DHAKA, 25 February 2022, (TON): The Government of Japan and the International Organization for Migration signed an agreement to provide USD 4.4 million in multi-sectoral support assistance for Rohingya and host communities in Cox's Bazar.

According to a press release of the Embassy of Japan “an Exchange of Notes was signed by ITO Naoki, Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh, and Fathima Nusrath Ghazzali, Officer in Charge of IOM Bangladesh at IOM office in Dhaka.”

The release said “the Rohingya and host communities in Cox's Bazar face significant challenges due to the lack of sufficient shelters, access to healthcare, latrines and safe water.”

In addition, Cox's Bazar is geographically vulnerable to natural disaster, with cyclones occurring annually.

The project, titled 'The Project for upgrading shelter and improving living conditions for forcefully displaced persons from Myanmar and the vulnerable host communities in Cox's Bazar District', will support the upgrading of shelters for nearly 50,000 Rohingya in the camps, as well as almost 1,380 people in host community.

DHAKA, 25 February 2022, (TON): Bangladesh has appointed a US based Government Relation firm for a year to further strengthen Dhaka-Washington DC ties.

state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam told reporters "we have recently appointed Nelson Mullins to maintain government to government relations, it's a GR (government relations) firm.”

He said that the government would pay the firm US 20,000 dollars monthly for its service.

He added "it's a public document and anybody can have access to it.”

The government appointed the GR firm amid a diplomatic and media uproar over a recent US sanction on some incumbent and former senior officials of Bangladesh's elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion over allegations of "human right violation".

The junior minister said the government has decided to hire the firm as sometimes it has been difficult for few Bangladeshi diplomats stationed in the Washington DC to engage with the whole US administration which is too wide and multifaceted.

Washington, D.C, 24 February 2022, (TON): Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State has said that since Foreign Minister Kuleba and I were in Munich just a few days ago, Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine and its rejection of international law and diplomacy have accelerated.

Yesterday, President Putin recognized the so-called “independence” of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, where violent Russian-backed separatists have been fighting a war since 2014. 

A few hours later, he gave authorization to Russian troops to enter those regions.

For weeks, we’ve been warning the world that Russia was mobilizing for military aggression against Ukraine.  We’ve made clear that if Russia invaded, the United States and our allies and partners would impose swift and severe consequences.

Now that Russia has moved against Ukraine, so, too, have we moved on our strong and unified response.

This afternoon, the President announced the first round of sanctions on Russia in response to its actions.  These have been closely coordinated with our allies and partners. 

We’ll continue to escalate our sanctions if Russia escalates its aggression toward Ukraine.

CARACAS, 24 February 2022, (TON): President Nicolas Maduro said “two Venezuelan military personnel were killed and two others injured Tuesday when a Russian-made helicopter crashed in the South American nation.”

Maduro said during a meeting with ministers broadcast on state television “today we have had a sad and regrettable accident in the state of Lara, with an Mi-17 helicopter with two fatalities and two pilots who are fighting for their lives.”

It was unclear why the chopper went down, and Maduro has ordered an investigation.

The aircraft burst into flames when it crashed, and the injured pilot and co-pilot were pulled to safety by local residents and laborers.

WASHINGTON, 24 February 2022, (TON): Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman spoke with French MFA Secretary General Francois Delattre, German MFA State Secretary Andreas Michaelis, Italian MFA Secretary General Ettore Sequi, and UK Minister of State for Europe and North America James Cleverly.

Deputy Secretary Sherman and her counterparts condemned the Russian Federation’s decision to recognize the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics as “independent.”

They expressed unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a strong commitment to transatlantic unity.

The Deputy Secretary and her counterparts underscored that Russia’s flagrant disregard for international law demands a severe response from the international community and agreed to coordinate closely on next steps, including massive additional economic sanctions, should Russia continue to escalate its aggression against Ukraine.

DUBAI, 24 February 2022, (TON): The UAE’s only nuclear power plant is well-protected against security threats, the regulator said, following a series of unprecedented drone and missile attacks on the Gulf state.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have claimed three drone and missile assaults on the UAE this year.

Christer Viktorsson, director general of the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, said “the nuclear power plant is designed according to high security principles and we have issued regulations for physical and cybersecurity.”

He told reporters “the sensitive parts of the power plant are well protected for any event.”

He added “the UAE overall has robust security.”

The plant in Abu Dhabi, one of the UAE’s seven emirates and the nation’s capital, is the Arab world’s first nuclear power station and part of the oil producer’s aim to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

WASHINGTON, 24 February 2022, (TON): US President Joe Biden announced tough new sanctions on Russia for beginning an invasion of Ukraine but said there was still time to avoid war, even as Vladimir Putin signaled plans to send troops beyond Russia’s borders.

Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council, gave Putin unanimous approval to deploy “peacekeepers” to two breakaway Ukrainian regions now recognized by Moscow as independent, and potentially into other parts of Ukraine.

Biden announced what he called the first tranche of sanctions, including steps to starve Russia of financing and target financial institutions and its elites.

But he left the door open to a final effort at diplomacy to avert a bloody full-scale Russian invasion.

The president said “there’s no question that Russia is the aggressor, so we’re clear eyed about the challenges we’re facing.”

“Nonetheless, there is still time to avert the worst case scenario that will bring untold suffering to millions of people.”

OTTAWA, 24 February 2022, (TON): Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said “Canada is ending rarely used special measures invoked nine days ago to tackle weeks-long protests that shut some border crossings and paralyzed Ottawa since late-January.”

Trudeau told a news conference “the situation is no longer an emergency. Therefore, the federal government will be ending the use of the Emergencies Act.”

He said “we are confident that existing laws and bylaws are now sufficient to keep people safe.”

Trudeau said the emergency measures would formally be revoked in the coming hours, when Canada’s governor general signs the proclamation.

The Emergencies Act was approved in the House of Commons on Monday after being announced by Trudeau last week, but not without opposition.

The main opposition Conservative Party and some provincial leaders said invoking the powers was unnecessary government over-reach.

WASHINGTON, 24 February 2022, (TON): American and Russian physicians representing IPPNW are warning that a war in Ukraine could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe as a result of conventional fighting and the attendant risks to that country’s nuclear power facilities and of escalation to nuclear war.

According to Linda Pentz Gunter, founder of Beyond Nuclear “a war could also lead to another nuclear disaster, similar or worse than the 1986 Chernobyl reactor meltdown, affecting people not only in Ukraine but in all of Europe.

“No matter the genesis, the cause, or who started what, the reality remains that there are 15 operating nuclear reactors in Ukraine that, if conflict breaks out there, could be in peril. If the reactors find themselves amidst a conflict or war, they cannot simply be abandoned by the workforce.”

This makes the prospects of a war in Ukraine all the more alarming, and the imperative to avoid this all the more urgent.

Dr. Ira Helfand, a leading expert on the medical effects of nuclear war and author of Nuclear Famine: Two Billion People at Risk Global Impacts of Limited Nuclear War on Agriculture, Food Supplies, and Human Nutrition, urged the parties to the dispute, armed with nuclear weapons, to consider the consequences if the conflict escalates to the use of nuclear weapons.

LONDON, 24 February 2022, (TON): At present, all non-UK personnel leaving service who wish to settle in the UK have to pay the full fee of £2,389 for indefinite leave.

This fee will now be waived for those with at least six years’ service or who are discharged due to an illness or injury attributable to their service.

The fee waiver will also apply to eligible veterans currently living in the UK who have not regularised their immigration status.

Currently there are over 9,000 non-UK citizens serving in the UK armed forces from countries around the world including Australia, Canada, Fiji, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, St Lucia and South Africa, many of whom may consider applying for indefinite leave to remain in the UK when their service ends.