SANAA, 11 October 2021, (TON): The information minister said on Twitter “a car bomb targeting the governor's convoy shook Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Sunday killing at least six people and wounding seven."

The state news agency said “Governor Ahmed Lamlas and agriculture minister Salem al-Suqatri, both members of a southern separatist group, survived a "terrorist assassination attempt".

A local government source said “killed in the attack were the governor's press secretary and his photographer, the head of his security detail and a fourth companion as well as a civilian bystander.”

A body covered with a blanket lay on the street next to a charred vehicle in al-Tawahi district, which houses the headquarters of the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC). Firefighters and police were deployed to the area.

Lamlas is secretary general of the STC, which has vied with the Saudi-backed government for control of Aden and Yemen's wider south. STC has also seen infighting among its ranks.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. STC spokesperson Ali Al-Kathiri blamed militant groups.

TAIPEI, 11 October 2021, (TON): Claimed by China as its own territory, Taiwan has come under growing military and political pressure to accept Beijing's rule.

Taiwan will keep bolstering its defences to ensure nobody can force the island to accept the path China has laid down that offers neither freedom nor democracy, President Tsai Ing-wen said, in a strong riposte to Beijing.

Claimed by China as its own territory, Taiwan has come under growing military and political pressure to accept Beijing's rule, including repeated Chinese air force missions in Taiwan's air defence identification zone, to international concern.

Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to realise "peaceful reconciliation" with Taiwan and did not directly mention the use of force. Still, he got an angry reaction from Taipei, which said only Taiwan's people can decide its future.

MOSCOW, 11 October 2021, (TON): The Emergencies Ministry said “a plane carrying a group of parachute jumpers crashed in the Russian region of Tatarstan on Sunday, killing 16 people and injuring six.”

The Health Ministry said “the aircraft, which came down near the city of Menzelinsky, had been carrying 20 parachutists and two crew members. Six people were in a serious condition.”

A Let L-410 Turbolet twin-engine short-range transport aircraft, the plane was owned by an aeroclub in the city of Menzelinsk, the TASS news agency reported.

Cosmonauts use the area for training and the aeroclub has hosted local, European and world championships, the club’s director Ravil Nurmukhametov was quoted by TASS as saying.

The state-run Cosmonaut Training Facility has suspended its ties with the aeroclub pending an investigation, TASS cited a source as saying.

The RIA agency cited local authorities as saying one of the engines could have failed.

Russian aviation safety standards have been tightened in recent years but accidents continue to happen, particularly in remote regions.

DHAKA, 11 October 2021, (TON): Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan said “Bangladesh is looking for foreign investment in the railway sector.”

Turkish Ambassador Mustafa Osman Turan on Sunday expressed his country’s keenness to invest in the railway sector in Bangladesh.

A press release said “the envoy expressed the willingness when he paid a courtesy call on Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan at the minister’s office at Rail Bhaban in Dhaka.”

“Railway is an environment friendly, easy and affordable communication system in any country”  Turan said and hoped that opportunities for investing in the railway sector would be created in the future as an important bilateral relation exists between Bangladesh and Turkey.

Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan apprised the Turkish ambassador about the government projects and plans undertaken for development of the country’s railway sector and said “we are looking for foreign investment in the sector.”

DHAKA, 11 October 2021, (TON): Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami points out that due to the power given to states under the Indian constitution, it makes sense for Bangladesh to also build relationships at the state as well as the national level.

DT: Para-diplomacy is an idea that has gained traction within India recently. How can state governments help strengthen India-Bangladesh ties?

Doraiswami: Actually, this is a corollary of the point I made about our relationship being a local issue as much as it is a foreign policy issue. Since concerns and opportunities in the relationship are local, it follows that local government entities, states in particular, have a disproportionately large influence and role, at least on the Indian side, in the India-Bangladesh relationship.

Looking at this pragmatically, it is logical for states, especially for the states of northeast India, to consider Bangladesh as a major developmental opportunity.

Not only as a connectivity partner, but also as a source and destination for trade in goods and services, and for two-way flows of investment, tourism, education services, healthcare services, and so on.

On the Bangladesh side too, if I may presume to make this point, there is potential for great advantage to be gained by engaging directly not only with West Bengal and the northeastern states of India, but also with the states that are further away and somewhat less similar in cultural terms.

ISLAMABAD, 11 October 2021, (TON): The Security Forces killed four terrorists as the Frontier Corps (FC) troops spotted and engaged terrorists move near Awaran, Balochistan.

The terrorists were killed during intense exchange of fire, said an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) media release here received. The Security Forces also recovered weapons and ammunition from the terrorists.

Meanwhile, the passing out parade of cadets of 144th Long Course, 63rd Integrated Course, 33rd Technical Graduate Course, 3rd Basic Military Training Course and 18th Lady Cadets Course was held on Saturday at Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Kakul.

Cadets from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka were also among the passed out cadets.

An Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) media release here received said “Chief of General Staff (CGS) Royal Saudi Armed Forces, General Fayiadh bin Hamed bin Raged Al-Rowaily was chief guest on the occasion.”

NAYPYITAW, 11 October 2021, (TON): The European Parliament released a resolution on October 6 calling on the immediate release of the President, State Counselor, and all those who have been detained.

The resolution also calls on the ruling military to fully respect the outcome of the 2020 elections among other points and clauses.

In addition to these two points, the European Parliament ‘strongly condemns’ the military takeover of February 1st. The resolution calls on the ‘immediate reinstatement of the civilian government, end to the state of emergency, end to use of violence against peaceful protestors, respect for the right to freedom of expression and association, and to allow all elected parliamentarians to assume their mandates.’

Moreover, the resolution calls on the EU delegation to Myanmar and the embassies of the Member States to closely monitor the human rights and health situation in Myanmar, especially of the political leaders and others who have been detained.

The resolution also calls on member states to ‘maintain the embargo on the direct shipment and indirect supply of all weapons.’ However, this clause is not binding.

The European Parliament says that it supports the CRPH and NUG as ‘the only legitimate representative of the democratic wishes of the Myanmar people’ and calls on ASEAN and the international community to involve them in political dialogue to resolve the crisis.

SRINAGAR, 11 October 2021, (TON): Government forces have detained at least 500 people in a sweeping crackdown in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK), local officials said on Sunday, following a string of suspected attacks and targeted killings in the disputed region.

Assailants fatally shot three Hindus and a Sikh person in the region’s main city of Srinagar this week in a sudden rise in violence against civilians that both pro and anti-India Kashmiri politicians widely condemned.

Local police blamed “the spate of killings on elements fighting against Indian rule in the region for decades. Officials said they had detained in the last three days over 500 people across the Kashmir Valley for questioning, with the majority of detainees from the main city of Srinagar.”

Police say individuals belonging to The Resistance Front (TRF) group have shot and killed seven people since last week, pushing up the death toll from such attacks this year to 28 people. While 21 of those slain were Muslims, seven of them belonged to Hindu and Sikh minority communities.

Speaking with reporters recently, the region’s top police officer Dilbag Singh described the killings as a “conspiracy to create terror and communal rift”.

TRF in a statement on social media claimed the group was targeting those working for Indian authorities and was not picking targets based on faith. The group’s statement could not be independently verified.

ISLAMABAD, 11 October 2021, (TON): President Dr Arif Alvi said that Pakistan was committed to offer promising business opportunities for foreign investors through one-window operations in sectors of innovation and technology.

In a meeting with heads of leading investment and technology firms here, the president said “the one-window facility under Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA), on which a legislation has been made, was aimed at encouraging and facilitating the foreign investors to expand their information technology footprint in Pakistan.”

President Alvi said “STZA had been set up by the federal government with a mandate to provide world-class digital and physical infrastructure across the country and putting Pakistan on the global technology radar.

He emphasized that jumping onto the technological bandwagon and investing in human capital development would ensure the country’s economic stability.

President Alvi invited the companies to invest in Pakistan’s diverse sectors particularly in e-business, adding that enhancing broadband penetration would help boost economic activities.

ISLAMABAD, 11 October 2021, (TON): Nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan passed away in Islamabad on Sunday morning at the age of 85. He was given a state funeral at Faisal Mosque before being laid to rest at the H-8 graveyard.

He was admitted to a local hospital where his health deteriorated early morning. He died after being transferred to a hospital with lung problems.

A large number of people, including cabinet members, parliamentarians and military officers, attended the funeral prayers.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed earlier said that under the directions issued by Prime Minister Imran Khan, Dr Khan was given a state funeral.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, he said that the PM had directed cabinet ministers to attend the funeral. The interior minister said that the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and the services chiefs would also be in attendance.

Rashid said “two graves were prepared; one at Faisal Mosque and another at the H-8 graveyard. He later said his family decided that as per his will he would be buried at the H-8 graveyard.

Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan's coffin being carried to his funeral prayers.

"The whole nation is grieving," the minister said, adding that the flag would be flown at half-mast.