KYIV, 15 July 2022, (TON): Ukraine launched long-range rocket attacks on Russian forces in southern Ukraine and destroyed an ammunition store, its military said as Russia continued to pound the country’s east.

“The strike on Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region killed 52 people” Ukraine’s military said.

The town’s Russia-installed authorities said “at least seven people had been killed and around 70 injured, Russia’s TASS news agency reported.”

The strike came after Washington supplied Ukraine with advanced HIMARS mobile artillery systems which Kyiv says its forces are using with growing efficiency.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts.

Ukraine’s southern military command said in statement “based on the results of our rocket and artillery units, the enemy lost 52, an Msta-B howitzer, a mortar and seven armored and other vehicles, as well as an ammunition depot in Nova Kakhovka.”

LONDON, 15 July 2022, (TON): Former finance minister Rishi Sunak won the biggest backing from Conservative lawmakers in the first vote to choose who will succeed Boris Johnson as party leader and British prime minister, while two more rivals were eliminated.

Sunak, whose resignation as finance minister last week helped precipitate Johnson's fall, secured support from 88 of the party's 358 Members of Parliament, with junior trade minister Penny Mordaunt second with 67 votes and foreign minister Liz Truss third with 50.

Nadhim Zahawi, who took over as finance minister from Sunak last week, and former foreign minister Jeremy Hunt were knocked out after failing to get the required minimum of 30 votes.

They join three other contenders who dropped out the day before.

Those remaining which also includes former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch, Attorney General Suella Braverman, Tom Tugendhat, chair of parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee will go through to a second round.

KABUL, 15 July 2022, (TON): Following the clashes between border forces of the Islamic Emirate and security guards of Iran, the foreign ministry of Iran asked Kabul to secure the borders between the two countries.

Nasser Kanani, spokesman of Iran's ministry of foreign affairs, said “securing the borders is important for widening commercial relations between the two countries.”

He said “we understand the situation of Afghanistan, but the Islamic Republic of Iran expects the de facto authorities of Afghanistan to take full responsibility for the security of common borders inside Afghanistan.”

Kabul says it has ordered its border security forces to secure the border areas between two countries.

DHAKA, 15 July 2022, (TON): Chief of Army Staff General S M Shafiuddin Ahmed handed over a cheque for Taka 10 crore to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the flood-affected people in the country's northeastern parts including Sylhet.

An Inter-Services Public Relations release said “on behalf of the Bangladesh Army, the cheque was handed over to the premier at her official Ganabhaban residence.”

According to the release “along with the active role at the field-level of the affected areas, all the members of Bangladesh Army have been directly involved in a grand initiative by depositing their one day's salary to the Prime Minister's Relief and Welfare Fund.”

DHAKA, 15 July 2022, (TON): Two Bangladeshi men were shot and injured allegedly by Khasia people at Majhergaon border area in Sylhet’s Companiganj upazila.

The injured are Sudhanshu Das, 45, son of Hemant Das of Majhergaon village and Mokhleshur Rahman, 30, son of Tota Mia.

Locals said “some Bangladeshi nationals went to Hataru, which is near Indian border, to collect grass for their cows.”

Border Guard Bangladesh Commander Lt Col Md Saiful Islam Chowdhury said “Indian Khasias allegedly fired at them at about 12pm, when they were returning from the place.”

DHAKA, 15 July 2022, (TON): After a coordinated appeal by the UN country team in Bangladesh, Martin Griffiths, under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, announced the allocation of $5 million for Flash Flood Relief.

Over 7.2 million people have been affected by recent floods in the country and over half of those affected need humanitarian assistance.

The funding comes from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, which aims to kick-start relief efforts in a coordinated and prioritized manner when a new crisis emerges.

The focus of the CERF rapid response request is the provision high-impact immediate life-saving assistance to those most impacted and most vulnerable households.

By TON Nepal

Incumbent Nepal’s government is under severe criticism from a section of Congress, and the opposition charges the prime minister with failing to rung the affairs of government. Congress group questions the party president’s performance. Just days ahead of the completion of his one year in office, Prime Minister has come under fire for running badly the government.

On Monday, a section of the prime minister's own party, the Nepali Congress, posed a dozen questions before him. The chair of the CPN-UML came down heavily on the current coalition government and said that the government is dead and that continuing with it would be a disaster for the country. He also warned that Nepal could head the Sri Lanka way if the current activities of the government are anything to go by and said that “this government has lost its significance.”

The incumbent government, formed on July 13 last year, has been facing charges of failing to act despite allegations that finance minister, had invited two outsiders to tweak tax rates on the night of May 28, hours before he presented the budget in Parliament.

Now the incumbent government has run into another controversy by introducing a bill in the National Assembly to amend the Constitutional Council Act so as to make it easier for the commencement of the council meeting and take decisions. The current PM Congress party had fervently opposed an alike move by the erstwhile government calling it an attack on the constitution and rule of law.

The rival camp in Congress on Monday raised questions about the intention of bringing the bill. The rival camp also questioned the president's performance in the last six months as party president.

At the Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting, the rival group in the government said that because of the alliance with the communist parties, Congress confronted the decline of its ideology and principle and could not select the correct candidates for the local elections.

On Monday Nepal’s prime minister faced protests from the party’s sister wings at the gate of the party headquarters in Sanepa when he reached there to attend the CWC meeting. The protesting members of the sister wings vented ire against PM for failing to convene the general convention of the Nepal Student Union, the student wing of the party.

The prime minister is constantly facing the wrath of the rival faction backed by the party vice president and General Secretary. At the meeting, some party leaders including chiefs of seven provinces voiced their concerns about the objective and purpose as well as the rationale behind the alliance with parties that have completely opposing ideologies.

Most of them, according to party leaders, said that since the Nepali Congress could not get enough vote transfers in the local elections, the party should review the alliance with CPN (Maoist Centre) and CPN (Unified Socialist). Ahead of the CWC meeting, the rival camp held a separate meeting to chart out its strategy and brought up the issue of not holding the general convention of ten various related organizations of the party.

At a time when coalition partners are expressing their anger and spreading negativity about Congress for not cooperating in the local elections, the party leadership is silent. Two more CWC members also raised similar kinds of concerns regarding the alliance.

One of the issues the rival group in the incumbent government has raised is the question that why the government has not removed the ex-government decision to bring the National Investigation Department, the Department of Revenue Investigation, and the Department of Anti-money Laundering under the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The government 2018 had brought these three offices under the PMO and the Nepali Congress protested the decision describing it as an effort to centralize power.

However, the current government has continued to have them under the PMO. The rival camp also reminded the PM of the promises the party made as the opposition and questioned him about the recent controversies. They raised the question of various corruption cases that the party had promised to investigate and the urgency of introducing the new bill related to the Constitutional Council.

The rival camp also said that the weakness of the government was exposed when the Nepal Rastra Bank governor was suspended. It sent a wrong message to the public that the government's move was wrong when the Supreme Court told the governor to return to work.

Then finance minister constituted a committee to probe the Governor leading to the suspension of the latter. Prime Minister, however, took no action despite a grave move by his finance minister against the chief of the central bank, the government’s financial counsel, at a time when the country was showing signs of falling into a deep economic crisis.

The rival group also accused the government of not taking any concrete steps to curb rising market prices. The media, public intellectuals, and the general public are questioning the rising inflation and unemployment because the government is doing nothing.

On Monday, the central bank said that the year-on-year inflation reached 8.56 percent in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year ended mid-June. The rival group in the incumbent government also drew the attention of the prime minister to the country’s economy, degrading confidence in the private sector and growing indiscipline in the financial sector. Another CWC member also read out 18 different issues and posed several questions to PM.

Amid mismanagement charges, the current PM is facing accusations that “strangers” are running the government. He is also accused of promoting cronyism. As elections are just around the corner, the incumbent president should display a liberal approach in a bid to create an environment to win the elections. The government should come up with actual plans to solve the present financial condition.

Furthermore, the government should remove inflation, and ensure fertilizers for farmers and textbooks for students. The government should give more care to the incomes of the people. Ahead of the elections, the party should come up with a clear position on social issues like improving education, health, employment, and public transportation.

WASHINGTON, 14 July 2022, (TON): The United States launched a major push into the Pacific, seeking to hold off China’s advance in the region, with Vice President Kamala Harris announcing $600 million in funding at a key regional summit.

Harris also revealed the US will open two new embassies in Tonga and Kiribati during an unprecedented address to the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji.

The US will also appoint its first-ever envoy to the Pacific and launch an inaugural national strategy for the region.

The US-China rivalry has brought intense interest to this year’s forum, which brings together leaders from across the strategically vital Pacific.

WASHINGTON, 14 July 2022, (TON): John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the UN and former White House national security adviser, said “he had helped plan attempted coups in foreign countries.”

Bolton made the remarks to CNN after the day’s congressional hearing into the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

The panel’s lawmakers accused former President Donald Trump of inciting the violence in a last-ditch bid to remain in power after losing the 2020 election.

Speaking to CNN anchor Jake Tapper, however, Bolton suggested Trump was not competent enough to pull off a carefully planned coup d’etat.

As somebody who has helped plan coups d’etat not here but you know other places it takes a lot of work. And that’s not what he did.

LONDON, 14 July 2022, (TON): Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a phone call with Pope Francis, during which he was reassured of his health condition and wished him continued health and wellness.

The president briefed the pope on the latest developments in the Palestinian territories, especially in the occupied city of Jerusalem, the official Wafa news agency reported.

He also briefed Pope Francis on the attacks on Christian and Islamic sanctities, especially in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Israeli practices of expelling Palestinians from their homes in the neighborhoods of Jerusalem, assaulting their property, and daily killings, particularly the case of slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

The Pope thanked the president for inquiring about his health, indicating that he is in good health, and stressed the importance of peace and tranquility prevailing in the Holy Land, and Jerusalem in particular.