NAYPYITAW, 10 August 2021, (TON): According to sources in the region “Myanmar’s military has turned to local militia groups for help in its efforts to eliminate People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) active in southern Shan State. “

On the morning of August 7, seven military vehicles from the army’s Eastern Command headquarters in Taunggyi arrived in Namsang to meet with the leader of the Mat Kyeng militia, which is based in the town.

The Namsang resident said “They said the protests have calmed down now, but they want reinforcements in case there’s an emergency.”

The Mat Kyeng militia is one of many such armed groups operating around the country. Like most, it is under the command of the Myanmar military, but active only within its own area.

The source said that it wasn’t clear how many reinforcements the military wanted, but added that the militia’s leader, Linn Sein, was told to have them “on standby”.

According to Southern Shan State Generations (SSSG), a PDF based in the area, the junta has been pressuring local militias to “clear the territory” of resistance fighters.

DHAKA, 10 August 2021, (TON): The foreign secretary said that there can be nothing more important than the elimination of the scourge of terrorism and ethnic strife.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said “the United Nations should step up efforts at this critical juncture in Afghanistan as Bangladesh does not want to see people in Afghanistan suffer anymore.”

He said "while we welcome peace talks involving important players, I think, the United Nations as a neutral broker should step up efforts at this critical juncture. Bangladesh wants to see a fellow South Asian State, a fellow member of Saarc and its people remain free from any sufferings.”

Bangladesh thinks the strengthening of democratic institutions, including endogenous ones and unimpeded socio-economic development in Afghanistan, with the active participation of the international community remain important.

The Foreign Secretary said "the daunting task ahead is to build an efficient public service delivery system suitable for the Afghan people given the geography and ethnic divide and millennium old, decentralized structure."   

Masud Momen was addressing a webinar titled "Current Afghan Situation and Bangladesh" organized by North-South University.

BERLIN, 09 August 2021, (TON): German prosecutors have launched formal investigations into whether two regional officials failed to properly warn residents ahead of last month's floods that killed 141 people and injured hundreds more.

Prosecutors in the western city of Koblenz said that investigations so far against the regional administrator in the nearby Ahrweiler county had confirmed an "initial suspicion" of negligent homicide and negligent bodily harm.

At least 141 people died and more than 700 were injured in the Ahr valley on the night of July 14-15. Dozens more died in other parts of western Germany and neighbouring Belgium.

Prosecutors said “a second member of the crisis management team, who was in charge of the emergency operation for at least part of the night, is also being investigated.

Residents of the flood-hit towns reported receiving little advance warning of the severe flood that occurred on the night, with some claiming that information from authorities was unclear or entirely absent.

Meanwhile, estimates of the disaster's economic cost continued to rise.

The economy minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Andreas Pinkwart, said the damage in his state alone is expected to run to between 15 billion and 20 billion euros.

ATHENS, 09 August 2021, (TON): Wildfires are continuing to rip through the Greek island of Evia with strong winds driving flames towards villages.

More than 2,000 people have already been evacuated from the island, many of those by ferry.

A number of wildfires have struck the country in recent days. One blaze in the northern suburb of Athens is said to have subsided.

Greece is experiencing its most severe heatwave in 30 years in which temperatures have spiked to 45C (113F).

Heatwaves such as this are becoming more likely and more extreme because of human-induced climate change. The subsequent hot, dry weather is likely to fuel wildfires.

On Evia, two fire fronts have destroyed thousands of hectares of land, along with a number of houses and businesses.

KABUL, 09 August 2021, (TON): Local sources said that the Jawzjan provincial council head has surrendered to the Taliban along with 20 supporters.

Maulvi Abdul Hai Hayat, a member of the provincial council, confirmed that Babur Ishchi had joined the insurgents.

He said “some of my friends and the National Directorate of Security head told me that the provincial council chairman surrendered to the Taliban along with his men on Saturday evening.”

Meanwhile, Qamaruddin, giving an eyewitness account, said the militants took Babur Ishchi with them to Shiberghan from Khwaja Do Koh district.

He added “two or three other people and I, who were with the chairman of the council, stayed in Khwaja Do koh district.”

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah also said that the provincial council had surrendered along with 20 of his men with weapons.

WASHINGTON, 09 August 2021, (TON): The United States Senate has moved closer to passing a $1 trillion infrastructure package after lawmakers from both parties came together and voted to clear a key procedural hurdle, but the action soon stalled out as opponents tried to slow the rush to approve one of President Joe Biden’s top priorities.

The measure would provide a massive injection of federal money for a range of public works programmes, from roads and bridges to broadband internet access, drinking water and others.

In a rare stroke of bipartisanship, Republicans joined Democrats during the weekend session on Saturday to overcome the 60-vote threshold needed to advance the measure towards final votes. The vote was 67-27.

If approved, the bill would go to the House of Representatives.

But momentum dragged as opponents refused to yield 30 hours of required debate before the next procedural vote, which could delay swift passage of the package and result in a days-long slog.

ISLAMABAD, 09 August 2021, (TON): At least two policemen were martyred and 12 others injured in an explosion near Quetta's Serena Hotel on Sunday evening.

Six civilians were also wounded in the blast that targeted a vehicle carrying 15 policemen near Tanzeem Chowk, Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said in a statement.

He said “the improvised explosive device (IED) was fitted into a motorcycle.

The injured were shifted to hospital, where an emergency was imposed, while Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) teams were at the scene.

Shahwani condemned the attack, saying "terrorists want to disturb Balochistan's peace and spread fear."

He added "we will bring to justice the elements trying to create disturbance in peaceful Balochistan."

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan also condemned the attack and expressed sadness over the martyrdom of the two police personnel.

WASHINGTON, 09 August 2021, (TON): The US ordered its nationals to leave Afghanistan “immediately” as the Taliban widened control over several areas, taking over two towns from Afghan government forces.

the US mission said in a statement “The US Embassy urges US citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately using available commercial flight options.”

It added that given the security conditions and reduced staffing, the embassy’s ability to assist US citizens in Afghanistan is extremely limited even within Kabul.

It follows a similar warning by Britain asking its nationals to “confirm their departure plans as soon as possible,” citing the “worsening security situation” in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have overrun dozens of districts, and border crossings with Pakistan, Iran and Central Asia, since the drawdown of US-led troops from Afghanistan began on May 1 to end nearly 20 years of occupation.

The group’s advances have sparked concerns it will regain power by force similar to its move in the 1990s, amid fears that the war-scarred nation could descend into another civil war when foreign troops complete their exit by month-end.

COLOMBO, 09 August 2021, (TON): Sri Lanka is the best in South Asia as regards efforts being made to mitigate the effects of the climate emergency, Ken O’Flaherty, says Ambassador for Asia-Pacific and the South Asia Region at the United Nations Office for Climate Change (COP26).

Ambassador O’Flaherty said “so when he met Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister Environment, and Ministry Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe last Friday. He was accompanied by Andrew Price, Head of the Prosperity Unit, British High Commission in Colombo.

The Ambassador invited the Minister of Environment and the Ministry Secretary to represent Sri Lanka at the International Conference on COP 26 Climate Change to be held in Belgrade in November this year.

The Ambassador also briefed the Minister on the manner in which the Sri Lankan government had implemented the decisions taken by the United Nations Conference on Climate Change to Prevent the Impact of Climate Change.

The Minister said that a number of policy decisions had been taken so far to tackle a number of issues that could contribute to climate change, in line with the Prosperity Vision Policy Statement presented by the current President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

CAIRO, 09 August 2021, (TON): Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met Iraqi Defense Minister Juma Inad Saadoun and discussed issues of common interest with him.

The official spokesman for the presidency said “the minister conveyed a message from Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and that the message included appreciation for Egyptian efforts in support of Iraqi issues.”

The message said “Iraq was looking forward to strengthening cooperation with Egypt and considered its role a strategic depth for the Arab nation.”

Al-Kadhimi stressed that the main challenges were combating terrorism and achieving security, stability and development.

According to the spokesman, El-Sisi affirmed Egypt's keenness to cooperate with Iraq in all fields and pledged to continue working on issues that would achieve the interests of Iraq and its people at various levels, help it overcome all challenges, combat terrorism, and maintain its security and stability.