THIMPHU, 04 September 2021, (TON): According to the Gross National Happiness Commission’s (GNHC) secretary, Thinley Namgyel “the European Union (EU) have committed its support and fund of 31 million Euro for the next 2021 to 2024 for Bhutan.”

The support committed is irrespective of Bhutan’s graduation from Least Developed Countries (LDC) status in 2023.

The secretary said that Bhutan has five years’ cooperation with the EU, which officially would have concluded in 2020, but some of the activities are still ongoing and the EU has announced to continue support Bhutan from 2021 till 2027.

The secretary added “we’ve already started working in terms of next phase of support. There will be a mid-term review of EU programmes in 2024 and then EU will make a commitment for next three years.”

The commitment was formally announced during the 15th Round Table Meeting between the government and development partners held yesterday in Thimphu.

The meeting was held in a hybrid format to review the progress and implementation of the 12th Five Year Plan.

MALE, 04 September 2021, (TON): International Islamic Trade Financing Corporation has extended an MVR one billion trade facility to State Trading Organization (STO).

The value of the trade facility is MVR 1.1 billion. The facility agreement was signed by Managing Director of STO Hussain Amr Mohamed, and CEO of IITFC, Hani Salem Sonbol.

STO said “the trade facility will be utilized to purchase oil and staple foods. ITFC said the facility is an important contribution to efforts to revive the country's economy.”

MALE, 04 September 2021, (TON): 0ver 50,000 people have signed the petition calling for a constitutional referendum to switch from a presidential system to a parliamentary system.

The petition was drafted up by the renowned lawyer Ahmed Nishan who had spoken to media regarding it, noting that they have attained many signatories whereas efforts were currently underway to record the details of the signatories to one system.

He had said “from the information I have received over 50,000 people have signed as of now. We have received many forms from the islands as well. Currently working on entering the information into a system. We will be able to identify whether there are repeated signatories this way.”

Speaking further, Nishan noted that the petition has been well received at the atolls as well and subsequently many forms have been sent to the atolls in order to get more signatories. Forms that have already been signed will soon be sent back as well.

He had said “the support is overwhelming. If we continue at this rate – we will soon reach the targeted number of signatures. This work will only be stopped when we reach the target.”

The aim of the petition is to collect 1,000,000 signatories within 100 days.

KATHMANDU, 04 September 2021, (TON): Six people died and two others have gone missing in a landslide that occurred in Parbat district.

The landslide had occurred at Durlung of Kushma Municipality and Modi Rural Municipality-5 following heavy rainfall.

Parbat District Administration, Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police, and locals have been involved in the search and rescue of the missing.

Meanwhile, National Assembly Chairperson Ganesh Prasad Timilsina extended tribute to those losing their lives in a landslide and expressed condolences to the bereaved families, saying he was deeply saddened by this incident.

COLOMBO, 04 September 2021, (TON): Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris met the Charge d’ Affaires of the Embassy of the State of Libya in Sri Lanka Amar A.M. Muftah, at the Foreign Ministry and discussed matters of mutual interest in the bilateral relations between the two countries.

The Libyan Charge d’ Affaires conveyed the felicitations of the Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs to Minister Peiris on his recent appointment as Foreign Minister.

Libyan Charge d’ Affaires Muftah briefed the Minister on the current situation in Libya, in particular the role of the interim caretaker government that has been in office since March 2021. He briefed on the preparations for the Presidential and Parliamentary elections to be held on 24 December 2021 and made a request for Sri Lanka to consider sending an election monitoring mission.

Foreign Minister Peiris recalled that Sri Lankans have enjoyed universal franchise since 1931, 17 years before independence.

He said that Sri Lanka, as a democracy is supportive of the efforts by Libya to further strengthen the democratic process and will consider this request.

KINSHASA, 03 Septermber 2021, (TON): At least four people were killed on a road in Ituri (northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo) by suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, who also set fire to a dozen vehicles that were supposed to be traveling in a secure convoy. About 20 people are still missing.

Axperts from the Kivu Security Barometer (KST) said on Twitter “an attack occurred this morning on National Road 4, near Ofai (Irumu territory). More than a dozen vehicles were burned. The final human toll is not yet known."

He told “the convoy was escorted by peacekeepers from the UN Mission in the DRC (Monusco) and the army, said Dieudonné Malangayi, a local civil society leader. "It was at around 10 a.m. that the ADF rebels cut the convoy in the middle, they attacked the vehicles."

SANA'A, 03 Septermber 2021, (TON): Military officials said that at least 140 Houthi fighters were killed in fierce clashes with Yemeni government troops in the central province of Marib.

The casualties came on the fifth consecutive day of heavy fighting as the group intensified its attacks on government positions in an attempt to break through defenses and capture the city of Marib.

Backed by Arab coalition warplanes, Yemeni army officials said government forces had succeeded in fending off the latest assaults.

Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has pledged to challenge Iran’s bid to spread its revolutionary beliefs and undermine the security of Yemen.

The current escalation started on Saturday with the Houthis’ push toward Marib. Non-stop fighting over the past 24 hours, coupled with more than 41 sorties by coalition jets targeting dozens of enemy reinforcements and equipment, had resulted in major losses for the militant group.

Yahiya Al-Hatemi, director of the Yemeni army’s military media, told Arab News: “These are the most aggressive battles during the last five years. The Yemeni army has pushed back all of the attacks.”

He said that on Wednesday the coalition’s warplanes destroyed six vehicles carrying dozens of Houthis. “If we counted the Houthis who were killed in the airstrikes, the number would be more than 140.”

ADDIS ABABA, 03 Septermber 2021, (TON): The lives of millions of Ethiopians in the north of the country are under threat as aid supplies are not reaching the conflict-hit area, the UN has said.

In a stark warning, it said that there was in effect an aid blockade on the Tigray region.

A spokesperson for the government has denied that supplies are being halted.

Ten months of fighting between the federal army and its allies and Tigray rebel forces has left many in desperate need of assistance.

Grant Leaity, the UN's acting humanitarian coordinator for Ethiopia, said "the lives of millions of civilians depend on our capacity to reach them with food, nutrition supplies, medicine and other critical assistance."

The UN estimates that 5.2 million people need urgent assistance if "the world's worst famine situation in decades" is to be averted.

According to Mr Leaity “although aid can now move more easily than before within Tigray itself, there is a problem getting aid trucks into the region.”

The only viable land route at the moment is through the neighbouring Afar region, but he says that logistical and bureaucratic hold-ups have led to long delays.

Aid workers say that 100 trucks carrying provisions need to get into Tigray every day but not a single one has got through since 22 August.

NEW YORK, 03 Septermber 2021, (TON): Flash flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida killed at least 41 people in the New York area overnight into, including several who perished in their basements during the “historic” weather event that officials blamed on climate change.

Record rainfall, which prompted an unprecedented flash flood emergency warning for New York City, turned streets into rivers and shut down subway services as water cascaded down platforms onto tracks.

Metodija MiHajjlov whose basement of his Manhattan restaurant was flooded with three inches of water, said “I’m 50 years old and I’ve never seen that much rain ever.”

He told media “it was like living in the jungle, like tropical rain. Unbelievable. Everything is so strange this year.”

Hundreds of flights were canceled at LaGuardia and JFK airports, as well as at Newark, where video showed a terminal inundated by rainwater.

President Joe Biden said “we’re all in this together. The nation is ready to help.”

Flooding closed major roads across New Jersey and New York boroughs including Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens, submerging cars and forcing the fire department to rescue hundreds of people.

KABUL, 03 Septermber 2021, (TON): Taliban forces and fighters loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud fought in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley, with each side saying it had inflicted heavy casualties in recent days of combat in the last province resisting Taliban rule.

Following the fall of Kabul on August 15, several thousand fighters from Taliban and the remnants of army and special forces units have massed in Panjshir.

Under the leadership of Ahmad Massoud, son of a former Mujahideen commander, they have been holding out in the province, a steep valley that makes attacks from outside difficult.

Efforts to negotiate a settlement appear to have broken down, with each side blaming the other for the failure of talks as the Taliban prepared to announce a government.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said “the group's fighters had entered Panjshir and taken control of some territory.”

“We started operations after negotiation with the local armed group failed,” he said. “They suffered heavy losses.”

However, a spokesman for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, a grouping of rebels, said it had full control of all passes and entrances and had driven back efforts to take Shotul district at the entrance to the valley.