TRIPOLI, 30 September 2021, (TON): The members of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission have agreed on the need for the pullout of all foreign troops and mercenaries from the country by the end of October ahead of the December elections, a source in the command of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army told media.

On Tuesday, there was another meeting of the commission, consisting of five military representatives from the western and eastern regions each. The head of the US Africa Command, General Stephen Townsend, currently on a visit in Libya, met with them at the airbase at Mitiga airport.

The source said “the meeting in Tripoli was fruitful and positive. Mechanisms of pulling out all foreign forces and mercenaries ahead of the elections were discussed.”

“The committee agreed that this process should be completed at the end of October.”

The 5+5 commission will meet again at its headquarters in Sirte within days.

The source said “they will discuss measures to maintain security at the elections after the laws crucial to holding them have been finalized.”

Libya has for several years had two parallel bodies of executive power, the Fayez Sarraj-led Government of National Accord in Tripoli and the provisional Cabinet of Ministers in the east, enjoying support from parliament and the Libyan National Army.

In April 2019, Haftar launched an offensive towards the country’s main city. In response, the Cabinet of Ministers mobilized all forces under its control and addressed Turkey with an official request for help on the basis of the military cooperation memorandum. After that, with Ankara’s active support, he managed to regain control of a number of provinces the LNA had taken.

BRUSSELS, 30 September 2021, (TON): A source in the EU said “the permanent representatives of the European Union member states at a committee meeting (COREPER) agreed to extend personal sanctions for the proliferation and use of chemical weapons by one year.”

The source said “the final approval of the decision will take place on October 11.

A source told media “the clause on the ext-ension of the sanctions has been agreed, the final appr-oval is expected on October 11 at a face-to-face meeting of the EU Coun-cil.”

The European Union last extended these sanctions for a year on October 12 last year – until October 16, 2021.

The extension of the sanctions will take effect after publication in the official EU journal no later than October 16.

The Chemical Weapons Sanctions Framework was introduced by the European Union in 2018. It provides for the introduction of restrictive measures against individuals and organizations that the EU considers involved in the development or use of chemical weapons, those who provide financial, technical or material assistance, and advise these individuals and organizations.

Inclusion in the EU sanctions list means a ban on entry to the EU territory, freezing of assets on the territory of the Union. Citizens and organizations in the EU are prohibited from transferring funds to those on the list.

NEW YORK, 30 September 2021, (TON): Israel has continued to destroy structures in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Tor Wennesland, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the Security Council.

The council heard how Israel has since July demolished and seized Palestinian-owned structures across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Wennesland said “Israeli authorities conducted the demolitions and seizures while citing the absence of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain.”

UN investigations found that 302 structures were demolished or seized by Israeli authorities, or were destroyed by their owners to avoid being charged. This caused the displacement of some 433 people, including 251 children and 102 women.

Wennesland said “Israeli authorities demolished around 30 structures, including 17 buildings that were given as humanitarian assistance, on July 7 in the Bedouin community of Humsa Al-Bqai’a in the Jordan Valley.”

MOSCOW, 30 September 2021, (TON): Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan completed talks in Sochi. The meeting, which began at about 13:30 Moscow time, lasted about three hours.

Completed, Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian president, told TASS when asked if negotiations were still ongoing. The office of the Turkish leader also confirmed this information. No press statements were made on their results.

In the conversation, the leaders discussed the agenda in the field of economics and international relations. In particular, Putin noted the successful interaction of the two countries on the situation in Syria and Libya. He also dwelled on the work of the ceasefire control center in Karabakh. According to the Russian president, this cooperation is a “serious guarantee of stability” in the region.

Energy was also on the agenda. Putin thanked Erdogan for his position on the construction of the Turkish Stream, thanks to which Ankara feels confident during the difficulties in the European gas market.

The Turkish President, in turn, touched upon the topic of a joint project the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant “Akkuyu”, the first power unit of which may be opened next year.

This face-to-face meeting of the two leaders was the first in the past year and a half. The last time they met was in March 2020 in the Kremlin, when Erdogan also paid a working visit to Russia. Due to the pandemic situation, follow-up negotiations were conducted by telephone or video conferencing in both bilateral and multilateral formats.

TUNIS, 30 September 2021, (TON): Tunisia’s president appointed the country’s first female prime minister and directed her to form a Cabinet in the coming hours or days.

Najla Bouden, 63, from the city of Kairouan, is a French-educated geologist with a Ph.D. in geological engineering, and is a lecturer at Tunisia’s national engineering school. She is the former director of a higher education reform project, and has held senior positions at Tunisia’s Higher Education Ministry.

President Kais Saied said “the nomination of a woman was “historic,” and described it as “an honor for Tunisia and a homage to Tunisian women.”

He said the new prime minister’s main mission would be to “put an end to the corruption and chaos that have spread throughout many state institutions.”

Bouden’s appointment confounds critics who accused the president of imposing one-man rule in July after he dismissed former Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi’s government, suspended parliament, lifted MPs’ immunity from prosecution and took over the judiciary.

His moves followed months of political deadlock in the face of a pressing economic crisis and mounting coronavirus deaths.

Bouden will be Tunisia’s 10th prime minister since a 2011 uprising overthrew dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The country has won plaudits for its democratic transition, but many Tunisians have seen little improvement in their lives and have become disillusioned with a political process they say is dysfunctional and corrupt.

RIYADH, 30 September 2021, (TON): Arab News reported “Saudi Arabia announced that it had trained hundreds of female employees to serve at the two Holy mosques.”

The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques said that it has so far trained around 600 female employees of its agencies or assisting agencies.

The report added “the Women’s Development Affairs Agency, led by Al-Anoud Al-Aboud, deputy president for women’s development affairs, employs 310 of those women.”

Meanwhile, around 200 women work for the Agency for Women’s Scientific, Intellectual and Guidance Affairs, led by Noura Al-Thuwaibi.

The general presidency said in a statement “the rest of the trained women work at the Agency for Women’s Administrative and Service Affairs, under the leadership of Kamelia Al-Daadi.”

Earlier, Saudi Arabia had appointed hundreds of women to serve female pilgrims and visitors to the Grand Mosque Khana-e-Kaaba in Makkah.

BEIJING, 30 September 2021, (TON): China revealed a drone concept similar in mission and appearance to the US-made Kratos (KTOS.O) XQ-58A Valkyrie as countries race to invest in "loyal wingman" drones to help protect pricier crewed fighter jets.

The long-range FH-97 drone concept unveiled on Wednesday can carry different types of weapons, and has swarm and electronic warfare capabilities, said Wu Wei, a representative of China Aerospace Science Technology Corp's (CASTC) Feihong product line.

He did not provide specifics in his presentation at Airshow China in Zhuhai.

The United States, Britain, Australia, India and Russia are among the countries developing "loyal wingman" drones, which are cheaper and more expendable than crewed fighters.

CASTC did not provide technical details of the FH-97 concept, nor say whether it was planned for export, though many foreign observers watched the presentation.

The FH-97's appearance is nearly identical to the Kratos XQ-58A, which made its first flight in 2019. The XQ-58A has a maximum speed of Mach 0.85 and a range of about 2,200 nautical miles.

Zhang Zhongyang, vice president of CASTC said the plan was to turn Feihong into an "international top-notch brand and become a major player at the centre stage of the world arena."

China has exported military drones to countries including the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Serbia.

RIYADH, 30 September 2021, (TON): Saudi state news agency said “Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the kingdom’s initiative to end the Yemeni crisis during discussions with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.”

The initiative includes a comprehensive ceasefire under UN supervision and the opening of Yemen's Sanaa international airport for flights to and from selected locations, the agency said.

 It further said Sullivan affirmed his country's commitment to support the kingdom defending its territory against threats, including missile and drone attacks backed by Iran.

He said “President Joe Biden endorsed the Saudi goal of advancing a durable political solution and end the Yemeni conflict.”

The two countries urged intensive diplomatic engagements in pursuit of that goal and emphasised the importance of the Houthis’ participating in good faith in political talks with the Yemeni government under the auspices of the UN.

ISLAMABAD, 30 September 2021, (TON): Pakistan and the United Kingdom agreed to form a joint working group to formulate a strategy for strengthening bilateral ties in multiple spheres, including trade and investment.

The bilateral ties were discussed during a meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and UK Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women and Equality Liz Truss wherein the former put forward a proposal for formation of a joint working group.

Following the meeting, the foreign minister told the media that the secretary of state had accepted his proposal for a joint working group so that the two countries could mutually assist each other in strengthening bilateral ties.

He said “the two countries would complete 75 years of diplomatic ties next year so both sides stressed the need for further strengthening the ties.”

FM discusses Afghanistan, Kashmir situation with British counterpart, chairs of House of Commons committees

KABUL, 30 September 2021, (TON): The Taliban said in a statement on Twitter "the US has violated all international rights and laws as well as its commitments made to the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, with the operation of these drones in Afghanistan."

"We call on all countries, especially United States, to treat Afghanistan in light of international rights, laws and commitments in order to prevent any negative consequences."

US officials were not immediately available to comment.

The Taliban Islamist militia swept back into power in Afghanistan last month after most US and other Western troops left, ending a military and diplomatic mission that began soon after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

Taliban leaders deny Islamic State and al Qaeda are active in the country.