ADDIS ABABA, 14 October 2021, (TON): Fighting has resumed in northern Ethiopia's Afar region after a month-long lull, humanitarian and rebel sources told AFP yesterday, as the government appeared to be pressing a new offensive.

The humanitarian sources said “there were reports of an armed clash in the town of Awra, in Afar's Fenti zone, including use of heavy weapons by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) that killed multiple civilians."

The reports could not be independently verified and officials in Afar could not be reached for comment.

TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda denied claims the rebels had used heavy weapons against civilians but confirmed there had been fresh hostilities in Afar.

"Enemy forces are crumbling and in disarray in parts of Afar," he said, describing fighting along the border between Afar and Amhara regions.

"We do not target civilians and the alleged artillery attack is yet another [fictitious] accusation to tarnish our forces' reputation."

PYONGYANG, 14 October 2021, (TON): North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has blamed the United States for tensions on the peninsula and accused the South of hypocrisy, state media reported yesterday, as he opened an exhibition showcasing his nuclear-armed country's weapons.

According to the official Korean Central News Agency “the wrong judgment and acts of the US meant instability could not be resolved, he said in an address to the "Self-Defence 2021" display.”

Pyongyang is under multiple international sanctions over its banned nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, which have made rapid progress under Kim.

It tested missiles that can reach the whole of the continental United States and carried out its most powerful nuclear explosion to date. Pyongyang says it needs its arsenal to protect itself against a US invasion.

Analysts say North Korea is seeking to normalise its status as a nuclear power.

The Biden administration has repeatedly stated that it has no hostile intent towards Pyongyang, but Kim said: "Its behaviours provide us with no reason why we should believe in them.

ISLAMABAD, 14 October 2021, (TON): Days after intense speculations regarding the appointment of the new director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the federal government confirmed for the first time that there is a stalemate between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa over the appointment of the new spymaster.

The matter is so serious that the outcome of a ‘long meeting’ between the prime minister and the COAS over the appointment of the new DG ISI Monday night ended with the premier telling the army chief that the authority to appoint the new spymaster rests with him.

Resultantly, the PM Office has yet to issue a notification for the new ISI chief.

The military’s media wing issued a statement regarding the appointment of Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmad Anjum as the new DG ISI, replacing the outgoing chief General Faiz Hameed.

Two days later, it first emerged on social media that the federal government had yet to issue a formal notification for the appointment of the new spymaster.

NAYPYITAW, 14 October 2021, (TON): Resistance groups active in eastern Sagaing Region say that regime forces based in the area are using local civilians as human shields in a bid to fend off attacks.

The groups said “after months of suffering heavy casualties, troops stationed in Ayadaw Township have started forcing villagers to accompany them as they enter areas where they are at risk of being ambushed.”

Yaung Pyan, a member of the Ayadaw People’s Defence Force (PDF), one of several local groups fighting the regime said “they make civilians go ahead of them when they raid villages. That way, the villagers are injured if we attack, and not them.”

According to Yaung Pyan, military units based in the villages of Naung Gyi Aing and Magyi Kan have engaged in the practice, which is regarded as a war crime under international law.

The accusation comes amid calls for stiffer sanctions against the regime that seized power on February 1. On Thursday, a resolution adopted by the European Parliament condemned the junta’s gross human rights violations, including its use of violence against protesters.

NAYPYITAW, 14 October 2021, (TON): Global cigarette giant British American Tobacco (BAT) has announced it will halt its operations in Myanmar by the end of this year, making it the latest major foreign firm to leave the country since February’s coup.

The company, which produces the London, Kent, and Lucky Strike brands at its Yangon factory, re-entered Myanmar in 2013 a decade after being forced to leave amid pressure from campaigners who opposed its business dealings with the former junta. 

Madeeh Pasha, BAT’s Area Corporate Affairs Manager for the Middle East & South Asia, said the departure came after an analysis of the company’s viability in the country, but did not elaborate or cite the coup as a reason.

He said “like any global company, we continuously evaluate our operations around the world. Having evaluated the long-term operational and commercial viability of our business in Myanmar, we have taken the decision to withdraw from the country and cease all operations.”

He added. BAT Myanmar employs around 400 people “the business discontinuation is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. We are in discussions with the impacted BAT employees about next steps and will remain committed to supporting them through the process.”

DHAKA, 14 October 2021, (TON): Chittagong Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said “Karnaphuli tunnel will be a game changer for the port city’s tourism and economy.”

The US ambassador to Bangladesh, said “eyes of the world's investors are on Chittagong as there are immense possibilities and fields for investment in the port city, Earl R Miller.”

“The United States is also interested in investing in Chittagong. The next steps will be taken after investing and feasibility study, especially in education, health, ICT and tourism,” the ambassador said following a meeting with Chittagong City Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury in the commercial capital of the country.

"We believe that Chittagong will soon be integrated as an effective link of regional and global connectivity in the way big projects have been implemented and are being implemented."

If participation of the world's major economic powers is ensured in all the economic zones that have developed here, its positive impact will be reflected not only in Bangladesh, but globally.

DHAKA, 14 October 2021, (TON): Laying emphasis on expanding the areas of cooperation between Bangladesh and Russia, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sought Russian investment in Bangladesh’s jute sector.

She said this when the newly-appointed Russian ambassador to Bangladesh, Alexander Vikentyevich Mantytskiy, called on the prime minister at Ganabhaban in Dhaka.

Briefed reporters after the meeting, her Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said both agreed to explore the potential in Bangladesh’s agriculture sector and expand cooperation in other areas.

Hasina highly appreciated Russia’s cooperation with Bangladesh in its various sectors, particularly the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.

She recalled the cooperation and assistance of the then Soviet Union during the Liberation War of Bangladesh and after its independence.

The prime minister mentioned that many students had studied in Russia, especially in its medical colleges, and said those who had helped Bangladesh during its trying time have special places in the hearts of the people of this country.

NEW DELHI, 14 October 2021, (TON): External affairs minister S Jaishankar said “India and Armenia have discussed the possibility of using Iran’s Chabahar port to enhance connectivity between the two countries to boost trade and commerce.”

Jaishankar is the first Indian foreign minister to visit Armenia since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992. Armenia was the final stop on his three-nation tour that has also taken him to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

India and Armenia are members of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which has the potential to bridge the connectivity barrier between the two sides, and Armenia’s interest in using Chabahar port figured in Jaishankar’s talks with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan.

He told a media briefing in Yerevan “Minister Mirzoyan and I discussed the interest which Armenia has shown in the utilisation of the Chabahar port in Iran, which is being developed by India.”

He said “we have also proposed that Chabahar port be included in the INSTC. We would definitely like to welcome the use of Chabahar port and any other initiatives that will increase the connectivity between our countries.”

He added “the two sides also discussed the possibility of direct flights under an air services agreement.”

DHAKA, 14 October 2021, (TON): About 700 Rohingyas have tried to escape from the island, which has been a major challenge for the authorities.

According to government officials “engagement by the United Nations in the Bhasan Char operations is expected to stop the Rohingyas fleeing from the island.”

So far, nearly 700 out of 20,000 Rohingyas, who were earlier relocated from camps in Cox’s Bazar, have tried to escape from the island in the Bay of Bengal, they have told Dhaka Tribune.

They added that this has been a major challenge for the authorities.

It could not be ascertained as to how many Rohingyas had been able to make their way out of the island, but two officials from the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) put the figure “in hundreds”.

Based in Cox’s Bazar, the RRRC under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief is the top government body with respect to the Rohingya crisis.

WASHINGTON, 13 October 2021, (TON): The US, Israel and the UAE will launch two new working groups on Wednesday, a senior State Department official said, as Washington hopes to expand the agreements between Israel and its neighbors known as the Abraham accords.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will host a trilateral meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan at the State Department.

One working group will focus on religious coexistence and the other on water and energy issues, said the official, who briefed reporters ahead of the meeting.