WASHINGTON, 18 September 2021, (TON): General Frank McKenzie, the head of the US Central Command, acknowledged that a US drone raid in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, late in August killed 10 civilians, including children.

McKenzie said that it was “unlikely” that those killed were associated with the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), as originally claimed by the US military.

McKenzie said “having thoroughly reviewed the findings of the investigation and the supporting analysis by interagency partners, I am now convinced that as many as 10 civilians, including up to seven children, were tragically killed in that strike.”

The US general offered “profound condolences” to the families of the victims, stressing that the attack was taken with the “earnest belief” that it would prevent an imminent attack on the airport where American forces were evacuating people.

“It was a mistake, and I offer my sincere apology,” McKenzie said. “As a combatant commander, I am fully responsible for this strike and this tragic outcome.”

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin offered condolences for the attack’s victims on Friday and announced a “thorough review” of the investigation into the attack that will also consider the need to alter “strike authorities, procedures and processes” in the future.

KABUL, 18 September 2021, (TON): Economic affairs experts term curbs imposed on banking sector and freezing of Afghanistan assets as dangerous for the economic situation of Afghanistan and stress over the normalization of banking affairs.

Meanwhile, officials of the private organizations expressed concern over the curbs imposed on banks and said they were facing economic problems and were unable to pay salaries to their employees.

After the Taliban takeover of Kabul, banks, money exchange centres, markets and public offices were closed, sparking a public outrage that forced banks and money exchange offices to reopen but with limited access and restrictions.

Lately Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) officially informed other banks not to issue more than $200 or 20,000 afs to consumers in a week.

The US administration has frozen nearly nine billion of Afghanistan’s foreign assets and stopped financial support to the country indefinitely.

WASHINGTON, 18 September 2021, (TON): Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the Biden administration will build on the “successful efforts” of its Donald Trump-led predecessor to encourage more countries to normalise ties with Israel.

Speaking at a virtual event celebrating the first anniversary of the normalisation agreement between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which later included Morocco, Sudan and Kosovo, Blinken outlined steps Washington will take to strengthen the accord.

The plan did not include pushing to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Blinken said “first, we’ll help foster Israel’s growing ties with Bahrain, with Morocco, with the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Sudan, which has also signed the Abraham Accords, and Kosovo, which established ties with Israel at the beginning of the year.”

He added that the US administration will “deepen Israel’s long-standing relationships” with Egypt and Jordan, which normalised ties with Israel in 1979 and 1994 respectively.

Blinken cited Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s recent visit to Cairo – the first official trip by an Israeli head of state to Egypt in 10 years.

Blinken said “third, we will encourage more countries to follow the lead of the Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.”

NEW DELHI, 18 September 2021, (TON): Increasing extremism and radicalisation are the biggest threat to global peace, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the nine-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, and drew attention to the Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan.

Modi highlighted India's concerns over regional stability and asked the SCO member states, which includes China and Pakistan, to ensure the grouping works closely together on issues like connectivity and trust.

He said "Today, we can see what is happening in Afghanistan. As SCO members it is a must for us all to ensure that there is no radicalisation and extremism on the rise there.”

The Prime Minister said "if we take a look at history, we will find that Central Asia has been a bastion of moderate and progressive cultures and values. Sufism flourished here over the centuries and spread throughout the region and the world. We can still see them in the cultural heritage of this region.”

Modi said "based on this historical heritage of Central Asia, SCO should make a common template of fighting radicalisation and extremism. In India, and in almost all the countries of the SCO, there are moderate, tolerant and inclusive institutions and traditions associated with Islam.”

The US pull-out from Afghanistan after a 20-year war on terror has led to new alignments, with Pakistan seen closely working with the Taliban again and China also coming into the picture by engaging with the new Taliban regime.

Myanmar: Campaigners call on Australian firm to halt sale of mining stake to military-linked company

NAYPYITAW, 18 September 2021, (TON): Campaigners have called on an Australian mining company to cancel the planned sales of its stake in a Shan State silver and zinc mine to a military-linked company with alleged ties to Myanmar’s drug trade.

The Perth-based Myanmar Metals announced last month that it will sell its 51% stake in the Bawdwin mine for $30 million to a company called Win Myint Mo Industries (WMM).

Media reports from 2017 identified WMM as a subsidiary of Asia World, a conglomerate established by the late Kokang druglord Lo Hsing Han and now headed by his son, Steven Law.

Law was subjected to US sanctions for supporting the military and for his own alleged role in the drug trade.

Campaigners from the transparency group Publish What You Pay (PWYP), along with 245 Myanmar civil society groups, submitted a complaint on Wednesday to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) about the sale.

The complaint said WMM “does not have a track record of responsible business nor a public human rights policy. It is highly unlikely that it would follow the OECD Guidelines.”

The intergovernmental group’s guidelines lay down a set of rules for responsible behaviour by corporations, including on human rights. The rules are non-binding on companies but binding for signatory governments, which are required to ensure the guidelines are followed. Australia is an OECD member but Myanmar is not.

NAYPYITAW, 18 September 2021, (TON): Suu Kyi’s lawyers have said “detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi will begin weekly court hearings for four corruption charges against her on October 1.”

The new charges, filed at the Mandalay Regional High Court, are the latest in a series of 11 offences the ousted State Counsellor has been accused of by the junta since her detention on February 1.

“The judge from the high court is coming to hear her case,” said Khin Maung Zaw, who heads Suu Kyi’s defence team.

He added that two of the corruption charges concern Suu Kyi alone, another involves two ministers from her government, and the fourth involves two members of the Naypyitaw council who served under the National League for Democracy (NLD).

The defence lawyers suggested the charges may relate to land ownership issues at the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, a charity Suu Kyi founded in the name of her mother. But they cautioned that they had been unable to read the case files yet.

DHAKA, 18 September 2021, (TON): Bangladesh has registered two protests to the United Nations against the claims of India made on some of the geographical coordinates concerning the straight baselines for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea and setting outer limits of the continental shelf.  

On behalf of the Bangladesh government, the Bangladesh permanent mission to the UN headquarters in New York served two diplomatic notes on September 13 to the United Nations secretary general regarding the claims of India on the matters.

The Bangladesh government took the matter to the  UN after failing to resolve it bilaterally as the dispute arose following Indian claims.

Bangladesh said that India enacted a law in 1976 declaring its territorial waters, continental shelf and exclusive economic zone using ‘the low water line’ to define the limits of those zones.

After 33 years, it amended the law in 2009 unilaterally declaring its territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf along certain portions of its east coast in the Bay of Bengal by reference to ‘straight baselines.’

The Bangladesh foreign ministry protested against the Indian move, in a letter in October 2009 to the country, and requested the country to correct the mistakes it had made.

The matter has, however, became complicated after India sent a letter to the UN opposing the baseline set by Bangladesh in April 2021. After that, Bangladesh too decided to take the matter to the UN.

DHAKA, 18 September 2021, (TON): Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has sought the Commonwealth's solidarity for smooth repatriation of Rohingyas to their home in Myanmar's Rakhine.

Leading the Bangladesh delegation in the 21st Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers' Meeting (CFAMM), he urged Commonwealth to assist in persuading the government of Myanmar to follow their commitments.

Momen highlighted the current impasse over the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMNs) voluntary repatriation to Myanmar and their partial relocation to Bhasan Char.

He also sought efforts to boost up intra-Commonwealth trade, ensure vaccine equity and result-oriented climate action.

Commonwealth leaders have commended Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's humanitarian role in taking the bold decision to give shelter to a huge number of FDMNs and thus saving thousands of innocent lives.

They also appreciated her leadership at the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF).

KABUL, 17 September 2021, (TON): Senior Taliban officials, including spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid and a member of the Haqqani network, have denied reports of rifts between the leadership of the group's various factions since the formation of an interim government last week.

Reports of disagreements first began circulating after the Taliban formed a cabinet on September 7 that is more in line with their harsh rule in the 1990s than their recent promises of inclusiveness.

Late last week, rumours emerged of an alleged violent confrontation between pragmatists and ideologues in the Taliban leadership at the presidential palace, including claims that Deputy Prime Minister of Afghanistan Abdul Ghani Baradar was killed.

The occurrence of the row, reportedly between Baradar and minister for refugees Khalilur Rahman Haqqani, was confirmed to the BBC by a senior member of the Taliban based in Qatar and a person close to the factions at loggerheads.

The source identified Baradar's unhappiness over the interim government's structure as the primary reason for the confrontation, but added that the two factions had also argued over who should get more credit, with Baradar purportedly wanting greater acknowledgment for diplomatic efforts such as his and the Haqqani group adamant that the fighting faction played a bigger role.

The rumours of Baradar's death reached such intensity that an audio recording and handwritten statement, both by the leader himself, denied that he had been killed. He reiterated his well-being by appearing in an interview with the country’s national TV.

TEL AVIV, 17 September 2021, (TON): The Palestinian Authority said that almost 1,400 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons are to go on hunger strike in protest at their detention conditions since a jailbreak last week.

Tensions have been running high since six inmates staged a dramatic escape from a high-security jail in northern Israel on September 6, via a tunnel dug under a sink. Four of them have since been recaptured.

Hundreds of their fellow inmates were transferred to other jails and personal items confiscated in searches carried out by guards, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club.

Angry prisoners started fires in several jails.

"The situation is very bad in the prisons, that's why they're going on hunger strike," Qadri Abu Bakr, head of the Palestinian Authority's commission for prisoners, told media.

He said “1,380 prisoners of more than 4,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails were to start the strike action on Friday, to be joined by other inmates next week.

Abu Bakr added that talks between the Israeli prison authorities and prisoner representatives had made no progress so far.

The Red Cross has said that Israel has decided to allow visits to prisoners, after they were suspended last week.

But Abu Bakr expressed concern over the fate of the four escapees, who the Red Cross has not been allowed to visit.