WASHINGTON, 22 December 2021, (TON): Data collected after years of litigation and months of investigation persuaded The New York Times to conclude that civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan were much higher than the United States ever acknowledged.

Summing up its efforts to probe the US wars in the greater Middle East region, the newspaper wrote “the promise was a war waged by all-seeing drones and precision bombs.”

But the documents NYT obtained showed “flawed intelligence, faulty targeting, years of civilian deaths and scant accountability”.

The newspaper got access to the Pentagon documents about the war through Freedom of Information requests beginning in March 2017 and lawsuits filed against the US Defence Department and the Central Command.

NYT reporters also visited more than 100 casualty sites and interviewed scores of surviving residents and current and former American officials.

The findings, published this week in a two-part report, revealed that the US air war was “deeply flawed” and the number of civilian deaths had been “drastically undercounted”, by at least several hundreds, NYT reported.

BRUSSELS, 22 December 2021, (TON): NATO invites the Russian Federation to hold a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council (RNC) in early 2022 to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a briefing in Brussels following a meeting with Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Chuke.

At the same time, he stressed that NATO will never compromise with Russia on the right of Ukraine “to choose its own path” and to claim membership in the alliance, as well as on the right of NATO states to defend the rest of the alliance.

Stoltenberg said “we are ready for dialogue with Russia. I intend to convene a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council ear-ly next year to sit down and discuss these serious issues.”

He said “NATO will never compromise with Russia on enlargement, the sovereign right of European countries, and this concerns Ukraine, to choose its own path, as well as the right of NATO states to defend the entire alliance.”

Stolten-berg said “the NATO countries have a common position and a common approach to Russia. It is based on deterrence and defense, as well as a willingness to defend each other, but we are also open to dialogue.”

He reiterated that NATO “considers dialogue especially important in such difficult times as now, when it is necessary to sit down and discuss reducing tensions.”

DHAKA, 22 December 2021, (TON): NXT Air, a new cargo airline in the country, will start operations from next year.

A director of NXT Air said “the airline has already received no objection certificate from Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) on December 17, Tazin Talukder.”

She said "as Bangladesh grows to become an export-oriented economic powerhouse, to keep pace with modern customer consumption patterns, it is essential to have a homegrown dedicated cargo air carrier.”

The airline will initially use ATR 72 to operate its service.

Cox's Bazar Airport will be the main operation base of NXT air.

NAYPYITAW, 22 December 2021, (TON): The UN's refugee agency called for Thailand to allow them "urgent access" to more than 3,000 Myanmar refugees who fled to the kingdom to escape fighting in conflict-wracked Karen state.

Clashes between Myanmar's military and the Karen National Union, a rebel group vocally opposed to a junta which deposed a civilian government in February broke out last week in a town not far from the Thai border.

The UNHCR said “some 700 refugees crossed the river into Thailand's Tak province on Thursday, fleeing artillery shelling and small arms fire. By Monday, the number had ballooned to 3,900 due to continued fighting.”

It said in a statement "UNHCR is concerned for the welfare of these civilians and has approached the Thai authorities with offers of assistance.”

DHAKA, 22 December 2021, (TON): Bangladesh wants the international community to put pressure on Myanmar by imposing economic and arms sanctions so that the southeast Asian country takes back Rohingyas from Bangladesh at the soonest.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen also floated the idea of forming a coalition of friends willing to address the Rohingya refugee problem, which has been creating huge problems for Bangladesh and the region.

He said at a seminar on the Rohingya crisis organised by a "DIPLOMATS" a local magazine "many of our development partners have been selling weapons to Myanmar. This is very sad. There are countries providing arms worth $2.4 billion.”

Besides China and Russia, India, South Korea, North Korea, Israel, Ukraine and the Philippines are supplying weapons to Myanmar, which is now being run by the military after a coup in February.

"There should be sanctions on Myanmar so none can supply weapons to Myanmar.”

DHAKA, 22 December 2021, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will leave Dhaka for Male, the capital of Maldives, on Wednesday (today) noon on an official visit at the invitation of Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told media "a special VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her entourage members will depart from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka.”

The flight is scheduled to reach Male at 3pm local time when she will be received by the Maldivian state minister for foreign affairs.

During the visit, four agreements, including two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) are likely to be signed on Thursday.

ISLAMABAD, 22 December 2021, (TON): President Dr Arif Alvi emphasised the need for early completion of the ambitious multi-billion-dollar Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) gas pipeline project, expressing the hope that it would help overcome the energy crisis in the country.

the president said while talking to Turkmenistan Foreign Minister Meredov Rashid Ovezgeldiyevich at the Presidency “Pakistan is committed to early completion of the Tapi pipeline project.”

The meeting proposed to establish a committee under the Joint Working Group to expedite the process for early completion of the project.

The president said “Pakistan attached utmost significance to its ties with Turkmenistan as the two countries enjoyed excellent relations in various fields, besides maintaining a unanimity of views on major international and regional forums, including the UN, the Economic Cooperation Organisation and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.”

Turkmenistan’s foreign minister discusses project with President.

NEW DELHI, 22 December 2021, (TON): India has begun deploying the Russian S-400 air defence missile system in the north-western state of Punjab.

The Indian Air Force is deploying the S-400 on the western border to counter possible threats from Pakistan and China.

Local sources said “the S-400 batteries will be capable of dealing with airborne threats from Pakistan and China.”

It added “Russia has started supplying India with the S-400 Triumf, a mobile and surface-to-air missile defence system via air and sea routes that will be promptly deployed in the designated locations.”

The first deliveries of Russia's powerful S-400 air defence missile system are expected to be completed by the end of this year, with the unit being operationalised in the next few weeks.

The air force will focus on the eastern front after completing its deployment in the Punjab state, according to the report, and provide resources for training personnel in the country.

KABUL, 22 December 2021, (TON): Around 200 Afghans marched in Kabul to demand the release of billions of dollars of assets frozen by the international community, a rare protest allowed by the Taliban as the country battles a major economic crisis.

There were no women in Tuesday's march, organised by a little-known group called the Afghan People's Movement which in the past has held peace rallies in the capital.

The Taliban have outlawed protests unless approved, cracking down hard on several demonstrations held by women clamouring for the right to jobs and education.

Tuesday's march clearly had the blessing of Afghanistan's new rulers, with Taliban social media accounts featuring multiple images and video clips saying participants spoke for ordinary citizens.

"Let us eat" read one banner carried by a marcher near a square in central Kabul.

Organiser Shafiq Ahmad Rahimi told media "our main demand is that the United States should release our assets as soon as possible.”

ISLAMABAD, 22 December 2021, (TON): A statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations said “Pakistan Army conducted a successful test launch of an 'enhanced-range' version of the indigenously developed Babur Cruise Missile 1B.”

According to the military's media wing, Director General of Strategic Plans Division (SPD) Lieutenant General Nadeem Zaki Manj congratulated the scientists and engineers on achieving excellence in the domain of cruise missile technology.

He also expressed his full confidence that this test would further strengthen Pakistan’s strategic deterrence.

The ISPR added “President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Nadeem Raza and services chiefs also congratulated the scientists and engineers on conducting the successful launch.”

The military's media wing further stated that the launch was also witnessed by Dr Raza Samar, Chairman NESCOM, Lieutenant General Muhammad Ali, Commander Army Strategic Force Command, senior officers from SPD, strategic forces, scientists and engineers of strategic organizations.