MALE, 23 July 2021, (TON): President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has paid a courtesy call to the President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa during his ongoing unofficial private visit to Sri Lanka.

The courtesy call took place this morning at the Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka, in Colombo.

In concluding the call, both the leaders reaffirmed their mutual commitment to further strengthen the bilateral relations between Maldives and Sri Lanka.

President Solih was accompanied at the meeting by the High Commissioner of Maldives to Sri Lanka Omar Abdul Razzak and the Maldives' Special Envoy for Climate Change Sabra Noordeen.

President Solih and First Lady Fazna Ahmed departed to Sri Lanka on an unofficial private visit last Tuesday. They are both due to return tomorrow.

ADDIS ABABA, 23 July 2021, (TON): Attacks by Tigrayan forces in Ethiopia’s Afar region have forced more than 54,000 people from their homes, an official said, as tens of thousands of people rallied in the capital to support the prime minister.

According to Afar regional spokesperson Ahmed Koloyta “Tigrayan fighters, who want the Ethiopian government to accept their terms before talks on a cease-fire could begin, have taken control of three districts in Afar this week.”

The region is of strategic importance because the main road and railway linking Addis Ababa, landlocked Ethiopia’s capital, to the sea port of Djibouti run through it.

Ahmed quoted some of the displaced people as saying Tigrayan fighters had burned houses, looted properties and killed civilians.

He provided no evidence and Reuters could not verify his claims independently.

Getachew Reda, spokesman for the Tigrayan forces, did not immediately return calls seeking comment on the accusations.

DHAKA, 23 July 2021, (TON): Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has congratulated Sher Bahadur Deuba, the newly-appointed prime minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.

Sheikh Hasina said in a statement “your return to the high position for the fifth time and the overwhelming support extended to you by the Parliament of Nepal on July 18 is a testimony to the trust and confidence the people and the political leadership of Nepal have on your leadership.”

She said “as close neighbours, Bangladesh and Nepal enjoy excellent bilateral ties that are based on multiple commonalities and shared linkages.”

The PM expressed her deep confidence that under Mr Deuba’s able leadership, the existing multifarious cooperation between Bangladesh and Nepal would deepen further through exploring the untapped opportunities in potential sectors of collaboration.

She fondly recalled the recent state visit by the president of Nepal, Devi Bhandari, to Bangladesh, which added immense value to our celebrations of the twin epochal events of the Birth Centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee of the independence of Bangladesh.

Sheikh Hasina said that Bangladesh was on its way to translating the dream of the Father of the Nation for “Sonar Bangla” into a reality by becoming a developing economy by 2021 and a developed economy by 2041.

She invited Nepal to benefit from the socio-economic development of Bangladesh and look forward to working closely for mutual benefit.

SANA'A, 23 July 2021, (TON): Security officials said that flooding in Yemen killed at least 14 people this week after nonseasonal rainstorms hit parts of the country.

The provinces of Al-Mahrah, Hadramawt, Shabwa, Abeen and Jouf in the south and east of Yemen have seen instances of flooding.

In Shabwa, local officials said “a father and daughter are believed to have drowned after swiftly moving waters carried their car away.”

Searchers had only recovered the body of the father.

The storms are not seasonal for the south and the east of Yemen, which is usually dry this time of year.

The country’s northwestern highlands experience seasonal rain from late spring through early fall.

The storms also damaged crops, roads, and telecommunications infrastructure.

Yemen’s weather service warned that the rest of the country should be prepared for more rain in the coming two days.

MALE, 23 July 2021, (TON): Elections Commission has opened online voter re-registration for Women’s Development Committee by-elections in five electoral districts.

WDC members have yet to be elected in 10 districts. Elections Commission has announced online voter re-registration is now open for by-elections in five of the districts; HDh. Nolhivaram, K. Dhiffushi, AA. Feridhoo, R. Kendhikulhudhoo, and N. Magoodhoo.

Elections Commission spokesperson Fuad Thaufeeq told Sun that voters who wish to re-register in polling stations in a different location than they originally registered for in the April elections can apply for re-registration online starting this Thursday.

It marks the first time for Elections Commission to allow online voter re-registration.

Voters can re-register through the online portal set up by Elections Commission.

Fuad said “voters will need to submit a copy of an unexpired official identification document they will use to vote when submitting their re-registration form through the portal. However, the [Department of] National Registration has informed EC that the expiry date of ID cards have been extended to August 31. Therefore, we will also accept expired ID cards.”

The deadline for re-registration is July 26.

KATHMANDU, 23 July 2021, (TON): At least two people have been losing lives in rain-related incidents every day across the country this monsoon season.

Government data on the loss and damage caused by the ongoing monsoon in its first month show that 61 people have died in rain-related incidents in various districts.

According to the First Monthly Report on Monsoon 2021 of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority released on Tuesday, 61 people lost their lives between June 11 and July 15.

The authority’s data show “of the total deaths, 28 were due to floods, 26 were caused by landslides and the remaining seven were due to heavy rainfall.”

Bishwa Prakash Aryal, joint secretary and spokesperson for the authority, said that the impact of the monsoon has been devastating, There have been more such monsoon-related incidents in the first month as compared to the first month of the last year, although human casualties were much higher in 2020.

Last year’s monsoon was the deadliest in several years, with the country recording 305 rain-related incidents that killed 106 people, left 46 missing and 95 injured in the first month, between June 14 and July 14.

TUNIS, 23 July 2021, (TON): Tunisian Red Crescent said that at least 17 Bengali migrants drowned off Tunisia’s coast while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

Munji Salim of the Tunisian Red Crescent said in a statement “coast guards, in cooperation with the Libyan Navy, also managed to rescue 366 other migrants after their boat broke out off Tunisia’s Zarzis coast.”

The migrant boat set off from Libyan shores to Europe with around 400 migrants, mostly from Bangladesh, on board along with migrants from Syria, Mali, Eritrea and Sudan.

DAMASCUS, 23 July 2021, (TON): At least seven civilians, including children, were killed and three others were wounded in a regime attack on Syria’s northwestern Idlib province early.

According to the Syria Civil Defense, or White Helmets, the regime and supporting terror groups conducted an attack on the Iblin village, south of Idlib, with ground-to-ground weapons.

Three children and a woman were among those killed in the attack. The injured were taken to local hospitals.

Warcrafts allegedly belonging to Russia conducted an airstrike on the southern villages of al-Bara, Ehsim and the Mareian in the wee hours of the morning, according to an observatory of the opposing forces.

Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia in March 2020.

The Syrian regime, however, has consistently violated the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.

Syria has been mired in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

KABUL, 23 July 2021, (TON): Officials said “at least five children were killed in a mortar attack in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province that borders Pakistan.”

The provincial administration said in a statement that the attack occurred in the Spin Ghar district when three mortars hit a residential house.

According to District Governor Mohammad Yaseen “the mortar shells were fired by pro-Daesh militants.”

He told Anadolu Agency two children were injured in the attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Taliban insurgents, however, blamed government forces for the deadly attack. Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said six children were killed.

The attack came as President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani was visiting the province. Ghani has been on tour in some of the most restive provinces where the Taliban have made rapid advances since an exit plan was announced by US President Joe Biden.

A defiant Ghani said earlier this week that a strategy to bring security to the country was tabled because the Taliban seemed unwilling to make peace.

He said “in a traditional Muslim holiday address after offering prayers at the presidential palace, the Taliban are not abiding their promises. They have not shown up for meaningful talks, but speaking via swords and the language of crude force.”

On Tuesday, at least three rockets fell near the presidential palace, the Arg, in Kabul during Eid al-Adha prayers attended by Ghani and other senior officials.

NEW DELHI, 23 July 2021, (TON): Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla is set to embark on a two-day visit to the United Kingdom (UK) to further India's bilateral ties with the nation as per Roadmap 2030, a 10-year diplomatic coordination strategy between New Delhi and London, the Union ministry of external affairs (MEA) said.

According to an official release “the foreign secretary will discuss a host of issues with his counterparts in the UK, including the implementation of the said roadmap and the evolving situation in Afghanistan.”

MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said "during the visit, the foreign secretary will meet with his counterparts and conduct a detailed review of bilateral relations with particular focus on the implementation of the 2030 Roadmap."

Roadmap 2030 for India-UK future relations was launched during the virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his English counterpart Boris Johnson in May.

The partnership agreement envisions "revitalised and dynamic connections" over the next decade between the two countries in the spheres of trade, investment, technology, climate action, and health. Moreover, the plan aims to boost India-UK defence and security cooperation in the Indian Ocean and the Indo-Pacific regions.