DHAKA, 10 November 2021, (TON): BIISS chief said “Rohingya crisis was created by Myanmar and its solution must be found in Myanmar.”

Speakers at a webinar said “more countries should get involved in supporting Rohingya repatriation as it is the international community's responsibility to act proactively to solve this humanitarian crisis.”

Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) and Bangabandhu Centre for Bangladesh Studies Canada jointly organized the webinar, titled “The Rohingya Exodus in Bangladesh: Regional and Global Security Implications”.

BIISS Director General Major General Md Emdad-Ul-Bari delivered the welcome address while Bangladesh High Commissioner to Canada Dr Khalilur Rahman made the concluding remarks.

Director of Centre for Genocide Studies of the University of Dhaka Professor Dr Imtiaz Ahmed presented the keynote speech.

Bari emphasized that the Rohingya crisis was created by Myanmar and its solution must be found in Myanmar.

He said "the Rohingya crisis needs to be resolved with utmost priority. It is the responsibility of the international community to act proactively to solve this humanitarian crisis.”

Dr Imtiaz said that the international community should keep pressure on Myanmar military.

He added "more countries should come forward to support and solve this crisis.”

DHAKA, 10 November 2021, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was given a rousing reception at the Elysee Palace on the first day of her visit to Paris, France.

On her arrival at the presidential palace, the presidential guard gave her salute and then French President Emmanuel Macron received her.

Both the leaders then posed for a photo session. Afterwards, Macron and Hasina climbed the staircase and then posed for another photo session.

After brief statements, the two leaders went for a lunch meeting and tete-a-tete.

The prime minister was accompanied by Education Minister Dipu Moni, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, the prime minister Principal Secretary Ahmad Kaikaus, and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and Bangladesh Ambassador Khandaker Mohammad Talha.

Later, she will be given state guard of honour by the Republican Guard.

In the evening, the prime minister is scheduled to go to the Matignon, the official residence of the French Prime Minister, to have a bilateral meeting.

NAYPYITAW, 10 November 2021, (TON): An officer from the group said “People’s Defence Force (PDF) fighters in Bago Region killed five police officers on Tuesday in an attack on a checkpoint on the Yangon-Mandalay highway.”

The Bago Region PDF launched a 3am ambush on the Zahar Police Checkpoint in Pyu Township, 110 miles north of Yangon, and seized two rifles from the dead police officers.

The junta confirmed that five officers had died in a statement, local media outlets reported. A man from a social welfare group in Pyu told media  that several police officers were killed in the attack.

The PDF officer said “they didn’t get to shoot back at us since it was an ambush.”

“However, when we went inside the checkpoint, one of them shot back and a PDF member was injured. It was not a fatal injury though.”

At least six police officers were at the checkpoint at the time of attack but all were in plain clothes except for the one on guard duty.

He said that the PDF carried out the attack “in order to disrupt the military council’s mechanisms and to protect the civilians.

NAYPYITAW, 10 November 2021, (TON): Tun Tun, in his 40s, was a painter and an administrator in Western Thanlyat Maw ward, where he was shot on 90th St while driving a motorcycle on which his adult daughter was a passenger.

An eyewitness told media “I heard gunshots nearby and when I turned back to check, I saw a man and a woman lying on the ground near a motorbike.”

He added that the woman was unharmed but the man was dead.

The witness said “there was blood all over his head.”

A Mandalay-based guerrilla group going by the name of “Generation Z Power” claimed responsibility for the assassination of Tun Tun hours later.

A local man from Western Thanlyat Maw ward said that soldiers and police officers frequently visited Tun Tun’s house, and alleged that he had directed the junta’s troops to the homes of known activists and anti-dictatorship protesters.

Myanmar Now has yet to confirm the allegations against the deceased.

Western Thanlyat Maw ward is made up of 18 neighbourhoods. The ward’s administration office was burned down in May and subsequently rebuilt, but since then has been targeted in two bomb attacks, presumably by anti-junta resistance forces, on September 16 and October 28.

KABUL, 09 November 2021, (TON): At least three people were killed in two separate blasts in Jalalabad, the capital city of eastern Nangarhar, local officials confirmed.

According to the officials “the blasts took place in PD 2 of Jalalabad.”

Nangarhar has recently seen a surge in hit-and-run killings as well as with other security incidents. The provincial residents urged the current government to form a proper plan to take security measures in the province.

Bahir, a resident said “the people are very upset by the existence of armed groups. If they (armed men) get into a rickshaw, they should face legal action.”

A video went viral on social media showing a number of gunmen firing from a rikshaw at passengers in a car. The provincial governor’s office in a statement instructed the rikshaw-drivers to not transport armed people, including the forces of the Islamic Emirate. The statement warned that those who violate the order would be punished.

TEL AVIV, 09 November 2021, (TON): The Palestinians on Sunday slammed Israel for rejecting the promised reopening of the US consulate in Jerusalem, a move that would restore Washington’s main diplomatic mission for the Palestinians in the contested city.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said late on Saturday there was no room in Jerusalem for another American mission.

The Trump administration shuttered the US Jerusalem consulate, an office that for years served as the de facto embassy to the Palestinians. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pledged to reopen it, a move that Israel says would challenge its sovereignty over the city. The reopening could help mend US ties with the Palestinians ruptured under Trump.

In a statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it views the reopening of the consulate as part of the international community’s commitments to ending Israel’s decades-long occupation of territories the Palestinians seek for their future state.

The statement said “East Jerusalem is an inseparable part of the occupied Palestinian territory and is the capital of the state of Palestine. Israel, as the occupying power, does not have the right to veto the US administrations decision.”

Asked about the consulate at a press conference, Bennett repeated Israel’s position on Jerusalem.

ADDIS ABABA, 09 November 2021, (TON): The US called for Ethiopian rebel forces to halt their offensive towards the capital Addis Adaba.

Speaking at the US Security Council, US ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield said “the war waged by angry belligerent men victimizing women and children has to stop.”

She called on the Tigray People’s Liberation Front to withdraw from Amhara and Afar - regions they have occupied since the conflict escalated a year ago.

Thomas Greenfield added “we are concerned about our citizens in Ethiopia and our government personnel and we will do everything in our power to secure our facilities.”

Ethiopia’s UN envoy Negash Kebret Botora urged media outlets in the West and to the international community to “refrain from giving moral and materialistic support” to the TPLF.

ROME, 09 November 2021, (TON): A protocol signed by the Italian government and a group of NGOs will allow some 1,200 Afghan refugees to reach Italy through humanitarian corridors.

They will be relocated in several cities nationwide where they will be free to live normal lives alongside Italians.

The agreement was signed by Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese, along with representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), the Community of Sant’Egidio, a lay Catholic group dedicated to social service, the Federation of Evangelical Churches (FCEI), the Waldensian Table, social promotion organization Arci, the International Organization for Migration, the UN Refugee Agency and the National Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty.

It will open legal pathways for Afghans coming from Pakistan, Iran and other countries where they have been provided with initial asylum or where they stayed in countries of transit for up to two years. In some circumstances, this period could be extended to 36 months.

Protestant churches in Italy will host 200 people, with Catholic charity Caritas caring for a further 300. Some 200 Afghans will be accommodated by the Community of Sant’Egidio, and another 100 will be hosted by Arci.

The Interior Ministry will host 400 people across the country, and has committed to pay for flights to Italy.

KUWAIT CITY, 09 November 2021, (TON): The Gulf Shooting 2021 training drill got underway in Kuwait with the participation of the Royal Saudi Land Forces, the Kuwaiti Land Force, and the US Army’s Task Force Spartan.

Drill commander, Col. Nayef bin Al-Humaidi, said “the exercise was aimed at strengthening military relations and joint defense cooperation between the countries taking part.”

He added that it also involved the exchange of military experiences and knowledge in order to highlight and unify the combat capabilities of the three nations.”

In October, Saudi and Pakistani forces launched the joint Naseem Al-Bahr 13 naval exercise in the Arabian Sea.

WASHINGTON, 09 November 2021, (TON): Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry opened the U.S.-Egypt Strategic Dialogue, the first bilateral dialogue held since 2015.  The Secretary and the Foreign Minister welcomed the opportunity to deepen the strong partnership between the United States and Egypt.

During their bilateral meeting at the beginning of the dialogue, Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Shoukry exchanged views on international and regional issues, human rights, and pathways to increased cooperation on economic, judicial, security, education, and cultural issues. 

Secretary Blinken also expressed appreciation for Egypt’s role in supporting regional stability, including its continued work to de-escalate tensions in Gaza, and efforts in support of UNSMIL in Libya.