MOSCOW, 27 June 2021, (TON): National Defense Control Center (NTSUO, part of the Russian Defense Ministry) told reporters that the forces of the Black Sea Fleet are monitoring the actions of the US destroyer Ross, armed with cruise missiles, which entered the Black Sea.

NTSUO said “the forces and means of the Black Sea Fleet have begun to control the actions of the US Navy destroyer URO (missile defense) Ross , which entered the Black Sea on June 26, 2021.”

According to the US Sixth Fleet, the destroyer is sent to the Black Sea for the annual Sea Breeze exercises, which will be held with the participation of Ukraine .

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Konashenkov said that the Russian military department calls on the Pentagon and the command of the British naval forces, which are sending their warships to the Black Sea, “not to tempt fate in vain, following the Ukrainian” mosquito fleet admirals “, but to be guided reason “.

The Russian Defense Ministry’s statement was related to an incident on June 23 in the Black Sea near Crimea, when the British Navy destroyer Defender violated the Russian state border . The ship entered Russian territorial waters for three kilometers, ignoring all warnings.

The ship left the Russian waters after patrol boat Russia opened warning fire and the bomber Su-24M dropped four bombs on the rate of movement of the destroyer.

Konashenkov also noted that the Defender destroyer anywhere in the Black Sea is just a good target for the anti-ship missile systems of the Black Sea Fleet.

WASHINGTON, 27 June 2021, (TON): A former U.S. official and two people familiar with the matter told Media “the Biden administration is considering lifting sanctions on Iran’s supreme leader as part of negotiations aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.”

The sources said that U.S. and Iranian negotiators have discussed the possible move in indirect talks in Vienna, as part of a wider set of compromises that would see the United States return to the 2015 pact and Iran once again abide by restrictions on its nuclear program.

“I think that’s definitely an Iranian demand and I think the U.S. is open to it” said Vali Nasr, professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies who worked as a diplomat in the Obama administration.

In June 2019, after a U.S. drone was shot down by Iranian forces, former President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and officials appointed by him.

Experts and former U.S. officials say “banning the ayatollah from travel to the United States or any financial transactions with U.S. companies. The sanctions are almost entirely symbolic, as the supreme leader does not travel abroad and he and his inner circle have no assets in the United States.”

NEW DELHI, 27 June 2021, (TON):  After Prime Minister Narendra Modi met political leaders from all parties of Jammu and Kashmir, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will host political representatives and civil society members from Kargil region in Ladakh on July 1.

Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy will chair the meeting. The PM’s meet had no representation from the UT of Ladakh.

An MHA official said “This is in continuance with the meetings that MHA is holding with representatives from Ladakh for the last few months to address their concerns about protection of their culture, land and language.”

A meeting in this regard had been held earlier with representatives from Ladakh, but people from Kargil wanted a separate meeting. They said their concerns were different. The meeting will be attended by both politicians and civil society members.

Stating that they will meet Reddy at 11 am, Asgar Karbalai, president of Kargil Democratic Alliance an amalgam of social, religious and political organisations in the district

He said “we will put forward two demands: first, restore Article 370 and 35-A; and since the matter is sub judice in Supreme Court, give full statehood to Ladakh.”

DHAKA, , 27 June 2021, (TON): Indian Air Force Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC, arrived in Dhaka for a three-day visit on invitation from the Chief of Air Staff of Bangladesh Air Force.

According to an Indian High Commission press release “he is scheduled to pay courtesy calls to the all senior officers of the Bangladesh Armed Forces and will meet other senior officers from the Bangladesh Air Force.”

The release said “he Indian Air Force chief will pay tribute to the members of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, who made the supreme sacrifices during the Liberation War of 1971 by placing wreath at the altar of Shikha Anirban in Dhaka Cantonment.”

The release stated that “he is also scheduled to visit major BAF air bases across Bangladesh during his visit.”

ISLAMABAD, 27 June 2021, (TON):  Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi questioned the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) decision to continue to keep Pakistan on the watchdog's "increased monitoring list", also known as the grey list, despite implementation on 26 out of 27 points included in the original action plan.

In a statement, Qureshi said “there was no room to keep Pakistan on the grey list after it had implemented nearly the entire action plan.”

The foreign minister said it needed to be looked into whether FATF was being used for political purposes.

He added "some powers desire to keep the sword of FATF hanging over Pakistan."

It was yet to be determined whether the FATF was a technical forum or a political one, the statement quoted him as saying.

Qureshi said whatever steps Pakistan took were in its own interests, emphasising that it was in Pakistan's interest to stop money laundering and terror financing.

KABUL, 27 June 2021, (TON):  Kam Air, a private Afghan aviation company’s Airbus A340 for the first time flew from Kabul to Washington in a direct flight, carrying a number of high Afghan delegation including President Ghani and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah who went to meet the U.S President, Joe Biden.

The flight was operated by an Airbus A-340 which took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul to Washington DC, USA. It is regarded as one of the most laudable flights in Afghanistan’s aviation history.

The flight’s duration was 14 hours, the longest flight for the first time in the history of Afghan civil aviation. It was a non-stop from Kabul to Washington DC, flown by Afghan pilots, Jamal Wardak and Waheed Zhuwandun.

The news was regarded as one of the positive and pleasant news by the social media users and was widely circulated.

Kam Air is one of the leading airlines in Afghanistan, headquartered in Kabul. It operates scheduled domestic passenger services and regional international services, since 2003.

ADDIS ABABA, 26 June, 2021 (TON): On Friday, UN chief’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated that Guterres expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and reiterated the need for all parties to uphold their responsibilities under international humanitarian law and international human rights law and to ensure the protection of civilians.

While reiterating the need for an immediate end to the fighting in Tigray, Guterres called for an independent and swift investigation into this incident.

Earlier on Friday, acting UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Ramesh Rajasingham expressed outraged over the killing of three staff members of Doctors without Borders in Tigray.

He stated, "Reports that three Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, or Doctors Without Borders) staff members have been killed in Tigray are outrageous and saddening."

"I strongly condemn all attacks directed against humanitarian workers. Humanitarian workers, like all civilians, must be respected and protected. Authorities must now promptly investigate these reports of serious violations of international humanitarian law," he added.

However, the three were traveling when they lost contact with the MSF.

BOGOTA, 26 June, 2021 (TON): On Friday, Colombian President Ivan Duque said that a helicopter carrying him and several other officials was struck by multiple bullets in the southern Catatumbo region.

The incident took place while the president's helicopter was flying through the Catatumbo region toward the city of Cucuta, capital of Norte de Santander province.

"The presidential helicopter was the target of an attack," Duque said.

He added, he was accompanied by Defense Minister Diego Molano, Interior Minister Daniel Palacios, and governor of Norte de Santander Silvano Serrano.

"The truth is that it is a cowardly attack, where the impact of the bullets can be seen on the presidential aircraft. Once again, we reiterate that as a government we are not going to falter for a single moment, a single day, in the fight against drug trafficking, against terrorism and organized crime," said Duque.

However, he made it clear that no one was injured in the attack.

MOSCOW, 26 June, 2021 (TON): Russia regrets the European Union’s (EU) refusal to hold a summit with Moscow, as well as its decision to develop new sanctions, said the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The media cited Peskov saying, "We regret it."

 He stated when asked about Russia’sa reaction to most of the EU leaders rejecting a proposal by France and Germany to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"As you know, President Putin generally remains interested in establishing working relations between Moscow and Brussels," the spokesman added.

"We hope that those countries that adhere to a more balanced approach will continue to work to promote the idea of establishing dialogue between Brussels and Moscow."

Peskov reiterated that "Moscow is still interested in this".

However, the proposal for meeting was floated following the in-person summit between Putin and US President Joe Biden in Geneva this month.

BRASILIA, 26 June, 2021(TON): Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes stated, Brazil came close to facing fiscal collapse but the economy is now in recovery and only losses related to the pandemic will burden future generations.

During a Senate hearing held by a congressional commission on COVID-19, Guedes stressed the general improvement in the economy.

"We were hit and we spent a lot of money, but we have been regaining control of the situation. We were sinking fast, but we quickly came out of the abyss and now we are creating jobs," Guedes said.

The minister highlighted that Brazil could have been facing a situation of fiscal collapse, but we managed to control that sentiment and we are now normalizing everything again.