NEW DELHI, 16 July 2022, (TON): Washington’s approval of a waiver to protect India against possible US sanctions for ordering a Russian defense system is a sign it does not want to jeopardize ties with New Delhi amid China’s military rise in the Indo-Pacific region, experts say.

Delhi signed a $5 billion deal with Moscow for the purchase of an S-400 Triumph air defense missile system during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in 2018, despite the threat posed by the US’ Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

Under the legislation, the US can sanction any country that has “significant transactions” with Iran, North Korea or Russia.

While the US has imposed sanctions on Turkey for buying the S-400 system, the House of Representatives on Thursday approved a waiver to the act specifically for India “to help deter aggressors like China.”

NUSA DUA, 16 July 2022, (TON): Host Indonesia said “G20 finance leaders meeting in Bali must make progress tackling the global economic threats sparked by Russia’s war in Ukraine or the humanitarian consequences would be catastrophic.”

Some Western ministers blasted Russian officials attending the talks, with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen saying Russia’s brutal and unjust war was solely responsible for the economic crisis the world now faced.

Finance leaders from the Group of 20 major economies are meeting on the resort island, as host Indonesia tries to find common ground in a group frayed by the Ukraine war and rising economic pressures from soaring inflation.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a “special military operation  has overshadowed recent G20 meetings, including last week’s gathering of foreign ministers.

TABARKA, 16 July 2022, (TON): Several cars and signs celebrating Tunisian-Algerian friendship marked the reopening on Friday of land borders between the two countries, more than two years after they closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Authorities expect more than a million Algerian visitors, most of them tourists, to enter Tunisia during the summer months.

After two years of closure, nine border crossings between the two countries reopened.

The decision to reopen the crossings was announced by Algeria’s President Abdelmajid Tebboune to his Tunisian counterpart Kais Saied, on July 5, during Algeria’s independence day celebrations.

The Melloula border post, near Tabarka where an AFP team was deployed, traditionally sees the most traffic, according to Tunisian national guard official Jamel Zrig.

CAIRO, 16 July 2022, (TON): Egypt participated in two forums on sustainable development, the first at the UN headquarters in New York and the other in Indonesia.

It was represented at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2022 in New York by Hala Al-Saeed, the Egyptian minister of planning and economic development.

During one of the forum’s sessions, Al-Saeed reviewed the Egyptian experience in facing the repercussions of COVID-19 and noted the conditions the world was witnessing amid the pandemic, in addition to the current international scene of uncertainty and turmoil in economic activities, saying they had significant implications for countries.

She explained the importance of such discussions to enhance regional and international cooperation on benefiting from knowledge and exchanging best practices for poverty eradication and sustainable development.

BEIRUT, 16 July 2022, (TON): The Lebanese army command has announced it is taking part in psychological warfare training and exercises in cooperation with an American team.

It said “the operation is being held as part of expertise exchange and joint training with specialized teams.”

It added “Lebanese Marine Commandos, as well as a Jordanian special forces team, carried out joint maritime patrols and training on beach occupation as part of “ResoluteUnion2022.”

Lebanese troops have been positioned to the east of the southern town of Houla, facing the Israeli site of Abad across the border, in response to the deployment of Israeli forces in the area.

The military activity comes at a time of political stalemate in Lebanon.

SEOUL, 16 July 2022, (TON): North Korea’s foreign ministry said “Ukraine has no right to raise sovereignty issues after joining the United States’ unjust, illegal actions that breached Pyongyang’s sovereignty.”

North Korea’s state media released a statement from the ministry after formally recognizing two Russian-backed breakaway self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine as independent states.

Ukraine severed relations with North Korea after the move, calling it an attempt to undermine its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

But the isolated country’s foreign ministry defended the decision, saying Ukraine had already aided US-led actions including sanctions over the North’s weapons programs.

KYIV, 16 July 2022, (TON): Police said “three Russian missiles slammed into the heart of the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia, killing 12 people including a young child and wounding dozens.”

The police said “national police said an office block had been hit, nearby residential buildings were damaged and a medical center was destroyed. Ninety people sought medical attention and about 50 of them were in a serious condition.”

Video footage showed thick black smoke billowing out of a tall building and sirens blaring as emergency workers rushed to the scene.

Photographs posted online by the State Emergency Service showed grey smoke rising later from the twisted remains of burnt-out cars and smoldering rubble. One showed an abandoned, overturned pram lying on the street.

NIAMEY, 16 July 2022, (TON): Key ministers from France and Niger met as French forces revamp their mission in the Sahel following a planned pullout from Mali.

Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu arrived in the Nigerien capital late.

They held talks on Friday with Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massoudou and Defense Minister Alkassoum Indatou, followed by President Mohammed Bazoum.

The visit takes place as French forces complete a pullout from Mali, placing the spotlight on Niger as a frontline state in the fight against extremism, and as the unstable region struggles with a string of military coups.

JEDDAH, 16 July 2022, (TON): The Saudi ministers of energy, investment, communications and health have concluded 18 agreements with their US counterparts.

The agreements unlock new avenues for joint cooperation in investment, energy, information and communications technology, space and health.

They align with the Saudi Vision 2030 reform plan, which seeks investment opportunities in promising sectors.

Thirteen of the agreements, signed during US President Joe Biden’s visit to the Kingdom, were made with the Ministry of Investment, the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, and numerous private sector companies.

They include a group of leading American companies such as Boeing Aerospace, Raytheon Defense Industries, Medtronic and Digital Diagnostics, IKVIA in the healthcare sector, and many other US companies in the energy, tourism, education, manufacturing and textiles sectors.

RIYADH, 16 July 2022, (TON): US President Joe Biden arrived in Saudi Arabia, the latest stop on his first Middle East tour as US leader, where he met with the Kingdom’s leadership.

In a speech made from his Jeddah hotel, Biden said he had held important discussions with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

He praised the role the Kingdom played in the “stabilization” of Yemen and its support of a UN-brokered ceasefire.”

He added “I agreed with the Saudi leadership to deepen and extend it.”

Biden announced that peacekeeping forces in Tiran and Sanafir will leave their positions, which he said would contribute to the development of the islands for investments and tourism.