DHAKA, 21 March 2022, (TON): Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen expressed the optimism that the United States and Bangladesh need to have closer relations for the next 50 years while the two nations is set to celebrate half century bilateral relations next months.

A foreign ministry press release said “he made the remark while US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Ambassador Victoria Nuland called on him after holding the 8th US-Bangladesh Partnership Dialogue in the capital.”

The foreign minister is scheduled to hold bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 4 in Washington DC on the very day of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Under Secretary Nuland expressed the expectation that the upcoming meeting between Bangladesh Foreign Minister and US Secretary of State would be a fruitful one.

RIYADH, 20 March 2022, (TON): Kingdom’s defense ministry said “the Saudi armed forces, along with their counterparts from the US and the Gulf states, on Wednesday concluded a joint exercise at Fort Carson base in Colorado.”

The activities of the Eagle Resolve 22 exercise witnessed many joint combat scenarios regarding joint defense integration, which aims to refine expertise and raise the level of joint combat readiness of the ll the competing armed forces.

ROME, 20 March 2022, (TON): Several hundred people gathered in Pisa to protest against the sending of weapons to Ukraine, in support of peace and against NATO.

The event was held on Saturday in front of the building of the local airport named after Galileo Galilei at the initiative of the regional trade union organization.

The reason for convening the rally was the episode condemned by airport workers, when they revealed that under the guise of humanitarian cargo, boxes with weapons and ammunition were sent to Ukraine.

They refused to download them.

Representatives of the organizers said “first of all, we stand for peace, which cannot be achieved by sending weapons.”

In addition, the union pointed out that, according to all safety standards, such cargo cannot be sent from a civil airport.

KAMPALA, 20 March 2022, (TON): Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni recently remarked that Russia’s war on Ukraine should be seen in the context of Moscow being the center of gravity for Eastern Europe.

His son, Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, was more forceful, declaring that most Africans “support Russia’s stand in Ukraine” and “Putin is absolutely right.”

Amid a worldwide chorus of condemnation, much of Africa has either pushed back or remained noticeably quiet. Twenty-five of Africa’s 54 nations abstained or did not record a vote in the UN General Assembly resolution earlier this month condemning Russia.

The reason? Many nations on the continent of 1.3 billion people have long-standing ties and support from Moscow, dating back to the Cold War when the Soviet Union supported anti-colonial struggles.

Those relations have tightened in recent years: As US interest in Africa appeared to wane under President Donald Trump’s administration, Russia along with China expanded its influence, enlarging its economic footprint to include everything from agricultural programs to energy plants.

In 2019, dignitaries from 43 African nations attended a summit with Russia, which also has become the dominant exporter of weapons into sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

MOSCOW, 20 March 2022, (TON): Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said “the US authorities, demanding to provide data on the funds received as a result of actions with the participation of the Russian government, launched a program of “snitching and snitching.”

She wrote on her Telegram channel “the United States, in the current difficult economic conditions (inflation is breaking records for half a century, gasoline prices have gone sky-high), apparently decided to support its people and launched a program to support whistleblowing and snitching. Washington urged its citizens to report where necessary, about all means.”

According to her, since the program is called the K-leptocracy Asset Recov-ery Rewards Program, first of all, Americans should pay attention to their own affairs.

Zakharova said “where, for example, are the Afghan billions allocated for the reconstruction of the country and the development of its infrastructure, why was Kabul taken in three hours? Where do the millions allocated for USAID programs go? Where is the reporting on the results? On what basis is the illegitimate freezing of foreign assets carried out? In general, there is something to work on.”

RIYADH, 20 March 2022, (TON): The Kingdom’s foreign ministry said “Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with Bektum Rostam, a special envoy of the Ukrainian president in Riyadh.”

During the meeting, they discussed the crisis in Ukraine, and Prince Faisal stressed the Kingdom’s support for all that contributes to reducing the escalation, protecting civilians, seriously seeking negotiated political solutions, and all international efforts to resolve the crisis politically.

SANAA, 20 March 2022, (TON): Yemen’s government, political parties and journalists have expressed support for invitations sent by the Gulf Cooperation Council to warring factions in Yemen for comprehensive talks in Riyadh to agree to a peace deal to end the conflict.

Yemenis have demanded that the Iran-backed terrorist Houthi militia and the Yemeni government comply with GCC-brokered peace efforts to find a solution to the war.

Nayef Al-Hajraf, the GCC’s secretary-general, said on Thursday that the Gulf bloc would host consultations between Yemeni parties at the end of this month in Riyadh to find a settlement.

The office of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi welcomed the GCC’s sincere offer to host the talks.

He added that it would back all peace plans that are based on three references: the GCC’s peace initiative in 2011, the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference and UN Security Council Resolution 2216.

BEIJING, 20 March 2022, (TON): Chinese President Xi Jinping told his US counterpart Joe Biden that the Taiwan issue needs to be handled properly to avoid a negative impact on Sino-US relations, according to Chinese media.

China says Taiwan, which it views as a breakaway province to be brought back to the fold, by force if necessary, is the most sensitive and important issue in its relations with the United States.

Washington, which is seeking Beijing’s help in restoring peace in Ukraine after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taipei but is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier.

Xi told Biden on a video call “some individuals in the United States are sending the wrong signals to pro-independence forces in Taiwan, and that’s very dangerous.”

“If the Taiwan issue is not handled properly, it will have a subversive impact on the relationship between the two countries.”

China sailed its aircraft carrier Shandong through the Taiwan Strait, shadowed by a US destroyer, on Friday, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, just hours before the Chinese and US presidents were due to talk.

A White House statement said Biden reiterated in the call with Xi that US policy on Taiwan has not changed, and emphasized that Washington “continues to oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo.”

LVIV, 20 March 2022, (TON): Russian forces pushed deeper into Ukraine’s besieged and battered port city of Mariupol, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help.

The fall of Mariupol, the scene of some of the war’s worst suffering, would mark a major battlefield advance for the Russians, who are largely bogged down outside major cities more than three weeks into the biggest land invasion in Europe since World War II.

“Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it is wiped off the face of the earth,” Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin said from a rubble-strewn street in a video addressed to Western leaders that was authenticated by The Associated Press.

Russian forces have already cut the city off from the Sea of Azov, and its fall would link Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, to territories controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in the east.

It would mark a rare advance in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance that has dashed Russia’s hopes for a quick victory and galvanized the West.

NEW YORK, 20 March 2022, (TON): UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, together with 102 humanitarian and development partners is appealing for US$1.2 billion to deliver much-needed humanitarian assistance and protection to 2.3 million South Sudanese refugees and local communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda.

After nearly a decade of conflict and despite efforts toward implementing the peace agreement, South Sudan continues to grapple with sporadic violence, chronic food insecurity and the devastating impact of major flooding.

The pandemic has also strained people’s resources, significantly reducing their ability to sustainably meet their needs.

Asylum countries are facing similar challenges from the climate crisis and the pandemic but have continued to keep their doors open for refugees. Funding is urgently needed to help these host countries to provide food, shelter, and acce-ss to essential services such as education and health care.