NEW YORK, 08 November 2021, (TON): The UN Yemen envoy Hans Grundberg began a visit to the interim capital of Yemen, the southern port city of Aden, to discuss the UN-brokered peace plan to end the war in in the country with the government.

The UN envoy is meeting Prime Minister Maeen Abdul Malik Saeed and other government officials.

Grundberg is pushing both the government and the Houthis to accept the UN peace plan that calls for achieving an immediate nationwide truce, including stopping the Houthi offensive on the central city of Marib, opening Sanaa airport and lifting restrictions on Hodeidah seaport.

Yemen’s President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi told US envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking in Riyadh that his government would comply with any peace plan or ideas to end the war in Yemen, stressing that the Yemenis would resist Iran’s attempt to force its ideologies onto the country through the Houthis.

The Yemeni president told the US envoy “we are always open to all calls for peace and the cessation of war to spare the blood of the Yemeni people, establish security and stability, normalize life and rebuild what the Houthi militias have destroyed.”

Hadi said that the continuing military escalation by the Houthis and their shelling of civilians in Marib, Shabwa and Taiz show they are not serious about peace and ending the war.

KHARTOUM, 08 November 2021, (TON): Sudanese security forces on Sunday fired tear gas at multiple anti-coup rallies, with protesters in several cities joining a call for two-days of civil disobedience against last month’s military takeover.

Hundreds of anti-coup protesters rallied in Khartoum, as well as in its twin city of Omdurman, Wad Madni to the south, and the northern city of Atbara.

“The authority belongs to the people,” protesters chanted, calling “no, no to military rule,” and demanding a “civilian government.”

Nationwide anti-coup protests have occurred since the Oct. 25 power grab by the army, but have been met by a deadly crackdown.

At least 14 demonstrators have been killed and about 300 wounded, according to the independent Central Committee of Sudan’s Doctors.

Hoda Othman, who witnessed protests in Omdurman said “protesters barricaded the streets, set car tires ablaze, called out against the military rule, and chanted that civilian government is the people’s choice.”

TEHRAN, 08 November 2021, (TON): The Iranian military launched large-scale naval maneuvers in the Gulf of Oman, the northern part of the Indian Ocean, and in part of the Red Sea, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

The exercise comes as nuclear negotiations betw-een Iran and world powers are slated to resume on Nov. 29.

The report cited Coord-inating Deputy of the Ira-nian Army Rear Adm. H-abibollah Sayyari as saying the drill “will demonstrate Iran’s power at sea, warning the enemies that any act of aggression against Iran will draw a crushing response from the army.”

Sayyari, the former commander of the Iranian Navy, said “the war games, codenamed Zolfaqar-1400, will include troops from the ground forces, navy, air force, and air defenses, and will cover an area stretching from the eastern parts of the strategic Strait of Hormuz to the northern parts of the Indian Ocean, and parts of the Red Sea.”

The report did not specify what areas in the Red Sea would be included in the exercise.

He further noted that locally-produced equipment, supplies, weapons, and ammunition would be used in the exercise, including “advanced reconnaissance and combat drones with various ranges.”

STOCKHOLM, 08 November 2021, (TON): Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Loewen will submit his resignation earlier this week. This was reported by the local media channel with reference to his press secretary.

At the same time, it is not yet clear when a new head of government may be elected.

Maria Suleng, spokeswoman for the prime minister said “at the beginning of next week, he will submit to the speaker [of parliament] his request to be dismissed from his post as prime minister.”

On August 22, Stefan Loewen, the Prime Minister and head of the Social Democratic Workers’ Party of Sweden (SDWP), announced his resignation.

The SDLPS congress elected Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson as the new party leader in place of Leuven. But he remains prime minister until the Riksdag (Swedish parliament) votes for a new head of government.

BAGHDAD, 08 November 2021, (TON): Iraq Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi escaped unhurt in a drone attack on his residence as political tensions mounted in the country.

Following the attack, Mustafa al-Kadhemi took to the Twitter and appealed the nation for "calm and restraint" for the good of Iraq.

He then said in a short video shared on social media "my residence has been the target of cowardly assault. Praise God, I am fine and so are those who work with me.”

He added "cowardly missiles and drones don´t build nations."

Kadhemi´s office described the attack as a "failed assassination attempt".

The attack in Baghdad´s Green Zone was the first to target the residence of Kadhemi, who has been in power since May 2020, and came as Iraq´s political parties wrangle over who will run the next government after elections last month.

That vote saw the Conquest (Fatah) Alliance suffer a substantial decline in its parliamentary seats, leading the group to denounce the outcome as "fraud".

MOSCOW, 08 November 2021, (TON): The press service of the Black Sea Fleet said “the calculation of the air defense of the frigate “Admiral Essen” of the Black Sea Fleet conducted an exercise to cover the basing point of ships from a missile strike of a simulated enemy.”

Currently, there are two US Navy ships in the Black Sea, the flagship command ship Mount Whitney and the guided missile destroyer Porter, which are monitored by the forces and assets of the Black Sea Fleet. Earlier, the US Sixth Fleet reported that the ships headed to the Black Sea for joint operations with NATO allies and partners in the region.

The message says “the Crew of the frigate Admiral Essen of the Black Sea Fleet conducted an exercise to cover the basing point of ships from a simulated enemy air strike. was transferred to all the naval forces of the fleet for the effective distribution of targets, air defense systems on the frigate Admiral Essen, performing missions at sea, were also put on alert.”

During the training, the air defense crew of the frigate escorted and destroyed the aircraft of the simulated enemy with anti-aircraft missile weapons designed for the air defense of the ship from all means of air attack.

The targets were electronically simulated by the ship’s weapons control systems and conditionally destroyed before the aircraft entered the combat course.

KABUL, 08 November 2021, (TON): Officials at the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) said that the exports of Afghan domestic products has increased this year compared to recent years.

According to the officials, carpets, rugs, dried fruits and fresh fruits are the exported goods on the rise.

According to the officials “the export of domestic products has reached $823 million this year, while last year the export of these products reached $700 million.”

Khan Jan Alokozai, a member of the ACCI said “the current time is the peak of our exports of vegetables and fresh fruits. In 2021, we exported more than $800 million, and most of it was dried fruit that went to Pakistan.”

On the other hand, a number of traders said that since the political change in August, they have not been able to export their products to the global markets due to the problems at Afghanistan-Pakistan crossings.

Mirwais Hajizada, a member of the Chamber of Agriculture and Irrigation said “in general, our exports had problems this year. During the export season of the fruits, the Spin Boldak and Torkham crossings were blocked which made it difficult for the traders to export their goods to Pakistan.”

ISLAMABAD, 08 November 2021, (TON): The special envoy of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Jammu and Kashmir Yousef Aldobeay on Sunday said OIC would continue to support Kashmiris’ right to self determination.

He stated this while talking to representatives of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in a meeting here.

He assured the delegation of Kashmiri leaders that OIC would continue advocating the Kashmir cause.

The Kashmir issue was similar to the Palestine issue as human rights of people of Kashmir and Palestine were being violated and they were facing the threat of demographic changes.

The special envoy reaffirmed OIC’s support to the just struggle of the Kashmiri people. He expressed complete solidarity with the valiant Kashmiri people.

He said “OIC had longstanding support for the right of self-determination for the people of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions.”

The foreign ministers of OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir extended the support to Kashmiris in a joint communique during a meeting on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York in September this year.

The envoy said after his visit to Azad Jammu and Kashmir he would prepare and present a report during the next ministerial meeting of the OIC, on the situation in the region.

ISLAMABAD, 08 November 2021, (TON): Canada and Pakistan reaffirmed their commitment to remain engaged to further boost bilateral relations, which has been increased with the passage of time in different spheres of cooperation.

The consensus was reached the ‘4th Round of Bilateral Political Consultations’ held between Pakistan and Canada here, according to a statement shared by the Office of the spokesperson Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Facebook.

Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood led the Pakistan delegation while the Canadian side was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Marta Morgan.

It read “the two sides affirmed their commitment to remain constructively and meaningfully engaged to further reinforce Pakistan-Canada bilateral relations.”

A wide range of bilateral relations, as well as regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest, were discussed during the meeting.

NEW DELHI, 08 November 2021, (TON): Indian police are seeking the owners of around 100 social media accounts accused of sharing "fake news" after mob attacks on mosques in the country's northeast.

Last month's violence in Tripura state erupted on the sidelines of a rally for hundreds of followers of a right-wing Hindu nationalist group.

The incident appeared to be a revenge attack prompted by the killing of several Hindu worshippers across the border in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

Four mosques were vandalised and several Muslim-owned homes and businesses were ransacked.

According to police, people aiming to whip up further violence shared misleading images on social media after the incident.

A senior police officer in the state told media, on condition of anonymity "the accounts identified were spreading rumours, fake news, fake videos and fake photographs that were not even linked to Tripura.”

"It is still too early but everyone will be identified and arrested for such fabrications."

A police report released to media on Saturday identified 102 posts that it said were published by "unknown miscreants" to provoke conflict between "people of differing religious communities".

Local media reports said police had written to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to demand the posts be removed.