UNITED NATIONS, 08 July 2022, (TON): The United Nations Security Council votes on extending its authorization of aid transfers across Syria’s border without approval from Damascus, with Russia seeking a six-month prolongation while Western nations want a full year.

The UN resolution permitting aid deliveries across the Syrian-Turkish border at Bab Al-Hawa has been in effect since 2014, but is set to expire.

Norway and Ireland, two non-permanent members of the 15-country Security Council, have drafted a resolution that would extend the authorization until July 10, 2023.

Nearly 10,000 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid passed through Bab Al-Hawa last year, bound for the rebel-held Idlib region in northwestern Syria. It is the only crossing through which aid can be brought into Idlib without navigating areas controlled by Syrian government forces.

LONDON, 08 July 2022, (TON): Egypt and the UK have signed a statement of intent to cooperate in reforming renewable energy regulations.

The signing took place in London during a meeting between Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Liz Truss, the UK’s secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs.

The UK said “commends Egypt’s leadership and efforts on renewable energy generation and opportunities for British investors and firms within the energy sector.”

Alongside the plans to cooperate on energy, there was news of a joint $325 million investment for the launch of the Lekela wind farm, located in northern Egypt, boasting 252-megawatt capacity and expected to boost the country’s wind output by 18 percent.

JAKARTA, 08 July 2022, (TON): Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was on the Indonesian island of Bali preparing for a G20 gathering that will be his first face-to-face meeting with the fiercest critics of his country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The G20 foreign ministers’ meeting runs until Friday in host country Indonesia, which has this year grappled with the tough balancing act of running a global summit buffeted by geopolitical pressures and a global food crisis blamed on the Ukraine war.

There was tight security as foreign diplomats descended on the tropical island for a meeting where the Russia-Ukraine conflict will be front and center.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said “her country and like-minded nations would use the G20 meeting to highlight the impact of the war.”

HELSINKI, 08 July 2022, (TON): Finnish parliament passed legislation to build stronger fences on its border with Russia, as the country seeks to join NATO following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Finland reversed decades of military non-alignment by seeking membership in the military alliance in May, formally starting the process to join this week.

Fearing that Moscow could use migrants to exert political pressure, the new amendments to Border Guard Act facilitate the construction of sturdier fences on the Nordic country’s 1,300-kilometer eastern border with Russia.

Anne Ihanus, a senior adviser at the interior ministry, said “the aim of the law is to improve the operational capacity of the border guard in responding to the hybrid threats.”

She added “the war in Ukraine has contributed to the urgency of the matter.”

TOKYO, 08 July 2022, (TON): Celebrations for the 60th Algeria Independence Day and the 60th Anniversary Ceremony of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and Algeria were held at the Embassy of Algeria in Japan.

Taro Honda, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, sent a video message to the event.

Honda said “he was very pleased to celebrate this memorable day with Ambassador Larbi Katy, noting that Algeria is a friend of Japan in politics, economy and culture. He stated that he would like to further strengthen relationships in various fields, in the future.”

MOSCOW, 08 July 2022, (TON): Russia’s defense ministry said “a Russian warplane struck Ukraine’s Snake Island in the Black Sea overnight, shortly after Ukrainian troops claimed to have raised their flag over the island.”

Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian President’s chief of staff, posted a video on Telegram of three soldiers raising a large Ukrainian flag on the island, from which Russian forces withdrew on June 30.

MOSCOW, 08 July 2022, (TON): A top Kremlin official warned the U.S. that it could face the wrath of God if it pursues efforts to help establish an international tribunal to investigate Russia's action in Ukraine.

The Russian lower house speaker urged Washington to remember that Alaska used to belong to Russia.

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, denounced the US for what he described as its efforts to spread chaos and destruction across the world for the sake of 'true democracy.'

Medvedev charged in a long diatribe on his Telegram channel, pointing out the U.S. nuclear bombing of Japan during World War II and the war in Vietnam.

“Was anyone held responsible for those crimes? What tribunal condemned the sea of blood spilled by the U.S. there?”

DUBAI, 08 July 2022, (TON): A British Royal Navy vessel seized a sophisticated shipment of Iranian missiles in the Gulf of Oman earlier this year, officials said Thursday, pointing to the interdiction as proof of Tehran’s support for Yemen’s Houthi militia in the country.

The British government statement was striking in that it provided some of the strongest findings to date that Tehran is arming the Houthis against the Arab coalition with advanced weapons smuggled through the Arabian Gulf.

The UK Embassy in the UAE described the seizure of surface-to-air-missiles and engines for land attack cruise missiles as “the first time a British naval warship has interdicted a vessel carrying such sophisticated weapons from Iran.”

CAIRO, 08 July 2022, (TON): Egypt’s Ambassador to Serbia Basil Salah met with Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Nebojsa Stefanovic, with the participation of the new Egyptian defense attache accredited in Belgrade.

The two sides welcomed the further strengthening of bilateral links in various fields of common interest, in addition to the reconvening of a joint committee after its previous session held in Cairo in July last year.

Salah pointed out Egypt’s wish to explore new areas of cooperation between the two countries and Stefanovic noted the importance of maintaining the nations’ historic bonds of friendship.

BALI, 08 July 2022, (TON): Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met his Indian counterpart Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in the Indonesian island of Bali.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of a gathering between the foreign ministers representing the G20 countries.

The ministers discussed Saudi-Indian bilateral relations across several fields of joint cooperation, sharing opportunities to enhance their links to achieve more stability and prosperity for the two friendly countries and peoples.