RIYADH, 27 November 2021, (TON): Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Asheikh met Egyptian Minister of Endowments Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar Jumaa.

During their meeting in Jeddah, they discussed a number of issues including cooperation between the two ministries on Islamic initiatives, and spreading the messages of temperance, moderation, and the rejection of extremism.

Meanwhile, Al-Asheikh noted the success of recent talks on similar topics with Yaqut Choilil Coumas, the Indonesian minister of religious affairs.

Coumas pointed out that the two countries had parallel visions, and said Indonesia was keen to benefit from Saudi Arabia’s expertise in serving the Two Holy Mosques.

WASHINGTON, 27 November 2021, (TON): Five US lawmakers met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen Friday morning in a surprise one-day visit intended to reaffirm the United States’ rock solid support for the self-governing island.

The bi-partisan group of lawmakers from the US House of Representatives arrived in Taiwan on Thursday night and were planning to meet with senior leaders including Tsai, said the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto embassy.

No further details were provided about their itinerary.

The visit comes as tensions between Taiwan and China have risen to their highest level in decades. Taiwan has been self-ruled since the two sides split during a civil war in 1949, but China considers the island part of its own territory.

Representative Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan, who is part of the delegation, wrote on Twitter “when news of our trip broke yesterday, my office received a blunt message from the Chinese Embassy, telling me to call off the trip.”

Representatives Mark Takano, D-Calif., Colin Allred, D-Texas., Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., and Nancy Mace, R-S.C., are also part of the visiting delegation.

Takano said “we are here in Taiwan this week to remind our partners and allies, after two trying years that we’ve endured, that our commitment and shared responsibility for a free and secure Indo-Pacific region remain stronger than ever.”

Takano added that the US relationship with Taiwan is “rock solid and has remained steadfast as the ties between us have deepened.”

MOSCOW, 27 November 2021, (TON): Moscow said “the Russian leader will go to India on December 6 for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

Putin has only left Russia once during the pandemic, to meet US President Joe Biden in Geneva in June.

In a statement, the Kremlin said “Putin and Modi will hold talks on furthering the privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India.

It said “the pair will discuss their joint work within the G20, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an eight-member group that promotes itself as an antidote to Western geopolitical dominance.

The talks are expected to be centered around the deliveries of Russia’s S-400 air defense systems and Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines to India.

India is a major buyer of Russian military hardware. In 2018, it ordered Moscow’s S-400 missile defense system despite the threat of US sanctions over the $5.4-billion deal.

RIYADH, 27 November 2021, (TON): The Elysee presidential office said “French President Emmanuel Macron will go on an official trip to the Gulf region, visiting Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar between Dec. 3 and 4.”

France maintains strong relations with the Gulf States, in economic and cultural terms, but also in terms of security.

Macron held talks on Friday with Pope Francis in the Vatican, along with top Vatican diplomats afterwards, where discussions included climate change, Lebanon, the Middle East, Africa, and the forthcoming French Presidency of the European Union.

BEIJING, 27 November 2021, (TON): China has officially sent Lithuania a diplomatic note to change the name of the Chinese diplomatic mission in Vilnius to the PRC mission in Lithuania. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian stated this at a briefing.

He said “on November 26, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China officially sent a note to the Ministry of For-eign Affairs of Lithuania, deciding to change the name of the Chinese diplomatic office in Lithuania to the representative office of the PRC in Lithuania.”

“China has also asked Lithuania to change the name of its diplomatic mission in the PRC accordingly.”

According to Zhao Lijian, “China’s move is a legitimate countermeasure against damage to China’s sovereignty.”

He stressed “the responsibility lies entirely with the Lithuanian side.”

Earlier, China Central Television reported that the PRC government had decided to downgrade diplomatic relations with Lithuania to the level of chargé d’affaires.

On November 18, in spite of Beijing’s protests, a representative office of Taiwan was opened in Vilnius.

It will not have diplomatic status, but it will be able to provide consular services. Erik Huang, who heads a similar office in Riga, under the name of the Taipei Representative Office, has been appointed as its head. Lithuania expects to open its mission in Taiwan in early 2022.

LONDON, 27 November 2021, (TON): British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote to French President Emmanuel Macron asking France to immediately start taking back all migrants who land in England after crossing the Channel, after at least 27 died when their boat foundered off Calais.

He said in a letter sent to Macron “taking back migrants “would significantly reduce, if not stop, the crossings, saving thousands of lives by fundamentally breaking the business model of the criminal gangs” behind the trafficking.”

The record wave of illegal migrants seeking to cross the English Channel is a volatile issue for both leaders amid rising anti-immigrant sentiment and controversy over what critics say is a callous attitude in both capitals.

Johnson’s letter also set out areas for greater cooperation with France, proposing joint border patrols, aerial surveillance and intelligence sharing.

Johnson said “we are ready to begin such patrols from the start of next week.”

Britain and France had earlier called for a coordinated European response to stop people-trafficking in the Channel after the deadliest accident since the waterway in 2018 became a key route for migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia trying to reach England from France.

According to a statement “Home Secretary Priti Patel spoke with French counterpart Gerald Darmanin to put forward plans for greater collaboration and innovation.”

It added “the two will meet this weekend and Patel will send officers to Paris after having offered to provide more people on the ground.”

LONDON, 27 November 2021, (TON): In the first visit by UK ministers since 2019, the Africa Minister opened the Friends of the Gulf of Guinea conference to reiterate the importance of keeping trade routes flowing freely in West Africa and combating piracy.

In her speech, the Minister committed to being a fierce champion of enterprise and trade and said counter-piracy efforts in the region have been a key part the UK’s G7 Presidency.

On the day the FCDO announced the launch of British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, the Africa Minister visited the Port of Dakar to see the transformative impact UK investment will have in Senegal and beyond.

Earlier this year, CDC (to be rebranded as BII in April 2022) committed to invest an initial $320 million in ports and logistics infrastructure across Africa, with a further $400 million over several years, in partnership with DP World.

The planned expansion of port facilities in Dakar as part of this announcement will be Senegal’s largest ever onshore foreign direct investment and will help to drive free trade and economic growth.

The UK aims to mobilise £8 billion of financing a year by 2025 for Africa, the Caribbean and Asia. We are scaling up our finance offer to like-minded partners around the world to support them to grow their economies sustainably and invest in quality, reliable infrastructure, boosting security and prosperity.

MOGADISHU, 27 November 2021, (TON): Police said “eight people were killed and a number of students were injured in a car bombing near a school in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.”

It was latest deadly attack claimed by Al Shabaab jihadists who have long been fighting against the fragile government in the troubled Horn of Africa country.

Anguished parents rushed to the scene of the blast, which wrecked the school building, as injured students were taken to hospitals around the city.

Principal Yusuf Hussein Abdi said “the explosion hit at around 7:30am, just as children were settling down for their first lessons.”

In seconds, wooden beams and tin sheets came crashing down on the young pupils, as some of the walls gave way.

Abdi said, adding that seven students were injured “you can understand how it feels when many students, mostly children, came under attack as school rooms collapsed.”

People pulled victims out of the rubble, using their bare hands to carry them to safety until ambulances arrived.

Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble condemned the attack, saying in a statement: “This ruthless act clearly indicates how far this twisted group went to shed the blood of innocent civilians indiscriminately.” Somalia police spokesman Abdifatah Adan said earlier that eight civilians were killed and 17 others wounded, without giving more details.

Security official Mohamed Abdillahi said the explosion was caused by a car bomb, but said the target of the attack was not known.

LONDON, 27 November 2021, (TON): The illegal and extra-judicial arrest of globally recognised Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez triggered protests in the busy streets of the United Kingdom.

Protesters gathered outside the BBC office and urged the international community to pressure India to release Parvez, the programme coordinator of Srinagar-based Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS).

They also castigated the Indian fascist regime for committing genocide of innocent Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

Addressing the protesters, Tehreek-e-Kashmir (TeK) UK President Fahim Kayani said that India’s terror-inflicting National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided the house and office of Khurram on November 22 in Srinagar and arrested him and later shifted him to New Delhi for interrogation.

Kayani further said that it was hypocritical of the international community to remain silent on the war crimes committed by the Indian fascist regime in IIOJK.

TeK Europe President Muhammad Ghalib said that the arrest of a globally recognised face of human rights is evidence that India is using war tactics to silence any voice that speaks for the right to self-determination of Kashmiris.

Khawaja Muhammad Sulieman, TeK UK leader, said that it was not an arrest but rather an illegal abduction by a fascist regime that does not respect international law.

WASHINGTON, 27 November 2021, (TON): The US has threatened to confront Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency next month if it does not cooperate more with the watchdog, an escalation that could undermine talks on reviving a 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran.

Tehran is locked in several standoffs with the IAEA, whose 35-nation board of governors is holding a quarterly meeting this week.

Former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the JCPOA, otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal, that lifted sanctions on Tehran in return for restrictions on its atomic activities.

Trump reimposed debilitating sanctions, after which Tehran expanded its nuclear work and reduced cooperation with the IAEA.

Iran is currently denying the agency access to re-install surveillance cameras at a workshop at the TESA Karaj complex.

The IAEA also wants answers on the origin of uranium particles found at apparently old but undeclared sites, and says Iran continues to subject its inspectors to “excessively invasive physical searches.”

In a statement, it said “if Iran’s non-cooperation is not immediately remedied, the board will have no choice but to reconvene in extraordinary session before the end of this year in order to address the crisis.”