CAIRO, 17 April, 2021 (TON): As the mega dam dispute is going nowhere, Sudan's prime minister has invited his Egyptian and Ethiopian counterparts for a closed meeting discussion.

It comes after talks hosted by the African Union on Tuesday, between Cairo and Adis Ababa failed to reach a binding agreement over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the filling of its vast reservoir.

Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti, "The case of the water issue cannot be solved through this. It will not be solved through war. At war, you don't know the setting and the final destination. It is harmful."

"We have to solve this in a modern way, through discussion, and a diplomatic manner, and this is a very thoughtful and useful way of thinking," he added.

The statement said the planned summit will be held by videoconference.

However, ever since construction began in 2011, Egypt has regarded the dam as an existential threat to its water supplies, while Sudan fears its own dams would be harmed if Ethiopia fills the reservoir without a deal.

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ANKARA, 17 April, 2021 (TON): On Friday, a series of regional issues during a phone conversation were discussed between the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg, the presidential office announced.

The developments in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean regions; the latest situations in Libya and Afghanistan; and the crisis between Russia and Ukraine were addressed between the two leaders, the media reported.

 The new government in Libya should be given support in the fields of security and defense, and the support for Afghanistan should continue with NATO's capacity and capabilities, Erdogan noted.

While, discussions on the crisis between Russia and Ukraine were also made into focus, in a way that it should be solved through dialogue based on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the Minsk agreements.

COLOMBO, 17 April, 2021 (TON): Act would be a turning point for the country’s economy as it would facilitate investment in the port city, the State Minister of Finance Ajith Nivard Cabraal  said while defending against the criticism that the Colombo Port City would become a colony of China through the proposed Port City Economic Commission Bill.

The Minister noted, “Jurisdiction is exercised through the Port Commission law. Not that they are released from all jurisdiction, they are to comply with the laws of the country through the Port Commission Act, not any other Act.”

The Bill, ‘Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act’, provides legal framework for setting up of Special Economic Zone (SEZ) within the Colombo Port City and proposes the establishment of a Commission empowered to grant registrations, licenses, authorizations, and other approvals to carry on businesses and other activities in the Special Economic Zone.

He said the proposed bill would make investing in the Port City more convenient and attractive for the investors and the bill has been presented in Parliament in order to attract more investors.

Moreover, the State Minister said the businessmen operating within the Port City would be exempt of usual tax laws of the country such as Inland Revenue Act, Value Added Tax Act, Finance Act, Excise Provisions, and Debit Tax Act and businesses operating within the area would be tax exempt.

MOSCOW, 17 April, 2021 (TON): The Russian Foreign Ministry named the US attorney general, the secretary of homeland security, the FBI director and the director of national intelligence in no-entry list.

Moscow would also restrict the activities of organizations and foundations from the US, to make sure they don't interfere in the country's internal affairs, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

The move came in response to United States’ launched diplomatic and financial offensives against Russian officials and businesses on Thursday over election-meddling and Moscow-linked cyber hacks and the diplomats expelled by the U.S. include five members of the Russian intelligence services. 

However, Lavrov also recommended that U.S. Ambassador John Sullivan return home for consultations in Washington, according to the Interfax news agency. 

While, Moscow had earlier withdrew its ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, from Washington. 

ISLAMABAD, 16 April, 2021 (TON): On Friday, the government of Pakistan appointed a new Finance Minister in shake-up of the government’s economic team, the prime minister’s office said.

As the government enters a key period of budget-making and implementation of IMF reforms, Shaukat Tarin, was named as the new Finance Minister.

Shaukat Tarin, a former banker, had held the finance minister portfolio in a previous government.

His predecessor, Hammad Azhar, held the portfolio for less than three weeks.

However, other key economy-related ministries, the economic affairs and power portfolios also got shuffled by PM Imran Khan

THIMPHU, 16 April, 2021 (TON): The 1,800 students of Class XI who would be enrolled in 20 private schools on government scholarships, this year could be the last batch.

This is because the government, starting next year, plans to take in all students who are awarded the “pass certificate” in government schools.

This also means there will be no students on government scholarships in private schools.

The government will absorb 9,849 students in 65 public higher secondary schools with about 291 sections this year.

An official from the private division said that a few schools were upgraded with additional infrastructures to create extra classrooms to accommodate extra students this year.

“If we create a similar extension by next year where constructions are already underway in three schools, we shall be able to take in all students by next year,” he said. “Then this year will be the last batch private schools would be getting students.”

However, although there is no formal letter that this will be the last batch, the government had already indicated since the beginning that the distribution of students will decrease yearly and the government would absorb all students in public schools by 2022.

COLOMBO, 16 April, 2021 (TON): Former Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, leader of the United National Party (UNP) most likely swear-in as an MP next month.

His swear-in will fill the party’s vacant National List seat in parliament, UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardena said.

The party has taken a unanimous decision that Ranil Wickremesinghe should take the sole National List seat allocated for the party, the chairman stated while participating in the inauguration ceremony of the UNP office in Galle in the New Year.

However, the chairman asserted that UNP is a party which is prepared to change its political strategies to suit the contemporary political setup of the country.

JAKARTA, 16 April, 2021 (TON): To discuss the political crisis in Myanmar following 1 February military coup, the leaders of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) are expected to meet in the Indonesian capital Jakarta next week, an official source said on Friday.

The summit is to be held in person in Jakarta on 24 April, said the source close to the Indonesian President.

"All the 10 countries are expected to be represented," the source added.

In the wake of the military crackdown on anti-coup protesters in Myanmar, the Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for a summit of the 10-member Asean bloc last month, the media reported.

However, since February, more than 700 people have been killed by Myanmar's security forces as protests broke out after the coup that deposed former de facto leader Aung San Su Kyi's civilian government.

SEOUL, 16 April, 2021 (TON): On Friday, the South Korean President Moon Jae-in nominated former Interior Minister Kim Boo-kyum as the new Prime Minister during a cabinet reshuffle, the presidential Blue House said.

If the nomination is approved in the parliamentary confirmation hearings, Kim will become the third Prime Minister of the Moon government, which was inaugurated in May 2017.

The President also replaced five other Ministers.

However, the cabinet reshuffle came after Moon's ruling Democratic Party was routed in the 7 April mayoral by-elections for the capital Seoul and the second-biggest city of Busan.

JEDDAH, 16 April, 2021 (TON): Saudi Arabia ranked 16th of 55 countries in the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) that ended on Thursday.

The Kingdom rose10 places from last year and won four medals.

Each country involved in the competition is represented by a team of four female mathematicians of school age.

This year’s EGMO was hosted by Georgia, but held remotely due to the pandemic.
Saudi Arabia was represented by four students who have all been members of programs run by the King Abdul Aziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) and have received thousands of training hours and attended several training camps.

However, in the past, Saudi teams have won 20 medals at the EGMO. This year, Rafaa Qanash from Jeddah won a silver medal, while Lara Munqal from Jeddah, Joud Bahwini from Yanbu, and Fatima Al-Ghanam from Al-Ahsa all won bronze medals.