WASHINGTON, 24 September 2021, (TON): The United States expects to complete the elimination of its chemical weapons arsenal in 2023. This was confirmed by US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense overseeing chemical and biological defense, Brandi Vann.

“Of course, in terms of the obligations imposed by US government legislation, we should keep in mind the deadline of December 31, 2023. US Congress has ordered us to eliminate [the US military chemical warfare arsenal] by that time. we are actually working to meet the September [2023] deadline as stipulated in the Che-mical Weapons Convent-ion, “a Pentagon spokesw-oman said in a webinar ho-sted by the American non-governmental weapons.

Vann said “it’s imperative for our national security to meet the deadlines.”

According to her, “The United States continues to demonstrate steady and measurable progress towards the complete elimination of the arsenal” of chemical weapons. “I want to emphasize that we remain fully committed to eliminating chemical weapons as safely and as quickly as practicable. The United States is currently on track to move towards the [designated] completion dates [for eliminating the chemical warfare arsenal],” the official said. military department.

Vann added that that US has officially destroyed 97% of its chemical weapons arsenal. Only 3% separates us from the full implementation of this initiative.”

WASHINGTON, 24 September 2021, (TON): The US House of Representatives has approved $1bn in additional funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system after days of controversy around the push.

Legislators passed the bill in a 420 to nine vote, paving the way for a significant increase in US support for the system.

The bill will now go to the Senate, where it is expected to pass easily before being signed into law by President Joe Biden, who already has signalled support for the additional aid.

The move came amid an intensifying debate about US support for Israel and as a growing number of progressive voices in Congress are calling on Biden to condition US assistance to Israel on the country’s human rights record.

Earlier this week, the inclusion and subsequent exclusion of the Iron Dome funding from a different bill created an uproar in Washington.

The $1bn provision first appeared morning in proposed House of Representatives legislation aimed at providing short-term emergency funding for the US government to avoid a shutdown. But by the afternoon, it had been removed without explanation.

While various US media outlets have reported that progressive lawmakers were responsible for excluding the funding for Israel from Tuesday’s bill, no legislator has taken credit for the move.

Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP), said it was “strange” to include $1bn in aid for Israel in a generic bill designed to fund the US government to “keep the lights on”.

KABUL, 24 September 2021, (TON): The Afghanistan National Journalists’ Union reported that due to the financial crisis, around 150 print media outlets across Afghanistan have stopped printing newspapers and magazines since the fall of the former government. Many of these outlets continue publishing news online, while some have shut down completely.

Ahmad Shoaib Fana, chief executive of the national journalists union, said “print media has stopped in the country. If the situation goes on like this, we will face a social crisis.”

Ali Haqmal, a journalist working for 8 Sobh newspaper, reports that the outlet is now publishing online. He said “we made efforts to do whatever people expect. We focus on reporting online, and we still try to get the information to the people.”

KABUL, 24 September 2021, (TON): Deputy Prime Minister of Afghanistan Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar met a Kyrgyzstan delegation led by its national security adviser and discussed bilateral relations including security issues.

Taliban spokesperson, who is also a deputy acting information minister, Zabihullah Mujahid said in a tweet “Deputy Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate today Mullah Baradar Akhund met with Kyrgyz National Security Adviser Talat Beg. Bilateral political, economic and security issues were discussed at the meeting.”

The Kyrgyz delegation, Mujahid said, called upon regional countries “to support the new government of Afghanistan, provide humanitarian assistance and establish good relations with it”.

The meeting comes days after the Taliban quashed reports of differences between their senior members over the makeup of the interim government which provided grist to the rumour mills and set off a guessing game in the media.

Anas Haqqani of the Haqqani Network and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar made video statements to deny the rumours of schisms within the Taliban hierarchy over the caretaker set-up.

The development came days after reports went viral on social media of an armed scuffle between Baradar and Haqqani at the presidential palace in Kabul in which the former was reportedly fatally wounded.

SANAA, 24 September 2021, (TON): Flighting flared up this week between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and pro-government forces in the country’s southern province of Shabwa, killing 35 from both sides, tribal leaders and security officials said.

Clashes are now in their third day in several districts of the government-controlled province, including Bayhan and Usaylan, said the officials and the elders. Dozens have been wounded on both sides, they said.

The official said ”in Shabwa, government forces regained control of areas that Houthis had captured earlier this week.”

The rebel offensive on Shabwa is believed to be aimed at disrupting a key line of communication through which pro-government reinforcements are sent to the central province of Marib, where fighting has been raging for several months.

The rebels have accelerated their push to take Marib in recent months, while escalating cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition has launched dozens of airstrikes on towns in Marib, including Rahbah, Sirwah and Madghel, to back pro-government ground forces,

ALGIERS, 24 September 2021, (TON): Algeria has closed its airspace to all Moroccan planes, the presidency said, in the latest dispute between the two countries at odds mainly over Western Sahara.

A statement said that the High Security Council has decided to shut its airspace immediately to all civilian and military aircraft as well as to those registered in Morocco.”

Algeria broke off diplomatic ties with its neighbour Morocco on August 24, accusing it of "hostile actions" after months of heightened tensions between the two North African countries.

The decision to close Algeria's airspace was announced after a meeting of the High Security Council chaired by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

The presidency said “the meeting examined the situation on Algeria's border with Morocco and took into account "the continuation of provocations and hostile practices by Morocco."

TEHRAN, 24 September 2021, (TON): An Iranian foreign ministry official said that talks between Middle East regional rivals Tehran and Riyadh have led to “serious progress” on the issue of Gulf security.

“Serious progress has been made on the subject of security in the Gulf,” state news agency quotes ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying.

Iran and Saudi Arabia, on opposing sides in multiple regional conflicts, have been engaged in talks since April with the aim of improving relations, for the first time since cutting ties in 2016.

The discussions were launched under Iran’s moderate former president Rouh-ani, and have continued si-nce his ultraconservative successor, Raisi, took office in August.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Khatibzadeh says that the talks were “good” and calls for countries to settle regional issues between themselves, without foreign interference.

WASHINGTON, 24 September 2021, (TON): US President Joe Biden and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron spoke for the first time on Wednesday since a fierce row erupted over the sale of submarines to Australia, with both leaders agreeing to ease tensions.

Macron was left furious by Australia’s decision last week to ditch a 2016 deal to buy diesel submarines from France in favour of nuclear-powered ones from the United States and Britain, which had been secretly negotiated.

In a joint statement issued after the call, the leaders vowed to launch a process of “in-depth consultations” to restore confidence and to meet in Europe at the end of October at an unspecified location.

In what amounted to an acknowledgement of French anger, the statement from the White House said that the situation would have benefited from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners.

The statement also said the US recognised the need for stronger European defence to complement the Nato military alliance, a key idea repeatedly floated by the French leader.

ISLAMABAD, 24 September 2021, (TON): Pakistan urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to enhance its efforts in facilitating a lasting solution to the Kashmir dispute.

Addressing a meeting of the OIC Contact Group in New York, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said “the oppressed people of Indian-occupied Kashmir were now heavily reliant on the OIC and the Muslim ummah.”

He requested the participants to raise the issue at all relevant forums of the United Nations including the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.

The minister condemned Indian forces for using pellet guns, imprisoning Kashmiri political leaders, abducting children and women, staging fake encounters and indulging in a killing spree of Kashmiri youth in the occupied territory.

'Disseminate Pakistan dossier on Kashmir among SCO members'

Qureshi informed the session that the government of Pakistan had recently released a comprehensive and well-researched dossier containing the entire range of gross, systematic and widespread violations of human rights perpetrated by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir.

He said “over 4.2 million fake certificates had already been issued in another “so-called” Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules, 2020.”

NEW DELHI, 24 September 2021, (TON): As India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) forum in New York this week, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the international community to “spotlight the human rights abuses” of his government.

The address of the Indian premier is expected to outline “global issues” and list his government’s “achievements on the domestic front”.

But back home, the authorities are criticising his government for politically motivated prosecutions, human rights abuse particularly against minorities and not allowing the watchdogs to monitor the grim situation.

The US congressional briefing on ‘religious freedom in India’ by the HRW revealed an appalling record of the human rights violations by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The testimony of John Sifton, the Asia Advocacy Director, put forward “scathing criticism” of the Indian government’s assault on religious minorities in India.