ATHENS, 29 September 2021, (TON): Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday that Greece has been in talks with France to boost their defence alliance as Athens seeks to build up its armed forces.

After finalising a 2.5 billion euros agreement with long-standing ally France for the purchase of 18 Dassault-made Rafale figther jets last year, Mitsotakis said this month that Greece would buy another six Rafale jets from Paris.

France had been also expected to put in proposals to supply new frigates to Athens.

Asked if Greece was close to a defence deal with France, Mitsotakis, who is in Paris, told Greek state television “there will be announcements tomorrow morning”.

He said “we’re heading towards a substantial deepening of our strategic cooperation between Greece and France.”

Mitsotakis and French President Emmanuel Macron were due to make joint statements in Paris.

Greece has been often embroiled in tensions with neighbouring Turkey over a range of issues, from competing claims over hydrocarbon resources in the Aegean Sea to demilitarisation of islands.

WASHINGTON, 29 September 2021, (TON): Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with France’s Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly on Monday over the phone to discuss the evolving situation in the Sahel.

Secretary Austin applauded French leadership in countering terrorism in the region and assured her of continued U.S. support for this important mission.

Secretary Austin also gave his condolences for the death of French soldier Maxime Blasco, who was killed in a militant clash on the Mali-Burkina Faso border. The two leaders agreed to continue regular consultations on the situation in the Sahel.

KABUL, 29 September 2021, (TON): The Pakistan’s ambassador to the country said “Pakistan has discussed the Taliban-led Afghanistan joining the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure project.”

Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Pakistan’s envoy to Kabul, said in an interview “regional connectivity is an important element of our discussion with Afghan leadership and our way forward for our economic interaction with Afghanistan.”

“This important project, China Pakistan Economic Corridor, provides good opportunities, good potential for providing infrastructure and energy connectivity between Afghanistan and Pakistan (and) also connecting South Asia to the Central Asian region.”

Says Pakistan is also trying to get curbs lifted on Afghan banking system

Khan said that discussions had been held with the Taliban-led administration on this and other ways to develop the country’s economy.

“I think there has been deep interest in terms of developing economic connectivity of Afghanistan with Pakistan through CPEC and with other neighbouring countries including Iran, China, Central Asian countries.”

In recent days representatives from Pakistan, China and Russia have held meetings with Taliban officials. Khan said security and economic development were the two main topics under discussion and that these countries expected to continue to consult as a group and meet the Taliban going forward.

ISLAMABAD, 29 September 2021, (TON): Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday assured the nationalist leaders and veteran politicians of Sindh of the Centre’s support in resolving decades-old crisis in rural parts of the province ruled by the rival Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), political leaders and sources said.

The assurance from the prime minister came at meetings at Governor House where he after performing groundbreaking ceremony of the Karachi Circular Railway spent time with federal ministers, PTI legislators, leaders of allied parties and other prominent politicians of the province.

The most significant development came when former Sindh chief minister and senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Ghous Ali Shah met the prime minister and announced that he was joining the PTI.

The announcement was made in a brief statement issued by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Karachi division, without giving details of the discussion held between the two sides.

Ghous Ali Shah had served as Sindh CM from 1985 to 1988 under General Ziaul Haq’s dictatorship and later as chief executive of the province in 1999 when Nawaz Sharif was prime minister.

SANAA, 29 September 2021, (TON): Sixty-seven Yemeni rebels and pro-government troops have been killed in fighting for the key city of Marib, military sources said on Monday, as the insurgents inch closer to the loyalists’ last northern bastion.

A volley of air strikes from the Saudi-led coalition targeted the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have stepped up their assault to seize the capital of the oil-rich Marib province in recent weeks.

Hundreds of fighters have died in clashes this month for Marib, a temporary home for hundreds of thousands who fled there from other frontline cities. Over two million more live in refugee camps in the province.

Military sources said “fifty-eight Houthi insurgents and nine loyalists were killed in fighting and air strikes in the provinces of Marib and Shabwa in the past 24 hours.”

The figures were confirmed by medical sources, while the rebels rarely announce their casualties.

According to the military sources “the Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen’s government launched more than 20 air strikes in the past 24 hours.”

The strikes “targeted Houthi vehicles, meeting points and reinforcements in Shabwa and Marib,” one source added.

BRUSSELS, 29 September 2021, (TON): The European Union and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia held their first ever Human Rights Dialogue in Brussels. It offered an opportunity to have detailed discussions on a wide range of topics.

The EU welcomed the reforms that are taking place in Saudi Arabia, particularly in the socio-economic domain, and significant steps have been taken to advance women’s rights in Saudi Arabia.

The EU encouraged Saudi authorities to work towards achieving women’s full enjoyment of all human rights.

The EU inquired about planned judicial reforms and acknowledged the changes recently introduced in the kefala (sponsorship) system, including the reforms of labour laws entering into force in March 2020.

The EU encouraged the Saudi authorities to extend their scope to domestic workers. Saudi progress on anti-human trafficking was also noted.

The dialogue provided an opportunity to also raise human rights issues of concern. The EU expressed its concerns about the overall restrictive environment regarding civil and political rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, and freedom of religion or belief.

The EU raised the recent increase in executions and encouraged the Saudi authorities to introduce a moratorium as a first step towards abolition of the death penalty. The EU also enquired about conditions in detention and raised several individual cases of Saudi human rights defenders.

WASHINGTON, 29 September 2021, (TON): President Joe Biden's top military leaders are expected to face some of the most contentious hearings in memory this week over the chaotic end to the war in Afghanistan, which cost the lives of US troops and civilians and left the Taliban back in power.

The senate and house committees overseeing the US military will hold hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, where Republicans are hoping to zero in on mistakes that Biden's administration made toward the end of the two-decade-old war.

That will follow similar questioning two weeks ago that saw US Secretary of State Antony Blinken staunchly defending the administration, even as he faced calls for his resignation.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to praise American personnel who helped airlift 124,000 Afghans out of the country, an operation that also cost the lives of 13 US troops and scores of Afghans in a suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport.

A US official told Reuters “Austin is expected to "be frank about the things we could have done better.”

That will also certainly include the US military's last drone strike before withdrawing, which the Pentagon acknowledges killed 10 civilians, most of them children and not members of the militant Islamic State (IS) group it thought it was attacking.

TEHRAN, 29 September 2021, (TON): Representatives from Iran and Saudi Arabia have held a new round of talks in Baghdad, two Iraqi officials said on Monday, in the first such meeting between the regional foes since President Raisi was sworn in in Tehran.

The meeting held last week discussed pending issues between the two countries according to a previously agreed on roadmap, including diplomatic representation between the two countries, according to one Iraqi official.

The official said the meeting was not on a ministerial level, but described the talks as positive.

Iraq has recently played the role of mediator between the two regional foes whose rivalry has often played out to deadly consequences in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.

Multiple rounds of discussions have been held in Baghdad since the first direct talks between Riyadh and Tehran took place in early April. Saudi Arabia has sought talks with Iran as the kingdom tries to end its years-long war in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, having lost an unflinching supporter in President Joe Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump. Iran, meanwhile, appears to have calculated that a gradual detente with Saudi Arabia, a longtime US ally, will work in its favor during renewed nuclear talks with Washington and world powers.

 Last month, Baghdad hosted a regional conference that brought together Arab heads of state and senior officials including the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia.

BEIJING, 29 September 2021, (TON): Pakistan's national flag, which was carried to China's space station onboard the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft, was handed over to the Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing at a ceremony at the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).

The national flags of Pakistan and China were sent by China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) to outer space to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The flags were sent aboard the Long March-2F carrier rocket on June 17, 2021 and returned via Shenzhou-12, China's manned spacecraft after staying in space for three months.

The Shnezhou-12 space mission carried three Chinese astronauts to space for building Tiangong, a Chinese space station which is expected to be completed next year.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Moin ul Haque congratulated CMSA, CAST and other Chinese research institutions for the successful manned space mission.

He said “the space journey of national flags of the two countries was a special demonstration of a unique friendship between Pakistan and China and a befitting way to celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

DHAKA, 29 September 2021, (TON): Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan yesterday sought India's cooperation for the quick release of funds for the projects which are being implemented under the Indian Line of Credit (LoC), in order to maintain deadlines.

The minister made the request as six railway projects under the Indian LoC fund are running behind the schedule, while several of them already saw a huge cost escalation.

Sujan was speaking at a contract-signing ceremony in relation to an Indian-funded project at Rail Bhaban where Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram K Doraiswami was present as a guest of honour.

The Bangladesh Railway (BR) yesterday signed a contract with an Indian joint venture firm for consultancy services for a project to construct a direct rail line from Sirajganj to Bogura.

Under the Tk 97.56 crore contract, RITES Ltd and Aarvee Associates Architects Engineers and Consultants Pvt Ltd of India will work for updating the project's feasibility study, detailed design, and preparing tender documents.

They will also provide construction supervision services when the physical work of the project will start, expectedly by mid-2023.

Project Director Abu Zafor Miah and Sanjay Agarwal, executive director (regional projects) of RITES signed the contract on behalf of their respective organisations.