KHARTOUM, 01 December 2021, (TON): Sudanese security forces deployed tear gas against tens of thousands of protesters gathering in central Khartoum to oppose military rule following last month's coup.

Neighbourhood resistance committees called the protests, demanding full civilian authority, casting aside an agreement last week that reinstated civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and brought the release of most top politicians detained since the coup.

The October 25 takeover ended a partnership with civilian political groups since the toppling of Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and drew condemnation from Western powers, which have suspended aid.

While bridges between the capital's sister cities were left open at the start of the protests, heavily armed police forces took to central Khartoum, where protesters planned to march on the presidential palace.

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades as protesters gathered about a kilometre (0.6 mile) from the palace, blocking a main road and chanting Soldiers belong in the barracks.

Forces chased protesters in and out of side streets, where the protesters began barricading and gathering in smaller groups.

In a statement, the Sudanese Professionals Association said protesters were being arrested.

LONDON, 01 December 2021, (TON): The head of the UK’s foreign intelligence agency said “China, which is increasingly flexing its muscles around the world, is one of the biggest threats to Britain and its allies, and a miscalculation by Beijing could lead to war.”

MI6 chief Richard Moore said that China, Russia, Iran and international terrorism make up the “big four” security issues facing Britain’s spies in an unstable world where both countries and illicit organisations are racing to exploit fast-changing information technology.

In his first public speech since becoming head of the Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6, in October 2020, Moore said China is the intelligence agency’s “single greatest priority” as the country’s leadership increasingly backs “bold and decisive action” to further its interests.

Calling China “an authoritarian state with different values than ours”, he said Beijing conducts large-scale espionage operations against the UK and its allies, tries to ”distort public discourse and political decision-making” and exports technology that enables a “web of authoritarian control” around the world.

Moore said “Beijing’s growing military strength and the party’s desire to resolve the Taiwan issue, by force if necessary, also pose a serious challenge to global stability and peace.”

ISLAMABAD, 01 December 2021, (TON): Pakistan moved one step closer to receiving $3 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia, as the two countries signed a deposit agreement to pave way for receipt of the financial assistance.

According to a statement released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Monday, the agreement was signed between the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) Chief Executive Officer Sultan Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Marshad and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir.

Under the deposit deal, SDF would park $3 billion in the State Bank of Pakistan.

The statement said “the deposit amount shall become part of the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves. It will help support Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves.”

According to the SBP “the deposit agreement reflects the strong and special relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and it is expected to further augment the economic ties between the two brotherly countries.”

 Saudi Arabia agreed to provide $3 billion to Pakistan in the shape of cash assistance along with $1.2 oil facility on deferred payment. It is the second financial assistance package that the kingdom has extended to Pakistan in the past three years, aiming to help the country manage a brewing external sector crisis.

NEW DELHI, 01 December 2021, (TON): The Indian government said “it has not taken any decision yet to prepare a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC).”

Till now, the government has not taken any decision to prepare NRIC (National Register of Indian Citizens), Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai told the Lok Sabha in a written reply to a question, our New Delhi correspondent reports.

Assam is the only state of India which has NRC, a list of documented Indian citizens.

Rai also said “the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) was notified on December 12, 2019 and had come into force on January 10, 2020, and the people covered under the CAA may apply for citizenship after the rules are notified.”

The state minister said that as far as Assam is concerned, on the directions of the Indian Supreme Court, the hard copies of the supplementary list of inclusions and online family-wise list of exclusions in NRC have been published on August 31, 2019.

KABUL, 01 December 2021, (TON): The World Bank is finalising a proposal to deliver up to $500m from a frozen Afghanistan aid fund to humanitarian agencies, people familiar with the plans told media, but it leaves out tens of thousands of public sector workers and remains complicated by United States sanctions.

Board members will meet informally to discuss the proposal, hammered out in recent weeks with US and United Nations officials, to redirect the funds from the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), which has a total of $1.5bn.

Afghanistan’s 39 million people face a cratering economy, a winter of food shortages and growing poverty three months after the Taliban seized power as the last US troops withdrew from 20 years of war.

The sources said “Afghan experts said the aid will help, but big gaps remain, including how to get the funds into Afghanistan without exposing the financial institutions involved to US sanctions, and the lack of focus on state workers.”

They said that the money will go mainly to addressing urgent healthcare needs in Afghanistan, where less than seven percent of the population has been vaccinated against the coronavirus.”

For now, it will not cover salaries for teachers and other government workers, a policy that the experts say could hasten the collapse of Afghanistan’s public education, healthcare and social services systems.

ISLAMABAD, 01 December 2021, (TON): Pakistan has been elected the next chair of the ‘Group of 77’, which is the largest intergovernmental grouping of developing countries in the United Nations.

The Foreign Office said in a statement “the development comes during the 45th ministerial meeting of Group of 77 and China, held in a virtual format.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi addressed the meeting and thanked the 134 members of G77 and China for reposing their trust in Pakistan to lead the group in 2022.

He highlighted that the world is confronted with a triple crisis: the Covid pandemic and its consequences; the challenge of realising the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development; and the existential threat of climate catastrophe, which has had a disproportionate impact on the developing countries.

He added that an inclusive and equitable recovery from the current crisis would only be possible if the developing countries are provided with adequate means, especially financial resources, to return to the path of sustained and sustainable economic growth.

FM Qureshi also emphasised that the developing countries needed to promote a “Common Development Agenda” to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

ISLAMABAD, 01 December 2021, (TON): The military said “Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has emphasised the need for global convergence on Afghanistan for regional peace and stability, urging coordinated efforts for economic uplift of the Afghan people.”

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said “the army chief made these remarks during his meeting with Major General Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Saud Al Khalifa, Chief of Staff of Bahrain National Guard (BNG) who called on him at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.”

It added that the visiting dignitary appreciated Pakistan's role in the Afghan situation, special efforts for border management and role in regional stability.

According to the military's media wing, matters of mutual interests, the current security situation in Afghanistan and bilateral cooperation in various fields were also discussed during the meeting.

The ISPR further said that Major General Abdul Aziz acknowledged the professionalism of Pakistan's armed forces and vowed to enhance cooperation in various fields.

Gen Qamar was cited by the ISPR as saying "Pakistan desires to maintain the tradition of bilateral engagement and wish for long-term and multi-domain enduring relationship with Bahrain.”

NAYPYITAW, 01 December 2021, (TON): A court in Myanmar has delayed the first verdicts in the trial of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi until early December.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been detained since the military seized power in a February 1 coup after her National League for Democracy (NLD) party won a landslide re-election in November 2020. Aung San Suu Kyi faces two years in prison for the incitement charge, in relation to anti-coup statements released by the NLD when she was already being held incommunicado in military custody.

She is also accused of violating the Natural Disaster Management Law for violating crowd restrictions by attending a campaign rally last year when she waved to a convoy of supporters passing by her house.

The 76-year-old is facing a raft of other charges, including unsubstantiated allegations of corruption and election rigging that could see her jailed for the rest of her life.

The postponed verdicts have been rescheduled for December 6, when Aung San Suu Kyi was also expected to hear a verdict for two charges related to illegally possessing walkie-talkies.

NAYPYITAW, 01 December 2021, (TON): An anti-junta guerrilla group on Monday threw a homemade bomb at soldiers who were guarding an office in Mandalay belonging to the military-controlled telecoms company MPT.

Around 20 soldiers were at the office near the Inkhayu pagoda in Pyigyidagun Township when members of Generation Z Power (GZP) threw the bomb inside the building.

A GZP member said “we have been attacking any place where there are soldiers,”

He said “there are usually only four or five soldiers present in that office but there were around 20 present this morning.”

He added that a group of us threw the grenade into the office while our other team armed with guns stood guard so that the soldiers couldn’t follow us. They fired some shots at us from the inside but they were merely shots in the dark as they couldn’t see us.

In a statement, GZP said “its members saw four soldiers lying on the ground after the attack.”

DHAKA, 01 December 2021, (TON): United Nations resident coordinator Mia Seppo said “her organisation would provide continuous support to Bangladesh on Rohingya issue.”

She said while paying a farewell call on prime minister Sheikh Hasina at her official Ganabhaban residence ”we will continue to support Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue.”

During the meeting, Sheikh Hasina said “Rohingyas were sheltered in Bangladesh on humanitarian ground, but they are now creating social problem.”

The premier said “the Rohingyas should return to their country.”

PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed the newsmen after the meeting.

Referring to a resolution adopted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Rohingya issue, the prime minister said, ‘The ASEAN has sent a good message to Myanmar through adopting the resolution’.

Sheikh Hasina said that the non-government organisations which are working in Bangladesh can do their parts for the Rohingyas in their homeland.