ISLAMABAD, 21 October 2021, (TON): The Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, Sohail Mahmood, urged the international community to remain positively engaged with Afghanistan to avoid humanitarian crises and preclude mass exodus from the country.

The statement came during a meeting with a delegation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), led by Senior Civilian Representative to Afghanistan, Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo.

Per a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the foreign secretary shared Pakistan’s perspective on the latest developments in the region and stressed the importance of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

The foreign secretary also highlighted Pakistan’s facilitative role in the evacuation of the diplomatic personnel and staff of the embassies and international organisations from Afghanistan.

Ambassador Pontecorvo thanked the Government of Pakistan for the assistance extended to the NATO allies in their evacuation endeavours.

KABUL, 21 October 2021, (TON): Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers won backing from 10 regional powers at talks in Moscow for the idea of a United Nations donor conference to help the country stave off economic collapse and a humanitarian catastrophe.

Russia, China, Pakistan, India, Iran and formerly Soviet Central Asian states Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan joined the Taliban in calling for the UN to convene such a conference as soon as possible to help rebuild the country.

They said “it should take place with the understanding, of course, that the main burden, should be borne by the forces whose military contingents have been present in this country over the past 20 years.”

That was a pointed reference to the United States and its allies, who invaded Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks and whose abrupt withdrawal paved the way for the Taliban to seize back control of the country in August.

Washington chose not to attend the talks, citing technical reasons, but has said it may join future rounds.

KABUL, 21 October 2021, (TON): Government officials said “a grenade was thrown at a Taliban vehicle in the Afghan capital on Wednesday morning, wounding two fighters and four nearby school children.”

Taliban interior ministry spokesman Qari Sayed Khosti told media “this morning a grenade was thrown at a mujahideen vehicle in Deh Mazang, wounding two mujahideen.”

Another official said “our initial information shows four school students wounded.” The explosion happened just before 8am (0330 GMT) during rush hour in the Deh Mazang district in the west of the capital, a witness told media.

Amin Amani said “I was on my way to work, it was 7.55am and I heard this very big explosion on the road. I managed to escape.”

 WASHINGTON, 21 October 2021, (TON): Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said “the US military has begun active work to modernize tactical nuclear weapons and storage bases in European countries.”

“The US, with the full support of NATO allies, has stepped up work to modernize tactical nuclear weapons and storage sites in Europe,” Shoigu said at a joint meeting of the Russian and Belarusian defense ministries.

According to him, “of particular concern is the involvement of pilots of non-nuclear member states of the bloc in exercises to practice the use of tactical nuclear weapons.” “We see this as a direct violation of the Treaty on the Non-Pr-oliferation of Nuclear We-apons,” Russian Defense Minister emphasized.

He said that the joint exercises of Russia and Belarus “Shield of the Union” will become a key event in 2023.

ATHENS, 21 October 2021, (TON):  Greece pledged to link Egypt to the European Union’s energy market with an undersea cable that would carry electricity across the Mediterranean.

“Egypt’s link to Europe will be Greece,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said after talks in Athens with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

“We are seeking diversification of energy sources, and Egypt can also become a provider of electricity, which will be produced mainly by the sun.”

It comes during a global energy crunch, which has raised the cost of natural gas, oil and other fuels and led to pain for businesses and people. Mitsotakis said the project would be a “bridge between Egypt to Europe, allowing [Cairo] to take on a key role in energy security at a time of major turbulence in the energy market.”

Egypt last week signed separate agreements with Greece and Cyprus to set up undersea nterconnectors, though details of the proposed ventures have not been worked out.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades also joined the Athens meeting, marking the ninth round of talks between the three countries’ leaders.

ADDIS ABABA, 21 October 2021, (TON):  An air strike hit the capital of Tigray region in northern Ethiopia on Wednesday morning, regionally controlled television said, reporting the second attack on the city of Mekelle this week.

Tigrai Television, controlled by the region’s Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), reported the attack targeted the city center.

It posted photographs of what appeared to be plumes of billowing smoke, but it was not immediately possible for Reuters to geolocate the photographs. The TV station said in a statement on Facebook that the strike was at 10:24 a.m. (0724 GMT).

Ethiopia’s government spokesman, Legesse Tulu, did not immediately answer a phone call requesting comment on the reported strike. It was not immediately possible to reach the spokesperson for the TPLF.

The two sides have been fighting a war for almost a year that has killed thousands of people and displaced more than 2 million.

DAMASCUS, 21 October 2021, (TON): At least 27 people died in separate attacks in Syria in the country’s worst day of violence for nearly five years.

Two bombs planted on an army bus in central Damascus were detonated early in the morning, killing 14 people. Video footage showed emergency crews searching the charred shell of the bus and a bomb squad defusing a third device near by.

The bombs were detonated as the bus passed near the Hafez Al-Assad bridge, close to the national museum. The capital had been largely spared such bloodshed since troops and allied militias retook the last significant nearby rebel stronghold in 2018.

“We hadn’t seen violence of that type in a long time,” Salman, a fruit seller, said at the scene. “We thought we were done with such attacks.”

The bus attack was the deadliest in Damascus since a Daesh bombing targeted the Justice Palace in March 2017, killing at least 30 people.

WASHINGTON, 21 October 2021, (TON): The new US special envoy for Afghanistan, Thomas West, will visit Moscow in November, Zamir Kabulov, the Russian president’s special envoy for Afghanistan, director of the Second Asia Department of the Foreign Ministry, told reporters on Wednesday.

US special envoy Thomas West had already managed to talk on the phone with Kabulov. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that West had expressed a desire to “make contact and come to Russia.”

ROME, 21 October 2021, (TON):  Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has called for the EU to draw up “clear and adequately financed” plans for the handling of Mediterranean migration routes.

Speaking to the Italian Senate, he said it was essential that the issue was addressed at the European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

The premier urged the EU Commission to present “clear action plans, adequately funded, and addressed with equal priority to all routes of the Mediterranean,” starting with the one between Italy and the shores of North Africa.

He said that the EU should, “pay attention to the specificity of maritime borders and the effective political stability of Libya and Tunisia.”

A diplomatic adviser to the prime minister’s office told Arab News “without a proper stabilization of those two countries, no action can be effective. This is why PM Draghi at the upcoming European Council meeting will call on the EU to play a primary role.”

Draghi pointed out that during the summer, Italy had continued to meet its international rescue obligations in protecting migrants at sea. “We did it with humanity and in order to defend European values of solidarity and hospitality.”

WASHINGTON, 21 October 2021, (TON): The base said “a military base in the Washington suburb of Bethesda has been closed due to the threat of an explosion.”

The base said on Twitter “the base received a phone call from an unknown source, who said that there was a threat of an explosion near building 10. Security personnel are working on the spot.”

The base said “the base is closed, all servicemen must not leave the premises. All gates are closed for non-urgent travel. The public is asked to avoid this territory.”

The US Navy base in Bethesda, Maryland , maintains and guards the largest military hospital in the US Navy, where presidents and other prominent figures have been treated at various times.