KHARTOUM, 06 November 2021, (TON): Sudan s army chief ordered the release of four civilian ministers detained since he led a military coup last month, as international pressure mounted to restore the democratic transition.

The move by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan came as the army said the formation of a new government was “imminent”.

Burhan, Sudan s de facto leader since the 2019 ouster of autocratic president Omar al-Bashir, last week dissolved the government, detained the civilian leadership including Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, and declared a state of emergency.

Burhan s media advisor Taher Abouhaga said “we are considering all internal and external initiatives to serve the national interest.”

“The government formation is imminent.”

Hours later, Sudan TV said Burhan had ordered the release of Hashem Hassabalrasoul, Ali Geddo, Hamza Baloul, Youssef Adam.

Hassabalrasoul is telecommunications minister, Geddo heads the trade ministry, Baloul is information minister, and Adam holds the youth and sports portfolio.

It was not immediately clear when the ministers will be released.

BRASILIA, 06 November 2021, (TON): Señor ministro [de Asuntos Exteriores de Brasil, Carlos Alberto Franco França, señor secretario general [de Relaciones Exteriores, Fernando Simas Magalhães], thank you very much for your warm welcome.

Thank you to the Minister and also to the whole team of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in particular to the Secretary General of Foreign Affairs Mr Fernando Simas Magalhães.

Last time that a High Representative of the European Union came to Brazil was nine years ago. Too long. Way too long. Nine years without a high-level visit at the diplomatic level shows that we, Europeans, have not been taking care enough of the importance that Brazil has as a big geopolitical player.

I am very happy to be here. I was here fifteen years ago as President of the European Parliament and now I am coming back in my capacity of High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and I came to reaffirm the strategic importance that we, in the European Union, attach to our relations with Latin America in general and with Brazil in particular.

Brazil is a strategic partner for the European Union. Why so? In fact, we have been long strategic partners since 2007 across all political areas. We are Brazil’s second largest trading partner. Brazil is actually the single biggest exporter of agricultural and food products to the European Union. We are the biggest investor in Brazil. And Brazil is the largest and most important market for the European Union in Latin America.

WASHINGTON, 06 November 2021, (TON): Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

The Secretary shared his admiration for the Sudanese people who have repeatedly voiced their desire for democracy and called for an immediate restoration of the civilian-led government.

The Secretary urged General Burhan to immediately release all political figures detained since October 25 and return to a dialogue that returns Prime Minister Hamdok to office and restores civilian-led governance in Sudan.

KIEV, 06 November 2021, (TON): First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Emine Dzhaparova announced “the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Maria Peichinovich-Burich, who is on a visit to Ukraine, visited the border with Crimea.”

Japarova wrote on Twitter “I was delighted to accompany Maria Peichinovich-Burich, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, on a trip to the administrative border with the temporarily occupied Crimea [Ukraine considers Crimea occupied by Russia].”

According to the deputy minister, the information received by the secretary general during the trip will be important for assessing the human rights situation in Crimea.

Dzhaparova added “I hope that the trip will contribute to the preparation of a future report of the Secretary General on the situation with human rights in Crimea. Ukraine is ready to cooperate with the Council of Europe to protect human rights in Crimea.”

Peichinovich-Burich arrived in Ukraine on November 3. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported that she, together with the head of the department Dmitry Kuleba, “will hold negotiations on the implementation of the Council of Europe resolutions, the protection of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and other topical issues of interaction between Ukraine and the Council of Europe.”

BAKU, 06 November 2021, (TON): Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said that Baku handed over to Yerevan after the end of hostilities in Karabakh the remains of about 1,700 dead servicemen.

Bayramov said during the 44 Day Road to Victory conference in Baku “to date, about 1,700 bodies of dead Armenian servicemen have been found and handed over.”

He added “at the same time, we still do not know anything about the fate of 4 thousand Aze-rbaijani citizens who went missing during the first Karabakh war.”

KABUL, 06 November 2021, (TON): A number of Kabul residents said “they no longer want to keep their money in the country’s banks. They said they will take out all of their previously deposited funds.”

Noorullah, a resident of Kabul said “since the fall of the former government, Afghans have faced challenges in withdrawing their money from the banks and said they no longer want to deposit funds.” “We used to save our money in the banks, but currently they are not paying us on time. The banks have lost trust among the people, we no longer want to save our money in the banks.”

Meanwhile, a number of economists said that if the banking system continues at this rate, the banks will not be able to provide services, and this will have a negative impact on the country’s economy.

Wahab Qati, an economic analyst said “if everyone transfers its money to other countries, what is left? The bank is an economic structure–when we deposit our money in the banks then that is used for investments.”

Officials of Afghanistan’s central bank recently said in a statement that private and public banks must increase the withdrawal limit of the customers’ money to $400 per week. But some residents said that this amount is still not enough.

ISLAMABAD, 06 November 2021, (TON): Ambassador of Indonesia to Pakistan, Adam M Tugio said that Pakistan and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries need to introduce new dimensions for enhancing bilateral trade and economic ties.

Chairman ASEAN Islamabad Committee and Indonesian Ambassador to Pakistan said this at the round table conference jointly organized by Pakistan ASEAN, Business Forum and United Business Group (UBG) in Islamabad.

The ambassador said that relations between both sides’ governments, the business community and the people on both sides need to be further improved.

 He said that there was a need to re-establish Pakistan’s relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries through renewing the link between the business communities of both sides.

Direct air links to ASEAN countries and Pakistan in the near future, bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA), trade dialogue and aggressive economic diplomacy, Business-to-Business and Government-to-Government Cooperation, elevation from the sectoral to full dialogue partner, strong multilateral linkages between Institutions could pave new avenues for economic and trade cooperation, senior diplomats proposed.

ISLAMABAD, 06 November 2021, (TON): A Frontier Corps soldier and the security guard of a senator were killed in an attack in Dera Bugti district.

Levies Force officials said the two security men were on their way on a motorcycle when unidentified armed men, also on a motorcycle, opened fire on them in the Phelawagh area.

Both were seriously injured and died before being taken to a hospital. They were identified as Dino Bugti and Zafar Bugti.

NEW DELHI, 06 November 2021, (TON): Every Friday, Najis Mohammad would offer his afternoon prayers at a public ground near his barber shop in Gurugram, still popular by its old name Gurgaon – a satellite city on the outskirts of the Indian capital, New Delhi.

He told Al Jazeera “this Friday, however, he has no place to go. “Today, I am not sure if I can offer namaz anywhere.”

Reason: right-wing Hindu groups had erected large tents to perform a religious function at the same ground in the city’s Sector 12A area Nazim prayed at every Friday.

The event was attended by a number of politicians and Hindu priests, including Kapil Mishra, who belongs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Mishra, 40, is accused of instigating religious violence in New Delhi last year – the worst the city had seen in decades – in which 53 people, most of them Muslims, were killed.

GurgaonPreparations being made for the Hindu event at the public ground in Gurugram on Friday.

Permission for Muslim prayers revoked

NAYPYITAW, 06 November 2021, (TON): Relatives of 19 civilians who were taken from their village in southern Shan State’s Pekhon Township last week say they are growing increasingly worried about their fate.

The villagers have been missing since last Wednesday, when soldiers raided the village of Kathea (Shwe Pyi Aye) after shelling the area during clashes with resistance forces the day before.

Their relatives said “most of the village’s more than 400 inhabitants fled the shelling, but 19 who stayed behind to care for livestock were taken into regime custody and haven’t been heard from since.”

Photographs of the abducted villagers that Myanmar Now has seen show a group of blindfolded men being led away. Their identities could not, however, be confirmed.

“We haven’t received any information about them since they were taken away,” said one woman whose 48-year-old uncle and 35-year-old cousin are among the missing villagers.

She added “all we know is that the military always beats and tortures the people they take. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for them now.”

According to the woman, some residents of the village believe that the 19 who were taken away last week are currently being held at a nearby military base.