MONTREAL, 31 October 2022, (TON): Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marched with protesters in the Canadian capital of Ottawa Saturday in support of demonstrations that have swept Iran for more than 40 days.

Trudeau said “The women in Iran, daughters and the grandmothers and the allies they are not forgotten.”

Iran has been gripped by six weeks of protests that erupted when Mahsa Amini, 22, died in custody after her arrest for an alleged breach of Iran’s strict dress rules for women.

Trudeau said “we will stand with you. I’ll march with you, I will hold hands with you. We will continue to stand with this beautiful community.”

DHAKA, 31 October 2022, (TON): Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said “various unintended incidents including mortar blasts and violation of airspace have occurred inside Bangladesh due to the ongoing conflict inside Myanmar between its army and the insurgent Arakan Army.”

Momen said “this while replying to a question from ruling Awami League MP Momtaz Begum in the Parliament.”

However, he said “Bangladesh has so far shown patience in dealing with these provocative activities.”

The foreign minister said that as a neighboring country, Bangladesh is interested in peaceful coexistence with Myanmar.

He said "for this reason, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is trying to resolve the ongoing problems through diplomatic initiatives in view of the behavior of Myanmar.”

DHAKA, 31 October 2022, (TON): High ranking officials of Bangladesh and Germany and representatives of other development partners and the Bangladeshi Society celebrated 50 years of Development Cooperation between both countries.

A press release said “after a welcome by German Ambassador Achim Tröster, the parliamentary state secretary for Development Cooperation, Dr. Bärbel Kofler, delivered a speech highlighting achievements and challenges and describing pathways for the future development cooperation between Bangladesh and Germany.”

The following reception provided ample opportunities to further discuss these topics and exchange also with members of the German Federal Parliament accompanying the parliamentary state secretary.

German Development Cooperation with Bangladesh is focusing on five areas of intervention.

DHAKA, 31 October 2022, (TON): Late US senator Edward M Kennedy's son Ted Kennedy Jr and his three family members paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence, Ganabhaban.

During the meeting, the prime minister expressed her gratitude for the outstanding contribution of the late Edward M Kennedy to supporting then-East Pakistan during the Liberation War, although the then Nixon administration favoured Pakistan.

PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed newsmen after the meeting.

By Nasriya Naffin, TON Sri Lanka

President Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed President of Sri Lanka with the expectation that he could use his international relations and economic knowledge to ensure the supply of essentials such as fuel, cooking gas, and medicines, as well as a continuous power supply.

However, gas and fuel lines have grown longer in the month since Wickremesinghe assumed responsibility for stabilizing the economy.

Even though Sri Lanka earns approximately one billion US dollars in exports, 500 million US dollars in remittances, and an additional 300 million US dollars from services, most debt repayment has been suspended, and the country is experiencing foreign exchange shortages due to a failed float.

With money still being printed and a surrender demand in place, monetary stability has not yet been restored.

Fuel prices have skyrocketed in terms of rupees as the rupee has collapsed after two years of mistargeted interest rates during the worst currency crises. The currency collapse has made food unaffordable for the less affluent, causing people to struggle to afford their daily meals. Many elderly find it difficult to ensure a steady supply of medication.

Wickremesinghe began by stating the actual economic situation of the island nation. He spoke publicly about external debt, the necessity of seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and collaborating with international partners such as India, China, and Japan.

Wickremesinghe is struggling to provide the essentials for the public nearly four weeks after his appointment, as monetary stability continues to elude the country and foreign exchange shortages persist.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed President of Sri Lanka with the expectation that he could use his international relations and economic knowledge to ensure the supply of essentials such as fuel, cooking gas, and medicines, as well as a continuous power supply.

However, gas and fuel lines grew longer in the month since Wickremesinghe assumed responsibility for stabilizing the economy.

Even though Sri Lanka earns approximately one billion US dollars in exports, 500 million US dollars in remittances, and an additional 300 million US dollars from services, most debt repayment has been suspended, and the country is experiencing foreign exchange shortages due to a failed float.

With money still being printed and a surrender demand in place, monetary stability has not yet been restored.

Fuel prices have skyrocketed in terms of rupees as the rupee has collapsed after two years of mistargeted interest rates during the worst currency crises. The currency collapse has made food unaffordable for the less affluent, causing people to struggle to afford their daily meals. Many elderly find it difficult to ensure a steady supply of medication.

Wickremesinghe began by stating the actual economic situation of the island nation. He spoke publicly about external debt, the necessity of seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and collaborating with international partners such as India, China, and Japan.

Wickremesinghe has struggled to provide the essentials for the public nearly four weeks after his appointment, as monetary stability continued to elude the country and foreign exchange shortages persist.

He advocated for IMF aid before becoming president. He correctly predicted power outages, dollar shortages, import issues, unemployment rises, companies fail, and food shortages can occur in the future. He said Sri Lanka should not have suspended debt payment and should have gone to the IMF earlier when it was creditworthy. Wickremesinghe suggested that the government and opposition should work together to resolve the crisis.

What happened when he took office?

When a soft-pegged exchange currency collapses, people suffer and budgets become nearly impossible to manage, even though inflation can generate nominal revenues as long as salaries do not rise. He wanted a national assembly with all political parties to solve the crisis, and proposed an all-party government and new parliamentary committees to hold the president and cabinet accountable to the legislature. He also promised to introduce a constitutional amendment to limit President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's power, whose stubborn and misguided policies and mismanagement are blamed for Sri Lanka's current crisis.

He promised to build a country “without queues for kerosene, gas, and fuel; a nation free of power outages; a nation with plentiful resources where agriculture will flourish; a nation where the future of the youth is secure; a nation where people’s labor need not be wasted in queues and in struggles; a nation where everyone can lead their lives freely with three square meals a day”.’

Wickremesinghe said budget revenue numbers were inflated and actual revenue would be 30% below target, expenses would be higher, and the deficit would be large.Which is why he warned of power cuts likely to be increased to 15 hours a day, because there was no foreign currency to buy food from September onwards. A source said.

President’s fiscal fixes

The new prime minister proposed a budget that cuts capital expenditures and increases safety net spending for those who have been impoverished by the central bank's money printing.

Wickremesinghe raised VAT from 8% to 12% and telecommunications levies from 10% to 15% to boost government revenue. October saw new taxes. Government spending is minimized. 695 billion more estimates were planned. He suggested privatizing SriLankan Airlines.

Fuel prices reflect market conditions. Wickremesinghe told the media that he would have to print currency to pay state-sector workers and buy necessities.

Wickremesinghe has warned of a food shortage, starvation, a lack of dollars for imports, prolonged power outages, and a longer-than-expected recovery since taking power. He predicted deterioration before recovery.

What is the situation now?

Opposition and political analysts say Wickremesinghe hasn't changed much. Some political analysts say Wickremesinghe's hopes of reviving the economy are fading because he has not lived up to the expectations of the common man, who had believed the new prime minister would bring in more dollars to the country and ensure the necessary policy changes to drive the economy in a different direction for sustainable debt repayment and growth. Debt restructuring takes time, so an IMF program has not ended quickly.

Why is there a delay in Wickremesinghe’s promises?

Political analysts say Wickremesinghe's lack of a majority in parliament and major policy differences with President Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Podujana Peremuna (SLPP) have hampered political reforms. The constitutional amendment, essential for political stability, is unresolved.

Some SLPP members oppose the 21st amendment because it will force former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa out of parliament due to his dual citizenship and strip President Rajapaksa of his powers. Wickremesinghe is also being criticized for unconditionally accepting the post to protect the Rajapaksas from political exile. That deterred key opposition parties from supporting him. While Rajapaksa is in power, few will support Wickremesinghe.

By Farzana Tamannur (TON Bangladesh)

A mass of a dozen people hacked to death two Rohingya community leaders in Bangladesh, police said Sunday, as security deteriorates in camps housing almost a million refugees.

Bangladesh has been housing Rohingya refugees in a massive sprawl of camps as they fled a military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017 that is now the subject of a slaughter investigation at the UN's top court.

The squalid settlements have seen accelerating violence in recent months, with mobs trying to assert control over drug trading and intimidate the refugees' civilian leadership over killings and abductions.

Police spokesman Faruk Ahmed said two Rohingya camp leaders were murdered late on oct, 2022 at Camp 13, calling it one of the worst attacks in recent months.

"More than a dozen Rohingya criminals hacked Maulvi Mohammad Yunus, 38, who is the head majhi of Camp 13. They also murdered Mohammad Anwar, 38, another majhi. Yunus died on the spot and Amwar expired at a hospital," he said.

"Majhi" is a word for a Rohingya camp leader.

A senior officer of an elite police unit tasked with security in the camps blamed the murders on the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a rebellious group fighting the military in Myanmar.

"These are targeted murders by ARSA. The internal clashes in Myanmar are effecting the security condition in the camps," he said, speaking on condition of privacy to discuss sensitive info.

Gangs have long fought turf combats for control of the drug trade, centered on yaba methamphetamine drugs, but the police chief of the Bangladeshi district of Cox's Bazar said there was an acceleration taking place.

"In the last three months alone, at least 14 Rohingyas were killed in the camps. The number of killings in the camp has increased compared to last year," Mahfuzul Islam told AFP.

A Rohingya community leader as well as a nephew of one of those murdered on Saturday also blamed ARSA for the murders.

"ARSA murdered my uncle last night. My uncle used to tell them not to deal in drugs. He would manage voluntarily watching in the camps. They murdered my uncle," the nephew said, asking to continue anonymous out of fears for his safety.

ARSA has not openly commented on Saturday's killings.

Numerous of its members earlier this year were charged over the killing of top Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah in September last year. ARSA has repudiated its involvement.

The killing of Ullah, who had been received at the White House by then-president Donald Trump, sparked a main crackdown by Bangladeshi authorities, with at least 8,000 suspected ARSA members arrested.

The refugee settlements in the Cox Bazar region, which house over one million Rohingya refugees, have seen an upsurge in violence in recent months, with several gangs vying for control of drug trafficking operations, with a specific focus on yaba methamphetamine pills, methamphetamine, and caffeine. Civilian refugee leaders have been threatened and targeted, with some abducted and others killed.

Numerous Rohingyas were charged in September with the killing of top Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah. Though the ARSA has denied involvement, Bangladeshi authorities arrested at least 8,000 suspected ARSA members in linking with Ullah’s killing in a major crackdown.

Since Myanmar’s military crackdown on Rohingyas in 2017, millions of Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh. In recent months, violence in the squalid camps has increased as a result of several local gangs clashing to establish control over drug trafficking at the cost of killings and abductions.

Notably, in September, Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh who visited India, in a discussion with ANI had described the Rohingya Muslims seeking sanctuary in her country as a “big liability”. She specified that her country is in contact with the international community to confirm that the Rohingyas are deported to Myanmar.

PARIS, 30 October 2022, (TON): According to organizers “thousands of demonstrators defied an official ban to march against the deployment of new water storage infrastructure for agricultural irrigation in western France.”

Clashes between paramilitary gendarmes and demonstrators erupted with Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin reporting that 61 officers had been hurt, 22 seriously, but giving no toll for casualties among protesters.

“Bassines Non Merci” a pressure group that brings together environmental associations, trade unions and anti-capitalist groups, organized the demonstration against what it claims is a “water grab” by the “agro-industry” in western France.

The deployment of giant water “basins” is underway in the village of Sainte-Soline, in the Deux-Sevres department, to irrigate crops, which opponents claim distorts access to water amid drought conditions.

ALGIERS, 30 October 2022, (TON): Saudi Press Agency reported “Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji met Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra in Algiers.”

The meeting was held on the sidelines of Al-Khuraiji’s participation in a preparatory session held as a prelude to the 31st Arab Summit.

During the meeting, both sides discussed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen ties, as well as the latest regional and international developments.

The meeting was attended by Saudi Ambassador to Algeria Abdullah Al-Bussairy and the Kingdom’s permanent representative to the Arab League, Abdulrahman Al-Jumaa.

SYDNEY, 30 October 2022, (TON): Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said “the Australian government has repatriated four Australian women and their 13 children from a Syrian refugee camp.”

The repatriation to New South Wales state, criticized by the Liberal-National opposition, is part of bringing back from Syria dozens of Australian women and children who are relatives of dead or jailed fighters from the so-called Daesh group.

Australia rescued eight children and grandchildren of two dead Daesh fighters from a Syrian refugee camp in 2019 but has held off repatriating any others until now.

O’Neil said in a statement “the decision to repatriate these women and their children was informed by individual assessments following detailed work by national security agencies.”

ALGIERS, 30 October 2022, (TON): The Arab League General Secretariat on Friday affirmed its rejection of all Israeli settlement plans, and condemned what it described as the annexation of Palestinian territory.

Marking the 66th anniversary of the Kafr Qassem massacre, the league in a statement expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people in confronting and overthrowing colonial schemes in order to restore and exercise their inalienable national rights, and build an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The massacre was carried out by Israeli border police in 1956 against the people of Kafr Qassem and nearby Arab villages after an Israeli commander issued orders to shoot hundreds of residents while they were returning from work, claiming that they had violated the curfew.

The Arab League also called on the UN, especially the Security Council, to take a firm stance on Israeli killings and to confront Israel’s settlement policies, reported Kuwait News Agency.