CAIRO, 08 October 2021, (TON): Egypt and Tunisia have agreed to a UN-supported plan on Libya that would see the withdrawal of foreign forces and the holding of elections in the country by the end of the year.

A statement by the Egyptian presidency said that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had made a phone call to his Tunisian counterpart, Kais Saied, in which the two sides agreed on the need to intensify coordination in the Libyan crisis.

The statement stressed the desire of both sides to end the crisis in a way that paves the way for the return of security, stability and sovereignty to Libya.

As part of the agreement, presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on a scheduled date at the end of the year, in compliance with a road map agreed upon by Libyan parties.

El-Sisi also expressed Egypt’s support for the measures and efforts of the Tunisian president aimed at building a better future for the Tunisian people and achieving stability in the country.

Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said that the call dealt with “visions regarding a number of regional files of common interest, especially the Libyan crisis.”

WASHINGTON, 08 October 2021, (TON): State Department spokesman Ned Price said “the United States believes an "imminent" return to indirect talks in Vienna over a return to the Iran nuclear deal is necessary because the process cannot go on indefinitely.”

Price said a diplomatic path remained open and noted that Tehran had said it would return to the talks "soon."

"We hope their definition of soon matches our definition of soon," Price said. "We would like negotiations to resume in Vienna as soon as possible."

STOCKHOLM, 08 October 2021, (TON): Commerce Minister Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi and Swedish Foreign Trade Minister Anna Hallberg inaugurated the Saudi-Swedish Business Council in Stockholm.

Council members and representatives from the business and investment sectors in the two countries took part in the event.

Al-Qasabi, who is also the chairman of the board of the General Authority for Foreign Trade, said that the council was a mainstay in stimulating and encouraging the private sector on both sides.

He said “it contributed to developing bilateral relations, exchanging expertise and knowledge, and setting plans and programs to seize investment opportunities and turn them into tangible partnerships.”

Al-Qasabi said “Saudi Arabia was keen to enhance trade cooperation, facilitate exports to Sweden and the Scandinavian countries and exchange expertise and knowledge.”

Saudi Arabia is Sweden’s largest economic partner in the Middle East and No. 1 trade partner among the Scandinavian countries, with the volume of trade exchange in the past five years reaching more than $6 billion.

RIYADH, 08 October 2021, (TON): The latest Houthi attempt to attack Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia was widely condemned on Thursday after four workers were injured by debris from an intercepted drone.

The workers received light injuries after a Houthi drone was shot down at the airport, the Arab Coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government said early.

Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said that endangering civilian lives is a cowardly terrorist act, a war crime, and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.

He called on the international community to take decisive stances to stop the continuous cowardly threats with ballistic missiles and bomb-laden drones used by the Houthis to target civilians in Saudi Arabia.

He also reiterated the OIC’s support for all measures that Saudi Arabia takes to confront the practices of the terrorist Houthi militia in order to preserve its security, stability and the safety of its citizens and residents.

The Emirati Foreign Ministry said that targeting the airport is a dangerous escalation and a cowardly act that threatens the security, safety and lives of civilians and passengers. The statement reaffirmed the UAE’s full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and reiterated its firm position against all threats to the Kingdom’s security and stability.

TRIPOLI, 08 October 2021, (TON): The coast guard said that the bodies of 17 migrants have been found washed up on a Libyan beach after their boat capsized during a bid to reach Europe by sea.

Libya is a major departure point for desperate migrants, tens of thousands of whom board unseaworthy boats every year in attempts to reach Italian shores 300 kilometres (190 miles) away. The voyages often turn deadly.

He said “over the past 24 hours, the bodies of 17 migrants were found on the coast between the cities of Zawiya and Sorman, by Red Crescent teams.”

The Red Crescent in Zawiya, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of the capital Tripoli, published images of corpses covered in shrouds. The number of migrants who have died at sea trying to reach Europe more than doubled this year compared to the same period in 2020, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in mid-July.

In September, the IOM counted 1,369 migrants who had drowned in the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year.

The latest deaths come days after a “security campaign” by Libyan authorities in the suburbs of Tripoli, mostly targeting illegal migrants.

WASHINGTON, 08 October 2021, (TON): US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said his talks with China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi in Switzerland on Wednesday had avoided the acrimony of the past and that more such meetings were needed to handle bilateral tensions.

Sullivan told reporters in Brussels after meetings at NATO and the European Union "the talks were productive in the sense that it was a real opportunity, behind closed doors, to really lay out for one another our different perspectives and intentions.”

He said that the meeting had been a way to "do our best to create a circumstance in which this competition (between the United States and China), which is an intense competition, can be managed responsibly, and does not veer into conflict or confrontation."

ISLAMABAD, 08 October 2021, (TON): Prime Minister Imran Khan took to Twitter to express condolences on the death of 22 people. 22 people have died and many injured in an earthquake in parts of Balochistan.

Prime Minister Khan wrote on his official Twitter handle “my condolences & prayers go to the families who lost their loved ones.”

He ordered immediate assistance to be provided to the quake-hit people.

The prime minister further called for immediate assessment of the damage brought on by the earthquake. Therefore, timely relief and compensation can be provided to the affected people.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 rocked parts of Balochistan early Thursday morning. It killed at least 20 people and injuring over 200 others, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

ISLAMABAD, 08 October 2021, (TON): US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, effectively the No 2 at the State Department, arrived in Pakistan on a crucial visit focusing on the current Afghan situation and the future of bilateral ties between Islamabad and Washington.

This is the first visit by a senior American diplomat under the Biden administration though the CIA chief earlier undertook back-to-back trips, those were primarily focused on certain developments inside Afghanistan.

But the visit by Sherman is more significant as this will cover the whole gamut of relationship between Pakistan and the US, according to official sources.

The senior State Department official flew from New Delhi where she had wide-ranging engagements.

In Islamabad, she would meet all the relevant people both in the civil and military setup. Officials familiar with the agenda of her visit say Afghanistan would certainly figure prominently during the discussions.

But Pakistan’s emphasis would be on broad-based ties covering bilateral issues including the trade and commercial ties between the two countries.

Pakistan has of late been advocating that ties with the US must not be transactional and security and Afghan driven. For this purpose, the Biden administration was conveyed that the US must not see Pakistan through the Indian or Chinese lens.

A senior Pakistani official said “we want to develop bilateral cooperation purely based on the interests of both the countries.”

DHAKA, 08 October 2021, (TON): State minister for disaster management and relief Md Enamur Rahman hoped that Australia would continue its cooperation for safe repatriation of the Rohingyas.

Stating that world leaders have assured Bangladesh of their help for repatriation of Rohingyas in different forums at different times, he said, ‘Bangladesh has continued discussions with Myanmar on the issue. I hope Australia would also continue its cooperation in this regard.’

An official release said “the state minister made the remarks when a three-member delegation led by Australian high commissioner to Bangladesh Jeremy Bruer called on him at the secretariat in Dhaka.”

The envoy lauded the incumbent government of Bangladesh for sheltering the Rohingyas.

He added that “the minister said that the government had given shelter to more than 11 lakh Myanmar’s Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds. The sooner they can be repatriated safely, the better for everyone.”

From December 3, 2020 to April 4, 2021, about 20,000 Myanmar nationals were transferred from Cox’s Bazar to Bhasan Char in Noakhali in the country.

KABUL, 08 October 2021, (TON): The talks will follow a G20 summit on Afghanistan on October 12 that will seek to help the country avoid a humanitarian catastrophe in the wake of the Taliban takeover

The Kremlin's envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said “Russia will invite the Taliban to international talks on Afghanistan scheduled for October 20 in Moscow.”

In response to a question from Russian journalists on whether representatives of the hardline group would be invited to negotiations involving China, India, Iran and Pakistan, Kabulov said: "Yes".

The talks will follow a G20 summit on Afghanistan on October 12 that will seek to help the country avoid a humanitarian catastrophe in the wake of the Taliban takeover.

Kabulov was also asked whether Russia would deliver aid to Afghanistan, where the humanitarian crisis is growing worse, a top UN official warned.

Russia would do, but the details were still being decided, Kabulov said.