N'DJAMENA, 13 August 2021, (TON): Chad marks 61 years of independence with a large military parade in N'Djamena in the presence of Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, president of the Transitional Military Council (TMC)since the death of his father Idriss Déby Itno in April.

The Chadian army, considered as one of the leading armies in the region, demonstrated its strength by deploying a number of artillery.

The heavy artillery composed of tanks, armored vehicles, long-range guns and other combat vehicles were displayed during this military parade. The army also flew some 20 aircraft, including Russian-made helicopters and attack aircraft.

Dressed as a four-star general, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno was in the front row of the main gallery, surrounded by the 14 generals

Youssouf Mahamat Yaro, Mayor of the second district of N'Djamena said "we have seen a massive turnout of people. You know that the transition is the military, and everyone has come to show their support, a very special endorsement. This shows quite clearly that the CMT (Transitional Military Council) is 200% accepted, I repeat - 200%."

KABUL, 13 August 2021, (TON): A government negotiating source told media that Afghan government negotiators in Qatar have offered the Taliban a power-sharing deal in return for an end to fighting in the country.

The source said “yes, the government has submitted a proposal to Qatar as mediator. The proposal allows the Taliban to share power in return for a halt in violence in the country.”

A government source also told media that the Afghan government offered the Taliban a share in power so long as the rising violence in the country comes to a halt.

US special envoy for Afghanistan Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad is in Qatar for an international meeting on the escalating situation in Afghanistan.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price earlier said that two key meetings were being held in Doha this week, bringing together representatives from Afghanistan, the region and beyond and from multilateral organisations.

Price had said “the participants will press for a reduction in violence, a ceasefire and a “commitment by the part of these regional and broader governments and multilateral and international institutions not to recognise any government that is imposed by force.”

Khalilzad is representing Washington in the talks in Doha.

Pakistan has sent its special envoy Muhammad Sadiq and its ambassador to Kabul, Mansoor Khan. The Afghan government delegation is being led by Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation.

SANA'A, 13 August 2021, (TON): The Houthi militia in Yemen on Wednesday sacked hundreds of security officers and ordered them to be put on trial for supporting the internationally recognized government of Yemen and Arab coalition military operations in the country.

The militia’s Supreme Police Council approved the firing of 904 security officers and referred their names to the courts, accusing them of being renegades after joining the Yemeni government and supporting the Arab coalition.

Houthi officials say that the latest sacking of the officers is part of a campaign to clear their security and military bodies of “infiltrators.”

WASHINGTON, 13 August 2021, (TON): Polish lawmakers advanced a bill on Wednesday that the opposition says aims to silence a U.S.-owned news channel critical of the government, leading to a swift denunciationfrom the United States, one of Warsaw’s most important allies.

Washington had warned that failure to renew the licence of Discovery-owned news channel TVN24 could jeopardise future investments in Poland, while opposition politicians have condemned the bill as an attack on media freedoms.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was “deeply troubled” by passage of the bill by the lower house of parliament, which he said targeted the most-watched independent news station in Poland and one of the largest U.S. investments in the country.

Blinken said in a statement “large U.S. commercial investments in Poland tie our prosperity together and enhance our collective security,” he said. “This draft legislation threatens media freedom and could undermine Poland’s strong investment climate.”

The media bill would strengthen a ban on firms from outside the European Economic Area controlling Polish broadcasters. It passed with 228 votes in favour, 216 against and 10 abstentions, and will now go to the upper house of parliament, the Senate.

 ISLAMABAD, 13 August 2021, (TON): Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that Pakistan on Thursday conducted a successful training launch of surface-to-surface nuclear-capable ballistic missile Ghaznavi.

According to a statement “the training launch was aimed at ensuring operational readiness of Army Strategic Forces Command (ASFC) and re-validating technical parameters of the weapon system.”

As per the military’s media wing, missile Ghaznavi is capable of delivering multiple types of warheads up to a range of 290 kilometres.

The launch of the ballistic missiles was witnessed by Commander Army Strategic Forces Command Lt Gen Muhammad Ali; senior officers from Strategic Plans Division, Army Strategic Forces Command and scientists and engineers of strategic organisations.

Gen Ali appreciated the excellent standard of training, handling of the weapon system and execution of the launch mission in the field by troops.

The president, prime minister, chairman joint chiefs of staff committee and the services chiefs also congratulated all ranks of ASFC, scientists and engineers on the successful conduct of the launch.

TEL AVIV, 13 August 2021, (TON): Israel and Morocco plan to upgrade their restored diplomatic relations and open embassies within several months, Israel's foreign minister said during a visit to the North African kingdom.

Morocco was one of four Arab countries - along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan - to move towards normalising relations with Israel last year under US-engineered accords.

Those agreements also saw Washington recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, in a diplomatic boon for Rabat.

Yair Lapid told a news conference "we are going to upgrade from liaison offices to embassies."

In similar comments to Israeli reporters accompanying him on a two-day trip that began on Wednesday, Lapid was quoted as saying that he had agreed with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita that the embassies would open in two months' time.

There was no immediate confirmation of Lapid's remarks by Morocco.

NAYPYITAW, 13 August 2021, (TON): According to local sources “a shooting in the fourth ward of Myingyan, Mandalay Region killed a one-year-old girl and injured her father and another passerby.”

The identity of the perpetrators had not been confirmed at the time of reporting, but eyewitnesses accused the armed guards stationed outside the home of local junta-appointed administrator Tun Tun Oo—three doors down from the victims’ house of firing the shots.

Locals said that Tun Tun Oo is known to carry a gun and to have three armed guards in front of his house at all times.

A resident of the ward said that two plainclothes men arrived outside the house of 29-year-old Nyein Chan, the infant girl’s father, about whom little was known at the time of reporting and fired shots in front of the residence.

The eyewitness said “he believed the men were members of the administrator’s security team.”

He told media “There were guards in front of Tun Tun Oo’s house—I think they were the ones who shot them. They were saying that they had to shoot them because they were ‘acting suspicious’.”

WASHINGTON, 13 August 2021, (TON): The United States urged US citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately using available commercial flight options, a notice on the website of US Embassy in Kabul said, amid a speedy Taliban advance across the country.

Taliban fighters captured the strategic Afghan city of Ghazni. This took them to within 150km (95 miles) of Kabul, the latest in their rapid takeover as the United States withdraws its troops from the country, leaving the Afghan government to fight the group on its own.

A notice on the embassy's website said "The US Embassy urges US citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately using available commercial flight options," and that notice warned Americans about the capability of the mission at this time in serving citizens.

The notice said "given the security conditions and reduced staffing, the Embassy’s ability to assist US citizens in Afghanistan is extremely limited even within Kabul."

DHAKA, 13 August 2021, (TON): Canada has announced 45 million Canadian dollars to support the most vulnerable population of Bangladesh over the next five years.

Canadian Minister for International Development Karina Gould made the announcement during a virtual visit to see impacts of Brac's urban development programme.

Gould also met with young women engaged in skills training, healthcare workers supporting soon-to-be-mothers. Brac Executive Director Asif Saleh accompanied her.

Canada's support of CAD 45 million will fund Brac-led multi-sector initiatives, including programme on skills and vocational training and public health outreach tailored to reach children and families that are unable to access the services they need.

A joint statement by Global Affairs Canada said that with this contribution, Canada joins the Strategic Partnership Agreement, a long-term tripartite partnership with Brac and the Government of Australia, which is closely aligned with Canada's Feminist International Assistance Policy and is built on Brac's longstanding women-centred development approach.

Karina Gould said "together, we must continue to push forward and seek out those hardest to reach, including marginalized women and children.”

Asif Saleh said they were delighted to welcome Global Affairs Canada as one of our strategic partners and that this partnership couldn't come at a more critical time.

NEW DELHI, 13 August 2021, (TON): Indian rocket carrying a powerful earth observation satellite failed to fire fully, the state-run space agency said, in a setback for the country’s space programme.

The satellite, meant for quick monitoring of natural disasters such as cyclones, cloudbursts and thunderstorms, was launched on a geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) at 0013 GMT, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in southern India.

The Indian Space Research Organisation said “but while the liftoff was smooth, the rocket failed in its final phase.”

ISRO said “performance of first and second stages was normal. However, Cryogenic Upper Stage ignition did not happen due to technical anomaly. The mission couldn’t be accomplished as intended.”

It did not say what happened to the GSLV spacecraft and the EOS-03 satellite it was meant to place in a geostationary orbit nearly 36,000km (22,500 miles) above the equator.

Scientists had mounted a large telescope on the satellite to look down on the Indian subcontinent.