MOSCOW, 23 February 2022, (TON): Moscow said “Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was still ready for talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, after President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine's two separatist regions.”

Even during the most difficult moments, we say we are ready for negotiations, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in remarks.

She told the Soloviev Live YouTube show “we are always in favour of diplomacy.”

She spoke after Putin recognised the independence of the former Soviet state's separatist-held Donetsk and Lugansk regions paving the way for the deployment of a potential invasion force.

Lavrov had said that he was set to meet with Blinken on Thursday in Geneva to address soaring tensions over Ukraine.

LONDON, 23 February 2022, (TON): The ten Defence Ministers of the Joint Expeditionary Force met at Belvoir Castle in England: the UK, together with Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

We reaffirm the importance of the JEF as a group of like-minded and proactive nations, with shared purpose and values, and a common focus on security and stability in the High North, North Atlantic and Baltic Sea region.

Ten nations that are stronger when working together, the JEF gives us the ability to act collectively in an agile and responsive way to meet the variety of security challenges we face, however they arise, in that part of Europe we call home.

Never has the JEF been more important and relevant than it is today. During the course of our meeting the Russian Federation has recognised Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent states, breaching Minsk agreements and international law.

All ten Defence Ministers are united in our condemnation of that unjustified act, the build-up of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine, and further incursion in the Donbas region.

WASHINGTON, 23 February 2022, (TON): Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State, on behalf of United States of America, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan on the occasion of his 62nd birthday this February 23. 

As His Majesty reflected in his New Year’s message, overcoming many of the global challenges we face today starts with cherishing our people-to-people connections. 

Maintaining the strength of the U.S.-Japan Alliance and our treasured friendship with the Japanese people has never more been more important.

As Secretary Austin and I reaffirmed in our meeting with Foreign Minister Hayashi and Minister of Defense Kishi last month, the U.S.-Japan Alliance is the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in a free and open Indo-Pacific. 

NEW DELHI, 23 February 2022, (TON): UN rights experts have called for an end to misogynistic and sectarian online attacks against a Muslim Indian woman journalist, asking the authorities to investigate the harassment.

Rana Ayyub, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Hindu nationalist ideology of his Bharatiya Janata Party, has been the target of a relentless campaign of online abuse including death and rape threats.

In a statement said “she is the victim of intensifying attacks and threats online by far-right Hindu nationalist groups, the independent rapporteurs, who do not speak for the United Nations but are mandated to report to it.”

NEW DELHI, 23 February 2022, (TON): UN rights experts have called for an end to misogynistic and sectarian online attacks against a Muslim Indian woman journalist, asking the authorities to investigate the harassment.

Rana Ayyub, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Hindu nationalist ideology of his Bharatiya Janata Party, has been the target of a relentless campaign of online abuse including death and rape threats.

In a statement said “she is the victim of intensifying attacks and threats online by far-right Hindu nationalist groups, the independent rapporteurs, who do not speak for the United Nations but are mandated to report to it.”

NEW DELHI, 23 February 2022, (TON): Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised the independence of two separatist regions of Ukraine Donetsk and Lugansk. Amid heightened Ukraine-Russia tensions, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations TS Tirumurti called for restraint from all sides and stated that the issue could only be resolved through diplomatic dialogue.

He said the escalation of tension along the Ukraine-Russia border was a matter of 'deep concern'.

TS Tirumurti said "these developments have the potential to undermine peace and security of the region. We cannot afford to have military escalation. The immediate priority is de-escalation. We call for restraint on all sides. We're convinced that this issue can only be resolved through diplomatic dialogue. We need to give space to recent initiatives undertaken by parties which seek to defuse tensions”.

He added "we strongly emphasise the vital need for all sides to maintain international peace and security by exercising the utmost restraint and intensifying diplomatic efforts to ensure that a mutually amicable solution is arrived at the earliest."

KABUL, 23 February 2022, (TON): Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, deputy Political of Afghanistan, met this afternoon with Mawlawi Mohammad Sharif Halim, the police chief of Maidan Wardak province.

In the meeting, the security situation and the problems of the people of Maidan-Wardak were reviewed.

The Maidan-Wardak cheif of police assured the province of security and also discussed related issues with the Deputy Prime Minister.

DHAKA, 23 February 2022, (TON): Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has invited his Bangladeshi counterpart AK Abdul Momen for talks in Delhi.

According to a foreign ministry statement “he extended the invitation for a joint consultative council at the ministerial level during a meeting at Paris.”

Both the ministers are currently in the French capital, attending an Indo-Pacific cooperation forum organized by the European Union.

However, both parties have emphasized on the joint working groups meeting prior to the visit.

DHAKA, 23 February 2022, (TON): State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam has said “Bangladesh is considering whether to wage a legal battle in US courts over the sanctions imposed on the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and seven of its current and former officials.”

He said while addressing reporters at the Foreign Ministry “we have been speaking with three law firms and we will be able to make a decision this week. We cannot say for sure that we will fight a legal battle, but we are considering it.”

He said “the government would elect a representative if it decided to fight the case in the US courts.”

The state minister also said the sanctions needed both legal and diplomatic efforts to be resolved, but Bangladesh did not need the intervention of a third nation.

On December 10 last year, the US Treasury Department imposed the sanctions on RAB and seven of its current and former officials, including former RAB director general and current Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed, under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

KABUL, 23 February 2022, (TON): Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with UNICEF and the World Health Organization launched a nationwide polio vaccination campaign.

The Ministry of Public Health said in a newsletter that 9.1 million children will be vaccinated against polio.

The ministry said that due to the cold weather; Bamyan, Daikundi, Ghor and many districts of Ghazni and Badakhshan provinces are not included in the vaccination program and in the next stage, the mentioned provinces and districts will be covered.

Acting Minister of Public Health Dr. Qalandar Ebad said that with the improvement of the security situation, the ground has been paved for the implementation of vaccination programs and the provision of health services throughout the country.

He called on health workers to do more to eradicate polio in Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Public Health has said that Afghanistan is closer to eradicating polio than ever before and that everyone needs to work together to successfully implement the polio vaccination campaign.