NEW YORK, 16 January 2022, (TON): Just over a year ago, millions of energized young people, women, voters of color and independents joined forces to send Joe Biden to the White House. But 12 months into his presidency, many describe a coalition in crisis.

Leading voices across Biden’s diverse political base openly decry the slow pace of progress on key campaign promises.

The frustration was especially pronounced this past week after Biden’s push for voting rights legislation effectively stalled, intensifying concerns in his party that fundamental democratic principles are at risk and reinforcing a broader sense that the president is faltering at a moment of historic consequence.

Quentin Wathum-Ocama, president of the Young Democrats of America said “people are feeling like they’re getting less than they bargained for when they put Biden in office. There’s a lot of emotions, and none of them are good.”

He said “I don’t know if the right word is ‘apoplectic’ or ‘demoralized.’ We’re down. We’re not seeing the results.”

The strength of Biden’s support will determine whether Democrats maintain threadbare majorities in Congress beyond this year or whether they will cede lawmaking authority to a Republican Party largely controlled by former President Donald Trump.

AL-MUKALLA, 16 January 2022, (TON): The Houthis criticized the UN Security Council for demanding they release a hijacked UAE-flagged ship.

Militia official Hussein Al-Azzi Houthi rejected the UN’s calls to free the ship and repeated claims it had been carrying weapons for the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen.

He tweeted, accusing the UN of misleading public opinion “the ship was also not loaded with dates or children's toys, but was loaded with weapons.”

The Houthis seized the vessel, which was carrying medical supplies from the remote Yemeni island of Socotra to the Saudi port of Jazan, on Jan. 3.

Their defiance came as government troops, backed by coalition air support, on Friday and Saturday took control of new mountainous locations south and west of the city of Marib.

Yemen’s Defense Ministry and local media reports said there were intensified attacks on pockets of Houthis fighting in Hareb district, south of Marib.

KIEV, 16 January 2022, (TON): According to the statement of the Foreign Ministry “the head of the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Melanie Joly, will arrive in Kyiv next week.”

The diplomat will stay on the territory of Ukraine for six days. During the visit, she will meet with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna.

According to the authors of the statement “Joly will travel to Kiev to reaffirm Ottawa’s commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. She also intends to meet with the Canadian military stationed in the country.”

VIENNA, 16 January 2022, (TON): State media in the Islamic republic said “chief negotiators from Iran and Europe returned home for consultations as talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal reached a critical stage.”

State news agency said “the negotiators will return to Vienna in two days” but expert-level discussions at the eighth round of talks would continue on Saturday and Sunday.”

The talks between Tehran and world powers resumed in late November after they were suspended for around five months as Iran elected a new, ultraconservative government.

Iran agreed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

It offered the Islamic republic sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

But former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and imposed crippling sanctions, prompting Iran to begin rolling back its commitments.

ADDIS ABABA, 16 January 2022, (TON): The Ethiopian government has accused the World Health Organization director of misconduct after he criticized conditions in the Tigray region.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was nominated by the Ethiopian government to be the head of the U.N. health agency four years ago, but claims he has “not lived up to the integrity and professional expectations”.

He has been accused of interfering in Ethiopia's internal affairs, according to a press release issued on Thursday by the Ethiopian ministry of foreign affairs.

The statement reads “through his acts, (Tedros) spread harmful misinformation and compromised WHO's reputation, independence, and credibility.”

Tedros, has on many occasions criticized the situation in his home country and called for humanitarian access to the conflict-ridden region of Ethiopia.

Tedros at a media briefing said “nowhere in the world are we witnessing hell like Tigray.”

He made reference to a memo WHO had received recently from a physician in the region, which indicated, health authorities had run out of basic medicines for diseases including diabetes and were now using expired stocks and intravenous fluids.

LONDON, 16 January 2022, (TON): The Defence Secretary reaffirmed the UK’s determination to support European allies and uphold international stability on a three-day visit to Scandinavia this week.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace met with ministers in Sweden, Finland and Norway to discuss Russia’s continued aggression and military build-up on Ukraine’s border.

The ministers also discussed increasing competition in the High North and how access to the region can be managed responsibly.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace MP said “the UK and our Nordic partners are united in our approach to upholding European security.”

My discussions this week have been directly about deepening bilateral relations, shared security and the consequences of Russian aggression towards Ukraine.

WASHINGTON, 16 January 2022, (TON): The new United States envoy to the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, and Assistant Secretary Molly Phee will visit Sudan and Ethiopia next week amid continuing crises in the two African nations.

The American officials will also travel to Saudi Arabia.

Satterfield and Phee will visit Khartoum, where they will meet with Sudanese pro-democracy activists, women’s and youth groups, civil organisations, and military and political figures, a State Department statement said.

The pair will meet with the Friends of Sudan, a group calling for the restoration of the country’s transitional government following a military coup in October.

The meeting aims to “marshal international support” for the United Nations mission to “facilitate a renewed civilian-led transition to democracy” in Sudan, according to the statement. Huge crowds have regularly taken to the streets in Sudan demanding a return to civilian rule since an October 25 coup ended a power-sharing arrangement that began in 2019.

The statement said “their message will be clear: the United States is committed to freedom, peace, and justice for the Sudanese people.”

RIYADH, 16 January 2022, (TON): The Kingdom’s ambassador to Spain, Azzam bin Abdulkarim Al-Qain, recently met a Saudi female university student delegation at the end of its educational trip to Spain.

The Saudi ambassador went over the details of the trip, which included visits to the most prestigious universities for a scientific and academic experience, in addition to diverse cultural outings to discover historical and cultural monuments in many Spanish cities.

BEIJING, 16 January 2022, (TON): The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China opened in the capital of Nicaragua, the city of Managua, after the rupture of relations between the republic and Taiwan.

This is reported by the agency Prensa Latina .

The ceremony was atten-ded by Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada.

The agency quoted the diplomat as saying “our peoples and governments are developing relations based on mutual respect for sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, the dignity and territorial integrity of states and their right to development.”

The leadership of Nicaragua on December 9 announced that the republic is breaking off diplomatic relations with Taiwan and recognizes the PRC authorities as the sole legitimate representative of China.

NEW DELHI, 16 January 2022, (TON): A pilot disoriented by a sudden change in weather conditions crashed the helicopter carrying India’s defence chief General Bipin Rawat last month, killing all 14 people on board, an official inquiry found.

The 63-year-old Rawat was travelling with his wife and other senior officers in the Russian-made Mi-17V5 chopper, which crashed near its destination in southern Tamil Nadu state on December 8.

India’s defence ministry said in a statement “the court of inquiry has ruled out mechanical failure, sabotage or negligence as a cause of the accident.”

The ministry said that the investigation team analysed the flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder and questioned witnesses to come up with its preliminary report.

The statement said “the accident was a result of entry into clouds due to unexpected change in weather conditions in the valley.”

“This led to spatial disorientation of the pilot resulting in Controlled Flight into Terrain.”