DHAKA, 11 September 2021, (TON): He will participate in bilateral meetings with his counterparts of different countries during the visit.

Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed is scheduled to fly to the US for an official visit at the invitation of the US Army around.

According a press release of the  Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), “General  Shafiuddin will attend the "Indo-Pacific Army Chiefs' Conference (IPACC)-2021"  jointly organized by US Indo-Pacific Command and the Papua New Guinea Defence Force alongside senior leaders from 17 countries of the Indo-Pacific region.

NAYPYITAW, 11 September 2021, (TON): The bodies of three men were found to have been violently killed in Kalay Township, Sagaing Region, after their village was raided by the military.

Locals said that junta troops searched and ransacked all of the homes in Doenwe village, burning down four before leaving that day.

Among the three men found dead the following day was a 30-year-old villager with an intellectual disability. The men’s bodies were discovered outside the village with their hands tied behind their backs. There were signs of torture, including indications that they were beaten and burned with cigarettes.

A man from Doenwe who had briefly returned to the village told media citing eyewitnesses “they slit two of the men’s throats. The other one got his brains blown out.”

In addition to the 30-year-old, whose name was not available at the time of reporting, was another 20-year-old man from the nearby village of Ah Shey See named Wunna, and his uncle, Win Aung, according to the local.

He said “the soldiers damaged all the houses and robbed them of everything. They even took the longyis and killed the chickens. Not a single house was spared.”

LONDON, 10 September 2021, (TON): British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has said “the UK may be prepared to carry out lethal drone strikes in Afghanistan if the Taliban fails to live up to its commitment of preventing the war-torn country from becoming a safe haven for terrorists.”

Asked if he was prepared to consider drone strikes in Afghanistan, Wallace said “I will do whatever I have to do to protect citizens’ lives and our interests and our allies when we are called upon to do so, wherever that may be.”

He made the comments on a visit to a British factory producing a fleet of 16 Protector drones for the UK’s military, at a cost of around £260m ($360m).

The missile-capable aircraft, Wallace said “is being acquired to ensure that the UK can continue to intervene militarily overseas without the risk of having troops on the ground.”

The defense secretary said “one of the options is to deploy anywhere in the world where there is an imminent threat to life, British life or our allies, where international law enables us to take action.”

The use of drones is controversial, as they are often linked to civilian casualties. Last month, an Afghan family of 10, including seven children, was wiped out in a US drone strike in Kabul that had targeted a suspected suicide bomber. The Pentagon is now investigating the incident.

RIYADH, 10 September 2021, (TON): Saudi Arabia’s crown prince received a member of Russia’s State Duma. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the committee on international affairs of the Russian State Duma, to NEOM.

The pair reviewed relations between their nations.

The reception was also attended by Musaed Al-Aiban, state minister and national security adviser, and Mishaal Al-Salami, vice-president of the Shoura Council.

KABUL, 10 September 2021, (TON): According to a statement issued by the Afghan government and signed by Taliban’s leader Hibatullah Akhundzada “the Taliban promised to take effective steps to ensure the protection of the rights of all Afghan residents.”

The statement reads “the Islamic Emirate (the name the Taliban calls itself) will undertake effective efforts to protect human rights, minority rights, the rights of disadvantaged groups in line with the requirements of Islam, so that all Afghans, without exception, can live with dignity in their country, in security and peace, in conditions of the inviolability of their lives, honor and property.”

Furthermore, the document indicates the new Afghan government’s desire to improve relations with the international community and neighboring countries, emphasizing the intention to comply with those norms of international law that do not contradict Sharia.

ISLAMABAD, 10 September 2021, (TON): According to a statement issued by the military's media affairs wing “Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns called on Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed.”

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said “during the meeting, matters of mutual interest, the regional security situation and the current situation in Afghanistan were discussed.”

The statement said "it was reiterated that Pakistan remains committed to cooperating with its international partners for peace in the region and ensuring a stable and prosperous future for Afghan people.”

It added “the visiting dignitary appreciated Pakistan's role in the Afghan crisis, including successful evacuation operations, and efforts for regional stability. He also pledged to play a role for further improvement in diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan at all levels.”

This is not the first time the CIA chief has visited Pakistan.

Burns had earlier travelled to Pakistan for meetings with the COAS and ISI director to explore the possibility of counterterrorism cooperation between the two sides.

However, at the time government officials had suggested that he was firmly told that Pakistan would not host the spy agency’s drone bases on its territory.

Meanwhile, the US State Department has urged Pakistan to play a critical role in bringing an inclusive government in Kabul.

WASHINGTON, 10 September 2021, (TON): President Joe Biden spoke with China’s Xi Jinping amid growing frustration on the American side that high-level engagement between the two leaders’ top advisers has been largely unfruitful in the early going of the Biden presidency.

Biden initiated the call with Xi, the second between the two leaders since Biden took office. It comes at a moment when there is no shortage of thorny issues between the two nations, including cybersecurity breaches originating from China, Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and what the White House has labeled as “coercive and unfair” trade practices by the Chinese.

But Biden’s aim with his call was less focused on any of those hot-button issues and instead centered on discussing the way ahead for the US-China relationship after it got off to a decidedly rocky start in his tenure.

The White House said in a statement the “two leaders had a broad, strategic discussion in which they discussed areas where our interests converge, and areas where our interests, values, and perspectives diverge.”

The White House is hopeful the two sides can work together on issues of mutual concern, including climate change and preventing a nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, despite growing differences.

Beijing, however, has pushed back against US pressure and increasingly has suggested it could remain broadly uncooperative until Biden dials down criticism on what it deems Chinese internal matters.

Nearly eight months into his presidency, Biden and his aides’ efforts to call out China on a litany of concerns while trying to find common ground on other matters has proven a fraught strategy.

Ahead of the call, a senior administration official said the White House has been unsatisfied with early engagements with the Chinese.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said White House officials were hopeful that Xi hearing directly from Biden could prove beneficial.

The White House official said Biden made clear to Xi that he had no intention of moving away from his administration’s policy of pressing China on human rights, trade and other areas where it believes China is acting outside international norms.

SRINAGAR, 10 September 2021, (TON): Surrounded by lush green forests and fields of mustard, wheat and maize, Dungara is a small village in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Kathua district.

Most residents of Dungara, which falls in the disputed Himalayan region’s Jammu area, are farmers who grow fruit, rice, and mulberry trees to produce silk.

But their quaint village lifestyle is threatened by the Indian government’s plan to construct a large multipurpose project on Ujh, a tributary of the Ravi River which in turn pours into the Indus River.

The Ujh project, expected to produce 186 megawatts of electricity, would completely submerge Dungara and displace the villagers. It would also involve the cutting down of more than 330,000 trees, compounding the villagers’ anger.

A local non-profit, the Village Social Development and Welfare Committee, has launched a movement against the Ujh project.

“No one in the village supports the construction of this project,” NGO chairman and village head SP Sharma told Al Jazeera. “But no one is listening to us.”

The government says at least 52 villages, with a total of about 3,700 families, are likely to lose their homesteads due to the acquisition of land for dam construction and the subsequent area of submergence.

The fear of displacement is more palpable among the women in the village.

THIMPHU, 10 September 2021, (TON): Since January 2020 to date, 115 businesses suspected of fronting in Phuentsholing have voluntarily cancelled their licenses. Of that, 60 were trading licenses and 55 for services such as bars, restaurants, and workshops.

A Phuentsholing regional trade official said that there were 274 (179 trading and 95 services) businesses suspected of fronting in the town, including the 115.

From the remaining 159 license holders suspected of fronting, the trade office said “124 have submitted statements for non-involvement in fronting and 18 licenses were cancelled due to non-renewal or expiry of validity in the licensing system.”

Further, 16 licenses were cancelled after the license holders didn’t turn up to update and explain to the trade office despite notices being served, and a license was dropped due to information mismatch.

Regional director for trade, Sonam Dhendup said that all these 274 firms were marked as “suspected fronting.”

He said “we called them and explained. We told them they know better whether they were practising fronting or not. We gave them the opportunity. So 115 voluntarily cancelled their licenses.”

Sonam Dhendup said they could not distinguish correctly or exactly if the suspected fronting license holders are actually fronting cases.

The trade office has been raising awareness of the new penal laws and likely penalties.

He said “we want to make it clear. If they come forward, it would be good. We don’t want people to be taken by surprise when the law is implemented.”

Meanwhile, the country’s biggest trading hub is also considered as the breeding ground for fronting businesses due to the porous border.

TUNIS, 10 September 2021, (TON): Tunisian President Kais Saied plans to suspend the constitution and may offer changes to the political system through a referendum, one of his advisers told Reuters.

Saied seized governing powers, dismissed the prime minister and suspended parliament in July in moves his political foes called a coup, but he has not yet appointed a new government or made any broader declaration of his long-term plans.

Walid Hajjem, an adviser to Saied, said “this system cannot continue ... changing the system means changing the constitution through a referendum, perhaps ... the referendum requires logistical preparation.”

He added that this was the president’s plan, which was at the final stage and was expected to be formally unveiled soon.

Hajjem did not expand on what changes Saied was contemplating.

However, he has been widely expected to move to a presidential system of government that would reduce the role of the parliament, something that has been frequently discussed during years of gridlock since the 2014 constitution was agreed.

Tunisia adopted democracy after the 2011 uprising that ended autocratic rule and triggered the Arab Spring revolts across the region.