LONDON, 03 February 2022, (TON): The British government set out plans for a huge shift in power and wealth to left-behind regions of the country, a long-standing promise to the voters who helped put Prime Minister Boris Johnson in office.

Johnson’s Conservative government was elected in 2019 on a pledge to “level up” one of Europe’s most regionally unequal countries by improving transport links, infrastructure and economic opportunities in swaths of the country hit by shuttered industries and public funding cuts.

The government fleshed out that promise Wednesday with details of plans to invest in public transport, education, digital connectivity and R&D in poorer regions, mostly in central and northern England, by 2030.

It also said more regions will get elected mayors with substantial powers, and derelict industrial sites will be targeted for major regeneration projects.

As yet, though, there are few details of how the ambitious plans will be funded.

Britain has long had deep regional divides, with money and wealth concentrated in London and the south of England, while heavy industry dominated the north. The closure of mines and factories as the U.K. moved from industrial powerhouse to service-based economy in recent decades hit those areas hard.

WASHINGTON, 03 February 2022, (TON): Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman spoke with Republic of Korea (ROK) First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong Kun and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mori Takeo.

The Deputy Secretary and vice foreign ministers reaffirmed the importance of trilateral cooperation between the United States, the ROK, and Japan in tackling pressing challenges in the region and across the globe.

Deputy Secretary Sherman denounced the DPRK’s recent and escalatory ballistic missile launches as violations of UN Security Council resolutions and destabilizing to the region and discussed ongoing efforts to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

DHAKA, 03 February 2022, (TON): The Bangladesh government said “winning the chairpersonship of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) by Bangladesh is a testament of the international community's trust and confidence in Bangladesh as an important contributor to international peace in some of the most difficult corners of the world.”

“We'll put particular focus on promoting global solidarity to help mitigate the impact of the pandemic on development and peacebuilding," said Ambassador Rabab Fatima who was unanimously elected as Chair of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) for 2022.

The elections to the Chair and Vice-Chairs of PBC were held on Tuesday at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Ambassador Fatima, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, is the first woman to be elected as the PBC Chair.

Bangladesh has been a member of PBC since its inception. Earlier, Bangladesh served the Commission as chair in 2012.

KABUL, 03 February 2022, (TON): Amid the international community’s emphasis on Afghanistan’s need to form an inclusive government, Russia’s special representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov in an interview with TASS news agency said that the complete removal of all existing restrictions from Afghanistan depends on concrete steps of the Islamic Emirate.

He said “all existing restrictions in this regard could be fully removed by concrete steps of the new government in Kabul aimed at the completion of the inter-Afghan peace process and formation of an ethnically and politically balanced power structure, as well as by unrelenting efforts on combating terrorism and the drug threat.”

Kabulov also said that the countries participating in the extended Troika on Afghanistan (Russia, the United States, China and Pakistan) are now coordinating to determine the date of the next round of talks planned before the end of February in Kabul.

He said “currently, we are coordinating the date of the next round of talks with our partners in the extended Troika, which will be held in Kabul by the end of February.”

Kabulov emphasized that Russia is complying with all existing international laws as it works to develop a relationship with the Islamic Emirate.

The high-ranking diplomat noted “when we build practical cooperation with the new Afghan authorities, of course, we observe all the requirements of both international and domestic national legislation. First of all, they relate to the Taliban defendants on the UN Security Council sanctions list specific individuals who are subject to financial and other restrictions.”

KABUL, 03 February 2022, (TON): Some public universities opened in Afghanistan on Wednesday for the first time since the Taliban seized power in August, with a trickle of women attending classes that officials said would be segregated by sex.

Most secondary schools for girls and all public universities were shuttered when the hardline Islamist group stormed back to power, sparking fears women would again be barred from education as happened during the Taliban's first rule, from 1996-2001.

Zarlashta Haqmal, who studies law and political science at Nangarhar University "it's a moment of joy for us that our classes have started.”

"But we are still worried that the Taliban might stop them."

One analyst said the reopening of universities was a "critical marker" on the Taliban's road to international recognition.

Officials said universities in Laghman, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Nimroz, Farah and Helmand provinces opened Wednesday.

NEW DELHI, 03 February 2022, (TON): Sri Lanka was handed temporary relief from energy shortages and rolling blackouts with a $500 million loan from India to finance urgent oil purchases for the cash-strapped nation.

The island's economic woes have left thermal power generators unable to keep the lights on and disrupted transport networks, as traders run desperately low on foreign currency to fund imports.

Frequent breakdowns at a huge coal power plant have compounded unannounced electricity cuts and households are also struggling to source cooking gas and kerosene.

Officials said “a formal agreement was being signed on Wednesday after two weeks of talks, in addition to a recent $915 million in foreign exchange support.”

An Indian diplomat said talks were underway on another $1 billion credit line to fund urgently needed food and medicine imports from India.

DHAKA, 03 February 2022, (TON): The process of launching the country's second satellite, Bangabandhu-2, has begun through signing a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Russian launch services and satellite company Glavkosmos.

A press release said “in the presence of Post and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar, Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dr Shahjahan Mahmood and Glavkosmos Director General Dmitry Loskutov signed the MoC on behalf of their respective sides at a function at the BSCL office in the city.”

Posts and Telecommunications Division Secretary Md Khalilur Rahman and Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander V Mantytskiy were present at the function while Bangladesh Ambassador to Russia Kamrul Ahsan joined it virtually with BSCL chief Dr Shahjahan Mahmood in the chair.

Speaking on occasion, Mustafa Jabbar said as per the election manifesto of 2018, the government has taken the initiative of launching the Earth Observatory category satellite Bangabandhu-2 with the assistance of the Russian government.

He said "the process of launching the satellite began today with signing the MoC.”

DHAKA, 03 February 2022, (TON): Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen urged Brunei to put more focused efforts on part of the ASEAN for bringing about a durable and permanent solution to the Rohingya crisis.

He made the call during a video call with his Bruneian counterpart Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof. 

During the conversation, Dr Momen shared his apprehensions of the potential security risks not only for Bangladesh but also for South Asia and the southeast Asian region if the Rohingya crisis is left festering any longer.

The foreign minister said Bangladesh attaches high importance to its warm relations with Brunei.

During the talk, both ministers reviewed the important aspects of existing bilateral relations and agreed to explore new areas of cooperation for further cementing the relations.

The Bangladesh foreign minister reiterated his call to Myanmar for taking necessary confidence-building measures to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of the displaced Rohingya people to Rakhine state in Myanmar.  

WASHINGTON, 02 February 2022, (TON): Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman spoke with Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov today.  The Deputy Secretary and Prime Minister reaffirmed the strategic partnership between the United States and Bulgaria.

The Deputy Secretary congratulated the Prime Minister on the recent announcement that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will open discussions with Bulgaria on accession, and affirmed the U.S. commitment to work with fellow OECD members to support this process.

Deputy Secretary Sherman thanked the Prime Minister for Bulgaria’s role as a stalwart NATO Ally in the face of Russia’s escalatory actions toward Ukraine and discussed our shared commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

RIYADH, 02 February 2022, (TON): Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan talk to his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares on telephone call.”

During the call, the two sides discussed bilateral relations and opportunities for development in various fields, and discussed a number of regional and international issues.