BAGHDAD, 21 December 2022, (TON): Officials said “suspected extremists on motorbikes stormed a village north of Baghdad late Monday and killed eight Iraqi civilians.”

There was no immediate claim for the attack but the village was a focus of resistance to the Daesh group during its lightning advance through swathes of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014.

It came a day after Daesh extremists killed nine federal police in an ambush in Kirkuk province further north.

DAMASCUS, 21 December 2022, (TON): Syria’s military said two soldiers were wounded in Israeli airstrikes that hit near Damascus, the country’s capital early, the first such attack in more than a month.

A military statement said there were also some “material losses” in the strikes and that Syrian air defenses intercepted and shot down a number of the missiles.

There was no comment from Israel.

A Britain-based opposition war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the Israeli airstrikes targeted a warehouse in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab, killing three non-Syrian nationals who were affiliated with the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

BRUSSELS, 21 December 2022, (TON): Your Majesty, King Abdullah II of Jordan, monsieur le Président de la République française, Mr President of the Republic of Egypt, Mr Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq, Prime Ministers, Ministers, Ambassadors, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you very much, your Majesty, King Abdullah, for your invitation. I am glad to attend this Conference [for Cooperation and Partnership], representing the European Union.

With last year’s Baghdad Conference, Iraq went back to where it should always be: an important, active and credible country, a driver for peace and stability in the region.

LONDON, 21 December 2022, (TON): The UK TRA has proposed that countervailing measures on Stainless Steel bars and rods from India be revoked.

In its initial findings, the UK’s Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) has today (20 December 2022) proposed that a countervailing measure on imports of Stainless Steel bars and rods from India be revoked.

Countervailing measures are put in place to offset imports being sold at unfair prices due to government subsidies in their country of origin.

The TRA, as set out in the Statements of Essential Facts, found that revoking the measure would be unlikely to cause injury to the UK industry.

WASHINGTON, 21 December 2022, (TON): The Taliban have freed two Americans in detention in Afghanistan, the State Department said, on the same day that the militant regime faced condemnation for banning women at universities.

State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters “this, we understand, to have been a goodwill gesture on the part of the Taliban. This was not part of any swap of prisoners or detainees. There was no money that exchanged hands.”

Price said that confidentiality rules forbade him from offering more details on the two Americans.

The release came on the same day that the Taliban banned women from universities, drawing strong condemnation from the United States, which warned it would impose costs on the Islamist militants.

KYIV, 21 December 2022, (TON): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy could travel to Washington, meet U.S. President Joe Biden and visit Congress, sources familiar with the situation said, in what would be Zelenskiy's first known trip outside his country since Russia invaded in late February.

Biden was expected to meet Zelenskiy at the White House, a source said. The visit by the Ukrainian leader would coincide with Biden's intent to send the Kyiv government Patriot missiles, CNN reported, to protect it from heavy Russian bombardment.

Zelenskiy's spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Zelenskiy last left Ukraine for the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 19, according to his official schedule.

The trip abroad 10 months into the war was expected to include a visit to lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol, a source familiar with the planning said.

TOKYO, 21 December 2022, (TON): Japan Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa talked with his Swedish counterpart Tobias Billström by phone and emphasized the importance of like-minded countries strengthening cooperation on security issues under the current international situation.

The ministers discussed regional situations that included Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the East and South China Seas and North Korea, and confirmed that they would continue to work together to strengthen cooperation in the international arena.

The two ministers also welcomed the signing and entry into force of the “Agreement on the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology between Japan and Sweden”.

Minister Hayashi congratulated Billström on his appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs, with the latter stating that he would like to further strengthen bilateral cooperation with Japan.

SYDNEY, 20 December 2022, (TON): Australia’s top diplomat will visit China, the first such trip by an Australian foreign minister in four years and a sign of further thawing ties.

Canberra said Penny Wong will visit Beijing to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and meet Chinese state councilor and minister of foreign affairs, Wang Yi.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said “Australia seeks a stable relationship with China; we will cooperate where we can, disagree where we must and engage in the national interest.”

The last official visit to Beijing by an Australian foreign minister was in 2018. Since then, once-excellent relations have nosedived.

BRUSSELS, 20 December 2022, (TON): The Council reached an agreement on a proposal to track and reduce methane emissions in the energy sector.

The text is the first of its kind and a crucial contribution to climate action, as methane is the second most important greenhouse gas following carbon dioxide.

“Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, responsible for about 30% of current global warming. This regulation will help us understand where methane emissions come from and address them effectively. This will help us meet our commitments under the Global Methane Pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030.”

SEOUL, 20 December 2022, (TON): North Korea said on Tuesday additional sanctions won’t stop its missile program, days after launching what appeared to be two medium-ranged ballistic missiles in what it called an important test for the development of a spy satellite.

Kim Yo Jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister, made the remark in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency, saying such a development is directly linked to the country’s security.