NAYPAITAW, 28 July 2021, (TON): Six members of the junta’s forces surrendered to fighters from the Chinland Defence Force (CDF) and joined the anti-coup resistance during a raid on a police station in Mindat Township, Chin State.

The CDF said “they were able to capture the police station in the small, remote town of M’kuiimnu without firing a shot and that three soldiers, including a captain, and three police officers agreed to join the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).

“They just asked them if they wanted to fight or if they would take part in the CDM” a man who is close to the Mindat branch of the CDF told media. “We’re lucky that all of them were already leaning towards joining the CDM. Everything was sorted out without even needing to use guns.”

A spokesperson for the group said that the CDF fighters seized 22 guns including rifles and pistols, as well as rounds of ammunition.”

Captain Thein Hteik was among the soldiers who agreed to collaborate with the CDF, the spokesperson said, though he did not give further details about what that would entail.

RIYAD, 28 July 2021, (TON): U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking arrived in Saudi Arabia, where he will meet with senior officials from the Saudi and Republic of Yemen Governments.

Special Envoy Lenderking will discuss the growing consequences of the Houthi offensive on Marib, which is exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and triggering instability elsewhere in the country. 

The Special Envoy will address the urgent need for efforts by the Republic of Yemen Government and Saudi Arabia to stabilize Yemen’s economy and to facilitate the timely import of fuel to northern Yemen, and the need for the Houthis to end their manipulation of fuel imports and prices inside of Yemen.

Finally, Special Envoy Lenderking will meet with representatives from the international community and the UN Office of the Special Envoy for Yemen to discuss the importance of an inclusive peace process and a rapid appointment of a new UN Envoy.

KATHMANDU, 28 July 2021, (TON): Israel has decided to recruit 1,000 migrant workers from Nepal. The country has already sought applications from interested candidates. The Foreign Employment Promotion Board has issued a notice seeking the applications. Interested candidates need to apply within 21 days of the notice being published.

The notice has mentioned that people who are 25 years old but not older than 45 years can file their applications. Similarly, interested candidates must have also passed at least the Class 10 examinations and received training for care-giving.

Even though Nepal and Israel had signed an agreement quite some time back for the employment of Nepali migrants in the destination the Israeli government had been delaying the process on various pretexts.

MALE, 28 July 2021, (TON): Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has said the state received MVR 3 billion as Tourism GST and MVR 921 million as tourism land rent.

Statistics released by the ministry show MVR 3 billion was received as TGST by the end of June. This is a significant increase compared to the amount received during the same period last year. The Maldives received MVR 1.6 million as TGST during the same period last year.

MIRA said “MVR 921 million was received from resorts as tourism land rent by the end of June. MVR 366 million was received during the same period last year.”

MIRA also shared details of revenue generated through other tourism-related taxes. In this regard, MVR 398 million was received as Green Tax while MVR 18 million was received as Land Acquisition Fee.

MUSCAT, 28 July 2021, (TON): Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met in Muscat with Deputy Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalifa Al Harthy to discuss advancing peace and security in the region and our shared commitment to bolstering the U.S.- Oman bilateral relationship, including advancing new opportunities for trade and investment.

The Deputy Secretary also thanked the Deputy Foreign Minister for Oman’s role in mediating peace in the region and underscored the importance of an immediate, comprehensive ceasefire to help bring the war in Yemen to an end.

KATHMANDU, 28 July 2021, (TON): US Ambassador to Nepal, Randy Berry, paid a courtesy call on Minister for Finance Janardhan Sharma.

At the meeting held at the Ministry today, Minster Sharma extended gratefulness on behalf of the Government of Nepal noting the US cooperation received during the post-earthquake recovery.

Minister Sharma said that the government would pay attention to monitoring and expediting the implementation of the projects being run with US assistance.

Sharing that the US has been providing support to Nepal in the areas of health and education for the past 70 years, Ambassador Berry pledged to continue with this gesture of cooperation in the days to come.

The US had already aided 1.5 million doses of vaccine in Nepal's campaign on vaccination against coronavirus and is positive to lend further necessary support to this effect.

MALE, 28 July 2021, (TON): Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has departed on an official visit to Bulgaria.

The Foreign Ministry revealed that on his visit from July 27 to July 29, Minister Shahid will be paying a courtesy call on Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Svetlan Stoev to discuss ways to improve the relationship between the two countries.

The minister will also be calling upon the Bulgarian Minister of Tourism and other government officials. The Foreign Ministry revealed that opportunities in all fields will be considered in order to facilitate better relations between Bulgaria and Maldives.

DHAKA, 28 July 2021, (TON): Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud rejected Amnesty International's statement over the Digital Security Act saying the statement of the human rights organisation is motivated.

Talking to reporters at his residence in the capital, the minister also said “Amnesty International has lost its acceptability.”

Hassan said "Amnesty International has been issuing statements against Bangladesh and its government one after another.”

Amnesty International on Sunday in a statement said it has found a concerning pattern in which the Bangladeshi authorities are weaponising sections 25, 29 and 31 of the Digital Security Act to target and harass critical voices.

It said in a statement on its website “Amnesty International has found 134 of those cases that clearly specified the sections under the DSA. Eighty percent of those cases (or 107 out of 134) were filed under both sections 25 and 29 of the DSA.”

Amnesty International called on the Bangladeshi authorities to ensure that defamation was treated as a matter for civil litigation, not criminal, the statement said.

Hasan Mahmud said that Amnesty International didn't issue any statement when hundreds of people were killed by petrol bombs in Bangladesh. They had also issued statements in favour of war criminals.

BRUSSELS, 28 July 2021, (TON): The European Union strongly condemns Turkey’s unilateral steps and the unacceptable announcements made by the Turkish President and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community on 20 July 2021 on the further reopening of the fenced-off town of Varosha.

The EU welcomes the Statement made by the President of the UN Security Council on behalf of the Council on 23 July 2021, and in particular the Security Council’s condemnation and expression of deep regret about the unilateral actions in Varosha that run contrary to the Security Council’s previous resolutions and statements.

The EU equally calls for the immediate reversal of these actions and the reversal of all steps taken on Varosha since October 2020.

The EU continues to be guided by the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions with respect to Varosha, in particular Resolution 550 (1984) and Resolution 789 (1992), which consider attempts to settle any part of Varosha by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible, and which call for the transfer of that area to the administration of the United Nations.

No actions should be carried out in relation to Varosha that are not in accordance with those Resolutions. Full respect for and implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions also require an immediate end to restrictions imposed on the freedom of movement of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in the Varosha area. The EU continues to hold the Government of Turkey responsible for the situation in Varosha.

The EU once again underlines the need to avoid unilateral actions in breach of international law and renewed provocations, which could raise tensions on the island and compromise the ongoing efforts to seek common ground between the parties towards a lasting settlement of the Cyprus issue in line with relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.

COLOMBO, 28 July 2021, (TON): Foreign Ministry sources said that Sri Lanka has proposed holding the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) summit in early December. This will be the fifth such summit of the grouping. Sri Lanka is the currently the chair of the grouping and had earlier proposed holding the summit in August. The proposal had been made during a recent virtual meeting of BIMSTEC foreign ministers.

The last summit took place in Kathmandu in 2018, with Indian PM Narendra Modi and other regional leaders attending the meet. BIMSTEC has seven members —India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. The grouping is more than 20 years old and was formed in 1997.

During the BIMSTEC foreign ministers meeting which took place virtually, the agenda for the leaders’ meet was taken up.

Now, on the agenda will be the approval of the BIMSTEC Charter, BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity and BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters. The Grouping is also working on the finalisation of the BIMSTEC Coastal Shipping Agreement and the Motor Vehicles Agreement.