ISLAMABAD, 07 December 2021, (TON): Acting Afghan Higher Education Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani began talks in Pakistan on possible cooperation between the two countries in the fields of education and research.

The minister is leading a delegation that arrived in Pakistan amid calls for reopening educational institutions for girls in Afghanistan. The Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has only opened girls' schools up to sixth grade.

According to a press release, an eight-member delegation from the Afghanistan Higher Education Ministry visited the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in Islamabad.

The statement said “the delegation, headed by Haqqani, also included Academic Affairs Deputy Minister Lotfullah Khairkhwa and Kabul University Chancellor Dr Osama Aziz.”

HEC Executive Director Shaista Sohail welcomed the delegation and briefed them on the commission's key initiatives and different programmes.

The statement said “the delegation also visited the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) where they were received by Chairman Javed Hassan. The NAVTTC chairman gave the delegation a detailed briefing about its initiatives.”

The delegation also paid a visit to the National Curriculum Council where they were given a briefing on the Single National Curriculum and its objectives.

KABUL, 07 December 2021, (TON): Officials at the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations (MoRR) said that there are still thousands of internally displaced and homeless people in Kabul which are in need of urgent basic humanitarian assistance.

They added that the ministry has so far relocated 4,000 internally displaced families to their home provinces.

Mohammad Arsalah Kharoti, deputy minister of refugees and repatriations, said “this assistance is not enough, people have lots of problems in Afghanistan and full attention must be paid to their challenges. The pledges of the international community have not been sufficiently fulfilled and have not reached Afghanistan.”

Meanwhile, some internally displaced people complained that their challenges have not been adequately addressed, saying they are in dire need of shelter.

Tawus Khan, 50, fled from Helmand province to Qanbar crossroads in Kabul during the battles between the Islamic Emirate and the former government. He said he has two wives and 18 children.

RIYADH, 07 December 2021, (TON): Saudi Press Agency reported that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman sent a written message to UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, regarding their strong bilateral relations and ways to support and enhance them.

The message was delivered by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan during a meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, UAE vice president and prime minister and ruler of Dubai.

During the reception, Prince Faisal conveyed greetings from King Salman to Sheikh Khalifa, wishing him and the Emirati people continued progress and prosperity.

Sheikh Mohammed said “the UAE president expressed appreciation for the Saudi monarch, wishing him good health and wellness and the Saudi people further development and growth.”

GUATEMALA CITY, 07 December 2021, (TON): Guatemala’s president called his country a U.S. ally that backs Taiwan over China, emphasizing his government’s alignment with U.S. policy at a time of uncertainty over how the incoming Honduran government will handle China relations.

In a speech in Washington, President Alejandro Giammattei also appeared to take a jab at recent U.S. criticisms of his government around corruption and transparency.

Giammattei said in comments at the Heritage Foundation, an association of think tanks “we consider ourselves an ally and friend (of the United States), although some officials in this government don’t understand this in its true dimension.”

“I’ll mention a couple of things that prove it: First, diplomatic relations with Taiwan, not China. We’re the last ones left in the region.”

Many countries in Central America and the Caribbean have ditched Taiwan for China in recent years, including El Salvador, Panama and the Dominican Republic, going against U.S. policy of backing Taiwan, which China sees as a renegade province.

Aides for the incoming president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, have said “she will not establish ties with China, backtracking from Castro’s earlier comments that she was open to starting formal relations with China.”

DUBLIN, 07 December 2021, (TON): The Republic of Ireland is to receive €920m (£782m) from a European Commission fund which is designed to "mitigate the impact of Brexit".

The Brexit Adjustment Reserve is available to all European Union (EU) member states "while ensuring a strong concentration on those most affected".

The commission said “Ireland is the biggest beneficiary and the first state to benefit.”

The reserve has a total budget of €5.4bn (£4.5bn).

The Irish government will receive €361.5m (£307.4m) in 2021, €276.7m (£235.3m) in 2022 and €282.2m (£240m) in 2023.

Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said Brexit has had a "negative impact on many people's lives" and it is "the people in Ireland who feel it the most".

She further added that the EU's Brexit Adjustment Reserve stands for solidarity with those most affected.

"In moving forward, we don't want to leave anyone behind.

"The funding that Ireland will receive will contribute to improve living standards, support economic growth in the country and mitigate the negative impacts in local communities."

RIYADH, 07 December 2021, (TON): The Arab coalition said “more than 280 Houthi militia members were killed in one of the largest operations targeting the Iran-backed group in Marib in just 24 hours.”

The Arab coalition said “it conducted 47 operations against the Houthi militants in Marib, during which34 Houthi vehicles were destroyed as well as ammunition storage sites, Local media reported.”

The action comes as the Arab coalition forces have been eliminating militia assets in recent weeks, including weapons and personnel.

RAMALLAH, 07 December 2021, (TON): Officials said “a Palestinian teenager who drove his car into an Israeli security checkpoint in the occupied West Bank was shot dead on Monday by a security guard at the scene.”

The car-ramming occurred after 1 a.m. at the Te’enim checkpoint near the Palestinian city of Tulkarem, an Israeli Defense Ministry statement said, adding that the assailant had been “neutralized.”

It was not immediately clear if the alleged attacker was killed, but the official Palestinian news agency later reported that 15-year-old Mohammed Nidal Yunes died from injuries after being fired on at a checkpoint.

An Israeli security official confirmed to media that the driver of the vehicle was killed.

The Defense Ministry said that a security guard was “seriously injured” in the attack.

Israel’s Sheba Hospital said the guard’s injuries were not life threatening.

KHARTOUM, 07 December 2021, (TON): Thousands of Sudanese took to the streets in the capital of Khartoum and other cities in the latest protests against the October military coup and subsequent deal that reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

Footage circulated on social media purportedly showed demonstrators marching in different locations in Khartoum and its sister city of Omdurman. There were also protests in other cities, including Kassala, Sennar and Port Sudan.

Activist Nazim Sirag said “security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters marching in a street near the presidential palace in Khartoum.”

He said “they also used heavy tear gas to break up a one-day sit-in protest in Khartoum’s district of Bahri. Around a dozen protesters suffered light injuries from tear gas canisters.”

In past rounds of demonstrations security forces used violence, including firing live ammunition at protesters, according to activists. At least 44 protesters were killed and hundreds were wounded since the coup, according to the Sudan Doctors Committee, which tracks protester deaths.

RIYADH, 07 December 2021, (TON): Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), inaugurated the launch of 154 relief trucks from Saudi Arabia.

The convoy included 30,399 food baskets (3.252 tons) for distribution in 15 Yemeni governorates.

The food aid is the first to be sent by KSrelief to Yemen as part of the comprehensive “Yemen Food Security Support Project”, which will continue into 2022.

In comments to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Dr. Al-Rabeeah stated that this convoy comes as an extension of the commitment of the government of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to provide ongoing assistance to the Yemeni people and to support them during their current humanitarian crisis.

Al-Rabeeah added that Monday’s convoy from KSrelief is part of the center’s impartial, comprehensive assistance to people in need in all parts of Yemen, and that all aid is provided according solely to need and without any other motive.

He added that the 154-vehicle convoy is the first in what will amount to a total of 973 trucks carrying more than 192,000 food baskets (20.540 tons) for a total cost of $29,978,000. The goal of the massive food aid delivery project is to alleviate the suffering of crisis-affected families across Yemen.

NEW YORK, 07 December 2021, (TON): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed US diplomat Stephanie Williams to lead mediation efforts in Libya after his special envoy quit just weeks ahead of planned elections in the war-torn country.

According to diplomats “UN special envoy on Libya, Jan Kubis, is due to step down. Guterres had informally suggested veteran British diplomat Nicholas Kay as a replacement, but Russia said it would not support Kay.”

The 15-member UN Security Council, operating by consensus, must approve a new appointment.

Guterres named Williams as his special adviser, which does not require council approval. Williams was the acting special envoy on Libya after Ghassan Salame quit in March 2020 because of stress and before Kubis was approved in January 2021.

Kubis, who has been based in Geneva, said last month there was a need for the head envoy to be based in Libya's capital Tripoli and he resigned to "to create conditions for this".

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement “Williams will lead good offices and mediation efforts and engagements with Libyan regional and international stakeholders to pursue implementation of the three intra-Libyan dialogue tracks - political, security and economic - and support the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya.”