WASHINGTON, 31 March 2022, (TON): The United States expressed concern over growing tensions in South Sudan, and called on all parties to respect a 2018 peace agreement, after the opposition withdrew from a body overseeing the process.

The world’s newest nation has struggled to draw a line under a five-year civil war that ended in 2018, with former rivals President Salva Kiir and his Vice President Riek Machar unable to agree on the implementation of the deal they signed.

Earlier this month, Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition  announced its withdrawal from a body overseeing the peace process over “unprovoked” attacks on its bases by its “peace partner”.

The decision is the latest blow to the country’s shaky prospects for stability, deepening fissures between factions loyal to Machar and Kiir. In a statement, US State Department spokesman Ned Price deplored the recent clashes in Upper Nile State and the SPLM/A-IO’s withdrawal from the body, which “undermines the peace agreement.”

He said “we call for both sides to observe fully their obligations under the existing peace agreement and note that inflammatory rhetoric is counterproductive and should cease immediately.”

ADDIS ABABA, 31 March 2022, (TON): A lawyer working with them said “Ethiopia has released several former government officials from prison.”

The group of ethnic Tigrayans included former members of the government-appointed administration and a member of the ruling party.

The state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said on March 18 that at least eight officials had been arrested, but gave no names, or reasons for the arrests.

The lawyer and a second source said at the time 12 Tigrayan officials, an activist and another man had been arrested in raids on March 7 and 8 – a total of 14 people.

“All of them were released today and are now on their way to Addis Ababa from Afar,” said a lawyer working with the detainees, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.

The government has sought to arrest leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which has been fighting Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government for the last 16 months. But since the conflict erupted, Tigrayans from all walks of life have been arrested and held without charge for weeks or months.

LONDON, 31 March 2022, (TON): The UK government has announced that its judges will no longer sit on Hong Kong’s top court over opposition to China’s national security law, with two Supreme Court judges resigning immediately.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said “the situation has reached a tipping point where it is no longer tenable for British judges to sit on Hong Kong’s leading court, and would risk legitimising oppression.”

She said “we have seen a systematic erosion of liberty and democracy in Hong Kong.”

She noting the authorities had “cracked down on free speech, the free press and free association” since the security law was imposed in 2020.

Truss said “she had reached the decision to withdraw the judges from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal following consultations with the UK Supreme Court and ministers responsible for the judiciary.”

The UK Supreme Court said its two judges currently sitting on the Hong Kong court in two of 12 overseas non-permanent positions had resigned with immediate effect.

RIYADH, 31 March 2022, (TON): The most comprehensive peace talks involving Yemen’s warring factions kicked off in Riyadh as the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen announced a truce that is hoped would help end the devastating conflict.

Hundreds of Yemeni politicians, tribal leaders, and current and former military and security officials, took part in the conference.

The Houthis have refused to attend the GCC-initiated talks.

Opening the conference, Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf, secretary-general of the GCC, urged the participants to set aside their differences and find a comprehensive solution to end the war.

He stressed that the Gulf bloc would back the outcomes.

Al-Hajraf said “the success of the Yemeni-Yemeni consultations is not an option but a duty that requires everyone to (bear) the national responsibility and to reject all causes of division and internal disparities.”

The coalition announced it would halt military operations in Yemen to smooth the way for the success of the talks.

HUANGSHAN, 31 March 2022, (TON): Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met his Pakistan counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in China.

In the context of the discussions held during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent visit to Moscow and their own telephone conversation earlier this month, the two Foreign Ministers reviewed bilateral relations and exchanged views on the regional situation.

Foreign Minister Qureshi shared Pakistan’s principled position on the situation in Ukraine including cessation of hostilities, provision of humanitarian assistance, and efforts for a solution through dialogue and diplomacy.

In the context of the discussions held during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent visit to Moscow and their own telephone conversation earlier this month, the two foreign ministers reviewed bilateral relations and exchanged views on the regional situation.

RIYADH, 31 March 2022, (TON): Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir received Berik Aryn, Kazakhstan’s ambassador to the Kingdom, in Riyadh.

During the meeting, the pair reviewed relations between the two countries and discussed issues of common interest.

Aryn is also Kazakhstan’s permanent representative to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

KABUL, 31 March 2022, (TON): A trilateral meeting was held between the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the Foreign Minister of Pakistan Shah Mahmood Qureshi, where they exchanged views on regional cooperation. 

China hosted the first day of the third foreign ministers' meeting of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries. 

A delegation of the Islamic Emirate, led by the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amir Khan Muttaqi was invited to participate in the talks to be held on the sidelines of the meeting.

Foreign Ministry said on Twitter “at this trilateral meeting held in China, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said he is interested in the trilateral meeting, thus the three ministers through this mechanism continue their cooperation.”

“Mr. Wang Yi called for the extension of political and economic cooperation between these three countries.” 

The third foreign ministers meeting of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries was attended by the representatives from neighboring countries including Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, China and Russia.

KABUL, 31 March 2022, (TON): Britain pledged 286 million pounds ($374 million) for life-saving food and other aid in Afghanistan, a day ahead of an international conference seeking $4.4 billion, even as concerns mount over Taliban rule.

The UN humanitarian appeal, the largest ever launched for a single country, is only 13% funded, UN spokesperson Jens Laerke said ahead of Thursday’s pledging conference.

He said “funds go directly to aid agencies implementing projects on the ground and none is channelled through the de facto authorities, who took power in August.”

The virtual conference from Geneva, to be opened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, coincides with concerns over the Islamist rulers backtracking last week on their announcement that secondary schools would open for girls.

Roughly 23 million people are experiencing acute hunger and 95% of Afghans are not eating enough, while 10 million children are in urgent need of aid to survive, according to the United Nations, which will co-host the talks with Britain, Germany and Qatar.

DHAKA, 31 March 2022, (TON): Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said while addressing the parliament “Bangladesh was thinking of an alternative way of financial transaction with Russia as there is a fear of increasing the price of fuel if the Russia-Ukraine war is prolonged.”

Foreign Minister said ‘if the Russia-Ukraine war is prolonged, the price of fuel on the world market will increase further. As a result, the cost of transportation and agricultural production will increase in Bangladesh.”

The foreign minister said that the price of oil per barrel was now the highest in the last nine years.

Bangladesh imports 50 lakh tons of diesel, 13 lakh tons of crude oil, two lakh tons of furnace oil and 120,000 tons of octane every year.

Bangladesh suffers loss of over $15 crore every day by selling fuel oil.

Momen said “though Bangladesh did not import wheat from Russia and Ukraine, the supply would be influenced by the global market situation.”

NEW DELHI, 31 March 2022, (TON): DRDO sources said “India flight-tested two more rounds of Medium Range Surface to Air Missiles off the Odisha coast.”

They said “the Medium Range Surface to Air Missiles or MRSAMs were test-fired from the Integrated Test Range launch pad-III at Chandipur near here before noon.”

Both the tests successful, the sources told news agency Press Trust of India.

Also on Sunday, two Army versions of MRSAMs were tested from the Integrated Test Range.