STOCKHOLM, 14 April 2022, (TON): A press release by the government office said “Swedish government has decided to allocate €5 million to support Ukraine through the NATO fund.

The report explains “support will be mainly directed to projects to combat chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.”

It also notes that the funds are transferred at the request of NATO.

WASHINGTON, 14 April 2022, (TON): The US authorities proceed from the fact that the exclusion of Russia fro-m the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe because of the special operation in Ukraine is unlikely, since there is no clear procedure for doing so.

This was stated at an online briefing for journalists by the US Permanent Representative to the organization, Michael Carpenter.

He said “with regard to the OSCE, there is no clear procedure by which Russia could be excluded.”

Carpenter added “it is unlikely that we could find a procedure that would allow us to exclude Russia.”

Russian President Putin announced on February 24 a special military operation in response to the request of the leaders of the Donbass republics for help.

He stressed that Moscow’s plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories, and the goals are the demilitarization and denazification of the country.

JUBA, 14 April 2022, (TON): Detoh Rie has spent the last five days hiding in a swamp with his children, one among thousands of South Sudanese forced to flee their homes as renewed violence threatens to return the fragile nation to war.

When clashes erupted on Friday between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his rival, Vice President Riek Machar, in the country’s oil-rich Unity state, Rie wasted no time in grabbing his children and running for their lives.

The 51-year-old told by telephone from Leer county “soldiers attacked our villages and burnt many of our houses. They took our cows and goats and they killed people.”

He says “he doesn’t know if the rest of his family made it out alive as the attackers reduced his village Waay to smouldering ruins. South Sudan has been here before.”

Barely two years into its hard-won independence, the country found itself in the grip of a civil war between Kiir and Machar that left nearly 400,000 people dead before the two men signed a peace deal in 2018.

But the peace process has been hamstrung by political bickering and when fighting spiralled in recent weeks, civilians have once again been forced to pay the heaviest price.

KABUL, 14 April 2022, (TON): A German member of the European Parliament, Hannah Neuman, is visiting Kabul and has called for the reopening of girls' schools and for the inclusion of all elements of society into the current Afghan government.

She said “girls going back to school on March 23 with hopes for the future being turned down with tears in their eyes, going back home, and some of these families literally used their last penny to allow them to go to school--buy these backpacks, buy these books.”

Speaking press conference on Wednesday in Kabul, Neuman expressed concerns over enforced disappearances.

“I heard many stories about violence, about violence against protestors, violence against journalists, about enforced disappearances, also enforced disappearances of people who just did their job in the administration, but with the new rulers taking over were not wanted anymore."

She called for the inclusion of other social groups into the government. 

NEW DELHI, 14 April 2022, (TON): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said “human rights issue was not a topic of discussion during the India US 2+2 ministerial meeting this week, as he asserted that whenever there is a discussion New Delhi will not be reticent about speaking out.”

Mr Jaishankar told reporters "on the human rights issue; no, we did not discuss human rights during this meeting. This meeting was primarily focused on political-military affairs.”

At a joint news conference on Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said that the US is monitoring some recent concerning developments in India, including a rise in human rights abuses by some government, police, and prison officials.

The joint news conference after the 2+2 dialogue was addressed by Mr Blinken, Mr Jaishankar, Mr Singh and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Mr Jaishankar said “while the issue of human rights was not discussed during the current meeting, it has come up in the past.”

KABUL, 14 April 2022, (TON): Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said “quadrilateral meeting with officials from Kabul, Tehran, Islamabad and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is due to be held next month in a bid to address the challenges of the Afghan refugees in the two neighboring countries.” 

The meeting will be followed by trilateral meetings including Afghanistan, Iran, UNHCR.

The meetings come after Afghans in several provinces staged protests in reaction to reports of the mistreatment of Afghans by Iran. 

The spokesman for the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said “aim of the meeting is to address the problems of the Afghan refugees in the neighboring countries and to reach a procedure for the Afghans who are living there without any registration.” 

Kabul residents held a rally in front of the Iranian embassy, calling for unity between the two nations.

KABUL, 14 April 2022, (TON): Residents in various provinces of Afghanistan, especially Kabul, Khost and Kandahar, have recently expressed concern over the increase in drone patrols in the country’s airspace.

They say “they do not know which country the drones belong to and for what purpose they are patrolling Afghanistan’s airspace.”

Ehsas, a resident of Khost said “this issue has been raised in Khost, and residents in a demonstration asked the security institutions to clarify the issue. “Drones have been patrolling in Khost province recently and people in this provice are worried about which country these planes belong to.”

Sharifullah, another resident of Khost said “All the people of Khost are concerned about where these aircraft are from, so we ask the Islamic Emirate to inform the people about these planes–which country these planes belong to and why they are patrolling.”

But the Islamic Emirate, without giving details about the aircraft, said that Afghanistan is no longer a threat to any country and Afghanistan’s airspace should not be violated.

DHAKA, 14 April 2022, (TON): Bangladesh and islands country in Oceania, Palau are keen to strengthen its bilateral ties with cooperation in blue economy as well as increasing trade and commerce.

A foreign ministry press release said “this was discussed while foreign minister Dr AK Abdul Momen paid a curtsey call on Palau president Surangel S. Whipps Junior on the side line of 7th Our Ocean Conference."

The Bangladesh foreign minister is now in Koror city of Palau to attend the conference at the invitation of US president's special envoy John Kerry. 

During the meeting, Dr Momen urged Palau to import pharmaceuticals and readymade garment from Bangladesh.

NEW DELHI, 14 April 2022, (TON): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has reached Hawaii for a brief visit to the Headquarters of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, a unified combatant command of America's Armed Forces responsible for the key Indo-Pacific region.

On his arrival from Washington, DC, Rajnath Singh was received by Commander, US INDOPACOM Admiral John Aquilino.

Rajnath Singh tweeted "reached Honolulu in Hawaii for a visit to the Headquarters of United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). I shall also be visiting the Headquarters of US Army Pacific and Pacific Air Forces, during my brief stay in Hawaii.”

The USINDOPACOM and Indian military have wide-ranging engagements, including a number of military exercises, training events and exchanges.

Mr Singh will visit the USINDOPACOM headquarters, Pacific Fleet and the training facilities in Hawaii, before returning to India.

DHAKA, 14 April 2022, (TON): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has congratulated the newly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.

In a message of felicitations, Bangladesh's Prime Minister stressed that the entire region must work together to overcome the challenges facing the region for its common benefits.

On April 11, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was elected as the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan.