CAIRO, 20 July 2022, (TON): The Egyptian military has organized a training course for special forces scheduled to be part of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali.

The course was organized in cooperation with the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding, which is part of Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.

An army spokesman said this comes as a continuation of Egypt’s role in supporting security and stability in Africa, and its participation in peacekeeping forces in many countries.

BOGOR, 20 July 2022, (TON): East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta said “during a visit to Indonesia that he hoped to boost trade ties between the countries and seal a decades-long bid by his nation to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year.”

Ramos-Horta met his counterpart Joko Widodo on his first state visit to neighboring Indonesia since he was elected in April for a second stint as president.

He previously served as president of East Timor, which is also known as Timor Leste, between 2007 and 2012.

He said “Timor Leste as part of Southeast Asia has fulfilled many of the requirements necessary for a functioning economy and democracy so will be a productive member of ASEAN.”

KYIV, 20 July 2022, (TON): As Russia kept up its relentless shelling across the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expanded the shakeup of his security services by suspending 28 more officials, a day after he dismissed two senior officials over allegations that their agencies harbored collaborators and traitors.

In his nightly video address, Zelensky said “a personnel audit of the Security Service of Ukraine was underway, and the dismissal of the 28 officials was being decided.”

Zelensky said “different levels, different areas of focus. But the reasons are similar unsatisfactory results of work.”

He had fired SBU chief Ivan Bakanov and Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova. Zelensky, citing hundreds of criminal proceedings into treason and collaboration by people within their departments and other law enforcement agencies.

KYIV, 20 July 2022, (TON): Russian missiles struck cities and villages in eastern and southern Ukraine, hitting homes, a school and a community center as Russian President Vladimir Putin won strong support support from Iran for his country’s military operation.

Regional Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said “in Kramatorsk, a city in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk province considered a likely Russian occupation target, one person was killed and 10 wounded in an airstrike that hit a five-story apartment building.”

Fresh blood stained the concrete amid green leaves that were torn off trees as nearby apartments on at least two floors burned. Shrapnel was placed in a small pile near an empty playground.

BEIJING, 20 July 2022, (TON): Chinese Foreign Ministry said “China will take resolute and strong measures should the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi proceed with reported plans to visit Taiwan.”

According to a report in the Financial Times “Pelosi, who is second in line to the presidency, is due to visit the self-governing island China claims as its own territory in August.”

She was originally scheduled to visit in April but had to postpone after she tested positive.

Pelosi would be the highest ranking American lawmaker to visit the close US ally since her predecessor as speaker, Newt Gingrich, traveled there 25 years ago.

RIYADH, 20 July 2022, (TON): Saudi Press Agency has reported “the Arab Interior Ministers Council will host a conference for officials responsible for tourism security in Tunis.”

Representatives from Arab interior ministries, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the World Tourism Organization, the Arab Tourism Organization, and Naif Arab University for Security Sciences will attend the conference.

The conference will cover a variety of important topics, such as a smartphone app for tourism security services, investing in social networks to improve tourism security, and the effects of the pandemic on tourism security.

The conference will examine a number of Arab countries’ experiences of tourism security.

JERUSALEM, 20 July 2022, (TON): Israel’s new prime minister paid an unannounced visit to the border with Lebanon, threatening to unleash a harsh military response to what he described as unacceptable aggression by the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group.

The visit came at a time of heightened tensions with Hezbollah, a heavily armed group that fought Israel during a monthlong war in 2006.

On Monday, Israel said it intercepted a drone that crossed from Lebanese territory, and last week, Hezbollah’s leader threatened Israel with military escalation if a dispute over a maritime border is not resolved in Lebanon’s favor.

XYair Lapid said Yair Lapid “Israel is prepared to act against any threat.”

By Nasriya Naffin, TON Sri Lanka

There is no doubt that Mr Sajith Premadasa is great strategist. The threats he was receiving from New Delhi that Indian would discontinue assistance if Sajith Premadasa does not announce in favour of Ranil Wickremesinghe's Presidentship has been tactfully handled. He has taken right decision to withdraw from the presidential slot and demand due assistance from India. No doubt, New Delhi is indirectly responsible for the present crisis of Sri Lanka. Forcing Colombo for strict lock downs during COVID, closing of tourism industry, forcing Sri Lanka to import so called untrialed COVID vaccine worth millions of US dollars and communist threat. Now people and leadership of Sri Lanka must force India to help Sri Lanka.

Sajith Premadasa is the son of Ranasinghe Premadasa, who served as the prime minister of Sri Lanka from 1977 to 1989 and as the president of Sri Lanka from 1989 to 1993. During his political career he remained an empathetic leader who stood by the socially deprived and the poor. He worked on several projects to uplift the livelihood of the poor people in Sri Lanka. He was extremely popular among the people and was known as a genuine leader who worked hard to dispel social inequality, discrimination of the poor and injustice. Ranasinghe Premadasa’s political journey came to an end in 1993 after being assassinated by a suicide bomber of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Being born into an eminent political family paved the way to Sajith Premadasa’s political journey. He entered into Sri Lankan politics after the death of his father, and joined his father’s political party, the United National Party which was led by Ranil Wickremesinghe. Ever since he has been a loyal representative of the people.

Sajith Premadasa has been of immense help to the island nation in the ongoing economic crisis. As the opposition leader he has taken efforts to resolve the crisis in many ways. Being an influential man with many international bonds he personally requested help from a few developed countries and international bodies to aid Sri Lanka overcome this challenging situation. He met some of the ambassadors in person and discussed solutions to the ongoing crisis and requested them to continue providing support.

Sajith requested support from India and China and held discussions with representatives of Sri Lanka to the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on the challenges faced by the children at present. He also requested foreign countries to lift adverse travel advisories imposed on Sri Lanka during a discussion with the European Union Delegation held recently to boost tourist arrivals and the European Union to extend the loan concessions that were given to Sri Lanka in order to rebuild the tourism industry.

Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe also requested Sajith Premadasa to help in raising funds for the procurement of essential drugs that were in short supply.

The bonds Sajith Premadasa has made with the international community and the respect he has gained will help Sri Lanka to bring many benefits and opportunities to the country. As an empathetic leader he will bring back unity among the people and enhance the image of the country, which is important right now to acquire more support internationally. Sajith will be able to bring in political stability to the country and the system change people are expecting, which is vital at the moment. Sri Lanka is awaiting a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and it is crucial to work on political stability as soon as possible to move forward with the IMF according to their terms and conditions.

In the past Sajith has worked on housing projects for the poor with a vision of eliminating poverty just like his father. He made efforts to address the issues of the poor and wanted structural changes in the economy to uplift the country out of the poverty line. Being an empathetic leader Sajith has refused super luxury vehicles at the expense of taxpayer's money throughout his parliamentary career.

Premadasa always stood by the people’s opinion during the peaceful protest demonstrated by Sri Lankans demanding the resignation of the ex-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He refused to accept the prime minister post offered by the ex-president as he also wanted Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down and he stood by it.

Sajith Premadasa is an educated man who hails from a good cultural and family background. He studied at St.Thomas’ Preparatory School and Royal College in Colombo and Mill Hill school in London. completed his undergraduate degree from London school of economics and political science in the UK and postgraduate degree in Public Management at the University of Maryland in the USA.

Sajith has had the opportunity to learn under some of the best professors who specialize in the areas of economics and politics. He has had the opportunity to apprentice under US Senator Larry Pressler of South Dakota for almost two years where he got the experience of the policy formulation process in the US.

Currently Sri Lanka needs a leader who has a good head above his shoulders to bring economic stability, growth, and unity among all ethnicities. All of these factors will depend on the abilities of the leaders who are in power.

Being the son of a great leader who left a legacy, Sajith Premadasa has the same vision and qualifications to address the issues of Sri Lanka. Majority of Sri Lankans believe that Sajith Premadasa’s service to Sri Lanka will not be anything less compared to his father’s. This is the right time to give him the opportunity to build a better Sri Lanka.

DHAKA, 20 July 2022, (TON): Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has sought a proactive support of Indonesia and the ASEAN for an early repatriation of the stranded Myanmar nationals- Rohingyas- from Bangladesh to their homeland Myanmar.

An official handout said “the minister sought the support at a bilateral meeting between Bangladesh and Indonesia in Jakarta.”

Momen and his Indonesian counterpart Retno L P Marsudi led their respective delegations in the discussions.

The foreign minister also requested Indonesia for an expeditious decision on Bangladesh's candidacy for the Sectoral Dialogue Partnership of ASEAN.

During the meeting, foreign ministers of the both countries exchanged felicitations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two nations.

NEW DELHI, 20 July 2022, (TON): As Sri Lanka continues to reel under a political and economic crisis, the Indian government has decided to hold an all-party meeting to discuss the situation in the neighbouring country.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said “Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will, during the all-party meeting, brief leaders of various political parties on the Sri Lankan crisis.”

Meanwhile, at a meeting of various parties convened ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, Tamil Nadu-based Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam demanded that India intervene in the crisis plaguing Sri Lanka.

Both DMK and AIADMK raised the Sri Lankan issue, especially the condition of the country’s Tamil population.

Speaking to the media following the meeting, DMK leader T R Baalu and AIADMK leader M Thambidurai reiterated the demand of their respective parties.