KABUL, 21 November 2021, (TON): Officials said “Afghanistan's Taliban administration will begin paying the overdue salaries of government workers from Saturday.”

Thousands of Afghan government workers are owed at least three months of salary, one of the many crises faced by the Taliban since the movement took over the country in August.

Taliban spokesman said on Twitter "the finance ministry says that, starting today, the past three months salaries of all government workers and staff will be paid totally.”

It was not immediately clear where the funds to pay the salaries would come from.

Even before the Taliban seized control last in August, many public sector workers said they had not been paid for weeks. After the movement took power, billions of dollars of Afghan government funds parked abroad in the United States and Europe were frozen.

Foreign governments have been unwilling to fund the Taliban-led administration directly to help with financial commitments such as payment of workers. Global financial institutions have also halted funding.

ISLAMABAD, 21 November 2021, (TON): Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan would support Chinese businesses in the country on a priority basis and appreciated them for their keen interest in accelerating investment in Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

The premier’s remarks came during a meeting with a Chinese business delegation led by Chen Yan from Challenge Fashion.

PM Imran said”Pakistan and China are connected not only in past or present but we will remain united through our future generations too.”

“We appreciate the valuable relationship of the peoples of two countries.”

Furthermore, the prime minister directed the authorities concerned to facilitate all Chinese investors, who are setting up industries in Pakistan, on an emergency basis by resolving their issues related to road connectivity and the provision of utilities.

Earlier, PM Imran was apprised that Chinese businessmen are almost ready to start operations in the glass, ceramics and information technology sectors

It is worth mentioning that OPPO, one of the leading tech manufacturers in the world, is going to establish a local mobile manufacturing unit and a research and development centre in Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD, 21 November 2021, (TON): Pakistan has rebuffed the reports carried by a section of Indian media claiming "seizure of possible radioactive material" on shipping containers of a commercial vessel loaded from Karachi port.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said in a statement “we have noted the reports in the Indian media about seizure of possible radioactive material by Indian port authorities at the Mundra Port on containers loaded on a Shanghai bound commercial vessel from Karachi Port.”

In this regard, the Karachi nuclear power plant authorities have informed that these were “empty containers” being returned to China which were earlier used for the transportation of fuel from China to Karachi for K-2 and K-3 nuclear power plants, he explained.

The statement further added “both K-2 and K-3 nuclear power plants and fuel used in these plants are under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.”

The FO communiqué said the cargo was correctly declared non-hazardous in the shipping documents.

NEW DELHI, 21 November 2021, (TON): The Telangana government announced ₹ 3 lakh as compensation each to the families of the 750 farmers who died while protesting against the Centre's farm laws at Delhi borders.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also demanded the central government to give ₹ 25 lakh to each of the farmers who died while protesting and withdraw all cases against the protesting farmers.

The announcement came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “the three farm laws passed by the Centre will be rolled back.”

The compensation announced by Telangana will cost the state ₹ 22.5 crore, said the chief minister, popularly known as KCR. He also requested the protest leaders to send details of the farmers who died.

NEW DELHI, 21 November 2021, (TON): Reports said “at least 30 people are dead or missing after flash floods hit southern India, with three buses washed away in one incident.”

Rescue teams pulled out a dozen bodies after three buses were washed away in Andhra Pradesh state. At least 18 other people were still missing, media outlet The NewsMinute reported.

Analysts say unpredictable and extreme weather across South Asia is driven by climate change, exacerbated by damming, deforestation and excessive development.

Dozens have died since October in India after heavy rains triggered floods and landslides, and the country’s Met Office said more heavy rains were expected in several southern areas.

At least 42 people were killed last month when heavy rains pummelled Kerala, and authorities in the state halted entry to Sabarimala, one of Hinduism's holiest shrines, due to heavy rains in the area.

DHAKA, 21 November 2021, (TON): Top Bangladeshi and US officials argy-bargied over issues like IT and cyber security during the week-long discussions.

Issues like digital economy partnership, global village, protection of technology, parallel policies, infrastructure and altered technology were also discussed at the US-Bangladesh ICT Consultation meeting held from November 14-19.

The meeting with officials of the US Commerce Department was fruitful, said Hasanul Haque, head of the Bangladeshi delegation.

He said “discussions on what we need to do now to establish the freedom of speech on the internet as well as the security of individuals, society and the state were made.”

From this we got a clear idea about the role of stakeholders and the responsibility of the state. Besides, we’ve got some guidelines to ensure the safety of the inhabitants of the global village and their equal opportunity in the digital economy.

In the global context of the fourth industrial revolution, the Data Privacy Act, cross-border e-commerce trade policy, coordination among different ministries in national security, advance security technology, security ranking of different countries, public-private partnerships and digital trade agreements between different countries; above all, necessary policy, law, infrastructure and technical security issues for Bangladesh came up in the meeting.

NAYPYITAW, 21 November 2021, (TON): Myanmar Navy personnel have reportedly detained 22 fishermen and towed four trawlers off the coast of Saint Martin’s Island, inside the Bangladesh maritime boundary.

The island's Union Parishad Chairman Nur Ahmed said “the Bangladeshi men were picked up by the neighbouring country’s naval forces.”

He said “the fishermen were detained from the east side of the island. The circumstances that led to their detention were unclear.”

Ahmed said “he had spoken to some of the fishermen over the phone.”

They said “all of them were taken on board a Myanmar Navy ship and their trawlers had been towed. They did not know where they were being taken.”

“Since then, their phones have been switched off. We have notified the Teknaf upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) and other relevant authorities.”

Teknaf UNO Parvez Chowdhury said Border Guard Bangladesh and Bangladesh Coast Guard had been informed about the situation and urged to take immediate action.

DHAKA, 21 November 2021, (TON): Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen expressed the hope that Bangladesh would be able to fulfil its target of relocating one lakh Rohingyas to Bhasan Char from congested Cox’s Bazar camps within a year as the UNHCR had agreed to work on it.

He said “as the prime minister decided to rehabilitate 100,000 Rohingyas in Bhasan Char, we have built houses at a cost of Tk35 crore.”

Momen told reporters “we have already relocated nearly 18,500 Rohingyas to Bhashan Char. We will resume relocating them (to the island) this month.”

The foreign minister reiterated that the relocation of Rohingyas to the island of Bhasan Char would be fully voluntary.      

He also hoped that Myanmar would take back the Rohingyas gradually as pressure on it would mount following the recent adoption of a resolution at the United Nations.

“I believe pressure will be mounted on Myanmar as the resolution has been passed by consensus.”

DHAKA, 21 November 2021, (TON): The conference will focus on mutual cooperation in inter-state crime detection and suppression strategies and enhancing police’s capacity.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed left for Turkey to attend the 89th Interpol General Assembly.

AIG (Media) of the Police headquarters Md Kamruzzaman said “he will lead a five-member delegation to the three-day conference that will be held in Turkey on November 23-25.”

The International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as Interpol, is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control.

At the conference, police representatives from 194 member countries of Interpol will formulate various policies on the current global security situation, international and inter-state crime, violence, fundamentalism and terrorism, money laundering, organized crime, cybercrime, pornography, abuse of women and children, sexual harassment and data management of miscellaneous crimes, and will take plan adoption and determine implementation strategy in this regards.

WASHINGTON, 20 November 2021, (TON): Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has said that Thank you very much, Vice President Koroma for your leadership here at ECOWAS not just today, but every single day. 

And it’s very good to be here at ECOWAS, which makes vital contributions across the region to economic integration, security, democracy, climate, health, and more.

And it’s great to be back in Abuja on, indeed, my first trip to sub-Saharan Africa as U.S. Secretary of State.

The “Giant of Africa” is an apt nickname for Nigeria, because this country looms large.

Your strengths are undeniable, a dynamic democracy, a robust economy, and a very powerful civil society.

The challenges you face are undeniable as well – including the disruption and insecurity caused by terrorism and armed groups.

Then there’s Nigeria’s cultural influence.

The United States firmly believes that it’s time to stop treating Africa as a subject of geopolitics – and start treating it as the major geopolitical player it has become.