NEW DELHI, 15 April 2022, (TON): An official said “over 1000 house in Meghalaya's Ri-Bhoi district were affected in a cyclonic storm that ravaged the district on Thursday but there was no casualty.”

A senior district official told PTI, "Prima facie, 47 villages in the district were affected in the storm from where the damages to houses were reported."

He said “government properties were among those destroyed in the cyclonic storm, including a BDO office, a school, a public works department office and veterinary offices.”

He said “all line departments were deployed for clearance and restoration works in the affected villages.”

NEW DELHI, 15 April 2022, (TON): According to highly-placed Indian government sources “British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to arrive in India next week, soon after the long Easter break in the UK, with a state visit that highlights a successful India-UK partnership on the agenda besides a wide-ranging schedule in New Delhi.”

The visit next week, which is yet to be formally announced by Downing Street, follows the successful completion of four out of 26 chapters in the ongoing India-UK free trade agreement negotiations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Johnson are expected to take stock of the negotiations and mandate a timeline for the possible completion of the process, initially set for the end of this year.

According to officials close to the discussions “there has also been significant progress in the remaining 22 chapters of the FTA at the end of the first two rounds of official negotiations, with the third round of talks scheduled for later this month.”

DHAKA, 15 April 2022, (TON): Bangladesh has been unanimously elected as a member of the Commission for Social Development, a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council, for a four-year term from 2023 to 2027.

According to message receive here “the election was held at the ECOSOC Management meeting at the United Nations in New York.”

Along with Bangladesh, India and Saudi Arabia have also been elected to this body from the Asia Pacific Group.

Ambassador Rabab Fatima, the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN said "as a member of the Commission, we would make every effort to foster international cooperation for socio-economic development by sharing our good practices.”

She said “Bangladesh which achieved remarkable success in poverty reduction and socio-economic development under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, attaches high importance to the work of the Commission.”

KABUL, 15 April 2022, (TON): Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Taliban government’s charge d’affaires in Tehran, presenting him with its strongest official protest against a series of anti-Iran rallies in Afghanistan.

The Taliban official was informed on April 12 that Iranian consulate offices will remain closed and all operations will be halted until further notice and until Tehran receives assurances from the Taliban of the full security of Iranian representative offices.

Iranian officials also demanded legal action against the Afghan protesters involved in the attack.

Iran’s move came one day after rock-throwing Afghan protesters attacked the Iranian consulate in the western city of Herat.

At a similar rally, protesters set ablaze the entrance of the Iranian Embassy in Kabul, while a relatively peaceful protest was staged in the eastern Khost province.

The protesters were enraged by the mistreatment of Afghan immigrants in Iran, particularly after a video went viral last week purportedly showing an Afghan man being severely beaten up by Iranian security forces and other individuals.

KABUL, 15 April 2022, (TON): World Bank said “Afghanistan can avoid an economic collapse, but only if it receives international assistance and if the Taliban government respects human rights and sound management of its finances.”

Washington-based development lender said in a statement “an alternative pathway is possible.”

The World Bank said “but moving towards this trajectory would require actions by both the international community and the interim Taliban administration.”

Among donors “there is an expectation that the Interim Taliban Administration adheres to basic standards for the treatment of women and girls, respect for human rights and sound economic management.”

According to the bank “the economy will not grow fast enough to improve livelihoods or generate opportunities for the 600,000 Afghans reaching working age every year.”

DUBAI, 14 April 2022, (TON): The US Navy said “ it was establishing a new multinational task force that would target arms smuggling in the waters around Yemen, the latest American military response to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE.”

The effort follows a series of Houthi missile and drone attacks this year on the two Gulf countries.

US Fifth Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Brad Cooper said the task force would, operate in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab and Gulf of Aden and would also target human trafficking and the smuggling of drugs and other illicit goods.

Cooper said on a call with reporters “these are strategically important waters that warrant our attention.”

The task force would consist of between two to eight vessels and is part of the 34-nation Combined Maritime Forces, which Cooper also commands, that has three other task forces in nearby waters targeting smuggling and piracy.

Swiss to unfreeze $430m as Egypt money laundering probe ends

GENEVA, 14 April 2022, (TON): Swiss prosecutors will not file any charges after concluding a decade-long investigation into alleged money laundering and organized crime linked to late former President Hosni Mubarak’s circles in Egypt.

Prosecutors will release some 400 million Swiss francs ($430 million) frozen in Swiss banks.

The office of the Swiss attorney general said Wednesday that information received as part of cooperation with Egyptian authorities wasn’t sufficient to back up the claims that emerged in the wake of Arab Spring uprisings in 2011 that felled Mubarak’s three-decade rule.

A Swiss investigation into claims that banks in Switzerland were used to squirrel away ill-gotten funds had originally targeted 14 people, including Mubarak’s two sons, as well as dozens of other individuals and entities that had assets totaling some 600 million francs frozen.

The attorney-general’s office said “more than 210 million francs were already released in an earlier phase of the case, which also could not substantiate the allegations, and Wednesday’s announcement means about 400 million more will be released and returned to their beneficial owners.”

RIYADH, 14 April 2022, (TON): The US embassy in Yemen said “it held talks with the new Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council to discuss ways to improve governance, security, and economic stability in the war-torn country.”

Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi launched the council, which is headed by Rashad Al-Alimi, last week and transferred his powers to it on the final day of intra-Yemeni talks led by the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh.

Cathy Westley, the charge d’affaires at the embassy, said she had held a meeting with Al-Alimi.

Westley said in a tweet “I welcomed the council’s commitment to the UN-brokered truce and to realizing the aspirations of all Yemenis for peace and prosperity.”

The eight-member body, which has the authority to manage the security, politics and military of the state, has been widely welcomed by regional and international countries and organizations.

ROME, 14 April 2022, (TON): A memorandum of understanding to boost the investments of Italian companies in Tunisia was signed in Milan by the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Promos Italia.

FIPA Director General Abdelbasset Ghanmi and Promos Italia President Alessandro Gelli said at a press event attended by media that the MoU seeks to establish cooperation between the two structures, devise a joint strategy to improve trade relations between Italy and Tunisia, and encourage the exchange of technical competences and training opportunities.

Gelli said “Tunisia is an attractive investment destination for Italian companies because of its geographical closeness, its investment promotion regulations and the low cost of production.”

“Furthermore, Tunisia represents for Italy a bridge over the Mediterranean, a natural production platform for Italian companies committed to diversifying their activities and penetrating new markets in North Africa, the Gulf and French-speaking Africa. In this country, the presence of Italian companies is strong and well rooted.”

According to FIPA “more than 800 Italian companies are established in Tunisia, employing more than 60,000 people.”

MOSCOW, 14 April 2022, (TON): Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov called the defense partnership of the United States, Great Britain and Australia AUKUS a narrow cabal incapable of becoming a security platform in the Asia-Pacific region.

This opinion was expressed by the Kremlin representative, commenting at the request of journalists on Wednesday about Japan’s invitation to join AUKUS.

Peskov said “we are watching these processes very carefully. But such alliances are not inclusive and, judging by the positioning, goals and objectives, they, of course, lead to the formation of such narrow quarrels that can hardly become a broad platform for ensuring the stability and security of such a huge region.”

The Japanese government has been informally receiving offers to join the AUKUS defense partnership, the Sankei newspaper reported.

Australia, Great Britain and the United States, according to the publication, are expressing interest in connecting the potential of Tokyo to the latest military developments.