ANKARA, 15 May 2022, (TON): US President Joe Biden’s administration has asked Congress to green light a proposed sale of missiles and equipment upgrades to Turkey, the Wall Street Journal reported this week.

The deal, said to be worth about $300 million, is expected to further deepen defense ties between the NATO allies.

However, the proposed deal is not part of a $6 billion agreement that Turkey has been seeking since last year to buy 40 Lockheed Martin F-16 jets and 80 kits to upgrade its existing fleet.

The US administration’s informal notification process allows members of Congress to review the transaction and provide feedback before the deal is finalized.

Turkey’s purchase and deployment of Russian-made S-400 defense missile systems in 2017 resulted in the country’s removal from the US F-35 fighter jet program in 2019 over concerns that the Russian radar system would spy on the aircraft.

ANKARA, 15 May 2022, (TON): Ankara does not close the door to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, but insists that other members of the all-iance take into account Turkey’s national security concerns.

This was announced by the official representative of the P-resident of Turkey, Ibrahim Kalin.

Media quoted as saying “we are not closing the doors. However, we are essentially raising this issue as a matter of Turkey’s national security. What is clear is that they must do it: th-ey must stop allowing representatives of the PKK their activities, put an end to the existence of organizations, individuals and other forms of presence in these countries.”

He said “Kalin at the same time announced Turkey’s readiness to hold talks on this topic with Sweden. “NATO membership is always a process. Let’s see how things go. But this is the first point to which we want to draw the attention of all allies, as well as the Swedish authorities. Of course, we want to have a discussion, negotiations with our Swedish colleagues.”

“If Finland and Sweden have a public concerned about their own national security, then we have a public that is equally concerned about our own security. We need to see it from a common perspective.”

WASHINGTON, 15 May 2022, (TON): US President Joe Biden considers the United Arab Emirates the United States’ most important partner and is determined to strengthen strategic partnerships between the countries.

This is stated in the statement of the head of the White House, distributed.

As follows from the document, Biden congratulated the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on his election as the new president of the UAE.

The American leader expressed readiness to “further strengthen the strategic partnership” between the countries.

ABU DHABI, 15 May 2022, (TON): Official media said “UAE’s long-time de facto ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was elected as president on Saturday.”

The 61-year-old was unanimously elected by the Federal Supreme Council, WAM news agency said, becoming the ruler of the oil-rich country founded by his father in 1971.

Sheikh Mohamed, often known as ‘MBZ’, met members of the Federal Supreme Council, made up of rulers of the UAE’s seven emirates, as the country enters a period of mourning for his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa.

Sheikh Mohamed’s ascension, which was widely expected, formalises his position as leader of the desert state of 10 million after years of calling the shots while Sheikh Khalifa was sidelined by poor health.

Under his low-key direction, the United Arab Emirates has put a man in space, sent a probe to Mars and opened its first nuclear reactor, while using its oil-funded clout to develop a more assertive foreign policy.

BERLIN, 15 May 2022, (TON): The Group of Seven industrialized nations said “they would never recognize the borders Russia is trying to shift in its war against Ukraine and pledged enduring support for Kyiv.”

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 but Kyiv’s forces managed to push Moscow’s troops back from the capital. The conflict is now well into its third month.

G7 foreign ministers said in a statement after three days of talks in northern Germany “we will never recognize borders Russia has attempted to change by military aggression, and will uphold our engagement in the support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea, and all states.”

They also vowed to expand sanctions to include sectors on which Russia is dependent and keep supplying Ukraine with weapons to help it repel Russia’s invasion.

They said “we reaffirm our determination to further increase economic and political pressure on Russia, continuing to act in unity.”

KABUL, 15 May 2022, (TON): The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund said “since the beginning of the new year, more than 100,000 children have been infected with acute malnutrition in Afghanistan.”

Mohamed Ag Ayoya, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan, while checking the health status of malnourished children at the Paktia Regional Hospital, said “last year one million children in Afghanistan were malnourished, but this year the number has risen to 1.1 million.”

He called on international aid agencies to provide immediate assistance to prevent the disease from spreading further.

Mohamed Ag Ayoya, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan said “but again as I said, unfortunately, most of these children probably also are born already malnourished…because the conditions of their mothers during pregnancy but also when these kids are born, mothers that are also malnourished.”

KABUL, 15 May 2022, (TON): The Ministry of Education announced vacancies for thousands of teachers in the country.

They said “the Ministry of Education announced more than 7,000 vacancies for teachers and administrative staff in the education departments of eight provinces. Nearly 3,000 vacancies were reserved for women.”

Meanwhile, Abdul Salam Hanafi, second deputy PM, said “he is seeking to raise the level of education, and that the education sector is a priority of the Islamic Emirate.”

He said “there has been an increase in educational institutions.”

Abdul Salam Hanafi, Second Deputy PM said “in order to provide better services in the health and education sector throughout Afghanistan and to raise the level of education, there has been a significant increase in the formation of the above-mentioned departments.”

NEW DELHI, 15 May 2022, (TON): The Ministry of External Affairs said “in a gesture of goodwill, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will visit the UAE on Sunday to offer India's condolences over the demise of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.”

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the Gulf nation, passed away after battling illness for several years.

The MEA said in a statement "Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will be visiting UAE on May 15 to offer condolences on behalf of the Government of India to the UAE leadership on the sad demise of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi.”

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed condolences over the passing away of Sheikh Khalifa.

NEW DELHI, 15 May 2022, (TON): India banned wheat exports, just days after saying “it was targeting record shipments this year, as a scorching heatwave curtailed output and domestic prices soared to an all-time high.”

The government said it would still allow exports backed by already issued letters of credit and to countries that request supplies to meet their food security needs.

Global buyers were banking on supplies from the world's second-biggest wheat producer after exports from the Black Sea region plunged following Russia's Feb 24 invasion of Ukraine.

Before the ban, India had aimed to ship a record 10 million tonnes this year.

Although it is not one of the world's top wheat exporters, India's ban could drive global prices to new peaks given already tight supply, hitting poor consumers in Asia and Africa particularly hard.

A Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm said “the ban is shocking.”

“We were expecting curbs on exports after two to three months, but it seems like the inflation numbers changed the government's mind.”

KABUL, 15 May 2022, (TON): The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has shown interest in buying gas and oil from Russia and also continuing work on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.

At a time when the Russian energy giants like Gazprom have been hit by sanctions from the Western countries, Jamal Nasir Garwal, the Taliban-appointed charge d’affaires in Moscow, has reaffirmed Afghanistan’s ambition of developing the energy partnership with Russia.

Garwal in an interview with Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti said “yes, we are negotiating in the sphere of business and finance. We are determined and very much want to develop economic cooperation with Russia so that there is progress in relations. As for specific areas, we are interested in purchasing fuel and gas.”

Garwal was accredited by the Russian Foreign Ministry in April in what Moscow called “a step towards the resumption of full-fledged bilateral diplomatic contacts” between the two countries. He had also attended the Russian Victory Day parade held on Red Square in Moscow on May 9.