NAYPYITAW, 26 December 2021, (TON): At least 40 locals were taken into military custody after two immediate family members of a junta-appointed administrator were killed in a village in Sagaing Township in the region by the same name last weekend.

Using knives, six assailants attacked Maung Maung Soe, the administrator for Pyitawthar village, and his family at their home on December 19. While Maung Maung Soe survived, his wife and daughter died in the incident.

Two anti-junta guerrilla forces, the Myinmu Township-based Black Hawk group and the Sagaing Special Combat Force, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Immediately following the assassination attempt, the military arrested two men and one woman from Pyitawthar. The next day, around 40 villagers were arrested after attempting to cross the Irrawaddy River, another local man told Myanmar Now. 

He said that the villagers were hiding in the woods en route to Kyauktalone village on the other side of the river, opposite to Pyitawthar.

NAYPYITAW, 26 December 2021, (TON): According to an officer from the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) “a Karenni Army (KA) ambush on a Myanmar army vehicle in Karenni (Kayah) State’s Shadaw Township killed all four junta troops inside.”

Aung San Myint, deputy secretary of the KNPP, told Myanmar Now that the vehicle was carrying the commander of Infantry Battalion (IB) 134 based in Hpasawng Township, but that the attack was not planned.

He said “our group was out and about and ran into their vehicle, so we clashed.”

He added that the commander in question was likely a major, but the ranks of the other three men could not be determined because they were not in full uniform at the time of the attack.

Aung San Myint explained “it was just one vehicle that we clashed with, and this is our territory. I wouldn’t say they were trespassing as we were both operating in the region.”

Daily battles have been breaking out between the military and the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force, which is comprised of the KA, KNPP and several local guerrilla groups in Karenni territory.

DHAKA, 26 December 2021, (TON): Border Guard Bangladesh members detained 10 people as they entered Bangladesh through Maheshpur border in Jhenaidah district from India without valid documents.

Three men and seven women were detained from a field at Gopalpur village of Jadavpur BOP under Maheshpur Battalion at about 2:30pm, confirmed Maheshpur 58 BGB additional director Taslim Mohammad Tareq.

KABUL, 26 December 2021, (TON): the UNSC said in a statement “The United Nations Security Council has extended the exemption to the travel ban on senior members of the Islamic Emirate, including First Deputy Prime Minister Baradar, for a 90-day period beginning on December 22, 2021, and ending on March 21, 2022.”

The exemption of travel bands includes other senior members of the Taliban as well.

The statement added “the travel ban exemption is solely for travels required for participation in peace and stability discussions in a range of countries.”

“Individual itineraries will depend on the location of peace discussions. The Committee has also decided to grant a limited asset freeze exemption only for financing exempted travels.”

Political analysts said that the “Taliban should take advantage of such opportunities to engage in negotiations with the world.

Javid Sangdel, an international relations analyst said “the world wants to engage with the Taliban. This will take some time and I think it is a great opportunity for the Taliban to take advantage of the opportunity and talk with the world and build Afghanistan.”

KABUL, 26 December 2021, (TON): The Islamic Emirate praised the United States’s efforts to facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan as the US Treasury issued three General Licenses that legally, but conditionally, make provision for financial interaction with the “Taliban and Haqqani Network.”

The US Department of Treasury issued three General Licenses to facilitate the continued flow of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan from the international community and international organizations.

The Islamic Emirate Deputy Spokesman, Bilal Karimi, said Afghanistan has witnessed a 20-year war, so it needs more international support.

Bilal Karimi said “Afghan people passed through long wars, and drought is another problem ahead of Afghanistan, so we appreciate such a decision.”

TEL AVIV, 25 December 2021, (TON): During a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog invited the Russian leader to the opening of the Museum of the Jewish Fighter of the Second World War named after Chaim Herzog.

The Israeli president wrote about this on Twitter .

The message says “in today’s telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, I congratulated him on the upcoming New Year. Russia and Israel are celebrating the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. next year.”

The Kremlin press service informed that the presidents of Russia and Israel had discussed a number of topical issues of bilateral cooperation by telephone.

MOSCOW, 25 December 2021, (TON): According to the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry “charged’ Affaires of Ukraine in the Russian Federation was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to protest in connection with the attack on the Russian Consulate General in Lvov.”

On the night of December 24, a terrorist act was committed against the Russian Consulate General in Lvov. An unknown person threw a Molotov cocktail in the direction of the entrance to the institution, which ignited and posed a threat to the security of the foreign establishment. None of the employees were hurt.

The statement said “the Charge d’Affaires of Ukraine in the Russian Federation was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, to whom a strong protest was lodged and requirements were set forth for the Ukrainian side to fulfill its international obligations to ensure security and create appropriate conditions for the normal functioning of Russian diplomatic and consular missions.”

The message says “this dangerous incident on the part of the Ukrainian authorities is a direct violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, Including Diplomatic Agents, 1973 and the Consular Convention between the Russian Federation and Ukraine of 1993 It is obvious that such a blatant and unacceptable action was the result of whipping up Russophobic hysteria in Ukraine, inciting hatred and enmity towards the Russian Federation.”

RIYADH, 25 December 2021, (TON): A Saudi citizen and a Yemeni resident of the Kingdom were killed after a Houthi projectile hit Jazan.

The Arab coalition said “the projectile fell in Samtah, a town in Jazan, and also damaged an industrial workshop.”

Earlier, a projectile hit a village neighbouring Najran and damaged a vehicle belonging to a civilian.

The coalition said the projectiles were launched from the Yemeni city of Saada and that it was carrying out airstrikes in response to deal with the source of the threat.

It later said that four depots used to store ballistic missiles and drones in Yemen’s Al-Mahwit governorate have been destroyed.

The coalition said “two mountain caves used to store ballistic missiles and weapons in Saada were also destroyed.”

TEHRAN, 25 December 2021, (TON): Iraq’s foreign minister said on a visit to Tehran that the time has come for the Islamic republic and the United States to negotiate directly on Iran s nuclear ambitions.

US-Iran relations have been severed since April 1980, just months after the fall of the shah and the occupation of the American embassy by Islamist students loyal to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

They worsened significantly after US president Donald Trump s 2018 decision to unilaterally withdraw from the nuclear deal and impose sanctions on Tehran.

Negotiations resumed in November after a five-month hiatus to try to restore the deal, which gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities.

Diplomats from the remaining parties to the deal — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — are in talks in Vienna with Iran and the US, with the two sides refusing direct contact.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told a joint press conference “we call for, and this is no secret, direct negotiations between the two parties.”

He said “Iraq s interest is in helping the two parties to sit round a table and talk.”

MAIDUGURI, 25 December 2021, (TON): Residents and a hospital source said “at least five people were killed and more than a dozen injured after several explosions near an air force base in Nigeria’s Maiduguri town, ahead of a visit by President Muhammadu Buhari.”

Maiduguri is the capital of the northeast state of Borno, the epicenter of a 12-year Islamist insurgency. The city and surrounding areas are routinely attacked by militants.

Four people were killed in Maiduguri’s Gomari Ayafe area, a few hundred metres from an air force base, residents said. Buhari landed at the base less than an hour after explosions were heard in neighbourhoods near the base.

A Reuters witness saw two bodies, including that of a child and several injured people being taken to hospital in open trucks. Three houses were extensively damaged and residents suspected Islamist militants.