BRUSSELS, 26 January 2022, (TON): Nato said “it was sending jets and ships to bolster its eastern European flank, as the US and EU looked to coordinate a tough response to Russia if it invades Ukraine.”

Tensions have soared over Russia’s deployment of some 100,000 troops and heavy armour at its neighbour’s borders, despite the Kremlin’s insistence it is not planning a new incursion almost eight years after it seized Crimea.

The United States, Britain and Australia ordered diplomats’ families to leave Kiev, while France told its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Ukraine.

Both Kiev and the European Union’s foreign policy chief said any withdrawal of diplomatic personnel appeared premature, amid doubts over how imminent any attack could be.

But the tensions helped send global markets sharply downwards — with Russia’s stock market plunging and its central bank suspending foreign currency purchasing after the ruble slumped.

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken dialled in to a meeting of his EU counterparts in Brussels to brief them on his meeting Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, where the two sides failed to make a breakthrough but agreed to keep talking.

DHAKA, 26 January 2022, (TON): Denmark, a European country, has expressed keenness to extend cooperation to Bangladesh for improving the quality of agricultural products and foods aiming at ensuring safe food for all.

The country would also take initiative to invest in the processing of agricultural products in Bangladesh.

A press release said “Danish Ambassador Winnie Estrup Petersen expressed the willingness at a meeting with Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque at his ministry office at the Secretariat here.”

Highlighting the country's unprecedented success in agricultural production, Razzaque said Bangladesh still lags behind in exporting and processing the agricultural goods.

The country has huge potential in exporting and processing mango, pineapple, banana, tomato, potato and vegetables, he said, Danish investment and advanced technical assistance is needed in this regard.

The minister also underscored the need for Danish assistance in food production maintaining the good agricultural practices (GAP).

DHAKA, 26 January 2022, (TON): Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (LGRD), Md Tazul Islam, said “Dhaka can become a city like Venice if all 53 canals in it can be recovered, restored and interconnected, and beautified in a planned way.

The minister also said “all the encroached canals of Dhaka city will be recovered to prevent waterlogging.”

Tazul said during a visit to the ongoing eviction drive on Lautola canal at the city's Basila area "when we recover the canals, it will not only solve Dhaka's waterlogging problem but will also transform the city into a beautiful, liveable city for its dwellers.”

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) started the drive on January 23 and has already demolished some buildings, under-construction markets, and a truck terminal among over 50 illegal structures built by filling up 2.5 km stretch of Lautola canal at Basila.

NEW DELHI, 26 January 2022, (TON): China is building a bridge across the Pangong Lake in the frontier region of Ladakh in Indian-administered Kashmir, raising fresh security concerns in India.

Indian media allegedly reports said last week “the 400-metre-long and 8-metre-wide bridge being constructed near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between the two nuclear powers, was spotted through high resolution satellite images.

India’s foreign ministry said “the bridge is being constructed in areas that have been under the illegal occupation by China for around 60 years now.”

It said that the Indian government was monitoring the construction activity closely.

Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi told reporters earlier this month “the government has been taking all necessary steps to ensure that our security interests are fully protected.”

India and China are locked in a military standoff along the LAC in Ladakh region since April 2020, when the two sides accused each other of trespassing.

The standoff turned deadly in June that year when 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley in a rare hand-to-hand combat using clubs and rocks.

NEW DELHI, 26 January 2022, (TON): The 75th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between India and Saudi Arabia has seen commercial ties between the two strategic partners rise to new heights.

According to the General Authority of Statistics, for the first three quarters of 2021, “India was Saudi Arabia’s second-largest trading partner.”

India’s Department of Commerce found that for the current financial year (April-November), trade between the two countries was $24.9 billion, an increase of 94 percent over the same period last year.

It is especially heartening to note that current trends suggest that bilateral trade will surpass pre-pandemic levels. Another achievement worth mentioning is that India is well on its way to achieving its global export target of $400 billion set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Specifically, Indian exports to Saudi Arabia will comfortably exceed the set target.

Despite the pandemic's causing a halt in the physical movement of high-level business and trade delegations between the two countries which was expected after the establishment of the Strategic Partnership Council during Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia in October 2019, the momentum of engagement has been sustained via virtual platforms.

KABUL, 26 January 2022, (TON): Dozens of people were stopped from “illegally” leaving Afghanistan by air, a top Taliban official said, and several women among them are being detained until they are collected by male relatives.

Tens of thousands of Afghans fled on evacuation flights from Kabul in August as the Taliban returned to power amid the hasty withdrawal of US-led forces.

Some nations and international NGOs have since operated irregular chartered flights extracting Afghans, but Taliban authorities have increasingly clamped down.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted late Monday that a group had attempted to leave on a flight from the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

He said “forty people were arrested, who wanted to go abroad illegally by plane.”

He said “most were released, but some women “remain detained because their male relatives have not yet come to escort them.”

It was not immediately clear who had organised the flight.

Tens of thousands of Afghans are still desperate to leave the country, fearful of reprisals from the Taliban because of their links to foreign forces or the former US-backed regime.

KABUL, 26 January 2022, (TON): Representatives of Afghan women’s rights in a meeting with the delegation of the Islamic Emirate in Oslo called for girls’ schools to be reopened and for the inclusion of women in the government.

The closed-door meeting was attended by six women’s rights defenders, seven politicians and a high-profile journalist as well as the 15-member delegation of the Islamic Emirate.

During her speech at the meeting, Huda Khamosh called on the Islamic Emirate to release the women protesters who were allegedly detained by the current Afghan government. She presented the participants with a proposal formed by the Afghan civil society community and women’s rights activists.

Khamosh urged the UN to monitor the human rights situation in Afghanistan. The proposal of the women’s representatives in Oslo are as follows, “formation of an independent council by the UN to monitor the human rights status in Afghanistan.”

“Formation of a roadmap for resolving the political issues via the people. Respecting the rights of citizens, particularly the right to work, to receive an education, and to enjoy freedom of speech. The Islamic Emirate is committed to the constitution.”

Nazifa Jalali, a women’s rights defender said “some important matters including human rights, women’s rights and problems that exist in the private sector were discussed.”

The US special envoy for Afghanistan Thomas West tweeted from Oslo, saying he welcomed Norway’s taking the initiative to hold a meeting between the Islamic Emirate delegation and the Afghan civil society leaders.

 BURKINA FASO, 25 JANUARY 2022, TON: The military in Burkina Faso says it has seized power and overthrown President Roch Kaboré. Burkina Faso is now the third West African country to witness a military takeover in recent years. Guinea and Mali have had sanctions imposed on them by Ecowas to press them to return to constitutional order.
The coup comes a day after troops seized barracks, and gunshots were heard in the capital, Ouagadougou.
Earlier, the ruling People's Movement for Progress (PMP) party said that both Mr Kaboré and a government minister had survived an assassination attempt.
On Sunday, mutinying troops demanded the sacking of military chiefs and more resources to fight militants linked to the Islamic State (IS) group and al-Qaeda.
The army statement said Mr Kaboré had failed to unite the nation and to deal effectively with the security crisis which "threatens the very foundations of our nation".
The statement was issued in the name of a group not heard of previously, the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration or MPSR, its French acronym.
Although read out by another officer, the statement was signed by Lt-Col Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who is believed to be the coup leader and a senior commander with years of experience fighting the Islamist militants.
The statement said that parliament and the government had been dissolved, and the constitution suspended, but promised a "return to constitutional order" within a "reasonable time".
The military also announced the closure of Burkina Faso's borders.
UN chief António Guterres condemned the coup and called on the military to "ensure the protection and the physical integrity" of Mr Kaboré.
The African Union and regional bloc, Ecowas, have also condemned the forceful takeover of power, with Ecowas saying it holds the soldiers responsible for the deposed president's well-being.

WASHINGTON, 25 January 2022, (TON): United States President Joe Biden is reportedly considering sending thousands more troops to NATO allies in Eastern Europe and Baltic countries as fears that Russia will soon invade Ukraine persist.

The US media reported “during a Saturday meeting at the presidential Camp David retreat, senior defence department officials laid out options for Biden, including sending between 1,000 to 5,000 troops to NATO countries including Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland.”

The number of troops could be increased by 10 times if the situation escalates, according to the newspaper. The proposed plan also includes deploying warships and aircraft to NATO allies in the region.

The National Public Radio (NPR) broadcaster also reported on the deliberations.

The US and its European allies currently provide material support for Ukraine.

RIYADH, 25 January 2022, (TON): state-run news agency reported “the Saudi and Romanian governments signed an agreement for cooperation in the defense field.”

The agreement covered a number of defense fields between the two countries, most notably training, exchanging expertise, technologies, developing communications systems, medical services, military history, archives, publications and museums, among others.

The statement said “the agreement comes within the commitment of the two governments to promote and encourage international peace and stability.”

The deal was signed by Saudi Assistant Minister of Defense for Executive Affairs Dr. Khalid bin Hussein Al-Bayari and Romanian State Secretary and Chief of the Department for Defense Policy.