DHAKA, 11 November 2021, (TON): Bangladesh and France have signed a Letter of Intent on defence cooperation as the two countries stated their will to further develop the defence and security component of their partnership.

foreign minister AK Abdul Momen told UNB “yes, we signed it. However, it relates to training and technology transfer.”

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina and French president Emmanuel Macron had a bilateral meeting and discussed the issues of mutual interest and cooperation.

To that end, the two countries agreed to strengthen dialogue and continue their cooperation, particularly in the area of training, which was launched during this visit.

They committed to stepping up cooperation in the area of defence equipment based on the needs expressed and each party’s ability to respond to them, including through capacity building and potential technology transfer in this regard, according to a joint statement.

At the invitation of French president Emmanuel Macron, prime minister Sheikh Hasina is making an official visit to France from November 9.

The high-level discussions covered, among other issues, elevating bilateral relations, the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties which both countries will celebrate next year and major international and regional issues.

DHAKA, 11 November 2021, (TON): It will support women’s climate leadership and ensure the needs and priorities of women and girls are addressed.

Bangladesh will get £120m from 2021 to 2027 of the £165 million UK fund aimed at tackling climate change, including by addressing the gender inequalities that make women and girls more vulnerable to climate change, and by empowering women and girls to be leaders in climate action.

The programme will scale up locally-led adaptation, expand renewable energy, tackle pollution and waste, and develop and empower the next generation of climate leaders.

COP President Alok Sharma announced the fund on Tuesday.

Speaking from COP26 in Glasgow, COP President Alok Sharma said “gender and climate are profoundly intertwined. We see that in terms of the impact of climate change, which affects women and girls disproportionately.”

And we see it in terms of tackling climate change, where we know our efforts are more effective when women and girls are at their heart.

“We are committed to women’s participation at every level of climate action and to placing gender at the heart of all our efforts. It is why gender cuts across the full COP fortnight. And it is why we are hosting Gender Day today.”

Through its COP26 Presidency, the UK has been urging countries to put gender equality at the heart of climate action, and on Gender Day convened ministers and other actors to discuss new action to tackle gender and climate change.

KABUL, 10 November 2021, (TON): In the villages that once bore the brunt of Afghanistan’s front-line fighting, the Taliban victory has broken a cycle of air attacks, gun battles and funerals.

The group’s takeover of Kabul and the sudden collapse in August of the United States-backed government shocked the world and upended the freedoms of Afghans, which were particularly enjoyed by the urban middle class.

But away from main cities, where little of the international aid worth billions of dollars ever reached, many believe the Taliban’s rule could bring a stop to the fighting and the hope for an end to corruption.

“I would give everything for the Taliban,” said 72-year-old Maky as she prepared cotton fibre in her hardened hands with a group of other women in Dashtan, a remote farming settlement in northern Balkh province.

“Now there is no sound of shooting. The war is over and we are happy with the Taliban.” A US-led invasion removed the Taliban in 2001, which led to 20 years of military occupation by NATO forces. A democratic government was restored, women were once again allowed to work and study, and a vocal civil society was rebuilt.

But corruption and vote-rigging allegations plagued government institutions, justice was slow and ineffective, and foreign troops were tainted by accusations of colluding with warlords, abusing Afghans and disrespecting local customs. Thousands of civilians were killed or injured each year in attacks by the Taliban and air raids by US-led forces, with progress largely limited to cities as the worst of the war raged in rural areas.

Mohammad Nasir earns 200-300 afghanis ($2-3) a day at a cotton field on the outskirts of the historic town of Balkh, yards from the ninth-century Noh Gonbad Mosque, believed to be Afghanistan’s earliest Islamic building. He weighs the white crop from a scale hanging on a tree, before stuffing it into huge orange bags, ready for collection.

NEW YORK, 10 November 2021, (TON): The United Nations has said “16 of its Ethiopian staff have been detained in the country’s capital, Addis Ababa, with six others having been released.”

Speaking to reporters in New York, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said “the world body was actively working with the Ethiopian government to secure the immediate release of those who were still in detention.

He said “there has been, as far as I know, no explanation given to us on why these staff members are detained.”

He added “noting that UN security officials have visited the detained staff, all Ethiopian nationals working for various UN agencies.”

There was no immediate comment by the Ethiopian government, which has been battling forces from the northern Tigray region for a year.

Tensions between Ethiopia’s government and the UN have been high throughout the war, which according to estimates by the world body has pushed hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions.

In late September, the government had ordered the expulsion of seven senior UN officials from the country for “meddling” in its internal affairs.

TAIPEI, 10 November 2021, (TON): Taiwan said “China is seeking to take control of the island by wearing down its military capabilities and influencing public opinion, while avoiding an all-out military conflict that could likely draw in the United States.”

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a biennial report that Beijing is employing “gray zone” tactics to ratchet up pressure on the self-governing island republic which China claims as its own territory.

China has been stepping up its threats to use force to against Taiwan by holding military exercises and sending planes close to the island.

During China’s National Day weekend in early October, China dispatched 149 military aircraft southwest of Taiwan in strike group formations, causing Taiwan to scramble aircraft and activate its air defense missile systems.

The report said that reflects Beijing’s effort to degrade Taiwan’s air force through wear and tear and heavy requirements on its personnel. It said the strategy also includes cyberwarfare, propaganda and a campaign to isolate Taiwan internationally to force it to accept China’s terms without engaging in a shooting war.

China and Taiwan separated during a civil war in 1949. While the US cut formal diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979 in order to recognize Beijing, Washington is committed by law to ensure the island can defend itself and to treat all threats toward it as matters of grave concern.

NIAMEY, 10 November 2021, (TON): At least 26 children, aged five and six-years-old, burnt to death on Monday when their straw and wood classrooms caught fire in southern Niger, seven months after a similar tragedy in the capital Niamey.

Chaibou Aboubacar, mayor of Maradi city said “right now, we have 26 dead and 13 injured, four of them seriously.”

Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, has tried to fix shortages of school buildings by constructing thousands of straw and wood sheds to serve as classrooms, with children sometimes sitting on the ground.

Fires in the highly flammable classrooms are common but rarely result in casualties.

Three days of mourning have been declared in the Maradi region from Tuesday.

Twenty children were burnt to death in a school fire in a working-class district of Niamey in April.

Issoufou Arzika, secretary general of the Niger Teachers’ Union, told media that Monday’s fire had “decimated” the school in Maradi.

CAIRO, 10 November 2021, (TON): Jordan’s Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi discussed strategic ties between the two countries as they met in Cairo.

During the meeting which was held at Al Ittihadiya Palace, President El-Sisi and Prince Al-Hussein discussed the deep-rooted ties between Jordan and Egypt and the importance of advancing cooperation and coordination.

The crown prince conveyed King Abdullah’s greetings to El-Sisi who did the same and also commended the King’s efforts in bolstering Jordanian-Egyptian ties.

The crown prince stressed the importance of partnership between the two countries in vital sectors, noting Jordan’s interest in enhancing economic cooperation, especially on investments in the tourism sector.

He commended Egypt’s progress across a number of sectors, particularly in mega development projects, stressing the need to exchange expertise on micro, small, and medium projects.

The Egyptian president expressed keenness on strengthening cooperation in tourism and development projects, in addition to achieving economic integration.

NEW YORK, 10 November 2021, (TON): European members of the UN Security Council expressed “serious concern” over Israel’s recent designations of Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organizations.

The members said that the listings “have far-reaching consequences” for the organizations “in political, legal and financial terms.”

EU members France, Ireland and Estonia, joined by Norway and incoming UNSC member Albania, said “they will be seeking more information from Israel on the basis for these designations, “which we will study carefully.”

In a joint statement following a closed UNSC meeting on the issue, they added “a thriving civil society and respect for fundamental freedoms are corner stones of open democracies. Civil society is an essential contributor to good governance, human rights, international law, democratic values and sustainable development across the world, including in Israel and Palestine. It also contributes to peace efforts and confidence building between Israelis and Palestinians.”

The meeting came amid news that the mobile phones of six Palestinian human rights defenders were targeted by spyware from the Israeli hacker-for-hire company NSO Group.

Three of the targets are connected to the NGOs that the Israeli military has recently accused of terrorism.

The European UNSC members also called on Israel to stop settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and to cancel recently announced plans to build thousands more housing units in the Occupied Territories.

WASHINGTON, 10 November 2021, (TON): A federal court in the District of Columbia on Tuesday rejected a request from lawyers for former US President Donald Trump to temporarily ban the disclosure of archival documents as part of an investigation into the storming of Congress on January 6, pending the completion of the main proceedings on the matter.

The corresponding document was posted in the electronic database of the court.

The judge dismissed the request as “premature”. She stressed that anyway, she will soon make her final decision on whether these documents can in principle be disclosed.

She explained “the court intends to promptly make a decision on this issue.”

The disclosure of documents relating to the act-ions of Trump and his aides in connection with the events of January 6 and at the disposal of the US National Archives was previously requested by a special committee of the US House of Representatives, which is investigating the storming of the Capitol.

DAMASCUS, 10 November 2021, (TON): The UAE foreign minister met with Syria’s President Bashar Assad in Damascus Tuesday, according to Syrian state media.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed’s visit is the first by a top Emirati official since Syria’s war began a decade ago.

“President Assad received UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed,” along with an accompanying delegation.

Local news agency said “during the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries and ways to develop cooperation in different sectors that are of common interest.”

The UAE broke ties with Syria in February 2012 after protests demanding regime change escalated into an all-out conflict.

However, in December 2018, the UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus and this was followed by the Gulf country calling for Syria to return to the Arab League in March.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed also held a phone call with Assad in October.