LONDON, 20 February 2022, (TON): Saudi Press Agency reported “Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with his US counterpart Antony Blinken to discuss ways to enhance joint efforts to stop the Houthi militia’s violations against Yemen and its people.”

The two met on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference and also discussed the importance of stopping Houthi attacks on civil and economic facilities, and their threat to international navigation.

Prince Faisal and the secretary of state exchanged views on the Iranian nuclear program and the international negotiations surrounding a new deal currently ongoing in Vienna.

They also discussed the strategic and historical relations between Saudi Arabia and the US.

Saudi Arabia is committed to working with its OPEC+ partners to ensure energy-market stability, Prince Faisal told the Munich Security Conference, adding this required the participation of all members.

BERLIN, 20 February 2022, (TON): German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said “the chances of reviving the Iran nuclear accord are dwindling and the “moment of truth” has arrived for Tehran’s leadership.”

Scholz told the Munich Security Conference “we now have the chance to reach an agreement that will allow sanctions to be lifted. But if we do not succeed very quickly, the negotiations risk failing.”

“The Iranian leadership has a choice. Now is the moment of truth.”

The 2015 Iran nuclear agreement had offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, but the US unilaterally withdrew in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump and reimposed heavy economic sanctions.

This in turn prompted Iran to start ramping up its nuclear activities.

The outline of a new deal appears to be on the table in talks which have been held in Vienna since late November between signatories Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia — and the United States indirectly.

MOGADISHU, 20 February 2022, (TON): At least 13 people have been killed in central Somalia on Saturday after a suicide bomber detonated explosives in a restaurant packed with local officials and politicians.

He added “the dead were mostly civilians and 20 other people were wounded in the town of Beledweyne, police spokesman Dini Roble Ahmed said. The blast caused huge damage.”

Witnesses said a large explosion tore through an open area of the Hassan Dhiif restaurant where people gathered under trees to eat lunch.

Witness Mahad Osman said “I saw dead bodies of several people and I could not count how many wounded that were rushed to hospital.”

“Some of these people were waiting for their ordered meals to come while enjoying the fresh weather when the blast occurred.”

Police and government officials confirmed the restaurant attack was the result of a suicide bomber, but did not give the number of casualties.

KYIV, 20 February 2022, (TON): The Ukrainian military said “two soldiers were killed and four wounded in shelling by pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine, where a flare up of violence this week has sparked fears it could be the trigger for Russian military action.”

The Ukrainian military said on its Facebook page it had recorded 70 ceasefire violations by separatists since the start of the day compared with 66 cases over the previous 24 hours.

The military said “separatists opened fire on more than 30 settlements along the front line using heavy artillery, which has been prohibited by agreements aimed at cooling the long-running conflict.”

 A group of lawmakers and foreign media visiting the conflict zone came under fire and had to be evacuated to a shelter, a spokesperson for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's party said in a separate statement.

BRUSSELS, 20 February 2022, (TON): An alliance official said “NATO is relocating staff from Ukraine’s capital Kyiv to Lviv, in the west of the country, and to the Belgian capital Brussels for their safety.”

The official told AFP, without giving numbers that the safety of our personnel is paramount, so staff have been relocated to Lviv and Brussels. The NATO offices in Ukraine remain operational.

Several Western countries have already moved diplomats from Kiev to Lviv, located near the border with Poland, in anticipation of Russian military action.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said “every indication indicates that Russia is planning a full-fledged attack against Ukraine.”

“We all agree that the risk of an attack is very high,” he told German broadcaster ARD on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

The United States dominates NATO, and US President Joe Biden on Friday said he was convinced Russia was going to invade Ukraine within the week, and have its forces target Kyiv.

BEIJING, 20 February 2022, (TON): Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said that no country, not even a superpower should replace international norms with its own will as he addressed the situation in Ukraine.

Speaking to a security conference via videolink, Wang said certain big powers were reviving a cold war mentality and stoking confrontations between blocs.

He said “no country should be obsessed with turning back the wheel of history and repeating past mistakes of forging rivalling alliances.”

LONDON, 20 February 2022, (TON): Nearly 200,000 British homes are still without power after Storm Eunice left a deadly trail across Europe and left transport networks in disarray.

The fierce Atlantic storm brought record winds of up to 196km/h (122 mph) to the United Kingdom, killing at least four people and causing widespread disruption.

At least six more deaths were reported in Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The UK Business and Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said power had been restored to 1.2 million households but 190,000 customers remained without supply. Earlier, the UK’s Energy Networks Association said that at 7:30GMT about 226,000 customers were without power, mostly across southern England but also in the east of the country and southern Wales.

“Strong winds across southern England are impacting restoration efforts,” Kwarteng said.

He added “we expect most customers to have supplies restored promptly.”

Nearly one million homes lost power in November when a storm hit northeast England and eastern Scotland. While power was restored to the vast majority of homes within 48 hours, more than 3,000 households did not regain access to mains power for a week or more, prompting the government to order a review of utility firms’ preparedness.

BEIJING, 20 February 2022, (TON): UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet can visit Xinjiang, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said “but China does not welcome any investigation based on the presumption of guilt.”

Bachelet has long sought access to the western Chinese region to investigate accusations of abuse against ethnic Uyghurs.

The issue has strained ties between Beijing and the West, sparking accusations of genocide from Washington and a US-led diplomatic boycott by some countries of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

"(China) rejects all kinds of biases, prejudices and uncalled-for accusations," Wang, who is also a Chinese state councillor, said at the Munich Security Conference when asked if Bachelet would have unrestricted access in Xinjiang.

Rights groups accuse China of widescale abuses against Uyghurs and other minority groups, including torture, forced labour and detention of one million people in internment camps.

China says the camps are re-education and training facilities and denies any abuse, saying it is fighting religious extremism.

BERLIN, 20 February 2022, (TON): Germany's foreign minister warned Saturday against trying to guess or assume Russia's decisions on Ukraine, toning down the rhetoric after Washington's fierce warnings of an imminent invasion.

"We do not know yet if an attack has been decided on," Annalena Baerbock said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference,

He added that the "threat against Ukraine is very real".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, attending the same conference, also pushed back against Washington's dire predictions.

"We do not think that we need to panic," Zelensky told the audience of top-level officials and security experts from around the world.

US President Joe Biden had said a day earlier that he was "convinced" Russian President Vladimir Putin had "made the decision" to attack Ukraine, sending fears soaring that a major conflict could break out in Europe.

RIYADH, 20 February 2022, (TON): Saudi Press Agency reported “Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior launched a joint tactical exercise for the sectors of the Kingdom’s internal security apparatus in the capital, Riyadh.”

The fourth edition of the “Watan 91” exercise, meaning homeland, which is being held under the patronage of Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif, was launched by the Assistant Minister of Interior for Operations Affairs, Lt. Gen. Saeed bin Abdullah Al-Qahtani.

Al-Qahtani thanked King Salman, the supreme commander of all military forces, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also minister of defense, for supporting and assisting the security sectors.

He said that the joint tactical exercise is being held under the guidance and follow-up of the interior minister, and within the plans of the Ministry of Interior to develop training and raise the level of employee performance to maintain security and protect the capabilities and gains of the country.