on civilians and law enforcement officers, in the seizure of state institutions and other objects. “

The head of the PRC Foreign Ministry positively assessed the measures taken by the CSTO against the background of events in Kazakhstan.

The message says “Wang Yi positively assessed the measures taken by the CSTO in response to the appeal of the leadership of Kazak-hstan in order to help normalize the situation in the country.”

It is reported that the heads of the diplomatic departments of the two countries also noted the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in ensuring security in Eurasia.

TEHRAN, 11 January 2022, (TON): Its foreign ministry says “Iran is still some time away from officially recognising the Taliban as the government of neighbouring Afghanistan.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Sunday’s high-level talks with Taliban representatives were positive, but Iran is still “not at the point of officially recognising Taliban”.

He added in a press conference “the current condition of Afghanistan is a major concern for the Islamic Republic of Iran and the visit of the Afghan delegation was within the framework of these concerns.”

The Taliban delegation, led by the group’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, met their Iranian counterparts led by Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

It was the first such visit by a Taliban delegation since the group caused the collapse of the country’s Western-backed government amid the chaotic withdrawal of the United States-led forces in August.

KABUL, 11 January 2022, (TON): Local authorities said “at least nine children were killed and four others wounded when a live mortar shell exploded in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar.”

The governor's office said “a junkman was playing with the unexploded mortar shell when it went off in the Baiganan village of Lal Pur district.”

According to witnesses “the explosion took place near a school.”

Afghanistan is among the countries with the most unexploded land mines and bombs from the country’s decades of war.

ABUJA, 11 January 2022, (TON): Nigeria said that gunmen killed at least 200 people and displaced thousands more in multiple raids in the northwest over the last week, dealing a heavy blow to authorities struggling to restore order.

Herders and farmers in Africa’s most populous country have clashed over access to land in northwest and central Nigeria for years, but some groups have evolved into criminal gangs known as “bandits” who kill, loot and kidnap.

The minister of humanitarian affairs Sadiya Umar Farouq called the past week’s attacks in Zamfara state “horrific and tragic, giving the first official toll after details began filtering out early.

She said in a statement confirmed by her spokeswoman Nneka Ikem Anibeze “over 200 persons were buried due to the invasion by bandits.”

The minister added “we also worried about the displaced persons who are fleeing in their hundreds from their communities.”

He added that relief material was sent to Zamfara.

The minister said more 10,000 people were displaced when “their homes were razed by the bandits while scores are still missing.”

ABUJA, 11 January 2022, (TON): Nigeria said that gunmen killed at least 200 people and displaced thousands more in multiple raids in the northwest over the last week, dealing a heavy blow to authorities struggling to restore order.

Herders and farmers in Africa’s most populous country have clashed over access to land in northwest and central Nigeria for years, but some groups have evolved into criminal gangs known as “bandits” who kill, loot and kidnap.

The minister of humanitarian affairs Sadiya Umar Farouq called the past week’s attacks in Zamfara state “horrific and tragic, giving the first official toll after details began filtering out early.

She said in a statement confirmed by her spokeswoman Nneka Ikem Anibeze “over 200 persons were buried due to the invasion by bandits.”

The minister added “we also worried about the displaced persons who are fleeing in their hundreds from their communities.”

He added that relief material was sent to Zamfara.

The minister said more 10,000 people were displaced when “their homes were razed by the bandits while scores are still missing.”

KABUL, 11 January 2022, (TON): The Taliban's foreign minister said “he held talks in Iran on the weekend with Ahmad Massoud, son of the late legendary Afghan resistance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, and guaranteed his security if he returned home.”

Massoud's Panjshir Valley forces provided the last resistance in September to the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, weeks after government troops capitulated.

In a video posted on Monday by state media on Twitter, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said “he also met Ismail Khan, a Herat province warlord who surrendered to the Taliban and left the country.”

The Taliban had announced Muttaqi's departure to Tehran for talks with Iranian officials but made no mention of any plans to meet exiled leaders.

Muttaqi said in the video "we met commander Ismail Khan and Ahmad Massoud, and other Afghans in Iran, and assured them that anyone can come to Afghanistan and live without any concerns.”

KABUL, 11 January 2022, (TON): Filippo Grandi, the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees, told “the Washington Post that it is important to maintain dialogue with the Islamic Emirate.”

He said that this will ensure that Afghanistan is viable.

Grandi said “but in the end, in the end, it is important to maintain that dialogue with the Taliban, because all these systems will be temporary in nature, and how to ensure that Afghanistan is viable, is a viable country able to support its people, I think will only be achieved through dialogue between the international community and the Taliban themselves.”

Grandi added that he delivered the same message to the Islamic Emirate when he was visiting Kabul: that the Taliban has to fulfil some promises, if they want their financial resources to be unfrozen.

He further added “when I was in Kabul, and when my colleagues were there, we all told the Taliban the same message. If you want your resources to be unfrozen, if you want the country to enjoy again substantive development support by the international community, you also have to make steps in their direction. It’s–it goes both ways, but it is a dialogue. It cannot be a wall-to-wall situation.”

DHAKA, 11 January 2022, (TON): The Thailand Embassy here will publish series of special articles round the year marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Bangkok and Dhaka on October 5 this year.

"The Royal Thai Embassy will publish articles from January until December 2022 to commemorate historical milestones in the bilateral ties and to enhance mutual understanding between the peoples.”

In January and March 2022, two special articles on the 30th anniversary of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkornin's visit to Bangladesh in 1992 and the 60th anniversary of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's and Queen Sirikit's visit to Dhaka and Chattogram in 1962 will be the feature articles of the month respectively.

The Royal Thai Embassy is honoured to receive royal permission to display photographs from these visits kept in the royal archive in Bangkok.

The articles will be published in Thai and Bangladeshi media.