NEW DELHI, 21 January 2022, (TON): India's defence ministry said “a 17-year-old Indian youth was reportedly captured by the Chinese military after going missing near the countries' shared border.”

According to a statement on the defence ministry's Twitter account “the Indian army has contacted its Chinese counterpart to locate and return the teenager, Miram Tarom.”

In a separate tweet, Tapir Gao, a lawmaker for the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh where Tarom lives, said “the teenager was allegedly abducted while a friend escaped and notified Indian authorities.”

The Chinese foreign ministry could not be immediately reached for comment.

India and China have frequently clashed over their lengthy and disputed Himalayan border, and China claims the entirety of Arunachal Pradesh as part of its Tibet region.

KABUL, 21 January 2022, (TON): The US military released videos of the botched August 29 drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 Afghan civilians, including seven children.

The newly released videos show the view from above Kabul as the military tracked a white Toyota Corolla through parts of the city, believing that it was an ISIS-K car laden with explosives and building a case for targeting it with a preemptive strike.

The Pentagon defended the strike at first, claiming it had killed an ISIS-K operative planning an imminent attack on US forces during the final days of the evacuation and withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In reality, the military was tracking Zamarai Ahmadi, an Afghan who worked for Nutrition and Education International, a nongovernmental organization focused on food security. Ahmadi had applied for a special immigrant visa and intended to bring his family to the United States.

NEW DELHI, 21 January 2022, (TON): India successfully test-fired a new version of its BrahMos missile on Thursday.

A government statement read “the missile launched from a test range in Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha, was equipped with advanced indigenous technologies and followed a modified optimal trajectory for enhanced efficiency and improved performance.”

The statement said “in this text-book flight, the missile followed the predicted trajectory meeting all mission objectives ... The highly maneuverable missile cruised at supersonic speed for its maximum range and all mission objectives were met.”

It hailed the test as “a major milestone in the way forward for the BrahMos programme”.

India’s state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said the mission “validated many new indigenous systems successfully, demonstrating enhanced capabilities”.

KABUL, 21 January 2022, (TON): Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi says that stability and durable peace in Afghanistan requires the formation of an inclusive government in the country to address the challenges.

Raisi made the remarks during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry in a statement quoted Raisi as saying inclusion of all ethnic and political groups in the government is needed for security and stability in Afghanistan.

The Russian foreign ministry said quoting Raisi “Formation of a broad-based government with the participation of all groups is the only way for stability and durable security in Afghanistan.”

Putin told Raisi as they met “Putin also commented on Afghanistan, saying the situation in Afghanistan is worrisome.”

He said “Now, of course, both you and we are concerned about the current situation in Afghanistan. I would like to discuss all these questions with you and find out your position on these issues.”

The formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan has been called for by many regional countries at various meetings, as well as by the international community in general.

KABUL, 21 January 2022, (TON): The Islamic Emirate said “it reached agreements with relevant stakeholders in four areas during Economic Summit hosted by Kabul.”

The Ministry of Finance said that the resumption of unfinished development projects, the removal of restrictions on the banking system, support for the private sector and persuading Chinese traders to invest in Afghanistan were the four key factors discussed at the meeting. 

said Ahmad Wali Haqmal, a spokesman for the ministry “all sides including nationals and foreigners called for the removal of restrictions on the banking system. These restrictions, and the freeze of Afghan assets, harms Afghanistan.” 

The First Deputy of the Prime Minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, emphasized the importance of economic self-sufficiency and the implementation of agriculture and development projects. 

He said “I call on all, especially the international community, to fulfill its responsibilities regarding Afghanistan. Take an action toward the Afghan nation that will solve its permanent problems so the Afghans can take steps forward.” 

The economic summit was attended by eight international organizations and representatives of 20 countries. The envoys of 40 other countries participated via Zoom. 

DHAKA, 21 January 2022, (TON): Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed said the Bangladesh Army would cooperate if the civil administration called for any needs, including elections.

He was speaking after taking part in a session on the third day of the DCs’ conference at the Osmani auditorium of the capital.

This is for the first time in recent years that the heads of the Army, Navy and Air force have joined the DCs’ conference.

General Shafiuddin said “the goal of making Bangladesh a ‘Sonar Bangla’ cannot be achieved without working closely with the civil administration. Therefore, I have proposed a reduction in the gap between the civil administration and the army as much as possible.”

The army chief said “assistance from the civil civilian administration was important in carrying out the duties of the military.”

DHAKA, 21 January 2022, (TON): International rights bodies have called on the United Nations Department of Peace Operations to ban Bangladeshi law enforcement agency Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) from deployment to the peacekeeping missions.

As many as 12 human rights organizations wrote to Under-Secretary General Jean-Pierre Lacroix seeking to ban the elite police unit following US sanctions, reports the Human Rights Watch.

According to the report “in a letter written two months ago but made public, human rights watchdogs have voiced concerns over the alleged torture and enforced disappearances in the country. “

Louis Charbonneau, United Nations director at Human Rights Watch said “the deployment of members of the RAB in peacekeeping operations reinforces a message that grave human rights abuses will not preclude one from service under the UN flag and increases the chances of human rights abuses being committed in UN missions.”

He added “the UN should send a clear signal to host and troop-contributing countries that abusive units will not be part of the UN.”

The report quoted Kerry Kennedy, president of Robert F Kennedy Human Rights saying “if Secretary General Guterres is serious about ending human rights abuses by UN peacekeepers, he will ensure that units with proven records of abuse like the Rapid Action Battalion are excluded from deployment.”

MOSCOW, 20 January 2022, (TON): The first units of the Russian Armed Forces involved in checking the response forces of the Union State arrived in Belarus. This was reported to journalists in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

“The first units of the troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, involved in the verification of the reaction forces of the Union State, arrive in the Republic of Belarus.

The military department said “the units of the Eastern Military District involved in the verification of the reaction forces of the Union State, with standard equipment and weapons, marched in a combined way on their own and by rail to unfamiliar training grounds to the places of performing training tasks on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.”

According to the ministry, the check will take place in two stages. At the first stage, until February 9, the redeployment and creation of groupings of troops on the territory of Belarus will be carried out as soon as possible, the protection and defense of important state and military facilities, and the protection of the state border in the airspace will be organized.

There will also be a test of the readiness and ability of the forces and means on duty for air defense to perform tasks to cover important objects on the territory of the republic.

The military department stressed “during the second stage of the verification, from February 10 to February 20, a joint exercise” Allied Resolve – 2022 will be held, within the framework of which the issues of suppressing and repelling external aggression, as well as countering terrorism and protecting the interests of the Union State, will be worked out.”

WASHINGTON, 20 January 2022, (TON): Major international airlines cancelled flights heading to the US or changed the planes they’re using, the latest complication in a dispute over concerns that the new 5G mobile phone service could interfere with aircraft technology.

Carriers took widely different approaches to the brewing crisis affecting international travel, from Middle Eastern airline Emirates drastically reducing its US-bound flights to Air France saying it would fly as normal.

It wasn’t immediately clear why the airlines made those decisions or whether they took into account that mobile carriers AT&T and Verizon agreed this week to pause the rollout of the new high-speed wireless service near key airports.

US officials had said that even with the concession, there could be some cancellations and delays because of limitations of equipment on certain planes.

PARIS, 20 January 2022, (TON): The foreign ministries of France, Germany, Italy and Spain urged Israeli authorities to stop the construction of new housing units in East Jerusalem.

Earlier in the month, Israeli authorities approved plans for the construction of around 3,500 homes in occupied East Jerusalem, nearly half of which are to be built in the controversial areas of Givat Hamatos and Har Homa.

In a statement, the European countries said that the hundreds of new buildings would “constitute an additional obstacle to the two-state solution,” referring to international peace efforts to create a state for Palestinians.

They said that building in this area would further disconnect the West Bank from East Jerusalem and that these settlements are a violation of international law.

The Israeli ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Israel captured East Jerusalem including the Old City in a 1967 war and later annexed it, a move not recognized internationally.