KABUL, 23 February 2022, (TON): The Acting Minister of Higher Education met with the Special Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, Ahmed Azam, to discuss the state of higher education in the country.

In the meeting, which was also attended by deputies and a number of heads of the ministry, the Ministry of Higher Education talked about the state of higher education in the country and the problems in this sector.

He thanked Malaysia for assisting and cooperation and called for further cooperation in the fields of education of the young generation of the country, upgrading of professional capacities of professors, scholarships for students, online facilities for online education for students and other sectors of higher education in the country.

The Acting Minister of Higher Education also suggested that a delegation travel to Malaysia to activate the Nangarhar Islamic University in order to successfully establish the Afghanistan International University.

DHAKA, 23 February 2022, (TON): Bangladesh and India have committed to taking the bilateral relations between the two countries to a higher level this year, mentioning that the year 2021 was a great year.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen had a meeting with his Indian counterpart Dr S Jaishankar in Paris and discussed issues of bilateral interest.

They particularly talked about the preparations for the next joint consultative commission meeting.

Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting "noted that 2021 was a great year for the relationship. Committed to taking it to an even higher level in 2022.”

He described the meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Dr Momen as good and expressed happiness to hold the meeting on International Mother Language Day.

Dr Momen is now visiting Paris to attend the Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi as well as European Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans are scheduled to attend the Ministerial Forum.

DHAKA, 23 February 2022, (TON): Commodore Mohammad Sohail has been appointed as new chairman of Payra Port Authority after being promoted to rear admiral post.

Rear admiral rank and badge was formally conferred on him at the Navy Headquarters in the city.

A press release said “M Sohail will join his new office on February 27.”

On January 1, 1988, he got commission in executive branch of Bangladesh Navy. In his long career, he served in different positions at naval ships, bases and headquarters. He won Integrity Award for his honesty and outstanding contributions.

He also served as faculty directing staff and senior instructor) of Defence Services Command and Staff College.

DHAKA, 23 February 2022, (TON): Bangladesh Navy Ship Umar Farooq left Mongla naval jetty to take part in international naval exercise EX Milan-2022 in Visakhapatnam, India.

An ISPR release said “Khulna Naval Area Commander Rear Admiral M Anwar Hossain formally bade farewell to the ship as the chief guest. The other senior officials, family members of the ship's crew were there to see the ship off.”

The ship would take part in the EX Milan-2022 from February 25 to March 4, 2022 in Visakhapatnam.

A total of 284 crewmen of the ship including trainee officers, led by Captain ABM Zakiul Hasan Bhuiyan are taking part in the exercise.

WASHINGTON, 22 February 2022, (TON): The US Embassy in Moscow has urged its citizens to refrain from travels to Russia amid possible terrorist attacks in Moscow and Saint Petersburg over the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis.

The diplomatic mission said in a statement published on its official website "according to media sources, there have been threats of attacks against shopping centres, railway and metro stations, and other public gathering places in major urban areas, including Moscow and St Petersburg as well as in areas of heightened tension along the Russian border with Ukraine.”

The embassy did not specify what sources it used to issue a notice, and made some recommendations, including to monitor local and international media for updates, avoid crowds, keep in touch with friends and family, and mind the surroundings.

It also advised to stay alert in locations frequented by tourists and Westerners, review personal security plans, carry proper identification, including a US passport with a current Russian visa, and have evacuation plans that do not rely on US government assistance.

Commenting on the warning, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova asked whether the US diplomats shared with the relevant Russian law enforcement the information about planned terrorist attacks.

MOSCOW, 22 February 2022, (TON): Russia's military said on Monday Ukrainian military saboteurs had tried to enter Russian territory in armed vehicles, an accusation dismissed as fake news by Kyiv amid Western accusations that Moscow could fabricate a pretext to invade.

The Russian military said five people had been killed when the Ukrainian saboteurs were thwarted. Ukraine and its Western allies have been saying for days that Moscow could manufacture a pretext to invade Ukraine with a huge force it has massed on the border.

Western countries accuse Russia of planning to invade a neighbour that it had controlled until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Moscow denies planning any attack but has demanded sweeping security guarantees, including a promise that Ukraine will never join NATO.

Hours earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron said Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden had agreed in principle on a meeting.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said “a call or meeting between Putin and Biden could be set up at any time, but there were no concrete plans yet for a summit. Tensions were growing, he said, but a foreign ministers' meeting was possible this week.”

Satellite imagery released at the weekend appeared to show Russian deployments closer to Ukraine's border than before.

MOSCOW, 22 February 2022, (TON): Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent entities, upping the ante in a crisis the West fears could unleash a major war.

In a lengthy televised address, Putin described Ukraine as an integral part of Russia's history and said eastern Ukraine was ancient Russian lands and that he was confident that the Russian people would support his decision.

The Kremlin said “Putin announced his decision in phone calls to the leaders of Germany and France, who voiced disappointment, and was later shown on state television signing the decree.

Moscow's move could torpedo a last-minute bid for a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine, and the rouble extended its losses as Putin spoke on the issue, falling 3.3% on the day to 79.83 per dollar.

Putin delivered a long televised address that ended with his announcement, delving into history as far back as the Ottoman empire and as recent as the tensions over NATO's eastward expansion - a key irritant for Moscow in the present crisis.

VIENNA, 22 February 2022, (TON): Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that talks in Vienna on reviving Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers cannot succeed unless the United States is prepared to lift sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Reuters reported last week that a US-Iranian deal is taking shape in Vienna after months of indirect talks to revive a pact Washington abandoned in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump.

Raisi said in a joint news conference with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Doha "the United States must prove its will to lift major sanctions.”

"To reach an agreement, guarantees are necessary for negotiations and nuclear issues."

The draft text of the agreement also alluded to other issues, including unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian funds in South Korean banks, and the release of Western prisoners held in Iran.

Raisi said "Aggression is bound to fail. Resistance has brought results and none of the regional issues have a military solution.”

RIYADH, 22 February 2022, (TON): A delegation from the Muslim World League, led by its secretary general Dr. Mohammad Al-Issa, arrived in Bangkok earlier this week.

The delegation was welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister Don Pramudwinai, who is also the foreign affairs minister.

Al-Issa will meet ministers and members of parliament during his visit.

He will give two lectures, the first on religious tolerance and bridge-building and the second at Chulalongkorn University on the importance of an alliance of civilizations.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed his country’s eagerness for Al-Issa’s keynote lecture at the university, which is Thailand’s oldest and most famous.

Chan-o-Cha praised the outstanding role that MWL was playing worldwide, hoping that this visit would further strengthen the cooperation between Thailand and the MWL.

RIYADH, 22 February 2022, (TON): Adviser at the Royal Court and general supervisor of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah met with a delegation from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, in Riyadh.

The FAO party was headed by the organization’s assistant director general and regional representative for the Near East and North Africa, Dr. Abdulhakim Elwaer.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation on humanitarian aid and food security issues in countries around the world, and Elwaer lauded KSrelief’s ongoing professionalism in implementing a range of global projects.