TIGRAY, 11 June, 2011 (TON): On Wednesday, a U.N. official said that a high-level UN-led committee focuses on rapid responses to humanitarian crises estimates that some 350,000 people in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region are facing famine conditions.

On Monday, the estimate was presented at a meeting of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, comprising 18 U.N. and non-U.N. organizations.

That number is expected to rise beyond 400,000 over the next few months if access isn't provided to those areas, said Brian Lander, the World Food Programme's Deputy Director of the Emergency Division.

He argued, "We'd like to get that message out to our donors very clearly because while we are able to deliver to some effect today, if we don't have the resources to maintain the pipeline of food coming into Tigray that really hampers our ability to plan forward to adapt and be responsive as the situation evolves over time."

The UN food agencies stressed in the report released Thursday that over 60% of the population, more than 5.5 million people, are grappling with high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Food Catastrophe level 3-5) in Tigray and the neighboring zones of Amhara and Afar.

According to the IPC report "the key cause of acute food insecurity in Tigray is conflict as it has led to massive population displacement, widespread destruction of livelihoods and critical infrastructure, and loss of employment. Conflict has also limited access to markets."

Moreover, Lander stressed how providing humanitarian assistance in the Tigray region is extremely difficult and often risky.

Tokyo, 11 June, 2021 (TON): On Friday, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) on Friday requested that the current parliamentary session should be extended by three more months.

The request was made to allow for more debate on matters related to Covid-19 and the Tokyo Olympics.

During a meeting, the CDPJ's head of Diet affairs Jun Azumi requested his counterpart Hiroshi Moriyama in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) about the session extension.

The request came as the CDPJ and other opposition parties have been critical of the government's response to the pandemic, believing that its efforts to curb the spread of the virus have been inadequate, particularly the slow pace of its vaccination campaign.

They have also taken issue with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's pledge that holding the Olympics this summer in Tokyo will be "safe and secure".

Moreover, the opposition parties clearly stated no confidence vote will be filed in Suga's cabinet if the request for an extension is turned down.

NEW DELHI, 11 June, 2021 (TON): There are no disagreements between India and Maldives’ government over the establishment of an Indian consulate in the southern city of Addu, Maldives.

The Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi affirmed this in a press conference on Thursday.

The Indian cabinet has approved to establish a consulate in Addu City recently however, official works can only begin with the decision of the Maldivian government. 

Previously, the Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said that the government had not made a decision.

He said that diplomatic relations between nations meant that dialogue has to be held between the nations if such a request is made.  

The spokesman said, while he did not wish to comment on media reports, there were no arguments between the Maldivian government and India over the matter of the consulate.

"A consulate or a post is always opened, after discussing with the host nation," said Bagchi. 

However, a strikingly high number of people have criticized the move, saying that the establishment of a consulate in Addu was a ploy by India to increase its influence on the Maldives.

Islamabad, 11 June 2021, (TON): The National Assembly of Pakistan has passed a bill that will provide the right of appeal to Indian spy, Kulbhushan Jadhav.

The National Assembly passed the ICJ (Review and Re-consideration) Bill, 2020 on Thursday aimed at allowing alleged Indian spy Jadhav to have consular access in line with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict, reported sources at the National Assembly.

Jadhav, a serving Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017. India approached the ICJ against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence. The Hague-based ICJ ruled in July 2019 that Pakistan must undertake an “effective review and reconsideration” of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav and also to grant consular access to India without further delay.

Pakistani Law Minister Farogh Nasim said that had they not passed the bill, India would have gone to the UN Security Council and could have moved contempt proceedings against Pakistan in the ICJ. He said by passing the law, they had proved to the world that Pakistan was a “responsible state”. He added, He said the ICJ had clearly asked Pakistan to make effective legislation to provide the right of review to Jadhav.

However, the Opposition members staged a walkout and pointed out the lack of quorum three times, but each time the chair declared the house in order and continued the business, forcing the Opposition to resort to noisy protest. Later, they gathered in front of the Speaker’s dais and raised slogans.

Criticising the government’s move, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Ahsan Iqbal pointed out that it had included the bill in the heavy legislative agenda to provide relief to Jadhav.

Iqbal said it was a person-specific bill and the name of Jadhav was mentioned in the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the bill. He said, the government had already enforced the law through the promulgation of an ordinance in May last year soon after the ICJ verdict in Jadhav’s case.

Amid stiff resistance offered by Opposition parties, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice on October 21 last year had approved the bill that seeks a review of the conviction of Jadhav.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who had stated that by opposing the bill to provide relief to Jadhav, the Opposition members were toeing the Indian narrative. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari criticised the government for first bringing the bill to provide relief to Jadhav through an ordinance and then getting it passed through bulldozing the legislation.

NAIROBI, 11 June, 2021 (TON): On Wednesday, the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta presided over the burning of 5,144 illegal firearms and obsolete state-owned small arms and light weapons at the Regional Traffic Police Training Centre in Ngong, Kajiado County.

Uhuru said, “This is to those making illegal guns, come we make legal money and jobs. Come forward and declare you can make a gun and you will get a job. Don’t wait for the police to come for you.”

Kenyatta reiterated Kenya’s effort to collect illicit guns is in accordance with the African Union’s theme to silence guns in Africa by 2020.

Later, the leader further called for peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue, urging that Kenya’s government will engage all citizens in such endeavors.

BERLIN, 11 June, 2021 (TON): Following the right-wing extremist statements in chat groups, the special task force (SEK) in Frankfurt will be disbanded, a top official said.

On Thursday, Peter Beuth, Interior Minister of the federal state Hesse made the announcement.

Beuth said, "The unacceptable misconduct of several staff members, as well as the turning away by immediate superiors in the Frankfurt SEK has made its complete dissolution necessary."

On Wednesday, criminal and disciplinary proceedings were made public against 18 active duty officers and one former police officer of the SEK.

According to the statement, three of the men were superiors who were accused of not intervening as members of the chat groups.

Most of the chat messages dated back to 2016 and 2017.

However, some text messages and pictures sent would "raise the suspicion that some members of the Frankfurt SEK have a right-wing extremist attitude", the statement noted.

Moreover, restructuring of a special unit is being organized by an expert team.

JEDDAH, 11 June, 2021 (TON): On Thursday, top Islamic scholars from Pakistan and Afghanistan signed the Declaration of Peace in Afghanistan in the Saudi city Mecca.

According to the report, the deal will help the long-standing Afghan crisis. It supports the negotiations between factions in war, and rejects manifestations of all violent and extremist acts.

The signing took place at the conclusion of the Islamic conference that was held near the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

The conference was held with the support of the Muslim World League and Saudi Arabia.

Moreover, the conference brought the senior scholars of Afghanistan and Pakistan together to achieve reconciliation for the people of Afghanistan.

JEDDAH, 11 June, 2021 (TON): On Thursday, a delegation of more than 60 diplomats visited the Makkah Region Projects Digital Exhibition in Jeddah.

On Wednesday, the exhibition was opened by Makkah Governor Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and his deputy, Prince Badr bin Sultan.

The week-long exhibition stands under the theme “Building Man and Developing Place.”

The diplomats were briefed on the exhibition and on more than 100 development projects in the Makkah region.

The exhibition features digital presentations showcasing the accomplishments of the region, with a focus on cultural aspects.

Besides, it also features a number of competitions open to inhabitants of the region and its affiliated governorates.

BANGUI, 11 June 2021(TON): On Thursday, Firmin Ngrebada the PM of Central African Republic resigned from his office along with his cabinet.

In February 2019, Ngrebada was made prime minister. Before his appointment as the PM,  he had served as President Faustine-Archange Touadera's chief of cabinet.

A spokesman for the presidency said Ngrebada could be asked to lead a new government.

His resignation comes after strained political and diplomatic ties with former colonial ruler France.

Paris announced this week that it was suspending military assistance to Bangui, saying authorities in the African country were complicit in a Russian propaganda campaign against its forces and diplomats.

MOSCOW, 11 June, 2021 (TON): Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin has signed an order to nullify the Moscow-Washington Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on open ground.

The MoU facilitated travels for diplomats in their host country.

This move came just before the meeting between Russian President Vladmir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden.

On Thursday, Mishustin asked the Russian Foreign Ministry to inform the US side of the termination.

According to the MoU signed between Russian and U.S. diplomats in June 1992 that allowed tour the host country simply on notification, without seeking permission.

The intention to terminate the agreement was first announced by the Russian Foreign Ministry on 16 April 16, after disclosing countermeasures to hostile U.S. actions.