NAYPYITAW, 11 December 2021, (TON): Exports of heavy rare earth minerals from Myanmar to China have resumed after a months-long closure of the land border.

That is likely to mean more profits flowing to militia groups in Kachin State that are allied with the military regime and control areas where heavy rare earths are mined.

Campaigners have said the sale of the metals is strengthening Myanmar’s junta and have called for stricter regulations to ensure major car manufacturers are not using them in their vehicles.

Myanmar is one of the world’s two biggest sources of heavy rare earths, alongside China itself, and global demand for the minerals is rising fast because of their role in green technologies.

Dysprosium, a heavy rare earth mined in Myanmar, is a common component in the powerful magnets used in the motors of electric vehicles and wind turbines.

DUBAI, 11 December 2021, (TON): Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman left Kuwait on Friday having completed a short visit to the country after earlier leaving Bahrain, during his tour of Gulf countries aimed at bolstering relations.

On arrival, Prince Mohammed was received by his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported “he was later received by the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who bestowed upon the crown prince the Order of Wisam Mubarak Al-Kabir for his efforts “to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and understanding between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.”

During talks, the two sides agreed to strengthen economic, investment and defense ties. They also commended the establishment of the Saudi-Kuwaiti Coordination Council, established to better achieve progress in the areas of cooperation and advance strategic partnership between the two countries.

The two sides affirmed their determination to develop cooperation and coordination militarily as well as joint security cooperation and coordination.

DHAKA, 11 December 2021, (TON): Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen sought German investment on electric vehicles and locomotives in Bangladesh to help Bangladesh’s endeavour for green transition as part of its efforts to mitigate climate change.

A foreign ministry press release said “he made the urge when newly appointed German ambassador to Bangladesh Achim Tröster called on him at state guest house Padma in Dhaka.”  

Acknowledging Germany as one of Bangladesh’s largest trading partners, Momen invited the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry to set up its office in Bangladesh.

The foreign minister urged the German embassy to facilitate student visas for young Bangladeshi applicants.

In the meeting, they also exchanged views about the progress with the e-passport project implemented by a German company and other possible areas of collaboration including IT enabled services.

Momen urged Germany to continue to remain engaged on the question of Rohingya repatriation and acknowledged the German support so far.

NEW DELHI, 11 December 2021, (TON): According to a Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) report “India, which claims to be the biggest democracy in the world, has the highest number of journalists killed in retaliation for their work this year.”

Four journalists have been murdered in India for their work as of December 1, 2021, while a fifth died on a “dangerous assignment”, the US-based watchdog said in its annual survey on press freedom and attacks on the media.

It added "seven Indian media persons were behind bars as a result of their reporting as of December 1.”

As per the latest ‘Prison Census’ by, 293 journalists were jailed worldwide in 2021, a new record compared to a revised total of 280 in 2020.

The census also notes that at least 24 were reported as murdered, while 18 others died in circumstances too murky to determine whether they were specific targets.

According to the methodology of the report, the census “accounts only for journalists in government custody and does not include those who have disappeared or are held captive by non-State actors”.

It also does not include the many journalists imprisoned and released throughout the year.

NEW DELHI, 11 December 2021, (TON): A group of 110 Hindus and Sikhs will arrive in New Delhi from Kabul on a chartered flight. Both Indian and Afghan citizens will be on board the repatriation flight chartered by the Indian government.

Three Sri Guru Granth Sahib from historical Gurdwaras in Afghanistan and Hindu religious scriptures, including Ramanaya, Mahabharat and Bhagavad Gita from the ancient 5th Century Asamai Mandir, Kabul are also being brought back on the flight.

The Sikh holy book will be taken to Gurdwara Guru Arjan Dev Ji, Mahavir Nagar and the Hindu religious scriptures to Asamai Mandir in Faridabad.

The India World Forum said that after their arrival, the Afghan nationals will be rehabilitated by Sobti Foundation.

DHAKA, 11 December 2021, (TON): US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller said that their engagement in the Indo-Pacific is not against any country and it is not designed to make anyone choose between countries, noting that the US is not seeking a new cold war or a world divided into rigid blocks.

While delivering his keynote speech at a virtual dialogue hosted by Cosmos Foundation, he also said “Bangladesh is a sovereign independent nation that decides itself what organization or partnership it chooses to join.”

Miller said “the United States wants Bangladesh to succeed. We seek to grow the US-Bangladesh partnership because we believe it’s in the best interest of both our people.”

The ambassador mentioned their engagement in the Indo-Pacific is about advancing an optimistic vision that they have their participation and partnership in the region.

Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, hosted the dialogue, titled “Bangladesh-US Relations: Prognosis for the Future,” as part of its ongoing Ambassadors' Lecture Series.

The opening remarks were delivered by Cosmos Foundation Chairman Enayetullah Khan while Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, a renowned scholar-diplomat and former foreign affairs adviser of a caretaker government, chaired the session.

DHAKA, 11 December 2021, (TON): An official said “the authorities concerned have demolished about 1,000 shops belonging to Rohingya refugees in their Cox’s Bazar camps, with a rights worker saying the move would have a "huge impact" on refugees' livelihoods.”

About 850,000 Rohingya are packed into 34 camps across the country, most of whom fled a 2017 military clampdown in neighbouring Myanmar that the United Nations says could be genocide.

Bangladesh has been praised for taking in the refugees but rights groups criticise the authorities for restrictions in the camps and their controversial relocation of thousands of Rohingya to a flood-prone island.

Camp officials armed with excavators, hammers and shovels bulldozed the shops in several camps in the Cox's Bazar area on Thursday and Friday, leaving shell-shocked Rohingya shop-owners scrambling to salvage their goods.

Deputy Refugee Commissioner Shamsud Douza said authorities were demolishing "illegal" shops in all camps.

He told media "we have evicted about a thousand illegal shops. We are evicting illegal shops to build shelters for Rohingya.”

WASHINGTON, 10 December 2021, (TON): A senior US official said “US and Israeli defence chiefs are expected on Thursday to discuss possible military exercises that would prepare for a worst-case scenario to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities should diplomacy fail and if their nations' leaders request it.”

The scheduled US talks with visiting Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz follow an Oct. 25 briefing by Pentagon leaders to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on the full set of military options available to ensure that Iran would not be able to produce a nuclear weapon, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons, saying it wants to master nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The US-Israeli preparations, which have not been previously reported, underscore Western concern about difficult nuclear talks with Iran that President Joe Biden had hoped would revive a 2015 nuclear deal abandoned by his predecessor Donald Trump.

But US and European officials have voiced dismay after talks last week at sweeping demands by Iran's new, hardline government, heightening suspicions in the West that Iran is playing for time while advancing its nuclear program.

The US official declined to offer details on the potential military exercises.

VIENNA, 10 December 2021, (TON): Negotiations between Iran and world powers aimed at salvaging a tattered 2015 nuclear deal resumed in Vienna after a few days’ pause, with tensions high after Tehran made demands last week that European countries strongly criticized.

EU diplomat Enrique Mora, who chaired Thursday’s meeting of all the deal’s remaining signatories; Iran, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China said afterward that he felt a renewed sense of purpose on the need to work and to reach an agreement on bringing the (agreement) back to life.”

Mora said “whether that will be confirmed and endorsed by negotiations on the details, we will see in the coming days.”

He added that the positive impression “has to be tested.” He said that it is becoming “more imperative” with time to reach an agreement quickly.

Mora said participants are approaching the task “with the realism necessary to get an agreement, because it’s difficult, because there are different positions, because some points are still extremely open.”

He added “we have to close them, and we don’t have all the time of the world.”

CAIRO, 10 December 2021, (TON): Israel’s foreign minister arrived in Cairo on a diplomatic visit aimed at strengthening ties and shoring up a tenuous cease-fire between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and the country’s foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, for talks that reflected budding ties between Egypt and Israel’s new government.

Egypt’s intelligence chief also participated in the meetings.

Egypt, the first Arab country to reach a peace agreement with Israel, has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said “Lapid presented a plan to develop Gaza’s economy in return for assurances of quiet, and eventually disarmament, by Hamas.”

It said “the plan must address the issue of captives and missing persons.”

Lapid also discussed Israeli efforts to strengthen the rival Palestinian Authority, whose forces were toppled by Hamas in 2007. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas governs only limited autonomous areas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.