TOKYO, 22 April 2022, (TON): Japan and New Zealand announced negotiations to expand defence and security cooperation, including intelligence sharing, as they warned of regional challenges, in a veiled reference to Beijing.

The announcement came after talks between Japan’s Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio and his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern, who is in Tokyo as part of an Asian trip intended to shore up alliances and bolster trade after a pandemic hiatus.

In a joint statement, the two sides reiterated existing common positions on a range of issues, including their shared opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and concerns over regional threats.

Kishida told reporters after talks with Ardern “attempts to change the status quo by force can never be tolerated.”

He said “Japan and New Zealand strongly oppose such attempts in any regions including the East and South China Seas.”

WASHINGTON, 22 April 2022, (TON): Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis.

The Secretary thanked Greece for its steadfast support to Ukraine, including Greece’s strong sanctions enforcement and its extensive humanitarian and defensive assistance.

The two discussed additional ways to assist Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s unprovoked and brutal war.

The Secretary and Prime Minister also discussed an upcoming meeting of the 3+1 mechanism to strengthen energy and economic cooperation between Greece, the Republic of Cyprus, and Israel, plus the United States and advance our goals.

Blinken also spoke with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša. Secretary Blinken thanked Slovenia for its outspoken support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and emphasized the need for robust security assistance in response to Russia’s brutal war.

CAIRO, 22 April 2022, (TON): Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held talks with Lord Tariq Ahmad, British minister for South Asia, North Africa, the UN and the Commonwealth.

The talks at the headquarters of Egypt’s Foreign Ministry focused on strengthening bilateral relations.

Shoukry stressed the importance of British investments in Egypt and said “he looks forward to strengthening the UK’s involvement in giant development projects and exploiting promising investment opportunities in his country.”

WASHINGTON, 22 April 2022, (TON): According to a US official “President Joe Biden is set to announce plans to send additional military aid to help Ukraine fight back against the Russian invasion.”

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Biden will deliver address at the White House detailing his plans to build on the roughly $2.6 billion in military assistance the administration has already approved for Ukraine.

The new package is expected to be similar in size to the $800 million package Biden announced last week.

It includes much needed heavy artillery and ammunition for Ukrainian forces in the escalating battle for the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said his country will send heavy artillery to Ukraine.

And Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the Netherlands will send more heavy weapons, including armored vehicles.

WASHINGTON, 22 April 2022, (TON): The United States said “if Iran wanted sanctions relief beyond that of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, an apparent reference to removing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards from a US terrorism list, it must address US concerns beyond the pact.

A State Department spokesperson said “we are not negotiating in public, but if Iran wants sanctions lifting that goes beyond the JCPOA, they will need to address concerns of ours beyond the JCPOA.”

The spokesperson added “conversely, if they do not want to use these talks to resolve other bilateral issues beyond the JCPOA, then we are confident that we can very quickly reach an understanding on the JCPOA and begin reimplementing the deal.”

“Iran needs to make a decision.”

The US spokesperson was responding to a top Iranian official who earlier said Iran will not give up on its plans to avenge the 2020 US assassination of Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani, despite regular offers from Washington to lift sanctions and provide other concessions in return.

Iran has been engaged for a year in negotiations with France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China directly, and the United States indirectly, to revive the 2015 deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

MOSCOW, 22 April 2022, (TON): Russia’s foreign ministry said “British fighters who had been captured in Ukraine were being fed, watered and given necessary help.”

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said “don’t worry, the Russian side is taking care of them. They are fed, watered, and given the necessary assistance. Just like other foreigners who have surrendered or been detained.”

Two British fighters captured in Ukraine by Russian forces appeared on Russian state TV and asked to be exchanged for a Ukrainian ally of President Vladimir Putin.

RIYADH, 22 April 2022, (TON): Saudi Arabia condemned and denounced terrorist bombings that targeted a secondary school and an educational center west of the Afghan capital, killing and injuring a number of people.

A series of bomb blasts targeted a boys school and near the Mumtaz Education Center in a Shiite neighbourhood of Kabul, killing at least six people and wounding 11 more, including children.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the Kingdom's solidarity with the Afghan people and supports them in the face of violence, extremism and terrorism, stressing its "rejection of these criminal acts that contradict all religious principles and moral and human values."

NEW DELHI, 22 April 2022, (TON): UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in India touting job-creating investment but facing long odds to get his reluctant counterpart Narendra Modi to back Western action against Russia.

Johnson arrived in Gujarat, Modi's home state and the ancestral home to half of the United Kingdom's British Indians, where he is meeting business leaders and taking a cultural tour of the historic Ahmedabad city.

He will leave for New Delhi to meet his Indian counterpart on Friday, providing Johnson some respite from the partygate controversy over his criminal violation of pandemic lockdown rules.

Johnson will miss a parliamentary vote on Thursday into whether he deliberately misled the House of Commons in previously denying any Downing Street rule-breaking, normally a resigning matter.

NEW DELHI, 22 April 2022, (TON): According to data compiled by real-time energy cargo tracker, Vortexa “as European refineries shun away from Russia's flagship export crude, Urals, India has been picking up more of Russia's Black Sea and Baltic cargoes, motivated by large discounts.”

Russia exports its Urals from the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust Luga but to a lesser extent from the Black Sea port of Novorossisyk.

Vortexa said in a recent analysis "because of the larger proportion of Urals exported from the Baltic versus the Black Sea, the most dramatic changes for on-the-water volumes are being seen on the former.”

according to Vortexa “urals, with Baltics origin, have increased sharply since the start of Russia's war in Ukraine and reached 36 million barrels as of April 10, the highest on-the-water volumes since the second quarter of 2020 when global supplies peaked.”

Black Sea origin Urals has also grown while on-the-water volumes have grown more modestly to around 7 million barrels.

DHAKA, 22 April 2022, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said “her government is prioritizing the food processing industry to boost the export of food items alongside meeting the growing domestic demand.”

She said “if we can add value to food items by processing these, we will be able to export the items alongside meeting the demand in our country. Now the local market is expanding as the purchasing capacity of people has increased.”

The prime minister said “this while laying the foundation stone of Ghorashal Palash Urea Fertilizer Factory in Narsingdi district, with an annual production capacity of nearly 10 lakh metric tons, the country’s largest.”

She unveiled the foundation stone of the Tk10,461 crore project, joining a function from her official residence Ganabhaban through a videoconference.

Others concerned were connected with the event from Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital and the fertilizer project site in Narsingdi.