DHAKA, 04 November 2021, (TON): The envoy said “they are doing all they can in the EU to put pressure on Myanmar.”

Head of Delegation of the EU to Bangladesh Ambassador Charles Whiteley has said “the European Union will continue to be a "steadfast partner" of Bangladesh in meeting the needs of the Rohingya and the host community with continued pressure on Myanmar for their safe return to their place of origin in Rakhine State.”

He told UNB in an interview "clearly, I think, the majority of the Rohingya do want to go back to home."

Responding to a question on the EU's business link with Myanmar, the EU envoy said they are very careful when it comes to the economy as some people say why the EU does not suspend the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme.

Myanmar has been a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 1995 and, as a least developed country, benefits from the EBA scheme, which grants unilateral duty- and quota-free access for all exports, except arms and ammunition, to the EU.

Ambassador Whiteley said Myanmar military does not have any interest in garment factories in Myanmar and the women and garment workers benefit from the industry a bit like Bangladesh.

He said "so, what we don't want to do is to impose measures that punish the innocent people of Myanmar who already suffered a great deal as a result of recent events in Myanmar.”

DHAKA, 04 November 2021, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said “effective action plans are not possible without adequate, sustained, and flexible climate finance.”

She said while presiding over Climate Vulnerable Forum Leaders' Dialogue "it's sad and disappointing that, till now, the major greenhouse gas-emitting countries have failed to deliver their promised annual amount of 100 billion dollars.”

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Thematic Ambassador of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) Saima Wazed Hossain, among others, spoke at the event.

Hasina said "faced with the existential threat of climate change, we, the CVF members, at this COP, demand that developed countries provide a Delivery Plan of a total of 500 billion dollars for each of the entire 5-year period from 2020 to 2024, with a 50:50 ratio between adaptation and mitigation.”

She said “the CVF members are among the countries worst affected by the adverse impacts of climate change despite having no historical role or responsibility in this crisis.”

NEW DELHI, 04 November 2021, (TON): On the winding road up to India's Himalayan frontier is a postcard view of gushing streams and tranquil lakes, punctuated occasionally by the sight of artillery barrels and military bunkers.

A year after deadly high-altitude clashes with Chinese soldiers, India is ramping up its border defences along a treacherous mountain range that has long been a flashpoint between the two countries.

Arunachal Pradesh straddles the other side of the Himalayas from Tibet and shares a common Buddhist cultural heritage with its northern neighbour.

Dalai Lama fled through the state in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in his homeland and has lived in India ever since.

Beijing also claims ownership of Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers to as South Tibet and briefly occupied most of the territory, three years after the Buddhist leader's flight, in a short but bloody war.

Tensions have flared again since mid-2020 when troops from both nations fought a hand-to-hand battle further west along their shared frontier in Ladakh, leaving at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead.

NAYPYITAW, 04 November 2021, (TON): The administrator of Thinpyo village in Mandalay’s Kyaukse Township was shot three times and died, while announcing through a megaphone that residents needed to pay their electricity bills or face a power cut.

A local resistance force calling itself the Dragon Kyaukse Defence Force (DKDF) released a statement just hours after the assassination claiming responsibility for the killing of 50-year-old Thein Htay.

A spokesperson for the group alleged that Thein Htay was a known military informant who willingly assisted the junta in apprehending anti-coup activists.

The spokesperson told media “many people had to go into hiding because of him. He also helped the military get more funds [by collecting payments for the electricity bills] and he threatened the people with power cuts.”

He added “we looked into his history to make sure we got the right person and then we decided to kill him.”

A Thinpyo local also accused the late administrator of threatening villagers and collaborating with the military.

He said “he was a really bad person. He used to accuse the people he didn’t like of being members of the PDF [People’s Defence Force] and get the military torture and arrest them.”

He added “he was hated by the whole village.”

NAYPYITAW, 04 November 2021, (TON): According to figures compiled by local media “offices of the National League for Democracy (NLD) across Myanmar have been attacked on more than 50 occasions since the February 1 military coup that ousted their elected administration.”

According to Kyaw Htwe, spokesperson for the NLD’s central executive committee “the party’s offices in Sagaing, Mandalay, Ayeyarwady, Bago and Tanintharyi regions and in Mon and Karen states have all been targeted presumably by the military and its allies.”

Kyaw Htwe told media “all of these incidents took place late at night when only the junta’s soldiers could go out due to martial law.”

Therefore, one could say that only the military council and their armed forces could be responsible for these attacks.

Kyaw Htwe added that several eyewitnesses have reported seeing soldiers and police breaking fences, doors and signboards, and tearing vinyl banners and party flags. In some instances, the attackers broke into and looted the offices, torching the interior and even setting off grenades.

The party documented 47 attacks on their offices in the past nine months, but Myanmar Now’s research revealed 51 in total.

KABUL, 03 November 2021, (TON): Official said “at least 25 people were killed and more than 50 wounded in an attack on Afghanistan's biggest military hospital which saw two heavy blasts followed up by gunmen assaulting the site in central Kabul.”

Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said “the explosions took place at the entrance of the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital and were followed immediately with an assault by a group of gunmen.”

He said “four of the attackers were killed by Taliban security forces and a fifth was captured.”

The blasts add to a growing list of attacks and killings since the Taliban completed their victory over the Western-backed government in August, undermining their claim to have restored security to Afghanistan after decades of war.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the operation was typical of the complex attacks mounted by Islamic State. It follows a string of bombings by the group which has emerged as the biggest threat to Taliban control of Afghanistan.

A Taliban security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least 25 people had been killed and more than 50 wounded in the assault but there was no officially confirmed casualty toll.

RIYADH, 03 November 2021, (TON): State TV reported “Saudi Arabia’s air defenses intercepted and destroyed two explosive-laden drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi militia toward the Kingdom’s southwestern region.”

The coalition said both drones were targeting the city of Jazan.

The Iran-backed Houthis routinely launch cross-border attacks targeting populated areas and vital installations in southwestern Saudi Arabia, most of which are intercepted by the Arab coalition.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the UAE and Bahrain strongly condemned and said they supported the Kingdom against any threats that target its security and stability.

The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said “the continuation of these terrorist attacks by the Houthi militia reflects its blatant defiance of the international community and its disregard for all international laws.”

CAIRO, 03 November 2021, (TON): The Egyptian and US navies conducted joint maneuvers in the Red Sea to protect maritime navigation, confront threats, enhance cooperation and exchange experiences.

Egypt’s Defense Ministry said “the training included various naval combat activities that focused on strengthening maritime security procedures in the Red Sea.”

It added that there is an Egyptian-American consensus on the importance of securing the flow and regularity of international maritime traffic in a way that enhances the global economy.

MANAMA, 03 November 2021, (TON): Bahrain urged its citizens in Lebanon to immediately leave the country amid a row between Beirut and Arab Gulf states over a Lebanese minister’s remarks on the Yemen war.

It said in a statement “the foreign ministry urged all citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately, following the tense situation there, which calls for extra caution.”

The call came a day after the United Arab Emirates also urged its citizens to leave Lebanon.

Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi triggered the row with an interview recorded in August and aired last week in which he said that Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels were “defending themselves against an external aggression.”

A Saudi-led military coalition that has included the UAE and Bahrain intervened to prop up the Yemeni government in 2015, after Houthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa in 2014.

Saudi Arabia on Friday gave Lebanon’s ambassador 48 hours to leave the country, recalled its envoy from Beirut and suspended all imports from Lebanon.

JERUSALEM, 03 November 2021, (TON): Palestinian families in a tense neighborhood of Jerusalem have rejected an offer that would have delayed their eviction by Jewish settlers.

The families’ plight helped ignite protests and clashes earlier this year that eventually led to the 11-day Gaza war.

In a statement, the four families said their decision springs from “our belief in the justice of our cause and our right to our homes and our homeland.”

The proposal floated by Israel’s Supreme Court earlier this month would have made them “protected tenants” blocking any eviction and demolition order for at least the next 15 years, according to Ir Amim, an Israeli rights group that closely follows developments in the city.

But it would have forced them to acknowledge the settlers’ ownership of the properties, which could weaken the families’ case going forward.

The four families are among dozens in Jerusalem who are threatened with eviction by Jewish settler organizations in several cases that are at various legal stages.

The settlers are making use of an Israeli law that allows them to claim properties that were owned by Jews prior to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. Palestinians who lost homes, properties and lands in the same conflict do not have the right to recover them.