YANGON, 8 February, 2021 (TON): Nationwide strike called on by the workers in Myanmar voicing to release the elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and for democracy to be restored.

Thousands have gathered in Yangon and Mandalay, while water-cannons were deployed in the capital Nay Pyi Taw.

The protesters include teachers, lawyers, bank officers and government workers. About a thousand teachers have been marching from a township in Yangon towards the Sule Pagoda in the heart of Myanmar's main city.

It seemed to be one of the largest protests in more than a decade. The military seized power in a coup after claiming without evidence that an earlier election was fraudulent.

They also declared a year-long state of emergency in Myanmar, also known as Burma, and power has been handed over to commander in chief Min Aung Hlaing.

Suu Kyi and senior leaders of her National League for Democracy Party (NLD) including President Win Myint have been put under house arrest.

The democratic reforms of the region have certainly partially paralyzed, while the people are united to bring it back.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, 8 February, 2021 (TON): Nearly two dozen people, including a Supreme Court Judge have been arrested by the Haitian authorities on Sunday, for alleged plotting to oust the President Jovenel Moise responsible for political tensions in the troubled country.

Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe told the media at his private residence that a senior police official was also among the 23 people detained with money, guns and ammunition.

Speaking alongside the minister of justice and the chief of police, Jouthe said, “These people had contacted national palace security officials, high-ranking officers of the national palace whose mission was to arrest the president and also to facilitate the installation of a new president.”

Speaking later at the Port-Au-Prince airport on his way to launch the annual carnival in the town of Kacmei, President Moise said that the plotters aimed to make an attempt on his life.

The arrests come after leading opposition figures this week announced a plan to replace Moise with a new head of state, accusing the president of being authoritarian and presiding over economic chaos in the Western hemisphere’s poorest country.

Street protests against Moise were done in some of the towns and earlier on Sunday, the anti-government protestors clashed with the police.

The opposition plan called for members of civil society and opposition leaders to pick a new president from one of the sitting Supreme Court judges, instead of waiting for general elections scheduled for September.

Moise stated that the he would hand over the power to the elected winner of the elections but would not step down till his tenure expires, i.e. 2022.

The U.S. government encouraged to ease the crisis while stating that a new president should be elected in place of Moise when his term ends on 2 February, 2022.

Moise, who has ruled by decree since mid-January, has stated he would hand over power to the winner of the elections but would not step down until his term expires in 2022.

Moise has also put in place plans to hold a referendum on amending the constitution in April, with the opposition voicing concerns the vote will not be free or fair and could give Moise too much power.

The Caribbean country has badly been under economical failures and also been paralyzed by a spike in kidnappings and a sharp rise in the crime overall that has weighed on the economy and influenced the quality of life of an ordinary man.

Guwahati, 8 February, 2021 (TON): Gaurav Gogoi, Assam’s Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP referring to economy said on Sunday, that Bangladesh is better than India as the present BJP government has failed to deliver the goods in each front.

The statement came in response to PM Narendra Modi’s visit an address to a public gathering in Assam on Sunday.

Gogoi told the media that the Northeast Industrial Policy undertaken by the Congress-led previous UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government has been scrapped by the BJP government led by Modi.

He said, “Modi and present BJP leadership would not accept the contributions of the previous Congress government for Assam, it is understood, but they even forget the contributions of former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government.”

Various syndicates are active in all the sectors-industrial to education to welfare schemes under the present governance in Assam, said the Congress leader.

He said the people who criticize or stand against the government they get harassed by various central agencies limiting the democracy.

Gogoi, son of former Assam Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader late Tarun Gogoi, said that Modi and his government used CBI, ED, NIA, Income Tax Department against the critics.

“People are even not being allowed in making comments on social media, ”Congress’s Deputy leader in the Lok Sabha said that due to the various agitations, including the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the ongoing farmers’ stir, had claimed the lives of many people, but the Modi government is “not in a mood to listen to anyone’s legitimate demand”.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister addressed a public gathering at Dhekiajuli in northern Assam’s Sonitpur district and laid foundation stone of two medical colleges at Biswanath and Charaideo besides formally launched the ‘Asom Mala’ scheme to upgrade 2,500 km state highways at a cost of RS. 5,000 crores in 15 years.

Where the government is trying to stand upright in different sectors, many issued in the region of Assam have been left unheard, including the flood and the problems of the tea garden workers by not granting them the ST status and the wage too low as well.

LONDON, 8 February, 2021 (TON):  The cabinet got dissolved by the Sudanese Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok on Sunday.

A statement said, ministers would “remain in their positions to conduct business in their ministries until the formation of the new government and the handover is completed,” a statement on Sudan’s state news agency said.

It was expected that the cabinet reshuffle would be announced on Monday.

Last week, Sudan said three representatives of armed rebel groups would be handed posts in the interim government as part of a peace deal signed last year.

After long years of dictatorship by Omar Al-Bashir in 2019 that was removed by the uprising forced by the military, Sudan is finally now going towards democratic rule.

WASHINGTON, 7 February, 2021, (TON): US state Department spokesperson Zed Tarar said that President Joe Biden wants an immediate solution to Kashmir issue. 

Spokesperson Zed Tarar said in an interview that President Joe Biden has made it clear that human rights are a fundamental issue for the United States. 

He added that the US understands that Kashmir is a human rights issue and the US wants that mobile service and 4G should be restored in Kashmir immediately. 

He said that the new US President has announced that the superpower has returned to the world. The new US president wants all the problems in the world to be solved together. 

Zed Tarar serves as Deputy Director of the London Media Hub where he manages the Department’s media engagement throughout South Asia. 

New York State Assembly has recently passed a resolution to observe February 5 as Kashmir American Day. New York has become the first state to recognize Kashmir American Day. 

ADDIS ABABA, 7 February, 2021, (TON): Life for civilians in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region has become “extremely alarming” as hunger grows and fighting remains an obstacle to reaching millions of people with aid, the United Nations said in a new report. 

The conflict that has shaken one of Africa’s most powerful and populous countries a key US security ally in the Horn of Africa has killed thousands of people and is now in its fourth month. But little is known about the situation for most of Tigrays 6 million people, as journalists are blocked from entering, communications are patchy and many aid workers struggle to obtain permission to enter. 

The UN special adviser on genocide prevention warned on Friday that without urgent measures the risk of atrocity crimes “remains high and likely to get worse.” 

One challenge is that Ethiopia may no longer control up to 40 per cent of the Tigray region, the UN Security Council was told in a closed-door session this week. 

Ethiopia and allied fighters have been pursuing the now-fugitive Tigray regional government that once dominated Ethiopia’s government for nearly three decades. 

The new UN humanitarian report released late Thursday includes a map showing most of the Tigray region marked as inaccessible for humanitarian workers. It says the security situation remains volatile and unpredictable more than two months after Abiy’s government declared victory. 

The aid response remains drastically inadequate with little access to the vast rural population off the main roads, the report says, even as Ethiopia’s government has said well over 1 million people in Tigray have been reached with assistance. Some aid workers have reported having to negotiate access with a range of armed actors, even Eritrean ones. 

Starvation has become a major concern. The report said more parts of central and eastern Tigray likely will enter Emergency Phase 4, a step below famine, in the coming weeks. 

TEHRAN, 7 February, 2021, (TON): Iran’s representative to the United Nations has protested recent Israeli military action threats against the country, calling on the intergovernmental organization to interfere. 

In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Majid Takht-Ravanchi said Israel has not only increased “provocative and warmongering rhetoric” against Iran, but is also actively making plans to act on its threats. 

The latest example, he said, came in late January when top Israeli general Aviv Kochavi said Israel’s military is preparing “a number of operational plans, in addition to those already in place” in reaction to Iran boosting its nuclear programme in recent months. 

Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s UN representative said the threat violates article two of the UN charter and requires a “proportionate response by the global community” due to Israel’s history of attacking other nations in the region. 

“We reserve the intrinsic right to defend ourselves and decisively respond against any threat or wrongful act by the Israeli regime,” he wrote. 

Among other things, article two of the UN charter states that members must “refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”. 

Takht-Ravanchi said that Israel must take responsibility for its hostile actions and the UN must counter the country’s “destabilising and warmongering policies” as the entity in charge of securing international peace. 

The representative also called for his letter to be registered as a formal document in the UN Security Council. 

After the Israeli general made the threat, Iran’s presidential chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi dismissed it as “psychological war” and said “in action, they neither have a plan nor the ability to carry it out”. 

He also said he believes the new administration of US President Joe Biden has independence and will not cater to Israel like his predecessor Donald Trump. 

Tensions between Israel and Iran have increased since former President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of the JCPOA in 2018. 

The emergence of a nuclear-armed Iran in the future could increase the prospects for direct armed conflict between the two nations. Israel might choose to preemptively strike Iranian nuclear facilities in an effort to thwart or delay such a development. 

ANKARA, 7 February, 2021, (TON): Turkey is engaging in major investments and projects, hoping to become one of the world's top 10 largest global economies, said President Erdogan on Saturday. 

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said via video link at the opening ceremony of a bridge in the eastern Malatya province said, "To make our country one of the 10 biggest economies in the world, we've turned towards bigger investments in bigger projects."  

Today, Turkey by itself is realizing more than half of all megaprojects being carried out in the world, Erdogan added. 

He added that the country aims to embrace the future with space technology, hi-tech, and artificial intelligence. 

"With the courage we derive from our strong infrastructure, we constantly raise our targets in every field, enhance our capacities, and, especially, expand new production areas," he said. 

Turkey’s economic and social development performance since 2000 has been impressive, leading to increased employment and incomes. 

Turkey’s largely free-market and diversified economy is driven by its industrial and service sectors, but traditional agriculture still accounts for about 25 percent of employment. 

For most of the period since 2000, Turkey maintained a long-term focus on implementing ambitious reforms in many areas, and government programs have targeted vulnerable groups and disadvantaged regions.  

RAMALLAH, 7 February, 2021, (TON): Palestinian group Hamas on Saturday hailed a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to establish its jurisdiction over the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem. 

In a statement, the Gaza-based movement described the ICC ruling as “an important step” towards achieving “justice for the victims of the Zionist (Israeli) occupation”. 

The resistance movement called for the completion of the “necessary steps to hold the Zionist war criminals accountable in international courts”. 

Hamas said the “ICC readiness to face possible pressures (from Israel) confirm its credibility and integrity”, going on to call on the international community to “empower the Palestinian people to fulfill their basic rights to freedom, independence and self-determination”. 

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh praised the ruling by The Hague-based court as a "victory of justice and humanity". 

Based on the relevant UN resolution, the ICC found that the Court has territorial jurisdiction in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. 

On 5 February, Friday Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided, by majority, that the Court's territorial jurisdiction in the Situation in Palestine, a State party to the ICC Rome Statute, extends to the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. 

Palestinian territories have been under Israeli occupation since 1967. The occupation is considered illegal under international law. 

TRIPOLI, 7 February, 2021, (TON): The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Saturday said that around 300 illegal migrants were rescued off Libyan coast. 

IOM tweeted that "Some 300 migrants were returned to Libya today by the coast guard. Close to 1,500 people were intercepted in the past four days, most of whom were detained."  

IOM called on the authorities to "dismantle the system of arbitrary detention and provide safe and viable alternatives." 

According to IOM in 2020, 323 migrants died and 417 others went missing on the Central Mediterranean route, while 11,891 illegal migrants were rescued off the Libyan coast in 2020 compared with 9,225 in 2019. 

Shelters in Libya are crowded with thousands of migrants rescued at sea or arrested by the Libyan security services, despite international calls to close those centers. 

Libya is one of the most important starting points for African migrants to Europe. Libya has suffered years of security deterioration amid sharp political divisions, an armed struggle for power and a war on terrorism. The state has lost its ability to effectively control its borders which led to the availability of various paths for African migrants to enter Libyan territory.