KUALA LUMPUR, 25 May 2021, (TON): More than 200 passengers were injured in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur yesterday when two metro trains collided in a tunnel, police said. 

The accident happened just before 9:00 pm, when a packed train collided with a second that was empty and heading in the opposite direction.

Forty-seven people suffered serious injuries and 166 had minor injuries, said police official Mohamad Zainal Abdullah.

There was no sign of foul play and the accident could have been caused by miscommunication, he said.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Facebook that the crash was "serious".

"I have instructed the transport minister and (train) operator... to conduct an in-depth probe to find out the cause of the accident," he said.

Accidents are rare on the metro system that serves Kuala Lumpur.

Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said the collision was the first major accident in the metro system's 23 years of operation, and he pledged a thorough investigation.

NEW DELHI, 24 May, 2021, (TON): Indian troops killed at-least eight people in Assam.

A senior police officer from the area clai,med that these people were killed in an encounter with security forces in Assam’s West Karbi Anglong district along the Nagaland border and are militants from National Liberation Army (DNLA).

The security forces launched the operation in Karbi-Anglong district, along the Nagaland border, on Saturday night.

The Dimasa National Liberation Army is a group based in Assam that announced its launch in April 2019, claiming it was “committed to revamp the national struggle and fight for the liberation of a sovereign, Independent Dimasa Nation”.

Earlier, Indian police forces killed at least thirteen people in the name of Naxalite in Gadchiroli district of Maharasthra.

DHAKA, 24 May, 2021, (TON): Bangladeshi passports will no longer bear the text “valid for all countries of the world except Israel,” officials said on Sunday.

Bangladesh made it clear that it has dropped the phrase “all countries except Israel” from passport to maintain international standards of the document and there was no change in its decades-long policy of travel ban to Israel.

Bangladeshi passports earlier had a clause written on them that said “This Passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel.”

Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement that said the holders of Bangladeshi passports are still banned from travelling to Israel.

“The ban on travel of Bangladeshi passport holders to Israel remains unchanged. The Government of Bangladesh has not deviated from its position on Israel and remains firm in its longstanding position,” the statement said.

Bangladesh and Israel do not maintain diplomatic relations. Bangladesh says that it will not recognize Israel until there is an independent Palestine.

NAYPYIDAW, 24 May, 2021, (TON): Over 125,000 school teachers have been suspended by the military authorities for joining a civil disobedience movement to oppose the military coup in February, said an official of the Myanmar Teachers’ Federation.

The teachers were suspended days before the start of a new school year. Some of the teachers and parents are boycotting new school year as part of the campaign that has paralyzed the country since the coup cut short a decade of democratic reforms.

According to the official from the teachers’ federation a total of 125,900 school teachers had been suspended, who declined to give his name for fear of reprisals.

According to the most recent data, from two years ago Myanmar had 430,000 school teachers.

“These are just statements to threaten people to come back to work. If they actually fire this many people, the whole system will stop,” said the official, who is also a teacher.

Around 19,500 university staff has also been suspended, according to the teachers’ group.

After Myanmar’s military seized power in the first week of February, the mass of Myanmar’s younger generation, teachers, factory workers and different groups of civilians are protesting against the coup since the February 1^st coup.

KHATMANDU, 24 May, 2021, (TON): Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari issued an ordinance to amend the Nepali Citizenship Act.

The President's office said in a statement that the President had issued the Nepali Citizenship (first amendment) ordinance pursuant to Article 114 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal.

The amendment was one of the demands put forth by the Mahantha Thakur-Rajendra Mahato faction of the Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal to provide their support to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

After the issuance of the ordinance, citizenship by descent will be provided to offsprings of 'bona fide' citizens of Nepal, those owning citizenship by birthright. Likewise, as per the ordinance, the children whose mothers are Nepali citizens but their fathers' identities cannot be established, will be granted Nepali citizenship.

For the past two years the bill was under discussion in the House of Representatives but was not endorsed due to disputes among the parties, reported by the Himalayan Times.

Earlier, Nepal's President dissolved the House of Representatives for the second time in five months and announced snap elections in November, rejecting both embattled Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and the Opposition alliance's claims to form a government.

The next election will be on November 12 and 19 as per the recommendation of the Cabinet.

BEIJING, 24 May, 2021, (TON): China's foreign ministry on Monday warned the United States and South Korea not to interfere in Taiwan, after leaders of the two countries agreed last week to work together to seek peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

"China brooks no foreign interference on the Taiwan issue," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular news briefing in Beijing, reuters reported.

China and Taiwan have had separate governments since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Beijing has long tried to limit Taiwan's international activities and both have vied for influence in the Pacific region.

Taiwan is China’s most sensitive territorial issue and a potential military flashpoint.

KABUL, 24 May, 2021, (TON): In an operation in northern Baghlan on Sunday night, eight security force members were freed from Taliban prison, said the Ministry of Defense (MoD) in a statement.

According to the statement the operation was launched in Amarkhil village of Baghlan-e-Jadid and the security force members who had been taken captive were released.

Meanwhile, a security source said that two security forces members were killed, and another was wounded during the operation. 

The MoD did not comment on the possible casualties of the security forces during the operation.

NAYPYITAW, 24 May, 2021, (TON): Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi appeared in person at a court hearing on Monday for the first time since her government was overthrown by the military in a February 1 coup. her lawyer told media.

Suu Kyi held a meeting with her legal team for about 30 minutes before the hearing, said lawyer Thae Maung Maung.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party first came to power after a landslide 2015 election victory, and won an even greater majority in last November's general election. It was set to start a second term in February when the military seized power in a coup, arresting her and dozens of top government officials and party members. 

The army seized power alleging fraud in a November election won by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. The then electoral commission had rejected its accusations.

COLOMBO, 24 May, 2021, (TON): Sri Lanka’s naval and fishing department warned about the rapid developing storm in the Bay of Bengal.

Sri Lanka’s Meteorology Department warned the Naval and fishing communities not to venture in to the sea around the island as a cyclonic storm is strengthening.

The Weather forecast for sea areas around the island at 05.30 a.m. on 23 May said the low-pressure area located in East Central Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a depression.

The system is very likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm by 24th and further into a severe cyclonic storm during subsequent 24 hours. It is very likely to move north-northwestwards and reach near west Bengal coasts around 26th May, the Meteorology Department said.

The Department advised the naval and fishing communities not to venture into the East Central Bay of Bengal and adjoining area until further notice.

The cyclone season has turned very active over the warm North Indian Ocean over the past ten days. Less than a week after the powerful Cyclone Tauktae battered the west coast of India, another low-pressure system is brewing over the Bay of Bengal and is set to intensify into a powerful cyclone.

ISLAMABAD, 24 May, 2021, (TON): The World Health Organisation (WHO) regional office for the eastern Mediterranean has announced the World No Tobacco Day 2021 Award for Pakistan for its effective anti-tobacco campaign.

Former technical head of the Health Ministry’s Tobacco Control Cell (TCC) and Focal Person for WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Dr Ziauddin Islam said the award had been given to Pakistan due to efforts made during the last decade said Dr Ziauddin Islam, Focal Person for WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the former technical head of the Health Ministry’s Tobacco Control Cell (TCC).

Pakistan is being lauded for implementing the ‘M’ measures (monitoring of tobacco use policies) in the MPOWER package to the highest level.

The health ministry had been facing criticism over disbanding the TCC whereas a parliamentarian, who defended tobacco companies in parliamentary committee meetings, became a member of the policy board of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

According to a statement issued by the health ministry, the TCC is working better under the director general (health wing) since July 2020. It has been organising smoke-free initiatives, acknowledged by WHO. Furthermore, it must be pointed out that NHS promulgated a statutory regulatory order (SRO), through which all types of tobacco advertising, promotions and sponsorship (TAPS) were banned on point of sale even on social media.

“Pakistan has grabbed the global award after the significant work on tobacco control through policy making as the country has set a target of reducing the number of persons consuming tobacco products by up to 30 per cent by 2025,” the statement said, adding the country also successfully implemented the model of Tobacco-Smoke Free City project under which health authorities established monitoring cells on the district level to implement steps for reducing tobacco consumption.

According to the statement Pakistan has made 304 localities and parks smoke-free in 12 different districts and became the first country to declare smoke-free Public parks.

WHO was asked to nominate individuals or organisations from each of the six WHO regions for their accomplishments in controlling tobacco use.

The international award will be given to the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) on ‘World No Tobacco Day – Commit to Quit’ which will be observed on May 31 across the globe.