BEIJING, 19 August 2022, (TON): A Japanese government official said “Japan’s national security adviser met China’s top diplomat for seven hours of talks that covered topics including Taiwan and the war in Ukraine.”

The official told “accepting an invitation from China, Takeo Akiba travelled to the city of Tianjin, southeast of Beijing, to meet Yang Jiechi on Wednesday afternoon.”

Chinese state news agency Xinhua also reported that the pair had met, weeks before the countries commemorate the 50th anniversary of their normalised ties on September 29.

Relations between Asia’s two biggest economies are not always friendly, and have long been beset by issues ranging from wartime history to territorial disputes.

JERUSALEM, 19 August 2022, (TON): Israeli security forces raided the offices of multiple Palestinian human rights groups in the occupied West Bank, which the state has branded “terrorist organisations”.

The military said “soldiers and police officers closed seven institutions and confiscated property in the overnight raids.”

At the Ramallah offices of human rights group Al Haq, the front door had been welded shut and a Hebrew statement left saying it would remain closed for security reasons.

A statement said “any activity in this place jeopardises the security of the area, of the security forces and of public order.”

WELLINGTON, 19 August 2022, (TON): Hundreds of families on New Zealand’s South Island were forced to leave their homes on Thursday after dramatic flooding prompted a state of emergency in three regions.

A tropically fuelled storm has dumped more than 30 centimetres (11 inches) of rain on parts of the South Island, causing rivers to burst their banks.

The extreme weather has also felled trees, blocking major roads.

A state of emergency was declared Wednesday in Buller, on the west coast, and Nelson where 233 homes have been evacuated after a month’s worth of rain fell in just 15 hours.

The deluge transformed Nelson’s main river, the Maitai, into a torrent flooding houses, exposing pipes and leaving streets knee-deep in water.

BEIRUT, 19 August 2022, (TON): Kyiv’s embassy in Beirut said “a Russian cargo ship allegedly carrying stolen Ukrainian grain has reached Syria, the latest in a series of contested shipments arriving in the war-torn country.”

The embassy said in a statement “according to our information, SV KONSTANTIN has docked in Syria.”

It said “he ship was carrying grains that were plundered and illegally transported by the Russian occupation authorities.”

It added that the vessel was initially destined for the Lebanese port of Tripoli.

Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russian forces of ransacking its grain warehouses since they invaded the country in late February.

CAIRO, 19 August 2022, (TON): Nevin Al-Kabbaj, Egypt’s minister of social solidarity, met with Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s minister of international development, to discuss cooperation in various fields.

Al-Kabbaj reviewed her ministry’s programs and activities, including those focusing on the rights of women and the disabled.

Sajjan said “I was impressed by the Egyptian vision of empowering women.”

Al-Kabbaj expressed her appreciation for the efforts of the Canadian Embassy and the Canadian Development Agency to support development in Egypt and her ministry’s economic-empowerment projects.

TOKYO, 19 August 2022, (TON): Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology for the United Arab Emirates and Special Envoy to Japan, talked with Japan’s Foreign Minister HAYASHI Yoshimasa with the two ministers resolving to use the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries to enhance cooperation even further.

The foreign ministry in Tokyo said “Al Jaber and Hayashi said they would continue to work together under the Comprehensive and Strategic Partnership Initiative to further strengthen cooperation in various fields and elevate the strategic partnership to the next level looking toward the next 50 years.”

Minister Al Jaber once again offered his condolences on the passing of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

CHICAGO, 19 August 2022, (TON): Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi should be prevented from attending next month’s UN General Assembly because Tehran is complicit in the attack on novelist Salman Rushdie in New York on Aug. 12, and continues to foment violence and terrorism across the world.

This is the view of Norman Roule, the CIA’s former national intelligence manager for Iran, who said “President Joe Biden and the UN must send a strong message that Tehran’s actions will not be tolerated in an interview with Arab News’ Ray Hanania Show.”

Roule said “the attack on Rushdie by 24-year-old Hadi Matar, a Lebanese American from Fairview, New Jersey, was a clear act of terrorism that reflects a wider campaign of Iranian-sponsored violence that demands a forceful response from the US, its European allies and the UN.”

LONDON, 19 August 2022, (TON): Russia said “there was a risk of a manmade disaster at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and accused Kyiv and the West of planning provocation there during a visit to Ukraine by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.”

A Ukrainian official dismissed what he depicted as a cynical assertion by Moscow and said Russian forces should leave the plant they captured soon after invading Ukraine nearly six months ago, demine it and remove any munitions stored there.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor complex, the largest in Europe, has come under repeated shelling, with both Moscow and Kyiv trading blame.

CAIRO, 19 August 2022, (TON): Egypt has sent five military transport planes loaded with tons of relief aid to Sudan, where floods have killed 77 people and injured more than 30.

A spokesman for Egypt’s military said “the aid comes in the framework of Egypt’s support and solidarity with the brotherly Sudanese people.”

The aid includes tents, blankets, foodstuffs, medicines and medical supplies provided by the defense and health ministries.

Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed or damaged by torrential rains and floods, according to the Sudanese Civil Defense.

DHAKA, 19 August 2022, (TON): BNP today demanded an independent investigation under the supervision of the United Nations on the incidents of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP secretary general said "UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet suggested forming a separate commission to investigate the incidents of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. We have been saying this for a long time.”

He added "we want an independent investigation under the United Nations and punishment of the culprits.”

Talking to the press at the party chairperson's Gulshan office, the BNP leader said “around 600 political leaders and activists, people from civil society and labour leaders were victims of enforced disappearances in Bangladesh.”