ISTANBUL, 21 October 2021, (TON): Turkish prosecutors ordered the arrest of 158 suspects including 33 serving soldiers in an operation targeting people allegedly linked to a preacher who Turkey says was behind a 2016 failed coup, state-owned Anadolu news agency said.

The investigation, stretching across 41 provinces, was part of a five-year-old crackdown against the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. He denies any involvement in the putsch of July 2016, in which more than 250 people were killed.

So far 97 people have been detained in the latest operation, Anadolu said. The suspects included 110 military students who were expelled in the wake of the coup attempt, as well as 48 serving and former military personnel.

SEOUL, 21 October 2021, (TON): North Korea successfully tested a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile, state media reported on Wednesday as the nuclear-armed country seeks to show off its ever-expanding military capabilities.

Tuesday’s test, carried out near Sinpo, the site of a major naval dockyard, came as both Koreas build up their weapons technology in what could become an arms race on the peninsula, and with Washington-Pyongyang dialogue at a standstill.

A proven submarine-based missile capability would take the North’s arsenal to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a second-strike capability in the event of an attack on its military bases.

The missile had “lots of advanced control guidance technologies”, the official Korean Central News Agency said. But it added that it was fired from the same vessel that the North used in its first SLBM test five years ago, indicating that it may only have made limited progress in its launch capabilities.

KABUL, 21 October 2021, (TON): The Taliban movement that has seized power in Afghanistan plans to introduce new forms of taxation for agricultural producers in the country. Information about this was published on Thursday on the website of the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock.

“During a meeting held today, chaired by [Taliban-appointed] Deputy Minister for Finance and Administration Fazl Albari Fazli, the consolidation of common efforts, as well as the introduction of taxes zakat (an Islamic tax levied on the poor, – TASS note) and usr (Islamic land tax levied on income in the amount of one to ten, – approx. TASS)”, – stated in the message.

As noted, the introduction of these measures “is due to the need to increase the level of income of the ministry and the requirements of the Islamic faith.”

ISLAMABAD, 21 October 2021, (TON): The military said in a statement “Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Bahawalpur and witnessed training activities of formation at Asrani and Khairpur Tamewali (KPT).”

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the mechanised troops demonstrated battle drills involved in the operational cycle of the formation including offensive manoeuvres.

The army chief also witnessed field firing of different weapon systems at KPT ranges. It included integrated firepower display of various components including Armour, Mechanised Infantry, Artillery, Air Defence, ATGMs duly supported by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and combat aviation.

Gen Qamar appreciated high standards of training and operational preparedness of the formation. Interacting with troops, he emphasised realistic training in line with the emerging threats and challenges to defeat the nefarious designs of our adversaries.

The COAS was quoted as saying by the ISPR “the Pakistan Army is prepared to defend territorial integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan against all odds.”

ISLAMABAD, 21 October 2021, (TON): Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced that Pakistan will give humanitarian assistance worth Rs5 billion to Afghanistan.

Speaking to the media after a day-long visit to Kabul, the minister said "if they need medicines at hospitals or whatever else their priorities are, they will tell us and we will be ready to give them humanitarian assistance in-kind."

During the press conference, Qureshi said that the Afghan government recognised and were "thankful" for how Pakistan had helped them in times of difficulty and the way the country had housed refugees for decades.

He said "right now there is a transition, there are challenges and to overcome that, Pakistan will play whatever role it needs to play.”

The foreign minister said that the high-level delegation that accompanied him on the trip also included officials from different ministries and institutions.

"The point of taking [the delegation] was so that after the main discussion, they would break off into sub-groups and hammer out the details of different issues related to visas, trade and border movement."

NEW DELHI, 21 October 2021, (TON): Nearly 200 people have died in floods and landslides in India and Nepal, officials said yesterday, with whole families buried in their homes and two young girls swept away as forecasters warned of yet more heavy rain.

Experts say “they were victims of the ever-more unpredictable and extreme weather that has hit South Asia in recent years caused by climate change and exacerbated by deforestation and excessive development.”

The unusually late deluge of rain in the region saw Nepal record the sharpest rise in casualties overnight, with 88 people now dead, among them a family of six whose house was obliterated by an avalanche of soil and debris.

In Indian state of Uttarakhand, 55 people were confirmed to have died yesterday. They included five people from a family whose house was buried by a massive landslide.

NAYPYITAW, 21 October 2021, (TON): Myanmar citizens trying to travel abroad for work have been prevented from leaving the country after the junta brought in new restrictions at airports last week.

Immigration staff at airports began turning travelers away on Friday after the junta-controlled labour ministry issued new rules requiring anyone leaving the country for work to have an Overseas Workers Identification Card, or OWIC, as well as a PJ passport.

In the past, people with passports issued for non-work visits, called PV passports, were also allowed to work abroad. Now, people with PV passports are reportedly being turned away if they also have work visas.

“They are just creating new laws as they please,” said a worker who is trying to leave the country to work in Singapore. “It’s really troubling for those of us who are trying to work abroad.”

The OWIC, also known as the smart card, was first introduced in 1999 but its use was never enforced, meaning many people leaving Myanmar for work have never been issued such cards or have never even heard of them.

NAYPYITAW, 21 October 2021, (TON): Two Mon State-based People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) in Ye and Thanbyuzayat townships jointly claimed responsibility for an after-hours bombing of a ward administration office in Thanbyuzayat.

A leader within the Ye PDF (YPDF) said that the attack was timed to occur after the office in Aung Chanthar ward had closed and the staff had left, and was intended as a “warning” to the military council’s local administrative mechanism.

The YPDF member said “we tried not to harm anyone because this is just a warning. We chose to detonate it after office hours so that no one would be hurt.”

In photos of the office released by the YPDF after the explosion, damage could be seen to the wall around the office and to the building itself.

The YPDF leader said that PDF chapters nationwide had been trying to carry out targeted attacks against the junta without harming civilians, and have at times had to abandon plans when large numbers of people have travelled to their respective areas, especially in southeastern Myanmar.

“People are going on pilgrimages while we’re out there trying to fight for them. Tons of people are coming to the Kyaikkhami Pagoda in Thanbyuzayat. It’s a problem that PDFs all over the country are facing,” he told media, adding, “We urge civilians to not travel if not necessary.”

PDFs in the region have announced that they are focusing their attacks on members of the shadowy pro-military Pyu Saw Htee network. Meanwhile, the military council has been continuing to arrest and kill locals suspected of being PDF members.

DHAKA, 21 October 2021, (TON): Nineteen Bangladeshi teenage girls returned home tonight through Benapole check-post after two years in an Indian prison.

They went to India - with help of brokers, without any passport or visa two and half years ago in search of work, reports our Benapole correspondent quoting Raju Ahmed, officer-in-charge (OC) of Benapole Immigration Police.

He added that all the girls were aged between 16 to 19.

Indian police arrested them from different parts of the country and a court later sentenced them to two years in jail, the OC said, adding that after the completion of their jail sentences, they were kept at Pune Rescue Foundation Shelter Home.

He added that they returned to Bangladesh through special travel permits with the intervention of the two countries' home ministries.

DHAKA, 21 October 2021, (TON): Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) signed an agreement with France's Thales LAS to set up multi-mode radar with Communication, Navigation and Surveillance Air Traffic Management (CNS-ATM) system at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) here.

CAAB chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mofidur Rahman and Thales LAS vice chairman Nicholas inked the deal for their respective sides at a city hotel here.

State Minister for civil aviation and tourism M Mahbub Ali, civil aviation and tourism secretary M Mokammel Hossain and French Ambassdorto Bangladesh Jean Marin were present to witness the signing ceremony.

Mahbub said that the country's airspace would be more secure and safe after installation of the modern radar.

Besides, he said "the new modern radar will help Air Traffic Control (ATC) to detect every single aircraft those flying over the country's airspace."

He said “it will help the CAAB to increase its revenue.”