NAYPYITAW, 25 December 2021, (TON): Myanmar's ruling junta did not allow a meeting between visiting Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Media sources said “it has learnt that no one is allowed to meet her, other than her lawyers.”

During his working visit, Mr Shringla called on the Chairman, State Administrative Council and other senior representatives and held meetings with members of civil society and political parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's party National League for Democracy (NLD).

Sources told media that Mr Shringla had good discussions on bilateral issues of importance especially security and people to people ties during his visit.

It is learnt that Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla, who knows Aung San Suu Kyi since 2011, had sought a meeting with her as well, but his request was turned down by the state administrative council of Myanmar.

During his last visit in 2020, he had met Aung San Suu Kyi.

NAYPYITAW, 25 December 2021, (TON): Local media reported “Myanmar will start accepting Renminbi as an official settlement currency next year for trade with China, it said on Wednesday, as it looks to restart several joint projects and forge closer economic ties with Beijing.”

Myanmar's junta said in a statement “it enjoyed a special "kinship" with China, which has supported it financially.

The statement issued by the ministries of information and investment also identified infrastructure projects with China that it said were a "major priority" for its economic revival, including plans for railways and ports.

DHAKA, 25 December 2021, (TON): Lilly Nicholls has been appointed as the next Canadian high commissioner to Bangladesh.

She will take the place of Benoit Préfontaine.

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly announced several diplomatic appointments including the appointment of the country's new high commissioner to Bangladesh.

DHAKA, 25 December 2021, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said her government would take measures to solve the problems being faced by Bangladeshi expatriates in Maldives.

She said in a reception "I had successful bilateral talks with Maldivian president. The matter of legalising undocumented Bangladeshi workers came up prominently in the dialogue.”

The PM said that they would take prompt measures so that Bangladeshi expatriates could send back their hard-earned Maldivian currency directly without converting into dollars, for which they have to face losses.

She directed authorities concerned including the Bangladesh Bank to take measures to solve the crisis, saying, "I think it can be solved easily."

The prime minister said they would consider setting up a government bank branch and money exchange in Maldives.

JAKARTA, 24 December 2021, (TON): Indonesia is forced to abandon the purchase of multipurpose Su-35 fighters from Russia for budgetary reasons, Chief Air Force Chief Marshal Fajar Prasetio told reporters.

He said “as for the (aircraft) Sukhoi-35, with a heavy heart we have to abandon these plans.”

The government is considering purchasing French Rafale fighters and American Boeing F-15 EXs instead.

The chief of staff of the Indonesian Air Force added “from the very beginning it was said that in increasing our capabilities in the air we rely on the budget. and everything is likely to change to Rafale.”

According to him, many countries are thinking about purchasing French fighters, which have gained popularity recently, with a “strong” financial package for a deal to acquire them.

The Kompas portal reminds that information about the probable plans of the Indonesian Air Force for the acquisition of 35 Rafale aircraft and 15 F-15 EX aircraft appeared for the first time last year.

BAGHDAD, 24 December 2021, (TON): The US military will no longer be present on Iraqi soil, where only US military advisers and instructors will remain.

This was stated by the head of the Foreign Ministry of the republic Fuad Hussein at a press conference after a meeting in Tehran with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahiyan.

Fars quoted him as saying the US armed forces will not be present in Iraq. Only American advisers and instructors will remain.

Amir Abdollahiyan added that during the dialogue, the issue of abolishing visas [between Iran and Iraq] was discussed.

TRIPOLI, 24 December 2021, (TON): The Libyan presidential election scheduled for Dec. 24 was postponed for at least a month, leaving the internationally backed peace process in chaos and the fate of the interim government in doubt.

Electoral commission chief Emad Sayeh said the process had run into trouble because the election rules were inadequate to handle appeals and disputes over eligibility.

The three most prominent candidates, eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar, Seif Al-Islam Qaddafi and interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, are also the three most divisive.

Haftar is unacceptable to many in western Libya after his 2019-20 assault on Tripoli that smashed parts of the capital.

Qaddafi was convicted of war crimes by a Tripoli court and is detested by many of those who fought in the 2011 revolt against his father Muammar.

Dbeibeh promised when he was installed as premier that he would not run in an election, and his continued work as prime minister led many of his rivals to say he had an unfair advantage.

At stake is a peace process that had been seen as the best hope in years of bringing an end to the decade of chaos and violence that has engulfed Libya since a NATO-backed uprising ousted Qaddafi.

MOSCOW, 24 December 2021, (TON): The RF Ministry of Defense told reporters “the Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov discussed by phone with his British colleague Anthony Radykin topical issues of global and regional security.”

The department said “on December 23, 2021, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, General of the Army Valery Gerasimov, held a telephone conversation with the Chief of the Defense Staff of Great Britain, Admiral Anthony Radeikin. An exchange of views took place on topical issues of global and regional security.”

KHARTOUM, 24 December 2021, (TON): The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center recently delivered 46 tons of vital products and equipment to Sudan.

The shipment included 232 power generators for use at health facilities in the country, medicines, vaccines, insecticide spraying devices, and thousands of pesticide-saturated mosquito nets.

The consignment was handed over at Khartoum International Airport in the presence of the Saudi ambassador to Sudan, Ali bin Hassan Jafar, Sudanese officials, and a KSrelief team.

TEHRAN, 24 December 2021, (TON): The Fars news agency reported “Iran is to mount an anti-missile system on the turrets of T-72M tanks to protect them from attack.”

The report came during Iranian military exercises, and after the United States said it was preparing “alternatives” in case negotiations to revive a deal to curb Iran s nuclear programme collapse in Vienna.

Fars said “the system has been tested and will be installed on the tank turrets. It will be able to deflect all types of missiles by jamming their systems.”

The agency also reported Iran s Revolutionary Guards land forces chief, General Mohammad Pakpour, as saying the tanks  main gun has a three-kilometre (1.9-mile) range and precision night-time capabilities.

On Tuesday, Iran s military fired several missiles from land and sea as part of the five-day exercise.