DHAKA, 07 September 2021, (TON): Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said “Bangladesh will decide its policy towards Afghanistan independently, noting that India or Pakistan's conduct is not important to Bangladesh.”

He told media in an interview "Bangladesh always decides its foreign policy independently and according to its interests.”

The Foreign Minister said Bangladesh always believes in a people's government that comes through a political and democratic process, and it always extends support to such governments where people's desire is reflected.

NAYPYITAW, 07 September 2021, (TON): Myanmar's military rulers have agreed to an Asean call for a ceasefire until the end of the year to ensure distribution of humanitarian aid, the envoy of the southeast Asian bloc to the crisis-torn nation.

Following a coup in February, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has been trying to end violence in which hundreds have been killed in Myanmar, and open a dialogue between the military rulers and their opponents.

The envoy, Erywan Yusof, proposed the ceasefire in a video conference with Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, and the military had accepted it.

It quoted the envoy as saying "this is not a political ceasefire. This is a ceasefire to ensure safety, (and) security of the humanitarian workers" in their effort to distribute aid safely, Erywan said, according to Sunday's report. "They didn't have any disagreement with what I said, with regards to the ceasefire.”

TEHRAN, 06 September 2021, (TON): Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that Iran was ready to hold talks with world powers to revive its 2015 nuclear accord but not under Western pressure, adding Tehran was seeking negotiations leading to a lifting of U.S. sanctions.

France and Germany have urged Iran to return to negotiations after a break in talks following Iranian elections in June, with Paris demanding an immediate restart amid Western concerns over Tehran’s expanding atomic work.

Last month, France, Germany and Britain voiced concern about reports from the U.N. nuclear watchdog confirming Iran has produced uranium metal enriched up to 20% fissile purity for the first time and lifted production capacity of uranium enriched to 60%.

Iran says “its nuclear programme is peaceful, that it has informed the watchdog about its activities, and that its moves away from the 2015 deal would be reversed if the United States returned to the accord and lifted sanctions.”

Raisi told state television “The Westerners and the Americans are after talks together with pressure, what kind of talks is that? I have already announced that we will have talks on our government’s agenda but not with pressure.”

NEW DELHI, 06 September 2021, (TON): Officials said that the family of iconic Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Geelani has been charged under a draconian anti-terrorism law for chanting pro-freedom slogans and wrapping his body with Pakistan's flag after he died.

Protests erupted in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) since Geelani died on Wednesday at the age of 92 in the capital city of Srinagar.

Police in the occupied territory said “a case under the so-called Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) which effectively allows people to be held without trial indefinitely was registered against Geelani's family.

The family were accused of "raising anti-national slogans and resorting to other anti-national activities" at the influential resistance leader's home soon after his death.

His son Naseem Geelani did not deny the allegations but repeated earlier claims that police took his father's body away to be buried in the middle of the night just hours after his death, and did not allow the family to perform last rites.

The son told media "we told the visiting police officers that they had taken control of everything after my father's death and that we were mourning. We had no way of knowing who was doing what.”

WASHINGTON, 06 September 2021, (TON): The White House said that U.S. President Joe Biden will visit all three sites of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacking attacks next week to honor the nearly 3,000 people killed and mark the 20th anniversary of the most lethal terrorist assault on U.S. soil.

Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit New York City, where two airliners destroyed the World Trade Center and killed 2,753 people; the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, where a third airliner crashed; and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where passengers forced down a fourth aircraft believed to have been headed to the U.S. Capitol or White House.

The White House said that Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff will travel to Shanksville for a separate event, then join the Bidens at the Pentagon.

Biden on Friday ordered the Department of Justice to review documents from the FBI’s probe into the attacks for declassification and release.

KYIV, 06 September 2021, (TON): The American embassy in Ukraine has called on Russia to return Kiev control over the country’s borders and take responsibility for ending the conflict in Donbass .

“On the seventh anniversary of the signing of the Minsk Protocol, we call on Russia to fully comply with its Minsk commitments, including allowing the OSCE to monitor the Russian-Ukrainian border and release illegally detained persons. Russia must withdraw its weapons and forces and return Ukraine full control over its internationally recognized Russia must take responsibility for ending the conflict that began in the east of Ukraine, ” reads a message on the diplomatic mission’s Facebook page.

Earlier, Russia announced that it would not support the OSCE’s decision to extend the mandate of the mission of its observers at the Russian checkpoints across the state border with Ukraine “Gukovo” and “Donetsk” after September 30.

Kiev responded by saying that such actions by Moscow allegedly violate paragraph 4 of the Minsk Protocol of September 5, 2014.

DHAKA, 06 September 2021, (TON): The premier addresses the Selection Board Meeting of the navy and the air force. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said “Bangladesh Armed Forces must have necessary preparedness to protect the country’s independence and sovereignty keeping pace with technological development of the modern world.”

She said while addressing the Selection Board Meeting of Bangladesh Navy and Air Force at Dhaka Cantonment. “We need to have all kinds of preparedness, equipment and training to protect our country from the attack of outside enemies.”

She joined the meeting at the headquarters of the Navy and Air Force through video conferencing from her official residence Gonobhaban.

Sheikh Hasina said “Bangladesh never wants war with any country, rather it wants peace as no country can achieve desired development without peace as war only brings more destruction.”

However, the government is building the armed forces in such a way that if attacked, Bangladesh can readily defend its independence.

Hasina made it clear Bangladesh must have all necessary preparations to safeguard the country from any external attacks.

NEW DELHI, 06 September 2021, (TON): Hundreds of thousands of farmers gathered in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, the biggest rally yet in a months-long series of demonstrations to press Narendra Modi's government to repeal three new agricultural laws.

According to local police “more than 500,000 farmers attended the rally in the city of Muzaffarnagar.”

The demonstration in Uttar Pradesh, a predominantly agricultural state that's home to 240 million people, will breathe fresh life into the protest movement, said Rakesh Tikait, a prominent farmers' leader.

He added “we'll intensify our protest by going to every single city and town of Uttar Pradesh to convey the message that Modi's government is anti-farmer.”

Over the past eight months, tens of thousands of farmers have camped on major highways to the capital, New Delhi to oppose the laws, in India's longest-running farmer' protest against the government.

The measures, introduced last September, allow farmers to directly sell their produce, outside government-regulated wholesale markets, to big buyers. The government says this will unshackle farmers and help them get better prices.

DHAKA, 06 September 2021, (TON): Flood situations at low-lying areas of Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bogura, Tangail, Sirajganj, Pabna and Manikganj are expected to improve in next 24 hours.

However, the flood situation will remain steady at low-lying areas of Rajbari, Faridpur and Shariatpur, said the report of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre under Bangladesh Water Development Board.

The report said that the water flow in the rivers Brahmaputra and Jamuna were falling which might continue in next 72 hours.

The report said “but water flow in the Padma river is in rising trend and may continue for next 24 hours.”

At present, 13 districts; Kurigram, Gaibandha, Bogura, Jamalpur, Sirajganj, Tangail, Pabna, Manikganj, Gazipur, Rajbari, Faridpur, Munshiganj and Shariatpur are badly affected by the flood.

Eight out of 19 rivers are flowing above their respective danger levels.

The rivers are Dharla, Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Turag, Kaliganga, Padma, Atrai and Dhaleswari.

The New Age correspondent in Tangail reported that lowlying areas in upazilas including Tangail Sadar, Kalihati, Nagarpur, Bhuiyanpur and Basail are still waterlogged although water level in the Jamuna had started receding.

Water level in the Jamuna dropped 10 centimetres, but was still flowing 57 cm above the danger level at Porabari on Sunday.

Around 100 houses at Kalihati and at least 20 houses at Tangaiul Sadar were washed away due to erosion in the Jamuna in past two weeks.

TOKYO, 06 September 2021, (TON): Japan’s government has instructed its embassies in countries neighboring Afghanistan to provide assistance if any Japanese nationals or local cooperators are seeking evacuation by a land route.

Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu said on an NHK program that there are still a small number of Japanese citizens in Afghanistan due to individual circumstances.

He said “there are also many local staffers of the Japanese embassy in the country and the government will have to consider ways to evacuate Japanese nationals and local people.

Motegi said “some people may even try to flee the country by land, but this is dangerous and is not recommended.”

He said “he had instructed Japanese embassies in nearby countries to create a support system for such people.”

Motegi referred to a ministerial meeting of relevant nations scheduled for Wednesday to discuss responses to the Taliban.

He said “it’s important to work with China and Russia, which have a certain level of influence on Afghanistan.”