LONDON, 11 May 2022, (TON): The UK will provide life-saving support to Syrians affected by their country’s ongoing conflict the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has announced ahead of the ’Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region’ pledging conference in Brussels.

The UK is pledging up to £158 million to support vulnerable Syrians as well as help mitigate the destabilising impact of the conflict in the region.

The funding will be directed to meet UK’s four priorities:

Scaling up the proportion of funds devoted to early recovery and resilience interventions inside Syria to support food production and livelihoods.

Protecting women and girls from violence and promoting their right to, and role, in developing a lasting peace.

Ensure people receive lifesaving assistance, preserve cross-border aid and improve delivery coordination.

BRUSSELS, 11 May 2022, (TON): NATO’s highest Military Authority, the Military Committee, will meet in person on 19 May 2022, in Brussels, Belgium.

Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the Military Committee, will preside over the meeting, which will be attended by the Allied Chiefs of Defence.

They will be supported by General Tod Wolters, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and General Philippe Lavigne, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation who will each lead a respective session.

The meeting of the NATO Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session will enable the 30 Allied Chiefs of Defence to meet and discuss issues of strategic importance to the Alliance.

KUWAIT CITY, 11 May 2022, (TON): Kuwait News Agency reported “Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah has accepted the resignation of the government in a decre.”

KUNA added “decree asked the government to stay on in a caretaker capacity.”

The decree comes over a month after the government resigned on April 5.

Kuwait’s government is the only Gulf country with a fully elected parliament.

BRUSSELS, 11 May 2022, (TON): EC spokesman Eric Mamer said “European Commission has officially received answers from Ukraine to its questionnaire on EU accession and intends to provide its opinion based on the answers of the Ukrainian side as soon as possible.”

He said “the European Commission must now provide its position on the basis of the answers provided by Ukraine. We have officially received them and will provide our position as soon as possible.”

Mamer also confirmed that the EC aims to complete this work in June.

Answering a question about the mechanism of Ukraine’s possible accession to the European Union, Mamer stressed “the EU has a clear accession process, a number of countries are currently going through it, and there are no changes in this sense for other countries that are on the way.”

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during her visit to Kiev in April, handed over to Volodymyr Zelensky a questionnaire to start negotiations on joining the European Union.

ABU DHABI, 11 May 2022, (TON): The state news agency reported “Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended the signing of several agreements and memorandums of understanding.”

According to agency “the agreements MoUs were in the fields of investment, renewables, healthcare, advanced industries and technology, and other vital sectors.”

The Greek prime minister was accompanied by several members of Greece’s Cabinet, including Minister of Development and Investments, Adonis Georgiadis, and Minister of the Environment and Energy Konstantinos Skrekas.

During their meeting, Sheikh Mohammed and Mitsotakis discussed enhancing cooperation between their countries and expanding the strategic partnership between the UAE and Greece.

The two leaders reviewed opportunities to advance their relations, especially in the economic, investment, developmental, environmental and energy fields, and looked at expanding their partnership in renewables and food security.

KHARKIV, 11 May 2022, (TON): Ukraine said “its forces had recaptured villages from Russian troops north and northeast of Kharkiv, pressing a counter-offensive that could signal a shift in the war’s momentum and jeopardize Russia’s main advance.”

Tetiana Apatchenko, press officer for the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, the main Ukrainian force in the area, confirmed that Ukrainian troops had recaptured the settlements of Cherkaski Tyshky, Ruski Tyshki, Borshchova and Slobozhanske, in a pocket north of Kharkiv in recent days.

Yuriy Saks, an adviser to Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said the successes were pushing Russian forces out of range of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, which has been under perpetual bombardment since the war began.

The military operations of the Ukrainian armed forces around Kharkiv, especially north and northeast of Kharkiv, are sort of a success story.

Saks said “the Ukrainian army was able to push these war criminals to a line beyond the reach of their artillery.”

LONDON, 11 May 2022, (TON): A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said the UK condemns North Korea’s ballistic missile launches on 4 and 7 May.

We remain deeply concerned by repeated testing of ballistic missile technology which is damaging regional security and stability.

The UK works closely with our partners to urge North Korea to return to dialogue and take credible steps towards denuclearisation in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

KABUL, 11 May 2022, (TON): Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi, Deputy Prime Minister, discusses better coordination and transparency in humanitarian aid in a meeting with UN Special Representative for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons.

A meeting that took place at the presidential palace was attended by Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN Special Representative for Afghanistan, the two sides discussed better coordination and transparency concerning humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.

At the start, Ms. Deborah Lyons while providing details on UN activities in Afghanistan, called for a joint group meeting between the UN, relevant Ministries, and other donor agencies, in order to find better solutions to current problems, and boost coordination and coherence.

Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi, Deputy Prime Minister, appreciated the holding of the assembly, which would lead to a transparent delivery of humanitarian aid to the deserving, and called for better thought and coordination between the Islamic Emirate and aid agencies.

KABUL, 11 May 2022, (TON): The Municipality said “at least 35 community leaders were appointed after being elected by communities in 10 Police Districts (PDs) of Kabul city.”

Several individuals competed in each community to become the leader of the community.

Niamat Barikzai, a spokesman for the Kabul municipality said “after the political changes, there have been 35 elections and 35 community leaders have been appointed. When the people complain about a community leader, or a community leader dies or steps down, there will be an election.”

Meanwhile, Kabul residents welcomed the holding of an election for the selection of the community leaders.

Abdul Rahim, a participant said “there are some issues which cannot be solved without the presence of a community leader. For example, if a robbery happens, or a person is killed, or someone is purchasing a property.”

NEW DELHI, 11 May 2022, (TON): A day after Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa quit following massive anti-government protests, India said it will always be guided by the best interests of the people of the island nation.

India also said “it is fully supportive of Sri Lanka's democracy, stability and economic recovery, in its first reaction to the situation in Sri Lanka after Rajapaksa's resignation following waves of protests over the government's handling of the economic crisis.”

"As a close neighbour of Sri Lanka, with historical ties, India is fully supportive of its democracy, stability and economic recovery.”

He was responding to media queries on the developments in Sri Lanka.