WASHINGTON, 21 August 2022, (TON): Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, often knocks President Joe Biden for high inflation and a looming recession a standard GOP argument going into the November elections.

But inflation is even worse in major Texas cities than across the nation as a whole. Government figures show inflation is 10.2% in the Houston area and 9.4% around Dallas, higher than the latest national average of 8.5%.

Abbott and other GOP leaders are making a paradoxical argument that the U.S. economy has slumped into a recession, but Republican-led parts of the country are still booming.

Those officials are blaming Biden’s policies for sky-high gasoline and food prices, while taking credit for the job gains those same policies helped spur.

ODESSA, 21 August 2022, (TON): French presidency said “Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed that independent inspectors can travel to the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant”

The apparent resolution of a dispute over whether inspectors travel via Ukraine or Russia came as a US defense official said Ukraine’s forces had brought the Russian advance to a halt.

The official said “you are seeing a complete and total lack of progress by the Russians on the battlefield.”

According to French President Emmanuel Macron’s office, Putin had reconsidered his demand that the International Atomic Energy Agency travel through Russia to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear site.

NAIROBI, 21 August 2022, (TON): UN’s World Food Programme said “the number of people at risk of starvation in the drought-ravaged Horn of Africa has increased to 22 million.”

Years of insufficient rainfall across Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia have caused the worst drought in 40 years and conditions akin to famine in the hardest-hit areas, aid groups say.

An unprecedented four failed rainy seasons has killed millions of livestock, destroyed crops, and forced 1.1 million people from their homes in search of food and water.

WFP executive director David Beasley said “the world needs to act now to protect the most vulnerable communities from the threat of widespread famine in the Horn of Africa.”

JEDDAH, 21 August 2022, (TON): Official news agency reported “head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, touched down in Riyadh on a private visit where he is expected to meet Saudi officials.”

Al-Alimi will discuss Saudi Arabia’s economic support to the council and its humanitarian interventions in Yemen.

He thanked the Saudi leadership for its support to the Yemeni people and the council and its continued efforts to return peace and stability to the country and alleviate the suffering of Yemenis.

An aide to Al-Alimi told Arab News that the president would meet senior Saudi officials to accelerate the distribution of a Saudi and UAE $3 billion financial package to the government.

DUBAI, 21 August 2022, (TON): Yemen’s Houthi militia has been accused on Friday of committing 467 violations to the UN-brokered truce in the past five days.

This included 122 violations in Hodeida’s Hais, 94 in south, west and north-west of Marib, 85 in Taiz, 82 in Barh, 51 in west Hajjah, 21 in Jawf warfronts, eight in Dhale and four violations in Saadah, according to Yemen’s state news agency SABA.

Militia members have been accused of trying to infiltrate military positions in Marib and the western coast, opening fire and shelling army positions in all warfronts.

DHAKA, 21 August 2022, (TON): Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader said “the government cannot avoid responsibility for Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen’s recent statement on seeking India’s help to keep Sheikh Hasina in power.”

He said “such a statement has also embarrassed our neighbouring friendly country India. It also brought into question the sovereignty of the country.”

GM Quader made the remarks while exchanging greetings with the leaders and prominent personalities of the Hindu community on the occasion of Janmashtami at the Jatiya Party Chairman's Banani office.

Earlier at a Janmashtami program in Chittagong on Thursday, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen reportedly said “he urged the Indian government to back Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina so that she can stay in power.”

KABUL, 21 August 2022, (TON): Ministry of Foreign Affairs said “a delegation of the Islamic Emirate is in Moscow to discuss the import of products from Russian to Afghanistan with Russian officials.”

The delegation is also expected to discuss barter trade with the Russian side and the import of oil and wheat to Afghanistan.

Zakirullah Jalali, an official of the MoFA said “over past several days, during the ongoing negotiations, the Afghan delegation has succeeded to talk about the technical issues and transportation of products.”

Meanwhile, the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment said “the Russian market is good for the Afghan domestic products.”

DHAKA, 21 August 2022, (TON): The Awami League Presidium Member and Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque said “the incumbent democratic government cannot be overthrown by any threat without national elections.”

He told a National Mourning Day discussion “the change of the incumbent government is possible only through holding national polls. This elected democratic government cannot be overthrown by any kind of threats without elections.”

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University organized the discussion, marking the National Mourning Day and 47th martyrdom anniversary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on its campus auditorium.

DHAKA, 21 August 2022, (TON): Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh said “every effort of both Bangladesh and India to deepen their partnership is based solely on the understanding that it will benefit the people of both countries.”

Doraiswami said "the future of our friendship is with the people first and foremost. And yes, it is based on the values and goals that you set for yourself in the first years of your independence.”

He said “as a nation that shares every possible commonality, plus nearly 4,100 km of border, India is, was and will always be a friend to all of Bangladesh.”

DHAKA, 21 August 2022, (TON): According to the Bangladesh embassy in Athens “Greek government is likely to start regularising undocumented Bangladeshi migrants from mid-September.”

To grab this opportunity, undocumented Bangladeshis who entered the European country before February this year have to get registered with the Bangladesh mission first, Bishwagith Kumer Paul, first secretary at the embassy.

An estimated 15,000 undocumented Bangladeshi migrants are expected to avail themselves of this opportunity.