CAIRO, 26 July 2022, (TON): A Jordanian delegation including Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi was received by his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry in Cairo.

The two sides agreed to prepare and activate a joint plan for cooperation in the field of food security, and to start implementing it within a month in partnership with the private sector in both countries, according to Jordan’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply.

Ahmed Hafez, spokesman for Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, said the meeting was attended by the ministries of finance, transportation, trade and industry.

Yousef Al-Shamali, Jordan’s minister of industry and trade, discussed with his Egyptian counterpart Ali Al-Maselhi in Cairo mechanisms to enhance cooperation in food security.

WASHINGTON, 26 July 2022, (TON): US special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking is traveling to the capitals of Saudi Arabia and Jordan to continue diplomatic efforts in support of the truce in Yemen.

US State Department said in a statement “the trip, starting follows US President Joe Biden’s recent visit to Jeddah during which Yemen figured prominently in discussions.”

The statement said “in close coordination with the UN special envoy and our regional and Yemeni partners, special envoy Lenderking will continue our efforts to help advance peace.”

The truce in Yemen first came into effect in April and was then extended for a two-month period in June. It ends on August 2 and the international community is keen for it to be extended.

WASHINGTON, 26 July 2022, (TON): US Army Apache attack helicopters based in South Korea are holding live-fire drills with rockets and guns for the first time since 2019, as the allies step up military exercises amid tension with North Korea.

Training resumed at the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex just south of the heavily fortified Demilitarised Zone along the border, after having been canceled in recent years when those living nearby complained about noise and safety concerns.

Over the past week, AH-64E v6 Apache helicopters engaged in certification drills, video images and photographs released by the US 2nd Infantry Division showed.

The division said on Twitter “crews are qualifying during both day and night on the AGM-114 Hellfire missile, Hydra 70 rocket and 30mm canon.”

BEIJING, 26 July 2022, (TON): A foreign ministry spokesman said “China confirmed that it had delivered sterner warnings to US officials about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan, as first reported by the Financial Times.”

Spokesman Zhao Lijian “the Chinese side has made it clear to the US on many occasions that it is firmly opposed to Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. We are fully prepared.”

He added “if the US goes its own way, China will certainly take firm and forceful measures to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the United States should be held responsible for any serious consequences.”

KYIV, 26 July 2022, (TON): Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said “Ukrainian forces have destroyed 50 Russian ammunition depots using US-supplied HIMARS rocket systems in the war with Russia.”

He said in televised comments “this cuts their (Russian) logistical chains and takes away their ability to conduct active fighting and cover our armed forces with heavy shelling.”

Reuters could not independently verify Reznikov’s remarks about the use of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems.

KYIV, 26 July 2022, (TON): Kyiv expects the first grain deliveries under a UN-brokered deal to leave Ukrainian ports this week, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister said Monday, despite Russian strikes on Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odessa.

Oleksandr Kubrakov, who led Ukraine’s delegation at grain talks in Turkey, told a press conference “we expect the agreement to start working in the coming days.”

He added “we are preparing for everything to start this week.”

Kubrakov also highlighted the importance of security following a strike on the port of Odessa, one of the three export hubs designated in the agreement.

Kubrakov said “our position is very simple. We signed an agreement with the UN and Turkey. If the sides guarantee security, the agreement will work. If they do not, it will not work.”

CAIRO, 26 July 2022, (TON): In a speech at the Arab League in Cairo, Russia’s foreign minister praised member states’ balanced, just and responsible position on his country’s conflict with Ukraine.

Sergey Lavrov also emphasized Russia’s determination to deepen cooperation and trade with Arab states.

Regarding Ukraine, he said “NATO has no right to expand its security at the expense of others, especially Russia.”

Lavrov denied that the global food crisis was caused by the conflict, instead blaming the coronavirus pandemic, drought, and Western sanctions on Russian food, fertilizer and grain.

KYIV, 26 July 2022, (TON): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Europe to retaliate against Russia’s gas war by boosting its sanctions against Moscow.

Zelensky said “today we heard new gas threats to Europe. This is an open gas war that Russia is waging against a united Europe.”

Russia’s state-owned energy giant said it will cut daily gas deliveries to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline to 33 million cubic meters a day about 20 percent of the pipeline’s capacity.

It said “it was halting the operation of one of the last two operating turbines due to the technical condition of the engine.

The German government said there was no technical justification for Gazprom’s announcement.

MOGADISHU, 26 July 2022, (TON): Somalia’s parliament agreed to give Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre more time to form a government, a month after his appointment in the Horn of Africa nation.

Barre was initially expected to name a Cabinet within 30 days of his appointment on June 25 but said “the delays were due to the country’s protracted election process that culminated in May with the selection of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as president.”

Barre said in a statement released “in order to form a balanced government, it is necessary that I spend sufficient time in consultations with various politicians of the country and civil society.”

MILAN, 26 July 2022, (TON): Italy’s Foreign Ministry announced “the first of some 300 Afghan refugees arrived in Rome along a new humanitarian corridor organized by the Italian government and civil society, charities and international organizations.”

The ministry said “the humanitarian corridor aims to give additional refugees and persecuted Afghans the possibility of a future in dignity and security following the US withdrawal last August and the Taliban’s reassertion of control.”

Thousands of Afghan citizens were evacuated after the fall of Kabul, but many who risked Taliban retribution were left behind.

The Foreign Ministry said the corridor, which envisions the transfer of 1,200 refugees from Iran and Pakistan and other neighboring countries, would give priority to women and children.