LONDON, 04 February 2022, (TON): Recognising that growing cost of living pressures was the “number one issue on people’s minds.”

Rishi Sunak said “this package would support hard working families.”

The Energy Bills Rebate will provide around 28 million households with an upfront discount on their bills worth £200. Energy suppliers will apply the discount to domestic electricity customers from October, with the Government meeting the costs.

The discount will then be automatically recovered from people’s bills in equal £40 instalments over the next five years. This will begin from 2023, when global wholesale gas prices are expected to come down.

Households in England, which are in council tax bands A-D, will also receive a £150 rebate. The rebate to bills will be made directly by local authorities from April. This will not need to be repaid.

This one-off payment will benefit around 80 per cent of all homes in England and is £1 billion more generous and more targeted towards lower-income families than a VAT cut on energy bills.

RIYADH, 04 February 2022, (TON): The Kingdom’s defense ministry said “Saudi Arabia’s chief of staff, Gen. Fayyad bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, met with the UK Defense Senior Adviser to the Middle East and North Africa, Air Marshal Martin Sampson.”

During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations and defense cooperation between the two countries, as well as the latest regional developments.

A number of senior officers of the armed forces from both sides also attended the meeting.

LONDON, 04 February 2022, (TON): New commitments made this week at the first ever UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership dialogue will boost work to tackle shared threats and keep both British and Nigerian people safe.

It includes commitments to work together to improve civilian policing standards, protect human rights and recognise the important role of women in achieving sustainable peace.

Further UK support to Nigeria in tackling Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) and Boko Haram will also build on our work together to respond to conflict with extremist groups in the North East of the country.

Minister for Africa, Vicky Ford said “conflict and insecurity are leading to the loss of life and increasing displacement of millions of people across West Africa. It affects the freedom of civilians and blocks economic growth, further undermining peace and prosperity.”

Through these new agreements, the UK is deepening our partnership with Nigeria to tackle shared threats, bolster regional stabilisation efforts and support Nigeria’s peace-keeping capabilities.

DHAKA, 04 February 2022, (TON): President M Abdul Hamid sought increased Canadian investment in Bangladesh as resident High Commissioner-designate of Canada Lilly Nicholls presented her credential to him at Bangabhaban here this afternoon.

‘An investment-friendly environment is prevailing in Bangladesh, so I urge investors to invest in different potential sectors here, President’s Press Secretary Md Joynal Abedin quoted the President as saying during the meeting.

Welcoming the new envoy, the President said Bangladesh always maintains a very excellent relation with Canada and the tie is gradually expanding in various fields, particularly in trade and investment, with the country. .

He gratefully recalled Canadian’s cooperation in ensuring duty-free- quota-free market access to Bangladeshi products to Canada, terming Canada as one of the largest export destinations.

President Hamid thanked the Canadian government and its people for providing supports with vaccines and other medial equipment during pandemic outbreak.

DHAKA, 04 February 2022, (TON): Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka Vikram K Doraiswami said “his country wants to improve trade and investment relations with Bangladesh in the areas of logistics, food processing, automobiles and garments.”

In this regard, the Indian Ambassador to Bangladesh sought the cooperation of FBCCI in boosting bilateral trade.

A press release said “he Indian High Commissioner came up with such comments when he met FBCCI President Md. Jashim Uddin on Tuesday afternoon at the FBCCI office.”

In the last one year, Bangladesh-India trade has increased by 94 percent. At the end of the current financial year, Bangladesh's exports to India are expected to reach 2 billion for the first time. India is keen to take this trade relationship to a new height.

FBCCI President Md. Jashim Uddin said that development of the logistics sector is the prime agenda of FBCCI.

The apex trade body is working to submit a 12-year plan to the government for the development of the logistics.

KABUL, 04 February 2022, (TON): The regime's foreign minister clamed in an interview “the Taliban are inching closer towards international recognition but any concessions Afghanistan's new rulers make will be on their terms.”

In his first interview since returning from talks with Western powers in Oslo, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi also urged Washington to unlock Afghanistan's assets to help ease a humanitarian crisis.

No country has formally recognised the government installed after the Taliban seized power in August as US-led forces withdrew following a 20-year occupation.

But Muttaqi told media late that Afghanistan's new rulers were slowly gaining international acceptance.

He said “on the process of getting recognition we have come closer to that goal.”

“That is our right, the right of the Afghans. We will continue our political struggle and efforts until we get our right.”

The talks in Norway last month were the first involving the Taliban held on Western soil in decades.

NEW DELHI, 04 February 2022, (TON): India declined to issue visas to Pakistani pilgrims at the eleventh hour for attending the annual Urs of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer from February 3 to 14.

The Indian embassy, had asked the ministry of Religious Affairs to complete all the arrangements for the departure of pilgrims for the Urs following all the standard operating procedures issued by it.”

The Pakistani pilgrims belonging to far-flung areas of the country had arrived in Lahore. However, the last moment refusal for issuance of visas had hurt their sentiments leaving them in mental stress.”

Minister of Religious Affairs Mr Qadri said Pakistan would take up such an ill-treatment of Zaireen with India at the foreign ministry’s level. India had violated the 1974 Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines on the pretext of the coronavirus pandemic.

NEW DELHI, 04 February 2022, (TON): According to a new report “at least six journalists were killed, another 108 attacked while 13 media houses were targeted in India in 2021 while the spotlight on the denial of media freedom continued to be on occupied Jammu and Kashmir where journalists often found themselves summoned to police stations, FIRs registered against them, their houses raided, being manhandled and beaten by security forces.”

The India Press Freedom Report 2021 by the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) said that occupied Kashmir and Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Tripura topped the list of areas across the country where journalists and media houses were targeted last year.

Of the six journalists killed, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar reported two deaths each, while Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra reported the death of one journalist each. Eight female journalists faced arrest, summons and registration of First Information Reports (FIRs).

Read the report “the highest number of journalists/media organisations targeted was in [occupied] Jammu and Kashmir (25), followed by Uttar Pradesh (23), Madhya Pradesh (16), Tripura (15), Delhi (eight), Bihar (six), Assam (five), Haryana and Maharashtra (four each), Goa and Manipur (three each), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal (two each), and Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Kerala (one each).”

KABUL, 04 February 2022, (TON): The situation of Afghan women and girls came under discussion at a two-day conference hosted by the European Parliament. The event concluded amid calls for continued European support to Afghan women through UN agencies and global NGOs.

Speakers highlighted the predicament of Afghan women and girls in the wake of the Taliban’s return to power and withdrawal of foreign forces.

Women journalists, human rights defenders and former government officials from Afghanistan attended the conference, according to EU Reporter.

The Brussels-based news website quoted a former chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) as spotlighting the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Sima Samar told the participants “it’s a horrendous human rights situation in the country. Not only for women and girls, but for everyone.”

KABUL, 04 February 2022, (TON): Officials said “the governments of Afghanistan and Qatar reached an agreement to begin direct flights between Kabul and Doha.

Based on a mutual agreement, the Ministry of Transportation and Civil Aviation said “Afghan and Qatari airlines will be conducting flights to Doha-Kabul each week.”

A spokesman for the ministry Imamuddin Ahmadi said “the Islamic Emirate and Qatar made an agreement to start flights between Kabul-Doha. The Afghan airlines will conduct flights to Doha, and Qatari airlines will fly to Kabul.”

Economists say the start of flights between Kabul and Doha will boost Afghanistan’s aviation industry.

Sayed Masoud, an economist said “the start of flights from Qatar to Afghanistan and from Afghanistan to Qatar is a major step for Afghanistan aviation.”

The former head of the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA), said that the flights between Kabul and Qatar would help reduce the price of tickets and improve the aviation serviced in the country.