KINSHASA, 06 October 2021, (TON): The senior UN official in the country told the Security Council that violence and access constraint in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continue to hamper humanitarian operations in a context where one in three people need assistance.”

For Bintou Keita, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), food insecurity and cyclical epidemics are major concerns.

Attacks on schools and hospitals have also exacerbated humanitarian challenges in several parts of the east, particularly Ituri.

With over 5 million internally displaced people, the country has the highest number of internally displaced people on the African continent. More than 26 million Congolese also suffer from food insecurity, about 29 percent of the population.

Addressing the Council Members, Ms. Keita urged them to increase their contributions to the 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan, that asks for $1.98 billion. To date, just over a quarter of the plan is funded.

The Special Representative highlighted two main challenges “the security and protection of civilians in the east, and the process of democratic consolidation in DRC.”

On the security front, she informed that, since the declaration of a state of siege by the Government, in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, MONUSCO has redoubled its efforts to support the Congolese authorities.

TEHRAN, 06 October 2021, (TON): October 5, Iran has closed the country’s airspace for aircraft of the Air Force of Azerbaijan. This was announced by Al Arabiya TV channel.

According to him, “Iran is closing its airspace for Azerbaijani military aircraft.” As noted by Al Ara-biya, the representative of Tehran “warned Azerbaijan against strategic mistakes.”

The TV channel indicates that Azerbaijan, for its part, announced the closure of the office of the spiritual leader of Iran in Baku.

Last day, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev rejected Tehran’s accusations against Baku about attracting Israeli forces to the regions located near its border with Iran. Aliyev also added that Azerbaijan itself determines at what level to build relations with other states.

WASHINGTON, 06 October 2021, (TON): NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg admitted that the alliance now has less leverage on the radical Taliban than before, but they “have not been reduced to zero.”

Stoltengberg said, speaking at Georgetown University “we, of course, still have leverage. There are fewer of them than before, but they have not been reduced to zero.”

The alliance secretary general also said that he would not like to pin any hopes on the Taliban after the movement’s seizure of power in Afghanistan, but stressed that NATO has certain expectations regarding the future policy of the Taliban.

Stoltenberg said “our countries also retain the ability to carry out long-range attacks.”

The United States withdrew its troops from Afghanistan after extensive consultations with other NATO countries, allegations to the contrary are not true, said alliance secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.

During an event at Georgetown University, the NATO Secretary General said that he had read reports that the American side allegedly made a decision to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan without proper consultations with NATO.

Stoltenberg said “this is absolutely not the case. This decision was made after careful consultations with each of the NATO countries. The allegations that these consultations did not take place do not correspond to reality.”

LONDON, 06 October 2021, (TON): The UK has warned that it will not accept refugees who illegally cross the English Channel from France. This was announced by the United Kingdom Home Secretary, Priti Patel, speaking on Tuesday at the congress of the ruling Conservative Party in Manchester.

The head of the British Home Office said “France is a safe country, not torn apart by war or conflict. There is no reason why any asylum seeker would have to come directly from France to the UK. ending these terrible trips.”

The minister promised “Patel noted that London will continue to use its new tactic, which is to “deploy boats” with illegal migrants. “I will never shirk making difficult decisions that are necessary to ensure the security of our country.”

What is happening in the English Channel with an influx of illegal immigrants who are trying to get to the shores of England in inflatable boats, she called “unsafe, dishonest and unacceptable.”

The UK and France have already repeatedly announced measures to strengthen cooperation in the fight against illegal immigration, but the problem has not yet been resolved. As of October, the number of illegal migrants who arrived in the UK in search of a better life since the beginning of the year reached 17 thousand. This is already twice as much as in the whole of 2020, when 8.4 thousand people arrived in the country. In total, in 2021, this figure may be 22 thousand people, experts warn.

BERLIN, 06 October 2021, (TON): The German authorities spent more than € 17.3 billion on a mission in Afghanistan between 2001 and August 2021. This was reported on Tuesday by the DPA , citing the federal government’s response to a parliamentary inquiry from the Free Democratic Party (FDP).

The largest expenditures were for the maintenance of military personnel. “The Bundeswehr’s participation in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Operation Enduring Freedom and [NATO’s mission in Afghanistan]” Resolute Support “, conducted by a unit of the Federal Ministry of Defense from 2001 to 31 August 2021, spent a total of about € 12.3 billion in additional costs associated with the deployment, “- said in response to a request by the FDP.

At the same time, it is clarified that the German Foreign Ministry has allocated about € 2.48 billion for the maintenance of personnel and material costs associated with various projects.

However, this amount does not include the personnel and operations costs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself. In addition, it is noted that over the course of 20 years, the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany allocated about € 2.46 billion to Afghanistan, and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture spent about € 33 million.

At the same time, the statistics do not include funds sent to Afghanistan by the German Federal Intelligence Service.

The FRG government stressed “the disclosure of relevant information will seriously complicate the fulfillment of the tasks of the Federal Intelligence Service, which in turn may threaten the security of the Federal Republic of Germany or cause serious damage to its interests.”

WASHINGTON, 06 October 2021, (TON): US President Joe Biden has said that he has spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about Taiwan after Beijing sent a record number of military aircraft into the island’s air defence zone (ADIZ).

Asked by a reporter about “China’s provocation over Taiwan”, Biden said that he and Xi had discussed the issue.

Biden said at the White House “I’ve spoken with Xi (Chinese President Xi Jinping) about Taiwan, we agree, we’ll abide by the Taiwan agreement, and we made it clear that I don’t think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement.”

Taiwan said “it tracked a record 56 Chinese aircraft in its ADIZ on Monday, in a series of military manoeuvres that began, China’s National Day, and prompted the island to scramble fighter jets in response. Beijing has stepped up cross-strait activities this year, with the number of recorded incidents on track to be double the level of 2020.”

While the United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with the self-ruled island, which China claims as its own, it is bound by law to protect Taiwan and is its biggest source of military and political support.

Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang warned on Tuesday that China’s actions risked regional peace and stability, while President Tsai Ing-wen warned of the “catastrophic consequences” for the Asia Pacific region if Taiwan were to fall to China.

“If its democracy and way of life are threatened, Taiwan will do whatever it takes to defend itself,” Tsai wrote in an article that was published on Tuesday in the prominent journal, Foreign Affairs.

NAYPYITAW, 06 October 2021, (TON): According to police sources “four police officials, including a lieutenant colonel, were injured after a parcel bomb went off at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters in Naypyitaw on Tuesday evening.”

The parcel, which had been labelled as evidence, exploded when police officials opened it, said an official who requested anonymity.

The official told media “the parcel was among the evidence packages for explosion cases sent from other towns.”

One officer, Police Lt-Col Zaw Than, sustained serious injuries to his leg, the source said. Details of the injuries to the other three police officials were unknown at the time of reporting.

Another police official in Yangon confirmed the bomb blast at the CID headquarters, but refused to disclose further details.

The headquarters of the CID is located in Zeya Theiddhi, a ward in Naypyitaw’s Zabuthiri Township. It is a short distance from the head offices of the Myanmar Police Force, under which it operates, and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Myanmar’s ruling junta, called the State Administration Council, meets at a location about 5km from where the explosion occurred. Other key offices, including those of the ministries of foreign affairs and information, are also in the same area.

NEW DELHI, 06 October 2021, (TON): Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said “the Indian Air Force (IAF) is taking forward the proposed procurement of 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) and that it would be carried out under the Make in India initiative.”

In April 2019, the IAF issued an RFI (Request for Information), or initial tender, to acquire 114 jets at a cost of around USD 18 billion. It was billed as one of the world's biggest military procurement programmes in recent years.

Addressing a press conference ahead of the Air Force Day on October 8, the IAF Chief said the response to the RFI has been received from several aerospace firms and that the acquisition process is taken forward to the next phase.

He said "the project would be under the Make In India initiative. We are moving the case further.”

The top contenders for the deal include Lockheed Martin's F-21, Boeing's F/A-18, Dassault Aviation's Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Russian aircraft MiG 35 and Saab's Gripen.

When asked whether the IAF would go for an additional 36 Rafale aircraft to deal with immediate requirements, the Chief of Air Staff suggested that the fighter jet could be one of the contenders for the MRFA project.

Last year, the then IAF Chief RKS Bhadauria did not rule out procurement of more Rafale jets, and said the induction of the French-made multi-role aircraft has given the Indian Air Force an operational edge to strike "deep and hard".

NAYPYITAW, 06 October 2021, (TON): Tin Myo Win tried repeatedly to talk his 16-year-old son out of joining the resistance movement against Myanmar’s military junta. In the end, however, the resident of Myin Thar, a village in Magway’s Gangaw Township, agreed to let him go.

After making this decision, he took his son, Naing Myo Tun, to a camp on the bank of the Myittha River where other young revolutionaries had gathered to prepare for the coming fight. Then he returned to his home to take his wife and daughter to a safe place at the base of a mountain west of the village.

Before he and his son parted ways, Tin Myo Win pointed out a few spots where Naing Myo Tun and his comrades could hide if necessary. He also told his son to change his shirt so he would be harder to see.

He said, recalling his concern for his son’s safety “he was wearing a red shirt, so I made him put on a black one.”

Just hours later, however, his fears grew as he heard the sound of artillery pounding the area around the group’s camp. Eventually, he returned to the site to find that the situation there was far worse than he could ever have imagined.

What he found was that his son was not just injured by the shelling, but had also been shot in the head execution-style. Apparently, a leg wound prevented him from escaping, and the troops that overran the camp decided to murder him instead of taking him prisoner.

Naing Myo Tun was one of 18 people, 12 of them boys in their teens, who were killed on September 9. More than 30 houses were also torched by the soldiers who unleashed hell on the village of Myin Thar that day.

According to a resident of the village, eight of the victims had been shot at close range. One, a man in his eighties, was covered with bruises and had his hands tied behind his back. Another was tied to a chair.

DHAKA, 06 October 2021, (TON): Vietnam has expressed interest in operating flights with Bangladesh to kick-start tourism between the two countries.

Vietnam wants to establish air connectivity with Bangladesh to facilitate the travel between the two countries, said Vietnam's Ambassador to Bangladesh Pham Viet Chien.

The ambassador expressed his government's interest during a meeting with State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali at Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka.

The envoy said “Vietnam is interested in operating direct flights on the Hanoi-Dhaka-Hanoi route to boost tourism and the aviation sector, and also promote a relationship among the people of the two countries.”