KYIV, 31 May 2022, (TON): Russian troops entered the outskirts of the Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, a regional governor said on Monday, describing the fighting as very fierce in a city that become a key objective for Moscow’s offensive in the Donbas.

Luhansk region Governor Serhiy Gaidai said “shelling killed two civilians and wounded five others as Russian troops advanced into the city’s southeastern and northeastern areas fringes.”

Incessant shelling has left Ukrainian forces defending ruins in Sievierodonetsk, but their refusal to withdraw has slowed a massive Russian offensive across the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a televised speech “some 90 percent of buildings are damaged. More than two-thirds of the city’s housing stock has been completely destroyed. There is no telecommunication.”

Ukrainian forces in the Donbas said “they were on the defensive all day on Sunday. Russian forces fired on 46 communities in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, killing at least three civilians, wounding two others or destroying or damaging 62 civilian buildings.”

KYIV, 31 May 2022, (TON): EU Council President Charles Michel said “as Ukrainian and Russian forces battled on the outskirts of Sievierodonetsk, the last city still held by Kyiv in Ukraine’s strategic Luhansk province.”

Michel said on Twitter the ban would immediately cover more than two thirds of oil imports from Russia cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine.

Michel added “the EU leaders, meeting in Brussels, also agreed to cut off the largest Russian bank Sberbank from the SWIFT system and to ban three more Russian state-owned broadcasters.”

Shortly before the announcement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation remained “extremely difficult” in the Donbas region, where Russia has focus of its military effort after failing to capture Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, in March.

WASHINGTON, 31 May 2022, (TON): Under pressure to act after the latest US mass shooting that left 21 people dead, President Joe Biden vowed to push for stricter gun regulation, an uphill battle given the Democrats’ narrow congressional majority.

Biden told reporters in Washington “I’ve been pretty motivated all along to act on guns.”

He said “I’m going to continue to push

He added that I think things have gotten so bad that everybody is getting more rational about it.

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has been working through the Memorial Day weekend to pursue possible areas of compromise.

RIYADH, 31 May 2022, (TON): Saudi Press Agency reported “a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Saudi Arabia and Seychelles in Riyadh.”

The Kingdom’s Tourism Ministry signed MoU with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Seychelles to boost cooperation and exchange expertise between the two countries.

It was signed by the Minister of Tourism, Ahmed Al-Khateeb, and his counterpart, Sylvestre Radegonde.

While it highlights the importance of tourism and its role in increasing economic growth, creating job opportunities, and promoting sustainable development, it also aims at supporting and developing activities and efforts of tourism institutions and associations and encouraging the establishment of investment projects between the two countries.

SUVA, 31 May 2022, (TON): Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi holds talks with leaders and top officials from ten Pacific Island states, part of a regional diplomatic blitz that has stirred deep Western concern.

The virtual summit is expected to discuss leaked proposals for China to radically increase its involvement in the security, economy and politics of the South Pacific.

Wang is in the Fijian capital Suva, where he will co-host a virtual meeting with regional foreign ministers many of whom are also leaders of the small island states.

On the table is a secret deal obtained by media that would see China train local police, become involved in cybersecurity, expand political ties, conduct sensitive marine mapping and gain greater access to natural resources on land and in the water.

RIYADH, 31 May 2022, (TON): The Saudi Press Agency reported that Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and his Dutch counterpart Wopke Hoekstra discussed international efforts to salvage the decaying oil tanker FSO Safer off the coast of Yemen to prevent an environmental disaster that could arise due to the absurd practices of the terrorist Houthi militia.”

In a phone call, the pair also discussed enhancing bilateral relations and cooperation to serve the two nations’ interest.

The United Nations announced on May 11 that it is seeking $144 million needed to fund the salvage operation of the tanker moored off Yemen’s Red Sea coast.

David Gressly, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Yemen said “the amount includes $80 million to transfer the more than 1 million barrels of crude oil the FSO Safer is carrying to storage.”

KABUL, 31 May 2022, (TON): The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement rejecting a report by the UN Security Council alleging that Al-Qaida and the Islamic Emirate have a close relationship and that foreign groups are in Afghanistan.

The statement said “the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan again reaffirms its commitments and reassures all that none shall be allowed to use the territory of Afghanistan against others.”

The UN Security Council Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team in the report said Al-Qaida has a “safe haven under the Taliban and increased freedom of action."

The UN report said “the relationship between the Taliban and Al-Qaida remains close, with the latter celebrating the former’s success and renewing its pledge of allegiance to Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada.”

KABUL, 31 May 2022, (TON): Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman urged Western countries to ramp up engagement with the Islamic Emirate and warned that failure to do so would risk Afghanistan falling into deeper chaos and cause extremism to rise.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, who is also deputy Prime Minister of Qatar, made the remarks to the Financial Times.

The Qatar foreign minister said “we will see maybe a rise of extremism. We will start to see an economic crisis, which has already started, and this will just drive the people to more radicalization and conflict.”

The Islamic Emirate welcomed the remarks made by the Qatari official.

Inamullah Samangani, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate said “we want foreign countries to take practical steps that are in the interest of all and to respect the basic right of the government and people of Afghanistan.”

DHAKA, 31 May 2022, (TON): The US Embassy has celebrated 50 years of U.S.-Bangladesh Cooperation in the Livestock Sector in the capital. 

A US embassy press release said “fisheries and Livestock minister SM Rezaul Karim and US embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission Helen LaFave joined the celebration with officials from fisheries and livestock ministry, Bangladeshi industry, and  industry representatives from the US Livestock Genetics Export.”

USLGE is a non-profit trade organization that brings together a broad base of US livestock organizations.

On the occasion, LaFave said the US has provided millions of dollars in funding to develop the livestock industry and are now looking to expand its trading relationship with Bangladesh in the sector.

She said “Each year, Bangladesh sources more and more high-quality livestock and genetics from the United States.”

KABUL, 31 May 2022, (TON): Some Afghan traders living abroad said “current problems caused by the banking system and international sanctions, as well as the closed girls’ schools, are causing obstacles to investment in Afghanistan.”

Obaidullah Sadar Khail, head of the Afghan trader council in the UAE, told media “the problems in the banking system that began nine months ago have still not been solved.”

He said “the banking system is important for the traders and over the past nine months, this problem has not been solved.”

Maroud Zafar, head of the chicken farming union said “there are banking problems. The former government is around 1 billion Afs in debt to our traders.”

Meanwhile, the acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, Nooruddin Azizi, said that there will be good news about reopening girls’ school above grade six.

However, he said that the problems in the banking system have been imposed on Afghanistan.