NEW YORK, 10 June 2022, (TON): U.N. member nations elected five countries to join the powerful U.N. Security Council on Thursday with no suspense or drama because all were unopposed Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland.

Winning a seat on the 15-member Security Council is considered a pinnacle of achievement for many countries because it gives them a strong voice on issues of international peace and security.

The war in Ukraine is at the top of the list.

Although Russia’s veto power has prevented the council from taking action, it has held numerous meetings since Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion that have seen contentious exchanges between top diplomats from both countries and their supporters.

But many other conflicts are also on its agenda from Syria and Yemen to Mali and Myanmar as well as international security issues from the nuclear threat posed by North Korea and Iran, and attacks by extremist groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaida.

ANKARA, 10 June 2022, (TON): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that he plans to stand for reelection next year.

 Erdogan, 68, made the announcement during a speech in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir, where he challenged the main opposition party’s leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, to announce the candidate who would challenge him on behalf of an alliance of opposition parties.

Erdogan said “Tayyip Erdogan is the candidate of the People’s Alliance,” referring to the between his Justice and Development Party and a nationalist party.

“If you have the courage, declare your candidacy or the candidate of the alliance.”

Turkey is scheduled to hold presidential and parliamentary elections by June 2023 at the latest.

NEW YORK, 10 June 2022, (TON): UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said “the war in Ukraine threatens to unleash an unprecedented global wave of hunger and destitution.”

He added “while it is the vulnerable who are currently the worst affected, no country will be spared the effects of the cost-of-living crisis.”

Although he said the solution to the crisis ultimately lies in ending the war, Guterres called for two immediate courses of action.

Firstly, the release of millions of tons of stockpiled Ukrainian grain to world markets, along with exports of Russian fertilizer, which are currently being withheld.

And secondly, efforts to ensure that resources are immediately available to help the poorest countries and communities cope with the crisis.

ATHENS, 10 June 2022, (TON): Greece published a series of historical maps looking to refute Turkish accusations that Athens is violating peace treaties that followed World War I and World War II.

Turkish authorities say the Greeks have stationed troops on Aegean islands in violation of the peace treaties that followed the two 20th century conflicts.

Athens counters that the troops are stationed in response to the presence of Turkish military units, aircraft and landing craft on the opposite coast, in addition to Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974.

The Greek foreign ministry published maps going back to 1923 which it said depict in a vivid and irrefutable way the Turkish illegal unilateral actions and claims.

It said “the maps document the extent of Turkish revisionism in order to upend the status quo, violating international law and threatening peace, security and stability in our region.”

ABU DHABI, 10 June 2022, (TON): UAE’s state news agency reported “Israel’s Prime Minister met with the UAE’s President during an official visit to Abu Dhabi.

Naftali Bennett and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed explored ways to boost cooperation between both countries in economic, developmental, investment, health and food security sectors to serve the aspirations of both peoples.

Bennett offered his condolences to the UAE over the death of the former President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who died on May 13, commending his role in cementing cooperation and peace with the rest of the world.

He also congratulated Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed on his presidency and reaffirmed that Israel looked forward to expanding cooperation with the UAE over the coming phase for the benefit and prosperity of both peoples.

KYIV, 10 June 2022, (TON): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said “millions of people could starve because of Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.”

Warning that the world was on the brink of a terrible food crisis.

He said “Ukraine was unable to export wheat, corn, oil and other products.”

He added that Millions of people may starve if the Russian blockade of the Black Sea continues.

CAIRO, 10 June 2022, (TON): Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity is studying the feasibility of electrical interconnection with Greece so as to transfer renewable energy to Europe.

An Egyptian government source said “communication is underway with Greek officials.”

He added that he expects the feasibility study to be completed in the second half of this year.

The ministry is seeking to establish an infrastructure for energy trade via electrical interconnection with nearby countries.

BEIJING, 10 June 2022, (TON): At least 10 people have been killed and three are missing in flooding in the central Chinese province of Hunan.

The News Agency said “storms have pummeled the province since the beginning of the month, with some monitoring stations reporting historic levels of rainfall.”

It added that around 1.8 million people have been affected in the largely rural, mountainous province 286,000 of whom have been evacuated to safety while more than 2,700 houses have been damaged or collapsed entirely.

China regularly experiences flooding during the summer months, most frequently in central and southern areas that tend to receive the most rainfall.

NEW YORK, 10 June 2022, (TON): Japan was elected to the UN Security Council on a two-year term starting on January 1, 2023.

Other nations to join Japan at the UN Security Council were Ecuador, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland.

All five countries ran unopposed for a spot on the 15-member body, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security.

They will replace India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway.

To ensure geographical representation, seats are allocated to regional groups.

But even if candidates are running unopposed in their group, they still need to win the support of more than two-thirds of the General Assembly.

MANILA, 10 June 2022, (TON): US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met Philippine president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila on Thursday in a diplomatic push to deepen Washington’s alliance with its major Asian partner.

Sherman is the first top foreign official to meet the incoming Philippine leader, who takes office on June 30.

She also met outgoing Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs tweeted that Sherman was in Manila to meet with both outgoing and incoming administrations to reaffirm US commitment to the PH-US alliance.

The Philippines is one of the oldest and main non-NATO allies of the US in the region that is central to American competition with China.

The US-Philippines alliance is anchored on the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, which commits Washington and Manila to extend military support to each other if either of them is attacked by an external party.