TEL AVIV, 27 December 2021, (TON): Israel unveiled a plan to spend more than $300 million to double the Jewish settler population in the Golan Heights, 40 years after it annexed the territory captured from Syria.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who held his weekly cabinet meeting at the Mevo Hama community in the Golan on Sunday, vowed this was the "moment" to boost the number of Jewish Israelis living in the territory.

"Our goal is to double the population in the Golan," the right-wing Bennett said as he presented his one billion shekel ($317 million) programme to improve housing, transportation, tourism and medical facilities in the area.

Around 25,000 Israeli settlers live in the Golan Heights, along with some 23,000 Druze, who remained on the land after it was seized by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Israel annexed the territory on December 14, 1981, in a move not recognised by most of the international community.

LONDON, 27 December 2021, (TON): More than half of the 311 Afghans known to have been left behind by British forces during the withdrawal from Afghanistan, but who were promised sanctuary in the UK, are still in trapped in the war-torn country, with some claiming that the true number could be in the thousands.

Many of the interpreters and other Afghans who worked with Britain during its mission in the country, as well as their families who were pledged safe haven under the UK’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, now say they live in fear of Taliban reprisals after the militant group captured Kabul in August.

Ministers have been accused of “trying to move on” from the crisis, despite a recent Human Rights Watch Report claiming that Taliban forces were hunting down and killing hundreds of ex-Afghan government and military figures.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted in September that Afghans had been left behind by Operation Pitting, the UK’s mission to evacuate people from the capital Kabul in August, adding that the government would “do absolutely everything” it could to “ensure that those people get the safe passage that they deserve.”

Earlier this month, James Cleverly MP, minister of state for the Middle East and North Africa, confirmed that 167 Afghans eligible for the ARAP scheme were still in Afghanistan, with others eligible for refuge in the UK still in designated third countries.

LONDON, 27 December 2021, (TON): More than half of the 311 Afghans known to have been left behind by British forces during the withdrawal from Afghanistan, but who were promised sanctuary in the UK, are still in trapped in the war-torn country, with some claiming that the true number could be in the thousands.

Many of the interpreters and other Afghans who worked with Britain during its mission in the country, as well as their families who were pledged safe haven under the UK’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, now say they live in fear of Taliban reprisals after the militant group captured Kabul in August.

Ministers have been accused of “trying to move on” from the crisis, despite a recent Human Rights Watch Report claiming that Taliban forces were hunting down and killing hundreds of ex-Afghan government and military figures.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted in September that Afghans had been left behind by Operation Pitting, the UK’s mission to evacuate people from the capital Kabul in August, adding that the government would “do absolutely everything” it could to “ensure that those people get the safe passage that they deserve.”

Earlier this month, James Cleverly MP, minister of state for the Middle East and North Africa, confirmed that 167 Afghans eligible for the ARAP scheme were still in Afghanistan, with others eligible for refuge in the UK still in designated third countries.

CAIRO, 27 December 2021, (TON): Egypt’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned an attack by Yemen’s Houthi militia on the Saudi town of Samtah that resulted in the death and injury of civilians.

A Saudi and a Yemeni were killed by a Houthi projectile, and seven civilians were injured.

The ministry reaffirmed Egypt’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia against the Houthis’ terrorist attacks, which it said violate international law and are a blatant threat to regional security and stability.

The ministry reaffirmed Cairo’s firm position in supporting the measures taken by Saudi Arabia to preserve its security and the safety of its brotherly people, and the close link between the national security of the two countries.

MOSCOW, 27 December 2021, (TON): Foreign Ministry said “Russia has received a NATO proposal to commence talks on Moscow's security concerns on Jan. 12 and is considering it.”

Russia, which has unnerved the West with a troop buildup near Ukraine, last week unveiled a wish list of security proposals it wants to negotiate, including a promise NATO would give up any military activity in Eastern Europe and Ukraine.

Local media quoted the foreign ministry as saying "we have already received this (NATO) offer, and we are considering it.”

The United States and Ukraine say Russia may be preparing an invasion of its ex-Soviet neighbour. Russia denies that and says it is Ukraine's growing relationship with NATO that has caused the standoff to escalate. It has compared it to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when the world came to the brink of nuclear war.

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia wanted to avoid conflict but needed an "immediate" response from the United States and its allies to its demands for security guarantees. Moscow has said it expects talks with US officials on the subject to start in January in Geneva.

TORONTO, 27 December 2021, (TON): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an interview aired “Western countries should have a united front against China to prevent the Asian state from using commercial interests to play them against each other.”

Trudeau said “China has been playing Western countries against one another as they compete for access to economic opportunities in the country.”

He said "we've been competing and China has been, from time to time, very cleverly playing us off each other in an open market, competitive way.”

"We need to do a better job of working together and standing strong so China can't play the angles and divide us one against the other."

Relations between Canada and China have been chilly since the 2018 detention of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on a US extradition warrant. China detained two Canadians shortly afterwards, denying Ottawa's accusations of hostage diplomacy.

RIYADH, 27 December 2021, (TON): The Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance in Yemen dismantled 2,231 mines in the fourth week of December.

This figure includes 11 anti-personnel mines, 1,399 anti-tank mines, 801 unexploded ordinances and 20 other explosive devices.

The project is one of several initiatives undertaken by Saudi Arabia to help ease the suffering of the Yemeni people.

The demining took place in Marib, Aden, Jouf, Shabwa, Taiz, Hodeidah, Lahij, Sanaa, Al-Bayda, Al-Dhale and Saada.

KABUL, 27 December 2021, (TON): Deputy foreign minister says Afghans were not tired of war and they were able to fight for another four decades in defending their country.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the deputy foreign minister, made the remarks at a large gathering of Shia clerics in Kabul.

He said that ongoing humanitarian aid could not cure Afghanistan’s pain and that Afghans should rebuild their country on their own.

He said “the United States should stop interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs and no one should think that Afghans are tired of war to defend themselves, they have the ability to defend their country and fight for another four decades if needed.”

Stanekzai said that it is important for Afghanistan’s economy to be connected with the world.

He said “the international community has put economic pressure on Afghanistan to comply with its own demands.”

WASHINGTON, 27 December 2021, (TON): The Biden administration’s diplomatic boycott of Beijing’s winter Olympics is already showing signs of being a limited success.

The effort, aimed at allowing athletes to compete while protesting China’s human rights abuses, has garnered the support of lawmakers in both parties, human rights groups and key U.S. allies such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

But support is far from universal.

France is sending diplomats to Beijing, saying it opposes using sports competitions to highlight concerns over human rights, such as Beijing’s genocide against the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, suppression of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong and cultural repression in Tibet.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) criticized France’s refusal to join the boycott, while speaking on the Senate floor on December 15.

The senator said “it is not too late to call out the serious, egregious conduct occurring in China.”

“France, join us, as you have over time, in standing for human rights.”

RIYADH, 27 December 2021, (TON): The Arab coalition supporting the Yemeni government carried out new airstrikes, targeting a military camp in Houthi-held Sanaa and rebel reinforcements in Marib Governorate.

The coalition said in a statement on Sunday that it destroyed weapon depots at a military camp controlled by the Houthis, urging residents not to pass through or congregate near targeted military sites in Sanaa.

Residents in Sanaa reported hearing large explosions as images on social media showed smoke billowing from the targeted sites.

The coalition launched a large-scale military operation against the Houthis in Yemen, shortly after a missile fired by the militia killed two civilians in Saudi Arabia’s Jazan.

The coalition vowed to punish the Houthis for targeting civilians in Yemen and across the border in the Kingdom.

At the same time, local media reported on Sunday that the latest airstrikes by the coalition in have prompted the Houthis into replacing officials and arresting members on suspicion of being coalition spies.