WASHINGTON, 25 September 2021, (TON): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “he believed the world was united on pressing the Taliban after speaking with Pakistan, China and Russia, key players with Afghanistan's new rulers.”

Blinken met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly with his Pakistani counterpart and held talks with ministers of the four other veto-wielding Security Council members including China and Russia on Wednesday evening.

Blinken told reporters “I think there is very strong unity of approach and unity of purpose.”

“The Taliban says that it seeks legitimacy, that it seeks support from the international community. The relationship that it has with the international community is going to be defined by the actions it takes.”

Blinken reiterated US priorities for the Taliban including allowing Afghans and foreigners to leave, respecting the rights of women, girls and minorities, and not letting Afghanistan be used again by extremists such as Al Qaeda.

The State Department said Blinken highlighted “the importance of coordinating our diplomatic engagement” in talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Pakistan has called for engagement with the Taliban and the unfreezing of Afghan assets but Qureshi said earlier in the week that there was no rush to recognise a new Taliban government, a step opposed by Western nations.

Qureshi, opening his meeting with Blinken, said, “We have to find a way of collectively working to achieve our common objective, which is peace and stability.”

China and Russia have both moved to engage with the Taliban but have also stopped short of recognition and have longstanding concerns about religious extremism.

PYONGYAN, 25 September 2021, (TON): The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said “her country is willing to resume talks with South Korea if it doesn’t provoke the North with hostile policies and double standards.”

Kim Yo Jong’s statement was a response to South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s renewed calls for a declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War as a way to bring back peace.

Her proposal also came days after North Korea performed its first missile tests in six months and South Korea performed its first test of a submarine-launched missile.

Kim Yo Jong said “If South Korea distances itself from the past when it provoked us and criticised us at every step with its double standards and restores sincerity in its words and actions and abandons its hostility, we would then be willing to resume close communication and engage in constructive discussions about restoring and developing relations.”

To achieve the end-of-the war declaration, she said “we must ensure mutual respect toward one another and abandon prejudiced views, harshly hostile policies and unfair double standards toward the other side first.”

Her comments were a contrast to a blunt statement by a senior North Korean diplomat earlier on Friday that the end-of-war declaration could be used as a “smokescreen covering up the US hostile policy” against the North.

DHAKA, 25 September 2021, (TON): Bangladesh has made a formal objection to the UN Secretary-General over certain maritime issues with India that are continuing even after their settlement in 2014.

The issues pertain to the baseline and continental shelf used by India in the 25,602 square kilometres of disputed waters in the Bay of Bengal.

The baseline is the line along the coast from which the seaward limits of a state's territorial sea and certain other maritime zones of jurisdiction are measured, such as a state's exclusive economic zone.

Generally, the state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind, within 200 nautical miles (nmi) from the baseline.

This area of the sea is called the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and may include the continental shelf, which is the stretch of the seabed adjacent to the shores of a particular country to which it belongs.

Most commercial exploitation from the sea, such as metallic ore, non-metallic ore and hydrocarbon extraction, takes place on the continental shelf.

And it is over this stretch of the Bay of Bengal that the two neighbours have been sparring over four decades.

India's deployment of the straight baseline along its east coast does not meet the criteria stated in the UNCLO.

Subsequently, on September 13, Bangladesh made a formal objection to the UN Secretary-General over the matter.

DHAKA, 25 September 2021, (TON): One hundred and forty Bangladesh Police members of United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) have been awarded with the UN Peacekeeping Award.

They were presented with the awards on September 21 in MINUSMA headquarters in Bamako, the capital of Mali, for their outstanding contribution and professionalism, said Md Kamruzzaman, additional inspector general of media and public relations department of Bangladesh Police.

MINUSMA Police Commissioner General Bettina Patricia Bugani was the chief guest at the event. Bettina praised the professionalism and dedication of the Bangladesh Police.

Commander of Bangladesh formed police unit (Superintendent of Police) Belal Uddin expressed gratitude to the UN authorities for the awards.

ISLAMABAD, 25 September 2021, (TON): Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the international community cannot "exonerate" itself from its responsibilities towards the Afghan people after 20 years of military intervention in the war-torn country and urged the same countries to stay engaged with Kabul.

In an interview with foreign magazine Newsweek, the premier said decades of war has had a devastating impact on Afghanistan's economy, society, and polity and there is a "ray of hope" to bring peace and stability to the country and the broader region.

The premier, however, warned that if rivalry persists with Afghanistan and between global and regional powers, it could lead to more suffering and conflict in Afghanistan.

"This would create new flow of refugees, escalate the threat of terrorism from Afghanistan, and destabilize the entire region."

The premie reiterated "The last thing Pakistan wants is more conflict and turbulence in Afghanistan."

He added that it is Islamabad's hope that the country would be "stabilized, through humanitarian help, economic support, and connectivity and infrastructure projects, and that the US, China and Russia will all contribute to pacifying and reconstructing Afghanistan."

WASHINGTON, 25 September 2021, (TON): Daniel Foote, a career diplomat named to his post in July, said the "collapsed state" was unable to support the infusion of returning migrants

The US special envoy to Haiti resigned in protest in a letter that blasted the Biden administration for deporting hundreds of migrants back to the crisis-engulfed Caribbean nation from a camp on the US-Mexican border in recent days.

Daniel Foote, a career diplomat named to his post in July, said the "collapsed state" was unable to support the infusion of returning migrants.

Foote said in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken that circulated publicly "I will not be associated with the United States' inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants."

Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, has been hit in recent weeks by a presidential assassination, gang violence and a major earthquake.

The United States has returned more than 1,400 migrants from the camp in Del Rio, Texas to Haiti, including families, and moved over 3,200 people for processing away from the encampment, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials.

The officials said “at its peak on Sept. 18 there were some 15,000 people at the camp, around two-thirds of those families.”

Many of the migrants say they hope to stay in the United States and seek asylum. But an expulsion policy in place since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic means most may not get that opportunity.

Some are being loaded onto flights back to Haiti while others are being released into the United States to pursue their immigration cases in court.

At least four deportation flights to Haiti were scheduled for Thursday, according to a flight tracking website and activists who track deportation flights.

Foote submitted his resignation to Blinken, a State Department spokesperson said.

He added that Washington was committed to the long-term well being of Haiti, as well as offering immediate help to returning migrants.

RIYADH, 25 September 2021, (TON): Female soldiers of different ranks marched in the hour-long parade in commemoration of Saudi Arabia’s 91st National Day.

Women took part in the annual Saudi National Day military parade for the first time in the Kingdom’s history.

Female soldiers of different ranks marched in the hour-long parade in commemoration of Saudi Arabia’s 91st National Day.

The Ministry of Interior, in collaboration with the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), had organized the event in the capital Riyadh. A similar parade was also held in the city of Jeddah.

Hundreds of Saudi nationals and residents attended the event, and waved the Saudi flag and cheered as the soldiers marched on.

The GEA organized dozens of activities and events that will take place to mark the occasion, starting from September 23 to 25.

NEW YORK, 25 September 2021, (TON): The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres yesterday praised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the development in Bangladesh, calling it a "miracle".

"The UN Secretary General commended Bangladesh for its development in different sectors and humanity... he thanked the prime minister for achieving a development of miracle," said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen while briefing reporters after a bilateral meeting held between Hasina and Guterres at the UN Secretariat Building in New York.

Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Rabab Fatima "we share common priorities. Whether it's climate, financing and SDGs. Those priorities in the UN are also the priorities of Bangladesh.”

ISLAMABAD, 25 September 2021, (TON): Pakistan welcomed the expansion in the Afghan cabinet as a “positive step” and called for more such actions by the Taliban for stability in the war-ravaged country.

Foreign Office spokesman Asim Iftikhar said at the weekly media briefing “we have taken note of the expansion in the interim cabinet with representation of different ethnic and political groups. This is a positive direction, and we hope they continue to take steps leading to lasting stability in the country.”

The Taliban had earlier in the week expanded the interim cabinet by naming a number of deputy ministers, some of whom belong to ethnic minorities like Hazaras. Most of the newly-inducted deputy ministers are, however, hardliners. Moreover, no woman was included in the cabinet yet again.

The international community has been unrelenting in its demand for an inclusive government in Afghanistan and has linked recognition of the new set-up to the fulfilment of the demand.

Calls for timely mobilisation of humanitarian assistance to avert crisis

International development assistance has been stopped in the absence of recognition for the Taliban government. Afghanistan has traditionally heavily relied on foreign assistance. Therefore, discontinuation of the assistance has raised fears of an economic collapse.

NEW DELHI, 25 September 2021, (TON): Villagers say they gathered to demand rehabilitation of nearly 800 families evicted from the land they claimed to have been living in for decades.

At least two civilians, both Muslims, were killed in police firing during a controversial drive to evict whom the authorities term “illegal settlers” in the Indian state of Assam, where a mega temple complex is reportedly planned.

The deceased are Saddam Hussain and Sheikh Farid, EastMojo reported, citing a police official.

According to BBC Bangla, the incident in the Sipajhar area of the state’s Darrang district occurred when “Bengali Muslims” staged a demonstration over the eviction of their homesteads, where a temple of Hindu God Shiva would be expanded.

This happens as the BJP-led government ordered a series of evictions across the state to remove allegedly illegal settlers occupying land belonging to Vasihnavite satras, ancient temples and the government.

Meanwhile, the Assam government ordered an inquiry by a retired judge of the Gauhati High Court into the killings and the circumstances leading to the incident.

Earlier in the day, locals told Scroll.in that at least three people were feared dead in the incident in which police opened fire on those protesting against an eviction drive.

Darrang Superintendent of Police Sushanta Biswa Sarma said that nine policemen had also been injured in the incident.

After the incident, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told journalists that the eviction drive will continue.

Sarma said “police are doing their duty, eviction has restarted after the violence and will continue tomorrow as well.”