KHARTOUM, 26 August 2022, (TON): Sudan’s military leader, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, announced a major reshuffling of the country’s military leadership, amid political and economic turmoil.

The change includes the military’s land forces, operations, and supply heads as well as it’s general inspector.

A change to the air force leadership had been announced previously, while the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Mohamed Osman Alhussein, was kept in his position.

This marks the largest change in army leadership since a coup led by Burhan and other generals on October 25 ended a transitional partnership with civilian political groups.

TOKYO, 26 August 2022, (TON): The head of Japan’s National Police Agency announced his resignation after an investigation confirmed shortcomings in the security plans for assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe.

Abe, the country’s best-known politician and longest-serving premier, was shot and killed while delivering a stump speech on July 8 in the city of Nara in western Japan.

Itaru Nakamura told reporters “there were shortcomings in the security plans and the risk assessments on which they were based, and direction from the field commander was insufficient.”

“The root of this problem lies in the limitations of the current system, which has been in place for years, in which local police bear sole responsibility for providing security.”

PARIS, 26 August 2022, (TON): French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Algeria for a three-day visit aimed at addressing two major challenges: boosting future economic relations and healing colonial-era wounds.

The visit comes less than a year after a monthslong diplomatic crisis between the two countries stirred up tensions 60 years after the North African country won its independence from France.

The war in Ukraine has reinforced Algeria’s status as a key partner in providing gas to the European continent.

In recent years, Macron has made unprecedented steps to acknowledge torture and killings by French troops during Algeria’s 1954-62 war of independence, in a bid to improve the two countries’ still rancorous relations.

WASHINGTON, 26 August 2022, (TON): The Pentagon said “US military airstrikes in eastern Syria were a message to Iran and Tehran-backed militias that targeted American troops this month and several other times over the past year.”

Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, told media “the United States will not hesitate to defend itself against Iranian and Iran-backed aggression when it occurs.”

He said “the US decision to launch the strikes was based on both the nature of the militia attacks on Aug. 15 at the Al-Tanf Garrison, where US troops are based in the south, and the fact that, based on recovered drone parts, we believe we have Iran dead to rights on attribution.

MANAMA, 26 August 2022, (TON): The state news agency reported “Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani received the US Ambassador to the Kingdom Steven Bondy.”

Both officials discussed historical relations and strategic partnership between both countries.

They reviewed ways to boost bilateral cooperation to achieve common interests and discussed issues of common interest.

SANAA, 26 August 2022, (TON): Yemeni Minister of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs Ahmad Awadh BinMubarak and Charge’ D’Affaires of Russian Embassy in Yemen Yafghini Kudrove discussed the latest developments in Yemen and mutual relations between their two countries.

The Yemen News Agency reported “during their meeting, BinMubarak highlighted that the Yemeni government had honored the UN truce and dealt responsibly with peace efforts to alleviate the public’s suffering as the Houthis continue their violence.”

The minister said “the Houthi militia has yet to end its siege on Taiz and open the city’s roads.”

He added that it was necessary to put pressure on the group to end its aggression against the Yemeni people.

LONDON, 26 August 2022, (TON): The spokesman for the Egyptian presidency said “Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received a phone call from outgoing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.”

The two leaders discussed bilateral relations and their views on a number of international issues of common interest including cooperation on climate change.

The UK hosted the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Glasgow in 2021, and Egypt will host COP27 this year in November.

El-Sisi also praised Johnson’s efforts to bring about a tangible development in relations between Egypt and the UK in all fields during his tenure, and stressed Egypt’s aspiration to continue joint efforts to support bilateral cooperation in the future.

BEIJING, 26 August 2022, (TON): A Chinese court upheld the death penalty for a US citizen over the murder of his girlfriend, calling the conviction accurate and sentence appropriate.

Shadeed Abdulmateen had been found guilty in April of stabbing the 21-year-old woman in the face and neck multiple times when they met to talk about disagreements in their relationship.

He appealed against the death sentence handed to him at the time.

But a higher court in eastern China rebuffed Abdulmateen’s appeal, according to an official statement.

WASHINGTON, 26 August 2022, (TON): The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom marked the fifth anniversary of the Burmese military’s genocidal campaign against the predominantly Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine State by calling for accountability of the military junta, known as the Tatmadaw, and for an end to its brutal coup.

On March 21, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined that members of the Burmese military committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya.

USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schneck stated “the Biden administration took a pivotal step in recognizing the Burmese authorities’ violent actions against the Rohingya as genocide and crimes against humanity.”

“We urge the United States government to actively support multilateral efforts to hold the Tatmadaw and other Burmese officials accountable through the international legal system.”

DHAKA, 26 August 2022, (TON): Bangladesh and India signed two contracts for the construction of a double-line rail track between Khulna and Darshana and the conversion of the metre gauge line into a dual-gauge line between Parbatipur and Kaunia.

The contract signing ceremony was held in Dhaka between representatives of the consultancy firms from India and the Bangladesh counterpart for the project.

The projects are being implemented with financing under the concessional Indian line of credit of $2 billion.

Indian High Commission in Dhaka said “the signing of the consultancy contracts for these important railway connectivity projects is expected to greatly improve sub-regional connectivity, trade and commerce, and accelerate the growth of the entire region."