KABUL, 20 January 2022, (TON): Deputy minister of Higher Education Lutfullah Khairkhwa, said in a conference in Kabul that the fourth-year’s courses (semesters 7-8) of public universities will begin in the coming 15 days.

The deputy minister said “preparations have been made to reopen public universities in the country.”

He said “in 10 to 15 days, you will witness the beginning of students’ courses that are in the last semesters.”

Khairkhwa denied rumors that legal and political departments have been abolished from the country’s education system, but says that the Islamic Emirate is against the way of teaching which has been done in universities in the past twenty years.

“Regarding the faculties, I have to say that no faculty will be abolished,” he said. The deputy minister called on lecturers who have left Afghanistan to come back and cooperate with the Ministry of Higher Education in building the country’s education system.

KABUL, 20 January 2022, (TON): The prime minister made the remarks at a high-level meeting held on Wednesday at the ARG (Presidential Palace) in Kabul to assess the status of the Afghan economy.

The meeting was attended by members of the Islamic Emirate cabinet and UN representatives as well as representatives of 20 foreign countries. 

PM Mullah Akhund also called on the international community to recognize the current Kabul administration and urged the US to release the Central Bank’s assets. 

The prime minister said “he called on the Islamic countries to not wait and let the US be the first to recognize Afghanistan, after which "you would also recognize it.”

He said “the lack of recognition is creating severe challenges in a variety of ways.”

He further said “if the economic process is implemented, I believe Afghanistan would be pulled out of the current crisis.”

Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting minister of Foreign Affairs, said that Afghanistan already has an independent government. 

He added “it is obvious to them that Afghanistan has a government which is responsible, committed and believes in acting in mutual interest.”

NEW DELHI, 20 January 2022, (TON): United Kingdom (UK)-based law firm filed an appeal to the London’s Metropolitan Police for arrest of Indian Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane and Minister of Home Affairs Amit Anil Chandra Shah for allegedly committing war crimes in the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

The legal appeal for the arrest of two top Indian government officials under the Universal Jurisdiction principle has been made to British Police following the release of a detailed report by London-based law firm Stoke White, which held them responsible for the torture, kidnapping, extrajudicial killings as well as rape and sexual violence against women in the valley.

The Stoke White Investigations (SWI-unit) report stated “nearly three decades have passed and not a single member of the Indian military has been prosecuted for unlawful conduct in J&K, despite growing evidence against the armed forces.”

The request for the arrest of the Indian army chief and the home minister is based on 2,000 testimonies taken over the past year and new evidence of how Indian security forces have been responsible for their alleged war crimes and abuses in IIOJK.

NEW DELHI, 20 January 2022, (TON): At least 50 politicians, former officials, and peace activists have come together urging Pakistan and India to attend to their differences and work for durable peace in the region.

Indian peace activist Om Prakash Shah is planning to release compilations of 50 articles in the form of a book titled In Pursuit of Peace. Improving Indo-Pak Relations, in the Indian capital New Delhi on Saturday, requesting both countries to at least start talks to find solutions to their political issues.

The authors, who have contributed to the book include former Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari, former foreign minister Yashwant Sinha, former chief minister of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) Farooq Abdullah, ex-Pakistani foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, and former information minister Javed Jabbar, among others.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency ahead of the release of the book, Shah said there was a general recognition on both sides to find a way to co-exist in a peaceful productive manner and to make sure that the differences do not spin out of control, especially given the developmental challenges faced by both countries.

Shah said, who is working on improving Indo-Pakistan relations for the last three decades "the main aim of this book is to deepen our mutual understanding of the different points of view in Pakistan and India and to speed up the process of dialogue, which I believe is an important tool for bridging the trust deficit between India and Pakistan.”

He said that the book has taken the stock of Indo-Pak relations as both countries are approaching the 75th anniversary of their independence in August 2022.

DHAKA, 20 January 2022, (TON): The outgoing US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Earl R Miller, has discussed the importance of human rights and the rule of law, and enhancing cooperation on development, economic growth and security with Bangladesh.

He posted a photo of his farewell meeting with Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen at the State Guesthouse Padma in the city.

He tweeted "we discussed the strong long-standing US-Bangladesh partnership, the importance of human rights and the rule of law, and enhancing cooperation on development, economic growth and security.”

Earlier, a foreign ministry statement said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent a new year's greetings to Foreign Minister Momen and his wife.

The US-Bangladesh relationship witnessed some strain of late following the US sanctions on Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and seven of its current and former officials.

DHAKA, 20 January 2022, (TON): The newly appointed Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Lilly Nicholls arrived in Dhaka.

She tweeted "I am so pleased to have arrived in #Dhaka to lead the Canadian High Commission in Bangladesh. And sooo happy to be welcomed with delicious  Bangladeshi  SweetS.”

Nicholls wrote while giving thanks in Bangla "Dhan yabāda "I think I would like it here.”

RIYADH, 19 January 2022, (TON): The head of the Gulf Cooperation Council renewed his call to the international community to confront Houthi terrorism that obstructs all international efforts aimed at resolving the Yemeni crisis.

The GCC said in a statement “Nayef Al-Hajraf was speaking during a meeting with UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg, during his visit to Riyadh.”

His visit comes a day after the Iran-backed Houthi militia attacked the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, killing three people and wounding seven, sparking widespread condemnation.

The secretary-general affirmed the GCC’s support for the efforts of the UN envoy and the UN toward reaching a political solution to the Yemeni war, calling on the international community to exert more pressure on the Houthi militia to engage seriously in the peace process.

Al-Hajraf also strongly condemned the continued cross border attacks targeting civilians and civilian objects in Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones, as well as the attack that targeted Abu Dhabi, “which represents a flagrant violation of international law and a threat to regional security and stability.

DUBAI, 19 January 2022, (TON): Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday called his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi and condoled the death of a Pakistani national in the Houthi drone attack near the Abu Dhabi airport a day earlier.

Following the call, FM Qureshi took to Twitter to thank Sheikh Abdullah for offering his condolences, and condemn the attack.

Qureshi said "thank you brother HH FM Zayed for your call of condolence on tragic death of a Pakistan national in the terrorist attack in Abu Dhabi.”

The foreign minister also offered "condolences to the families of all victims," while strongly condemning the attack that violated the "sovereignty & territorial integrity of UAE."

Earlier today, the Foreign Office condemned the "heinous terrorist attack on civilian areas carried out by the Houthis in Abu Dhabi that claimed several lives, including one Pakistani national."

ANKARA, 19 January 2022, (TON): Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said “he and Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic agreed on Tuesday to broker crisis talks involving all parties in Bosnia after elections in Serbia in April.”

The crisis flared after nationalist lawmakers in post-war Bosnia’s semi-autonomous Serb entity passed a non-binding motion last year to start pulling the region out of the country’s armed forces, tax system and judiciary, a move long backed by Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik.

Turkey, which has deep-rooted historical ties in the Balkans, has criticized the move as “wrong, dangerous” and has offered to mediate in the crisis, which has raised fears of a relapse into ethnic conflict in Bosnia.

After a calamitous 1992-95 ethnic war that killed 100,000 people, Bosnia was split into two widely autonomous regions, a Serb Republic (RS) and a Federation dominated by Bosniaks and Croats, overlaid by a loose central government.

Addressing reporters along with Vucic after talks in Ankara, Erdogan said “Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks alike should refrain from steps that endanger Bosnia’s territorial integrity and that all should act with a sense of responsibility.”

He said “after these (Serbian) elections, we want to bring together the leaders of these three groups and to have a meeting with them. With this meeting, let us take steps to ensure Bosnia’s territorial integrity.”

SANAA, 19 January 2022, (TON): An air strike killed about 14 people in a building in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, residents said, “during strikes across the city launched by the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi group.”

The alliance strikes on Houthi-held Sanaa followed an attack claimed by the Iran-aligned Houthis on Monday on coalition partner the United Arab Emirates, in Abu Dhabi, in which three people, including one Pakistani, were killed.

The coalition also said it intercepted eight drones launched toward Saudi Arabia.

The coalition said “it had begun air strikes against strongholds and camps in Sanaa belonging to the Houthi group.”

The strikes appeared to be the deadliest since 2019 on Sanaa.

The strike that killed about 14 people, according to initial estimates, was on the home of a former military official.

It killed him, his wife, his 25-year-old son, other family members and some unidentified people, a medical source and residents told Reuters.