RIYADH, 29 November 2022, (TON): Saudi Shoura Council Chairman Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Asheikh received Bahrain’s Ambassador to the Kingdom Shaikh Ali Abdulrahman bin Ali Al-Khalifa in Riyadh.
During the meeting, the two discussed several topics of common interest, including relations between the Saudi and Bahraini Shoura councils.
Both parties cited the depth of the relations between the two countries, rooted in cultural and religious ties, and stressed their mutual eagerness to further develop these bonds.
Al-Asheikh commended the bilateral cooperation between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia across various fields.

DHAKA, 29 November 2022, (TON): Indian President Droupadi Murmu on Monday stressed on further strengthen India-Bangladesh cooperation in the coming days, saying that Bangladesh occupies a special place in India's 'neighbourhood first' policy.
She said "the India-Bangladesh relations are bounded by language, culture and history and the unique ties is forged in shared sacrifices."
Welcoming the envoy, the Indian President mentioned that Bangladesh is the largest trade partner of India in South Asia and also the visa operations of India in Dhaka.

VATICAN CITY, 29 November 2022, (TON): Pope Francis on Sunday urged Israeli and Palestinian authorities to make greater efforts to seek dialogue following recent deadly bomb attacks in Jerusalem and clashes in the occupied West Bank.
Speaking to tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square for his Sunday blessing, Francis said violence was killing the future for both.
Two bombs exploded at bus stops on Jerusalem’s outskirts on Wednesday, killing a 16-year-old boy and wounding at least 14 people. A 50-year-old man died of injuries.

DHAKA, 29 November 2022, (TON): Armed Forces Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bangladesh Police organized the seminar at Army Multipurpose Complex in Dhaka Cantonment.
She said that to address the peace and security issues of women, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution number 1,325 which established the Women Peace and Security agenda and Bangladesh is proud to be a part in formulating the resolution.
Hasina said that since its independence, Bangladesh has been working on promoting women in all spheres of national life.
She said "the constitution of Bangladesh framed under the guidance of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman guarantees equal rights of women."

TEHRAN, 29 November 2022, (TON): Iran will reject a newly-appointed independent United Nation’s investigation into the country’s repression of anti-government protests, the foreign ministry said, as demonstrations showed no signs of abating.
Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said “Iran will have no cooperation with the political committee formed by the UN Rights Council."
The UN Rights Council voted to appoint a probe into Iran’s deadly crackdown on protests.
Volker Turk, the UN rights commissioner, had earlier demanded that Iran end its disproportionate use of force in quashing protests that erupted after the death-in-custody of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini on Sept 16.
Activist news agency HRANA said "450 protesters had been killed in more than two months of nationwide unrest as of Nov 26, including 63 minors."

NEW DELHI, 29 November 2022, (TON): The Kerala Police on Monday filed cases against more than 3,000 people, including women and children, after a huge crowd allegedly attacked a police station, demanding the release of those held for protest against the under-construction Adani port.
A violent mob attacked the Vizhinjam police station, situated 20 km away from capital Thiruvananthapuram, last night as part of the ongoing protest against the under-construction Adani port.
Police say the protestors vandalised the station and injured police personnel.
The protestors had allegedly blocked trucks carrying construction material to the port project site, being developed by the Adani group.
Work had resumed after a court directive last week reportedly gave the go-ahead to constructing the $900 million dollar trans-shipment project.

DHAKA, 29 November 2022, (TON): With an aim to support countries and territories to build professional competence and capacity to adequately address refugee and migrant health issues, the World Health Organization is organising the third edition of its annual Global School on Refugee and Migrant Health in Dhaka with a focus on capacity-building.
Over five days, from Monday to December 2, policymakers, UN partner agencies, academia, members of civil society, and stakeholders at the Global School will exchange knowledge and experiences to address key elements of capacity-building.
The e-learning hybrid event hosted by the Ministry of Health, Bangladesh will be streamed globally.

DHAKA, 29 November 2022, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the international community to work together for effective and decisive actions and step up the efforts to restore the legitimate rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people to live in safety and stability.
She came up with the call on Monday on the occasion of International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The prime minister issued a message marking the day.
She said in the message “on the solemn occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, Bangladesh joins the international community in reaffirming its unwavering support towards the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people of self-determination and establishment of the State of Palestine based on a two-state solution with pre-1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its Capital.”
PM Hasina added “our firm commitment is guided by our Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and the principles enshrined in our national constitution."

By Saneem Afshain
Unparalleled floods in Pakistan in recent month received the highest rainfall and melting glaciers which, left a third of the country inundated under water and affected nearly 33 million people. The floods have also caused extensive destruction, with crops as well as private and public infrastructure devastated. The country now faces humanitarian and health crises. Its rebuilding will be an enormous task for this developing country, which was already struggling frugally.
This is only one of some extreme climate events to upset South Asia this year. After Bangladesh earlier this summer, Nepal is now fighting floods and landslides. India and Pakistan also suffered a heavy heat wave. Moreover, to destroying crops, it also affected electricity shortages and famine. Unluckily, these trials are only early displays of what South Asia must prepare itself for in the future. Climate change has already become a consistent crisis for this deeply inhabited region.
South Asia is a disaster-hit region on the forefronts of Climate Change. By one evaluation, the Indo-Pacific is prone more probable than Africa and Europe. South Asia is a mainly disaster-prone region, as climate-related hydro meteorological disasters such as overflows, hurricanes, heat waves, and droughts are becoming more recurrent and more severe in the region. These upsurge water scarcity, food insecurity, and poverty, and often result in health crises. Apart from the severe human costs of these weather disasters, countries in the region will also face massive economic costs. According to one report, rising heat and humidity could reduce India’s GDP by about 2.5-4.5 percent by 2030, equivalent to roughly USD 150-250 billion.
According to a recent report by the Asian Development Bank estimates that natural disasters displaced people 221 million times during the past decade across the Asia-Pacific, including 5 million displacements by cyclone alone in South Asia in 2020. In 2021 of which 4.9 million were in India. This year’s numbers will undoubtedly be much higher, and the number of people exposed to natural disasters is increasing by about 3.5 percent each year.
Climate change is also snowballing internal migration. As some areas become harder to live in due to water paucity or sea level rise, and financial chances become rarer, people move to other areas in search of a healthier life. Unless satisfactory action is taken immediately, there may be as many as 40 million interior climate refugees in South Asia. Frequently people move to major cities in search of economic opportunities. Unfortunately, this will further burden mega cities like Delhi and Mumbai, which already suffer from poor infrastructure, increasing pollution, and environmental degradation.
South Asian countries have made some struggles to prepare for sure calamities in the aftermath of major ones, such as cyclones in the case of Bangladesh and earthquakes in the case of Pakistan. However, continuing population growth and urbanization are increasing population density in disaster-prone areas. For example, an estimated 246 million people are expected to live in cyclone-prone areas by in the future. Primary cautionary and evacuation can decrease victims, although the danger to private property and public infrastructure remains high.
Furthermore, to emerging national disaster preparedness and relief mechanisms, it is critically important to improve domestic policy-making particularly in rural development. Meager infrastructure and urban development that disrespects the local environment aggravated many problems. Anyone who has spent time on India or Pakistan’s flooded streets during the monsoon season can testify that drainage systems have not received adequate attention from the countries’ planners. Planning is needed for local environment in a bid to avoid aggravating concerns like water scarcity, landslides, and urban flooding, and ensure that further development is both climate adaptive and resilient.
However, little has been done to address these problems by the SAARC. The Association signed the SAARC Convention on Cooperation on Environment in 2010, which was endorsed by all members and entered into force in October 2013. It identified 19 areas for cooperation; a Governing Council comprising the environment ministers of member states was tasked with implementation.
Multilateral agencies have delivered early support to Pakistan and launched donation efforts. Early in October, the UN raised its call for funding to help the country recover from the floods to USD 816 million. While these funds would be nowhere sufficient to cover the total losses the country has to bear, even this amount may prove difficult to mobilize. The UN has so far received only USD 90 million in response. In September, the World Bank said it is envisaging support of about USD 2 billion to aid various rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. The Asian Development Bank has committed up to USD 2.5 billion.
Support from wealthy economies has been mixed. In contrast to the US (USD 66 million), China (USD 59 million), and the UK (USD 30 million), the EU has only provided about USD 2.28 million. Aid from other major economies is less clear. While countries like Germany provided rapid assistance and immediate food aid, it will take years to recover from the widespread devastation. Pakistan will need sustained aid once it begins reconstructing after the immediate humanitarian crisis is dealt with; it is not yet clear how much support it will receive during the later phase.
As the costs of recovering from extreme climate events increase in the future, it is uncertain how willing wealthy economies will be to endure helping developing economies. . On the international level, they must now collaborate to hold wealthy countries to fulfill their promises of delivering the climate finance they have promised so far for developing financial mechanisms to aid recovery and reconstruction at the upcoming COP27 meetings.
Global South countries have long been vocal about the historical responsibility of industrialized countries in causing global warming. It was their successful efforts in the past that helped enshrine the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibility in the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Despite committing to jointly mobilize USD 100 billion per year by 2020, developed countries continue to fall short of that goal.
Tense relations between countries in South Asia have held back mutual relations and multilateral institutions for too long. However, the political leadership of all countries in the region must acknowledge that the existential trials by climate change are far more significant than persistent ideological adversaries and territorial quarrels. Seven decades of hostility is enough. South Asian countries should do well to finally set aside their mutual hostilities and start developing regional cooperation to cope the climate change and early recover from natural catastrophes.

By Ali Hassan
The Rohingya are a stateless ethnic group, the majority of whom are Muslim, who have lived for centuries in the majority Buddhist Myanmar, mostly in the country’s north, in Rakhine state. However, Myanmar authorities contested that they claim the Rohingya are Bengali immigrants who came to Myanmar in the 20th century. Moreover, as per description by the United Nations as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, the Rohingya are denied citizenship under Myanmar law. So with no recognition, this Muslim minority group, due to decades of violence and persecution, generations has lived in fear and wrath. When they were left with very few options of survival, losing all the hopes, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have chosen to flee to neighboring countries, including Bangladesh and Malaysia, either by land or by boat. Despite generations of residence in Myanmar, under the 1982 Myanmar Citizenship Law, the Rohingya were effectively excluded from full citizenship, leaving them stateless. As a result, they have been denied freedom of movement, access to healthcare, education and livelihoods as they were declared as foreigners within their own state. Rohingya in Myanmar for decades have been, and continue to be, persecuted.
Moreover, extreme violence and persecution in Myanmar's Rakhine State have caused more than 900,000 Rohingya people, an ethnic and religious minority, to flee their homes in search of safety leaving nearly all their possessions behind. Prior to the military crackdown in August 2017, roughly 1.1 million Rohingya people lived in Myanmar. Around 600,000 are remaining in Rakhine state today, including 140,000 Rohingya detained in displacement camps. Over 2 million Rohingya refugees live as displaced people from which mostly across Asia and the Middle East. Since Aug. 25, 2017, the Rohingya population in Myanmar has been subjected to extreme violence as there have been reports of helicopters firing on civilians, extrajudicial executions of women and children, and the burning of entire villages. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called the situation a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing," and the crisis has caused a mass exodus of the Rohingya people across the border into Bangladesh.
Since fleeing deadly violence in Myanmar in August 2017, one million Rohingya refugees remain completely aid dependent in neighbouring Bangladesh. They are spread across 31 settlements collectively referred to as the largest refugee camp in the world. Some 450,000 of the refugee population are children, youth and adolescents who are at grave risk of becoming a ‘lost generation’. As international attention dissipates and funding plummets, opportunities for education and employment are woefully inadequate.
In the five years since the influx of arrivals in Bangladesh, conditions in the camp have become steadily worse. ‘Temporary’ shelters have been built on slopes in an area prone to annual flooding. They’ve been built very close together, meaning tasks like cooking are risky as outbreaks of fires and sometimes resulting in deaths are common. Further, water and sanitation services are absolutely dire. There is insufficient water supply to meet people’s needs. Toilets are often overflowing. They are also often located far away from some residences and don’t all have lockable doors, posing a security risk for women and girls. There is a shortage of containers for disposal of household waste, resulting in rats and mosquitoes proliferating.
Since February of 2021, escalating political and social instability in Myanmar has also created roadblocks to a peaceful resolution any time soon. In June 2022, UN Special Envoy to the General Assembly estimated that 14.4 million people in Myanmar 25% of the population required humanitarian assistance in the face of a rapidly-deteriorating situation. It was also highlighted that the future of the Rohingya is bound up with the future of peace in Myanmar. Moreover, sustainable solutions for the Rohingya people must be built into the design of a peaceful, inclusive and democratic Myanmar.
The Rohingya crisis has reached a dangerous tipping point, with refugees potentially never returning home to Myanmar if international leaders fail to chart a way forward and make it executed by using all their powers and means of execution. Otherwise, on the ground, the Rohingya refugee community in Bangladesh is almost at the point of no return and they must be helped out of displacement now before getting too late.
A recent assessment carried out by NRC on 317 refugee youths found that 95 per cent were unemployed, and as result suffering from high levels of anxiety and stress. The Rohingya humanitarian response plan is chronically underfunded. Only 25 per cent of the funding needed has been received, eight months into the year. This amounts to just 35 cents per refugee per day. There are growing fears that pledged funding may be diverted to other, more high-profile crises elsewhere. While aid is crucial for alleviating suffering, it will not resolve the crisis.
Moreover, the international leadership vacuum to the Rohingya crisis, outside of Bangladesh rather than unlocking the political deadlock to finding lasting solutions for these people, leaders are competing in a race to the bottom pushing back, forcibly repatriating people seeking safety and limiting resettlement and other migration options. China and ASEAN member states should organize a UN-ASEAN-China leadership summit to chart a course forward to resolve the crisis. Refugees in Bangladesh are on the precipice of a frightening abyss. Moreover, this injustice cannot be accepted as normal as the other world is thinking. The future generations will definitely take it into serious account and judge the failure of actions against this injustice taken in the past.