MOGADISHU, 20 January 2022, (TON): State-run news agency said “at least four people were killed and 10 others injured in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu in a suicide bombing at a tea-shop near a military base.”

Local residents told media “patrons, who included both soldiers and civilians, were sipping tea when the bomber blew himself up.”

One resident, Ahmed Ismail, said he heard the blast but that when he ran towards the scene to find out what had happened he was blocked by soldiers.

The Nacnac base outside which the blast occurred is located near a Turkish military garrison which helps to train Somali troops.

“A mujahid bomber targeted the tea shop in which there were Somali soldiers trained by Turkey” al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman Abdiasis Abu Musab told media.

He added that the number of victims both dead and injured were 20.

MOSCOW, 20 January 2022, (TON): Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said he would like to hear his position on the situation around the Iranian nuclear deal.

The Russian President said “it is very important for me to know your position on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian Nuclear Program.”

Welcoming his counterpart and noting points of contact with Tehran, Putin pointed out that Iran is actively working as an observer in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

He also added that on the basis of an interim agreement, relations between the state and the Eurasian Economic Union are developing.

The President of the Russian Federation added “we are actively working to create a free trade zone between Iran and our association.

The head of the Russian state stated that the negotiations that had begun had a very large agenda.

Putin concluded “I am very glad to see you and at the very beginning of our meeting I want to ask you to convey my best wishes to the spiritual leader, after returning to Tehran.”

Raisi thanked his counterpart for facilitating Tehran’s entry into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

WASHINGTON, 20 January 2022, (TON): U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking will travel to Gulf capitals and London starting January 19 to reinvigorate peace efforts in coordination with the UN, senior regional government officials, and other international partners.

The Special Envoy and his team will press the parties to de-escalate militarily and seize the new year to participate fully in an inclusive UN-led peace process.

Special Envoy Lenderking will also focus on the urgent need to mitigate the dire humanitarian and economic crises facing Yemenis.

As the UN Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator briefed the UN Security Council last week, 16 million people in Yemen desperately need aid totaling about $3.9 billion.

RIYADH, 20 January 2022, (TON): Emirates News Agency reported “Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed held a phone call with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss the recent Houthi attacks on the UAE and boosting defense coordination.”

The militia launched a number of explosive-laden drones and ballistic missiles targeting a key oil facility and an airport in Abu Dhabi on Monday, killing three people and injuring seven.

Sheikh Mohammed and Austin discussed military and security cooperation and coordination in different areas of defense between the two countries following the terrorist attacks.

The statement said “the two sides also discussed the threat the Houthis pose to regional security and stability, and “the need to take a firm international stance toward such aggressive practices.”

During the call, Austin reiterated US condemnation of the attacks and said his country stood by the UAE against threats to its security and territorial integrity.

WASHINGTON, 20 January 2022, (TON): The US’s Department of Defense Spokesman Lieutenant Col-onel Anton T. Semelroth issued the following statement.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, Laura Cooper participated in a virtual meeting of NATO colleagues from Canada, Lithuania, Poland, and the United Kingdom to discuss the security situation in Ukraine.

They discussed Russia’s concerning military buildup on Ukraine’s borders and mutually reaffired their unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

KABUL, 20 January 2022, (TON): Amid a major humanitarian crisis Afghanistan, the European Union (EU) has launched projects worth €268.3 million, stepping up support to the Afghan population.

The EU support focuses on maintaining education, sustaining livelihoods and protecting public health, including for refugees, migrants and internally displaced people.

Channeled through UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNHCR, WHO and IOM, the UE support benefits the Afghan population directly. A statement from European Commission said two of the projects supported human rights defenders and civil society organisations.

Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen said: “Leaving no one behind is a key principle of the EU’s engagement in the world.”

She added “today, we are demonstrating what we have said many times: we will not abandon the Afghan people.”

The Finnish politician voiced her pleasure over addressing basic human needs and supporting livelihoods under the clear parameters set out by the Foreign Affairs Council.

According to her “the projects focus on health, nutrition, clean water, sanitation and education, in particular for women and girls.”

MOSCOW, 20 January 2022, (TON): Warships of Russia, Iran and China will take part in joint naval exercises. This was reported on Tuesday in the press service of the Eastern Military District (VVO) for the Pacific Fleet.

“A detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet (Pacific Fleet), consisting of the Guards Order of Nakhimov, the Varyag missile cruiser, the Admiral Tributs large anti-submarine ship and the Boris Butoma large sea tanker, anchored in the roadstead of the Chakhbahar port of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In the port, the official A Russian Navy delegation will take part in a planned conference to hold joint naval exercises of Russian, Iranian and Chinese warships.

It notes that Russian ships will also replenish food, water and fuel supplies.

The press service recalled that a detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet went on a long voyage from Vladivostok a few days before the onset of 2022. It is planned that during the period of performing the tasks, the ships will visit the ports of a number of states, including the Republic of Seychelles.

WASHINGTON, 20 January 2022, (TON): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Russia could launch a new attack on Ukraine at very short notice as he met the country's president on the first leg of a new diplomatic push to avert war.

Russia said “tension around Ukraine was increasing and it was still waiting for a written US response to its sweeping demands for security guarantees from the West.”

The pessimistic statements highlighted the gulf between Washington and Moscow as Blinken gears up for a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday that a Russian foreign policy analyst called probably the last stop before the train wreck.

Blinken told “diplomats at the US embassy in Kyiv that a Russian build-up of tens of thousands of troops near the Ukrainian border was taking place with no provocation, no reason."

Blinken said "we know that there are plans in place to increase that force even more on very short notice, and that gives President Putin the capacity, also on very short notice, to take further aggressive action against Ukraine.”

CHISINAU, 20 January 2022, (TON): At a meeting, the Moldovan government approved an individual plan for cooperation with NATO for 2022-2023, aimed at modernizing the country’s security system.

The Cabinet of Ministers unanimously approved a plan for cooperation with NATO for the next two years. Due to the worsening epidemiological situation, the meeting was held online and was broadcast on the government website.

The Deputy Prime Minister said “the goal of the individual plan for the development of cooperation within the framework of partnership with NATO for 2022-2023 is to gain experience and assistance from the alliance in the areas of modernizing the country’s defense and security system, finding ways to respond to new threats, such as cyber attacks, terrorism.”

Foreign Minister Nikolai Popescu , who presented the project to colleagues.

He noted that the emphasis will be placed on modernizing the country’s security system, as well as launching a new professional development program for experts in this field.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the plan was drawn up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the basis of consultations with the NATO secretariat and the relevant ministries of all countries that are members of the alliance.

WASHINGTON, 20 January 2022, (TON): US President Joe Biden will nominate the first Muslim-American woman to serve as a federal judge, the White House announced Wednesday as he continues his push to diversify the federal judiciary.

Nusrat Jahan Choudhury has served as legal director for the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union advocacy group since 2020 and has worked with the union in various capacities since 2008.

She is a graduate of Yale Law School and received her bachelor's degree from Columbia University.

Should Choudhury receive Senate confirmation she would become not only the first Muslim-American woman to serve on the federal bench but also the first Bangladeshi-American, the White House said in a statement.

She would also be the second Muslim-American federal judge.

Her nomination is part of eight nominees being proposed by Biden, the 13th tranche since the president assumed office in January 2021. Biden has now nominated 83 federal judges.