CAIRO, 28 February 2022, (TON): The Arab League will meet to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Hossam Zaki, the Cairo-based organization’s deputy head, told media the session will be held at the level of foreign ministers.

The United Arab Emirates, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, abstained Friday in a vote on a resolution, vetoed by Moscow, demanding Russia withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

Syria, Algeria and Sudan, for their part, are linked to Russia by military accords.

A number of Arab countries are heavily dependent on wheat supplies from both Ukraine and Russia, and any shortages of the staple grain have potential to stir unrest.

If those supplies are disrupted, raising bread prices, the Ukraine crisis could trigger renewed protests and instability in the region, according to the Washington-based Middle East Institute.

KABUL, 28 February 2022, (TON):  Spokesman said “the Taliban will not allow any more Afghans to be evacuated until the situation improves abroad for those who have already left.”

Families wanting to leave in future would also need a good excuse for doing so, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference, adding a promise to allow anyone to go abroad was not continuous.

More than 120,000 Afghans and dual nationals were evacuated up to August 31 when the last US-led troops withdrew, two weeks after the hardline Islamists seized Kabul.

Hundreds more were allowed to leave on flights after that, but the last official evacuation by air was on December 1.

Mujahid said the Taliban had received reports of thousands of Afghans "living in very bad conditions" in Qatar and Turkey.

He said "the government has the responsibility to protect the people so this will be stopped until we get the assurance that their lives will not be endangered.”

NEW DELHI, 28 February 2022, (TON): The biennial multilateral naval exercise Milan 22 was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt at Visakhapatnam.

The eleventh edition of MILAN is being hosted by the Eastern Naval Command at Vishakhapatnam for the first time.

The participation from Friendly Foreign Countries includes 13 ships, 39 delegations and one Maritime Patrol Aircraft. This large congregation gives significance and potency to the word 'MILAN' which means meeting or confluence in Hindi.

A Special Day Cover and a movie on the MILAN exercise was released by the Chief Guest to mark the occasion.

Stated the Navy's official release "MILAN endeavours to promote "Camaraderie, Cohesion, Collaboration" between like-minded Navies. This is achieved by professional interaction and experience sharing at the harbour and enhancing interoperability, including multilateral operations at sea.”

The harbour phase of the exercise will culminate on 28 February, followed by the sea phase from 1 March to 4 March.

DHAKA, 28 February 2022, (TON): Fifteen Bangladeshi students studying in Ukraine have found refuge in Hungary as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues.

Rahat Bin Zaman, deputy chief of the Bangladesh Mission in Austria, greeted them at the Hungarian-Ukrainian border on Saturday night, reports Bangla Tribune.

Honorary Consul of Bangladesh in Hungary Dr Gergely Pataki was also present at the time.

Bangladesh Ambassador to Austria Muhammad Abdul Muhith thanked the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its assistance.

Arrangements have been made to take the 15 students to Budapest, where they will stay at Semmelweis University.

Bangladeshis in Ukraine are trying to cross borders into different neighbouring countries and move to safety in light of the ongoing Russian invasion in the Eastern European country.

KABUL, 28 February 2022, (TON): The Taliban are conducting a huge security sweep of Kabul and other Afghan cities, their spokesman said, “going house-to-house in search of weapons and criminals blamed for a recent spate of robberies and kidnappings.”

The operation, which started, has alarmed many who fear being targeted because of their association with the previous Western-backed regime or the US-led foreign forces who finally withdrew on August 31.

Some irate residents posted videos on social media showing homes they said had been trashed during Taliban searches, but several people told media their encounters had been polite and cursory.

The Taliban called the sweep a “clearing operation”.

Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference “we are trying to take steps against those kidnappers, thieves and looters who have weapons in their hands and threaten the lives of the people.”

DHAKA, 28 February 2022, (TON): A commercial ship of Bangladesh and its 29 crews remained stranded at the outer anchorage of a Ukrainian port because of Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Captain Mujibur Rahman, general manager of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation said “the crew members, all Bangladeshis, are safe.”

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation owns the 180-metre long bulk carrier MV Banglar Samriddhi that reached the outer anchorage of Ukrainian port Olvia on February 23.

Captain Rahman said "as the situation deteriorated, we cancelled the plan of loading the cargo from the port and asked the ship master to leave the port immediately and reach international waters.”

DHAKA, 28 February 2022, (TON): A commercial ship of Bangladesh and its 29 crews remained stranded at the outer anchorage of a Ukrainian port because of Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Captain Mujibur Rahman, general manager of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation said “the crew members, all Bangladeshis, are safe.”

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation owns the 180-metre long bulk carrier MV Banglar Samriddhi that reached the outer anchorage of Ukrainian port Olvia on February 23.

Captain Rahman said "as the situation deteriorated, we cancelled the plan of loading the cargo from the port and asked the ship master to leave the port immediately and reach international waters.”

KABUL, 28 February 2022, (TON): Dozens of employees of the Ministry of Public Works held a demonstration in Kabul to protest unpaid salaries, saying that they have not received their salaries for the past six months. 

According to the MoPW “but the MoPW said these employees were working based on contracts in the NTA section of the ministry which had been ended based on a decree of the former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, who left Afghanistan. The decree was being enforced up to July 27 of 2021. “

Hameedullah Musbah, a spokesman for the MoPW said “of course, the appointment of 180 employees has been authorized based on the new scheme of the MoPW.” 

The protestors claiming to be the active employees of the MoPW said they are struggling with a deteriorated economic condition.

Najibullah, a protestor said “we call on the Islamic Emirate to pay us our salaries. We have a family to take care of. I am a 40-year-old engineer.” 

A protestor said “we have two wishes from the government. First, our salaries, and second, to recognize that we are educated people and we have served this country--give us a job.”  

KABUL, 28 February 2022, (TON): An OCHA director in the operations and advocacy division, Reena Ghelani who led a UN delegation that recently visited Kabul to assess the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan said “at least four million Afghan children are expected to be affected with malnutrition, of whom 137,000 will lose their life in 2022.”

The delegation made the visit to Afghanistan after many Afghan citizens complained about the unfair distribution of aid provided by the UN agencies.

Ghelani told media in a special interview “we report against our target and our deliveries, and we need to be out there talking to people more and hearing their complaints, we certainly need to hear if there are problems out there and this is part of the mission that we went on.”

She added “I spent most of my time and all of us… talking to Afghan people about those exact issues and hearing from them directly so that we can make sure that we are targeting correctly.”

Economists believe that giving direct cash to the people would help the Afghan economic system.

Abdul Naseer Rishtia, a university professor said “if the aid was provided in cash, it would help the value of the Afghan currency and would solve the cash problems in the markets.”

NEW DELHI, 28 February 2022, (TON): Government sources have told media “Prime Minister Narendra Modi told officials this evening that ensuring safety of Indian students and evacuating them from war-hit Ukraine is country's top priority.”

The comments were made a high-level meeting chaired by the Prime Minister this evening soon after his return from Uttar Pradesh where he had gone for election campaign.

The sources added “it was discussed to further enhance cooperation with neighbouring countries of Ukraine to expedite evacuation.”

The foreign secretary made a presentation on the issue, the sources said. Around 16,000 Indian nationals, most of them students, have been trapped in Ukraine, which has been reeling under Russian invasion since.

The Prime Minister last held a meeting with the Cabinet Committee of Security, where he underscored the need to focus on bringing the Indian nationals home safely.

He later spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well, calling for "immediate cessation of violence" and stressing that India attaches the "highest priority" to the safe exit and return of its citizens from Ukraine.