DHAKA, 22 March 2022, (TON): According to US under-secretary Victoria Nuland “the United States is keen to bolster support to efforts to advance democracy and human rights in Bangladesh.”

Victoria Nuland said in a tweet with reference to her meeting with sections of members of the civil society in Dhaka “proud to speak with courageous Bangladeshi civil society leaders about how the United States can support their efforts to advance democracy, labour freedoms and human rights.”

The meeting discussed the scopes of enforcing democratic, civil, labour and human rights, freedom of the press, and issues like the Digital Security Act and environment, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association chief executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan told New Age.

A participant said “the matters involving scopes of exercising voting rights were discussed in the context of the next general election scheduled for the last quarter of the next year, and experience of the monitoring of the past three parliamentary elections.”

NEW DELHI, 22 March 2022, (TON): Chinese Ambassador to India, Sun Weidong thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for offering prayers and sympathy over the passenger plane crash in China's Guangxi.

Taking to Twitter, the Chinese envoy said "thanks to Prime Minister Modi and Indian friends for your prayers and sympathy for the loss in the air crash.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out search & rescue efforts & proper settlement of aftermath.

Mourn for the victims, deep condolences to their families.

PM Modi expressed grief over the passenger plane crash in China.

NEW DELHI, 22 March 2022, (TON): Australia understands India's stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, India's foreign secretary said following a virtual summit between the prime ministers of Australia and India.

India's Narendra Modi and Australia's Scott Morrison, both leaders of the Quad grouping that also includes the United States and Japan, discussed issues in the Indo-Pacific region and strengthening bilateral trade relations.

India is the only Quad member that has not criticised Russia's aggression.

Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said "Prime Minister Morrison was quite clear that as far as he was concerned the Quad's focus was on the Indo-Pacific.”

"He also expressed understanding of India's position on the issue of Ukraine, which he felt definitely reflected our own situation, our own considerations."

India counts Russia as one of its old allies that supplies about 60% of its military hardware.

WASHINGTON, 21 March 2022, (TON): US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said “the United States condemns the recent series of attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels on civilian and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, and calls on the Houthis to begin a ceasefire.”

Earlier, the Saudi-led Arab coalition accused the Houthis of a massive attack on the kingdom’s vital facilities.

The coalition specified that the targets of the attack were a desalination plant in Al-Shaqiq, a fuel distribution facility of Aramco in Jizan, as well as a liquefied natural gas plant in Yanbu of the same company, a power plant in the city of Dhahran al-Janub and a gas facility in Khamis Mushait.

The Houthis confirmed that they carried out shelling.

A White House spokesman said in a widespread statement “we condemn the attacks by the Houthis over the past 48 hours on civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. According to reports, these attacks were directed against water treatment facilities and oil and gas infrastructure.”

He stressed “these attacks were carried out in violation of UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting the importation of weapons into Yemen.”

BERLIN, 21 March 2022, (TON): German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck said during a visit to Doha “Germany and Qatar have agreed on a long-term energy partnership.”

Habek was quoted by the DPA agency after meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani “this day gives a strong impetus.”

At the same time, Khabek did not voice any specific data on the parameters of cooperation.

ANKARA, 21 March 2022, (TON): Turkey has said “Russia and Ukraine made progress on their negotiations to halt the war and the two sides were “close to an agreement”.

Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24 with President Vladimir Putin calling his country’s actions a special operation meant to demilitarise Ukraine and purge it of what he sees as dangerous nationalists.

Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said “of course, it is not an easy thing to come to terms with while the war is going on, while civilians are killed, but we would like to say that momentum is still gained.”

“We see that the parties are close to an agreement.”

Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, center, chairs a tripartite meeting with Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, right, in Antalya, Turkey

OUAGADOUGOU, 21 March 2022, (TON): Four sources in the state military told “unidentified armed attackers killed at least 11 Burkinabe soldiers and wounded eight more in Burkina Faso’s Est region.”

The region is among those hit by rising insecurity as jihadist groups with links to Al-Qaeda and Daesh seek to gain control over once peaceful territories in West Africa’s Central Sahel region.

The sources did not share further details on the latest attack and there was no immediate comment from the government.

The ruling military junta seized power in a January coup against President Roch Kabore, blaming him for failing to contain surging violence.

RIYADH, 21 March 2022, (TON): Saudi energy ministry and state media said “Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group fired missiles and drones at Saudi energy and water desalination facilities, causing a temporary drop in output at a refinery but no casualties.”

The ministry said in a statement “drone strikes hit a petroleum products distribution terminal in the southern Jizan region, a natural gas plant and the Yasref refinery in the Red Sea port of Yanbu.”

It said "the assault on Yasref facilities has led to a temporary reduction in the refinery's production, which will be compensated for from the inventory” referring to Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and China Petrochemical Corporation.

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser told a call about the firm's earnings there was no impact from the attacks on its supply to customers.

WASHINGTON, 21 March 2022, (TON): According to three sources familiar with the matter “the United States has informally raised with Turkey the unlikely possibility of sending its Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems to Ukraine to help it fight invading Russian forces.”

The sources told “U.S. officials have floated the suggestion over the past month with their Turkish counterparts but no specific or formal request was made.”

They said “it also came up briefly during Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman's visit to Turkey earlier this month.”

The Biden administration has been asking allies who have been using Russian made equipment and systems including S-300s and S-400s to consider transferring them to Ukraine as it tries to fend off a Russian invasion that began on Feb. 24.

The idea, which analysts said was sure to be shot down by Turkey, was part of a wider discussion between Sherman and Turkish officials about how the United States and its allies can do more to support Ukraine and on how to improve bilateral ties.

WASHINGTON, 21 March 2022, (TON): US officials said “the Biden administration intends to declare that Myanmar’s years-long repression of the Rohingya Muslim population is a ‘genocide’.”

“Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to make the long-anticipated designation at an event at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum” according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the move had not yet been publicly announced.

The designation does not in and of itself portend drastic new measures against Myanmar’s military-led government, which has already been hit with multiple layers of US sanctions since the campaign against the Rohingya ethnic minority began in the country’s western Rakhine state in 2017.

But it could lead to additional international pressure on the government, which is already facing accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Human rights groups and lawmakers have been pressing both the Trump and Biden administrations to make the designation.