SANAA, 11 December 2022, (TON): The UN said “two troops from Yemen’s pro-government forces were killed in an armed ambush on a UN convoy in eastern Yemen.”

According to a statement from the UN’s International Office of Migration spokeswoman, the two soldiers were killed while escorting a convoy traveling west from Seiyun to Marib. No IOM staff, who were on an unspecified humanitarian mission, were injured in the attack, it said.

No further details about the Friday incident were given.

A tribal leader from the area and a UN official said the ambush took place near the town of Al-Abr, in Yemen’s eastern Hadramout province.

LONDON, 11 December 2022, (TON): An investigation has discovered investors in the UK are buying up hotels to transform them into migrant shelters, with some making millions of pounds in profit.

The investigation, launched by the Mail, discovered one firm, Payman Club, run by a man named Na’im Anis Payman, had bought 12 properties for this purpose in under two years, and another, H&H Hotels, was set to make £11 million per year in profit from housing migrants.

The companies are thought to have taken advantage of the collapse of the tourism industry in the UK prompted by government lockdowns during the pandemic to pick up large commercial properties on the cheap.

The hotels are then passed on to be used by a company called Serco, responsible for housing migrants in the UK, which receives £150 per migrant per day from the Home Office.

DUBAI, 11 December 2022, (TON): A senior UAE official said on Saturday it was encouraging to see greater European outreach to Gulf Arab states in the face of the Ukraine conflict and energy crunch, but that engagement should not be “transactional.”

A number of European officials have visited Gulf countries to secure energy supplies outside of former top provider Russia after the West imposed sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

“What we’re hearing, especially from the Germans and others, about reengaging with the Gulf, I am encouraged but I would warn that it should not be transactional,” Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the president of the UAE, told the World Policy Conference in Abu Dhabi.

ROME, 11 December 2022, (TON): Italy has agreed to take in over 500 migrants from two rescue ships at sea off its coast after another vessel carrying 33 migrants had docked on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.

MSF said “the Geo Barents ship, which is operated by the Doctors without Borders charity and had 248 migrants aboard, has been told to head for the Port of Salerno on the southern Italian mainland.”

MSF said “it would take more than 24 hours to get there from its current location off the eastern coast of Sicily but welcomed the decision.”

RIYADH, 11 December 2022, (TON): Saudi Press Agency reported “Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received regional leaders.”

He received President Ismail Omar Guelleh, President Othman Ghazali of the Union of Comoros, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia, and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

He also received Chairman Mohamed Yunus Al-Menfi of the Libyan Presidential Council.

The Lebanese Prime Minister expressed his constant thanks to and appreciation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's historical stances towards Lebanon and the Kingdom's main role in establishing Lebanese reconciliation and consolidating peace following the approval of the National Reconciliation Accord at Taif Conference.

LONDON, 11 December 2022, (TON): Britain, Italy and Japan said on Friday they will jointly develop a future fighter jet in a project that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said would guarantee national security and safeguard thousands of jobs.

The three nations held out the prospect of cooperation with European and US allies, which are developing their own “sixth-generation” planes, vowing to maintain “interoperability” among all the allies against threats from the likes of China and Russia.

The new “Global Combat Air Programme” is slated to produce its first jets by 2035, merging the three nations’ costly existing research into new aerial war technology, from stealth capacity to high-tech sensors.

KABUL, 11 December 2022, (TON): In a joint statement issued on Friday after meetings between the two countries' leaders in Riyadh, China and Saudi Arabia emphasized the importance of preventing Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorists.

According to the statement, Beijing and Riyadh are working to improve security and stability in Afghanistan and will help to provide humanitarian aid to this country.

The statement reads “Regarding Afghanistan, the two sides stressed the importance of supporting efforts that would achieve security and stability in Afghanistan, ensuring that Afghanistan does not become a haven for terrorist and extremist groups. They also stressed the importance of strengthening humanitarian efforts exerted by the international community to stop the ongoing deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, and to deliver humanitarian aid to the Afghan people.”

DHAKA, 11 December 2022, (TON): Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal yesterday said the International Monetary Fund had praised Bangladesh's economic progress as "outstanding".

He said "the IMF opened its heart and described Bangladesh's achievements as outstanding.”

When the Awami League government came to power in 2009, Bangladesh's GDP was $100 billion. This has increased almost four and a half times and now stands at $465 billion. The per capita income increased from $686 to $2,866.

DHAKA, 11 December 2022, (TON): The White House on Friday called on the government of Bangladesh to fully investigate reports of violence against journalists and human rights activists ahead of a major political protest, and urged all parties to refrain from violence.

Local media in Bangladesh this week reported police killed one person and wounded more than 60 people on Wednesday in Dhaka when they fired upon activists and members of the BNP, the country's largest opposition party.

The Voice of America, meanwhile, reported that thousands of BNP members had been arrested over the past month ahead of a protest planned by the party in Dhaka on Saturday that activists say could attract 1 million people.

DHAKA, 11 December 2022, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will virtually launch the global hub on locally-led adaptation in Dhaka. 

Officials said “Locally Led Adaptation (LLA), which involves shifting power to local stakeholders to lead and meaningfully participate in adaptation actions, can unlock the enormous potential and creativity of communities to develop and implement solutions, while catalyzing adaptation that is more effective, equitable, and better targeted at local needs.”

The government of Bangladesh and the Global Center on Adaptation will host the launching ceremony at the Foreign Service Academy.