WASHINTON, 11 December 2021, (TON): American shoppers, especially those on low incomes have felt the pinch of higher prices, with annual inflation at rates not seen for 40 years.

The latest figures show prices rose 6.8% in the year to November.

Bibi who works as a cleaner in Harlem, New York, said “she has had to cut back as a result, sometimes buying just one meal to share with her 27-year-old son.”

She said "we don't have any choice, "I can't afford to cook."

"I take a little bit then I give him more because a mother is always going to do that for her child."

Price rises have pushed up food shopping bills, and petrol prices jumped 6.1%, while the cost of second-hand cars and rent also rose.

While the monthly pace of price rises at 0.8% eased a little compared to October's 0.9%, people like Bibi have felt the cumulative effects on their budgets.

Patricia, who has just shopped in the local supermarket, said her bill is about $30 a week more than it used to be, so she's replaced chicken and pork chops with more vegetables, although prices for fresh produce are also higher she said.

JAKARTA, 11 December 2021, (TON): Indonesian Muslims gathered for Friday prayers in an evacuation center on the slopes of Mount Semeru, where thousands of people remain in limbo after a series of eruptions in the past week by the volcano left thousands homeless.

The 3,676-meter (12,060 foot) volcano erupted spectacularly, sending a towering cloud of ash into the sky and dangerous pyroclastic flows into villages below.

In the Penanggal evacuation center, Abdul Ghofar joined several hundred others displaced by the disaster for Friday prayers in a makeshift mosque set up using a tent in a field.

“I usually pray at my village, I can’t believe this is what has happened to me,” said Ghofar, 47, who recounted hearing a loud boom on the day of the eruption before a black cloud of ash turned everything dark in his village of Curah Kobokan.

Ghofar, who was working as a food vendor, thought he and his mother might die, but then some light appeared in the sky and they managed to flee without any possessions.

He said “his cousin, who worked as a sand miner near the volcano, was still missing and he was now waiting to be relocated.”

At least 43 people have died and hundreds have been injured since the eruption, while more than 6,000 people were evacuated, with many now uncertain whether they will ever be able to live in the area again.

NIGER, 11 December 2021, (TON): Gunmen have attacked a mosque in central Nigeria's state of Niger, killing nine people, police said Friday while residents gave a higher death toll of 16.

The reason for the attack was not immediately known, but gangs of criminals known locally as bandits have terrorised communities in northwest and central Nigeria for years.

Local police chief Monday Bala Kuryas said “heavily-armed men on motorcycles stormed the remote Ba'are village in Mashegu district on Wednesday, opening fire on a mosque while worshippers were praying.”

Kuryas said "the attackers killed nine Muslim worshippers inside the mosque and left some others injured.”

The police official said “a joint team of police and civil defence paramilitary personnel deployed to the area while the injured were taken to a nearby hospital.”

Resident Amadu Hamisu said locals collected 16 bodies from the mosque after the attack.

Hamisu told media "a total of 16 people who were praying in the mosque were killed. We took their bodies from the mosque.”

WASHINGTON, 11 December 2021, (TON): US President Joe Biden has ordered his staff to prepare additional measures if troubled talks over Iran’s nuclear programme, which resumed in Vienna, fail to reach a resolution.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters “the president has asked his team to be prepared in the event that diplomacy fails and we must turn to other options.”

She added “we will have no choice but to take additional measures.”

The latest round of talks began last week and were paused on Dec 3 after Western participants accused Iran of going back on progress made earlier this year.

International diplomats restarted the talks on Thursday for what the chair of the negotiations called the “difficult endeavour” of reviving the 2015 deal between Iran and world powers.

The heads of delegations from the parties to the 2015 deal -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran and Russia, were present at the talks in Vienna.

An American delegation plans to take part indirectly in the coming days.

RIYADH, 11 December 2021, (TON): Royal Saudi Naval Forces and their Bahraini counterparts have completed a bilateral naval exercise in the Eastern Province on the Arabian Gulf.

The JISR-22 exercise was held at King Abdulaziz Naval Base in Jubail within the framework of cooperation between the two countries.

The bilateral exercise included the implementation of military tactics and a number of diverse practice scenarios to raise the combat capability and professional performance of naval operations.

The training aimed to unify the tactical concepts of command and control and enhance the procedures for managing naval battles.

The bilateral exercise included the implementation of military tactics and a number of diverse practice scenarios to raise the combat capability and professional performance of naval operations.

LONDON, 11 December 2021, (TON): Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the Security Council briefing on UNITAMS has said that Mr President, let me begin by thanking SRSG Perthes for his briefing and for all his work over a challenging three month period since we last met, the work of him and his team in difficult circumstances.

I would also like to thank Ambassador Jürgenson for this tireless service on the 1591 Committee, thank you Sven.

I will focus my intervention on three issues, the coup and 21 November Political Agreement; the human rights situation; and the Juba Peace Agreement and situation in Darfur.

The military coup on 25 October, which we condemn in the strongest possible terms, jeopardised the hard won progress made by the civilian-led government since the 2019 revolution. Regional organisations and this Council expressed their serious concern at the events.

We recognise the 21 November Political Agreement as an important first step towards restoring the democratic transition. All parties must take a genuinely inclusive and consultative approach to delivering the democratic transition. We encourage the prompt formation of a Cabinet, the Transitional Legislative Council and other governance institutions as part of setting out plans for inclusive and credible elections.

We also reiterate our call for the immediate release of all detainees since 25 October. Such steps are a vital part of rebuilding trust and confidence with the Sudanese public and international community after the coup. 

The United Kingdom commends UNITAMS’ continued efforts to support dialogue and the transition process in challenging circumstances. We also welcome the Mission’s efforts to strengthen relationships with civil society to build public support for the transition.

WASHINGTON, 11 December 2021, (TON): The United States intends to support the International Monetary Fund’s Caucasus, Central Asia, and Mongolia Regional Capacity Development Center (CCAMTAC).

The CCAMTAC is a new regional capacity development center headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan that supports economic policymaking and institution building in the region.

The CCAMTAC is a collaborative venture between the IMF, development partners, and CCAMTAC member countries; Armenia, Azerbaijan, Geo-rgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Following delivery to the IMF of a Letter of Intent from the United States Department of the Treasury on October 27, 2021, the United States became a full voting member on the CCAMTAC Steering Committee.

MOSCOW, 11 December 2021, (TON): Russia kept up a barrage of hostile rhetoric toward Ukraine and compared the crisis there to the most dangerous moment of the Cold War as it waited for US President Joe Biden to invite it to possible talks with NATO countries.

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of moving heavy artillery toward the front line of fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the former Soviet republic and failing to engage in a peace process.

State news agency quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying “the events in the Donbass, or the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, now resemble genocide.”

A Ukrainian warship headed toward the Kerch Strait, which separates Russia and its annexed peninsula of Crimea, and did not react to a Russian request to change its course, the Russian intelligence service (FSB) said of events that happened earlier.

The Ukrainian vessel later headed back, Interfax reported, citing FSB.

The Ukrainian defense minister said it was a search-and-rescue ship with no weapons on board.

“Negotiations on a peaceful settlement have practically hit a dead end,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters, referring to the seven-year conflict between Ukrainian and separatist forces in the eastern Donbass region.

ISLAMABAD, 11 December 2021, (TON): The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said “Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa lay stress on the importance of "realistic" and "strenuous" training in the field for troops.”

The army chief's remarks came as he visited Chanoki near Chawinda in Sialkot where he witnessed the 'Victory Shield’ exercise of Gujranwala Corps, the military's media wing said.

The statement said “addressing the troops, Gen Bajwa stressed upon realistic and strenuous training in the field.”

The army chief remarked "such exercises help bolster troops’ confidence, enhance cohesiveness and synergy and optimise their combat potential.”

According to ISPR “Gen Bajwa was briefed on objectives, planning parametres and conduct modalities of the exercise which is aimed at enhancing operational preparedness of formation, encompassing defensive and offensive tasks in response to any misadventure by the adversary.”

ISLAMABAD, 11 December 2021, (TON): Pakistan had made all preparations for forthcoming Extraordinary meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) and gets very positive response from the invitees in respect of their participation in the gathering of Islamic countries.

It was shared by the Spokesperson Pakistan Foreign Office Amb. Asim Iftikhar Ahmad in response to a media query during his weekly news briefing in Islamabad.

Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said that Pakistan has extended invitation to the members and observers nations of the OIC along with P5’s Special Representatives for Afghanistan for upcoming 17th extraordinary meeting of CFM of the OIC in connection with looming humanitarian and economic crisis in neighboring Afghanistan.

While answering another question regarding severity of the crisis and Pakistan’s role in this regard, Spokesperson informed the media that presently an acute food shortage had pushed a large section of the Afghan society toward hunger and malnutrition, while economic crisis is continuously worsening the situation.