SANTIAGO, 15 March, 2021 (TON): On Sunday, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera announced to extend the April Constitutional Convention elections from day one to two.

"I am sure that with the support and collaboration of all, as we have had an exemplary vaccination process, recognized and appreciated throughout the world, on Saturday, April 10, and Sunday, April 11, we will also have an exemplary election that honors our democratic tradition," he said.

In these elections, 155 people will be chosen for drafting a new constitution in the hope of resolving the social crisis that erupted In October 2019.

This follows the 2020 Chilean national plebiscite, where 78 percent of voters approved the writing of a new text.

However, as the cases of the COVID-19 have decreased in only four regions of the country in the last week while they have risen in others, the Health Minister reported.

Therefore, amid the ongoing crisis, the announcement was made, as the country has been under a state of emergency lately due to the pandemic and Congress has approved the extension this week to cope with the situation.

JEDDAH, 15 March, 2021 (TON): On Sunday, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen called on Tunisian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Hichem Fourati.

Hichem Fourati is also a permanent representative of Tunisia at the OIC.

During the meeting, an OIC for Food Security was also signed by Fourati on behalf of his country.

Topics of mutual interests were discussed to enhance strengthening cooperation between the OIC and Tunisia.  

YANGON, 15 March, 2021 (TON): As Myanmar activists planned more anti-coup rallies on Monday, Myanmar's military-backed State Administration Council has imposed martial law in the Hlaingthaya and Shwe Pyi Thar townships of the Yangon region, the media reported.

On Sunday, at least 39 people were killed in clashes with security forces in the commercial hub of Yangon where Chinese-financed factories were torched. Security forces killed at least 22 pro-democracy protesters in the Hlaingthaya suburb of Yangon.

And a further 16 protesters were killed in other places, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said.

The move came after some factories in the townships were burnt down, the report said.

As China is viewed as being supportive of the military junta that has taken power, the Chinese embassy said much Chinese staff was injured and trapped in arson attacks by unidentified assailants on garment factories in Hlaingthaya, and that it had called on Myanmar to protect Chinese property and citizens.

China's embassy described the situation as very severe after the attacks on the Chinese-financed factories.

No group claimed responsibility for burning the factories, however, China made the strongest comments about violence up to now, and it urged Myanmar authorities to stop all acts of violence, punish the perpetrators in accordance with the law and ensure the safety of life and property of Chinese companies and personnel.

ISLAMABAD, 15 March, 2021, (TON): The Hindu community in Pakistan's restive KPK has decided to exculpate the horde that vandalized and torched an extremely old sanctuary in the area.

The local clerics and members of the Hindu community held a meeting on Saturday in order to sort out the problem.

As per the dialogue, informally called 'Jirga', the accused have tendered an apology over the attack and a similar incident in 1997.

The Muslim clerics have assured full protection to the Hindus and their rights as per the country's Constitution.

A compromise proclamation from the meeting would be introduced to the Supreme Court, in an offer to get the release of the accused from detainment.

KADUNA, 15 March, 2021 (TON): As dozens of college students abducted and media ran videos showing hostages pleading for help, the Nigerian security forces stepped up efforts to get to the victims from Saturday.

Gunmen abducted 39 students from their hostels in northwestern Kaduna state late Thursday, the latest in a series of such attacks.

The military managed to rescue 180 others after a fierce battle at the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Mando at the outskirts of the state capital, Kaduna city.

The police spokesman Mohammadu Jalinge said, "A combined team of police, army, and other security forces are in a frantic search for the kidnapped students." 

"We are combing the surrounding forests and bushes with a view to freeing the hostages. Very soon, it will be over for the bandits," he added.

"An operation for the students' rescue is underway by security personnel from the army, air force, police, and DSS (secret police)," state commissioner for internal security Samuel Aruwan said.

Heavily armed gangs in the northwest and central Nigeria have stepped up attacks in recent years, kidnapping for ransom, raping, and pillaging, however, President Muhammadu Buhari warned the attackers (Bandits) to halt targeting the school and college students.

"Our military may be efficient and well-armed but it needs good efforts for the nation's defense, and the local population must rise to this challenge of the moment," he said.

Mass kidnappings in the northwest are complicating the security challenges facing President Muhammadu Buhari's security forces, which are also battling a more than decade-long insurgency in the northeast.

KABUL, 15 March, 2021, (TON): Afghanistan's interior minister said on Saturday that Afghan security forces can hold their ground regardless of whether US troops pull out, testing a notice from the United States foreseeing a withdrawal would yield fast regional additions to the Taliban.

Masoud Andarabi's remarks in a meeting on Saturday were the primary government response to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's admonition gave in a forcefully phrased letter to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani a weekend ago.

In the letter pressing Ghani to step up efforts to make peace with the Taliban, Blinken said, "I am concerned the security situation will worsen and that the Taliban could make rapid territorial gains" after the American military pulls out. Andarabi said Afghanistan's National Security Forces could hold an area, yet would probably bear weighty misfortunes attempting to hold distant designated spots without US air uphold.

GANABHABAN, 15 March, 2021 (TON): Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina called on the Biman Bangladesh Airlines for improvement in its services, for she says it is associated with the country’s image.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Biman Bangladesh Airlines via video conferencing from the Ganabhaban on Sunday.

The PM said at the inauguration of two new Dash-8-Q400 aircraft, Akashtori’ and ‘Shwetbalaka’, “This is our country which we earned after paying with the blood of millions of martyrs. It’s our duty to brighten the image of Bangladesh.”

While addressing the employees, she said, “The more we elevate our customer services, the more it will propel the growth of the country and its people. So I want you all to do your duty.”

 “I urge you all to ensure those aircraft are safe and maintained and the quality of passenger service is enhanced,” said Hasina.

“Our geographical position puts us [in the middle of] international air routes. Bangladesh could easily become a bridge between the East and the West. We have a number of opportunities to increase our connectivity, communication, trade and business with South Asia and South-East Asia. The Father of the Nation had dreamed of it,” she added.

Biman International is a Bangladesh national airline that has progressed from a disastrous state to what it is now. The prime minister highlighted her government’s initiatives to modernize Biman and make it better.

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman wanted to establish Bangladesh as the ‘Switzerland of the East, she stressed, and therefore the government always tries to develop the country.

NEW DELHI, 14 March, 2020, (TON):  The BJP has said the state is reeling under a debt of Rs 4.75 lakh crore, amassed during the last 10 years of the Trinamool Congress rule.  

BJP national spokesperson and Lok Sabha MP from Darjeeling, Raju Bisht said, "when Mamata Banerjee took over the reins of the West Bengal government in 2011, the state was under a debt of Rs 1.9 lakh crore. But now this debt has more than doubled due to the wrong policies of the Mamata government. Today, after 10 years, West Bengal has a total debt of Rs 4.75 lakh crore. The economy of Bengal is completely derailed."  

The BJP has also raised the issue of lack of investments in the state. The saffron party alleged that the current situation in the state, which was once known for its factories, has weakened on the investment front today. The BJP leaders raised questions over the Rs 15 lakh crore MoUs signed between various business houses during the Mamata Banerjee regime.  

Bisht alleged that in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee looted crores of rupees of public exchequer in the name of Investors' Summit for welcoming businessmen, "there was also talk of signing an MoU of 15 crores to fool the public, but there were no investments done".  

The BJP has now taken up the debt issue majorly in its campaigning. The party believes that cornering Mamata Banerjee government on the basis of facts and figures could prove to be very effective instead of superficial allegations, say party leaders. 

The Election Commission of India (ECI)announced an unprecedented eight-phase election schedule for the 294-seat West Bengal Assembly starting from March 27 and going on till April 29. About 7,32,94,980 electors will exercise their franchise across 1,01,916 polling booths.  

The BJP is going to the polls under Narendra Modi’s leadership. 

Polling in West Bengal will be held on March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29. The entire electoral process, from the date of announcement till the date of counting, will be completed in 66 days. 

TRIPOLI, 14 March, 2020, (TON):  The newly-selected Prime Minister of Libya, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, held the first meeting with the cabinet office on Saturday, 13th March. 

The meeting was aimed at developing "a plan of the office's work and coordination with the ministries and public institutions of the Government of National Unity," said a statement by the Information Office of the Government. 

Meanwhile, Libya's House of Representatives on Wednesday granted confidence to the government led by Dbeibah. 

The new government will be sworn in next Monday, according to a spokesman for the House of Representatives. 

In the previous month, Libya marked 10 years since the start of its 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi, plunging the country into a decade of violence and political turmoil. 

Today, the oil-rich North African nation is split between two rival administrations, as well as rebel groups. 

ADDIS ABABA, 14 March, 2020, (TON):  The Ethiopian government on Saturday rejected U.S. allegations of ethnic cleansing in the northern Tigray regional state as "completely unfounded." 

Referring to allegations made by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier in the day in a congressional hearing, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "(The accusation) is a completely unfounded and spurious verdict against the Ethiopian government.”  

"Overblowing things out of proportion while the Ethiopian government has made its position unequivocally clear on the need for thorough investigation in collaboration with regional and international partners does not serve the purpose of justice other than unnecessarily politicizing the issue," the statement said. 

“Nothing during or after the end of the main law enforcement operation in Tigray can be identified or defined by any standards as a targeted, intentional ethnic cleansing against anyone in the region,” it said. “The Ethiopian government vehemently opposes such accusations.” 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday he wanted to see Eritrean forces and those from the Amhara region replaced in Tigray by security forces that will respect human rights and not “commit acts of ethnic cleansing.” 

Fighting has ravaged northern Ethiopia since early November when the government opened a military offensive against the ruling faction in the region of Tigray, starting a conflict that has caused thousands of deaths and widespread destruction, displaced over 2 million people, and sent tens of thousands of refugees into neighboring Sudan. 

The Ethiopian government has recently allowed humanitarian access to Tigray, stressing that all entities operating in the state should abide by the laws of the land.