DR CONGO, 26 December 2022, (TON): DR Congo’s army called an M23 rebel withdrawal from a strategic town near the eastern city of Goma a sham, saying the militia is reinforcing its positions elsewhere.

The M23 group has conquered swaths of territory in North Kivu province in recent months and advanced to within a few dozen kilometres of Goma.

Under heavy international pressure to lay down arms, the Tutsi-led rebels took part in a ceremony Friday to deliver the town of Kibumba to an East African military force recently deployed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

All are ready to celebrate the 146th birthday of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah a charismatic leader on December 25 (Sunday) across the country with pledges to uphold his guiding principles of unity, faith, and discipline. The whole nation is busy in the arrangements to celebrate the birth anniversary of the father of the nation with traditional enthusiasm and passion by paying rich tributes to him for his persistent struggle, sagacity and leadership that led to the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of sub-continent.

The national flag will be hoisted on major government buildings throughout the country on the birth anniversary of the founder of Pakistan. The day will dawn with special prayers for the security, progress and affluence of the country. Public and private departments will hold a variety of events including seminars, conferences, competitions and discussion programs to highlight the messages and dream of Quaid-e-Azam. Special events will be arranged on the day to highlight and encourage the ideals and visions of the father of the nation, particularly with regard to rule of law, the supremacy of the constitution, and the upholding of democracy

Jinnah was a charismatic leader of the Muslims in the crisis-ridden decade of 1937-47, as India advanced towards freedom and independence. The Muslims were confronted with an increasingly difficult and distressful situation. To begin with, there was the old, perennial Hindu-Muslim problem. Jinnah came to know through his vision that the best way to protect the rights of Indian Muslims was the partition of sub-continent. In 1940, he first suggested the idea of the partition of India to create Pakistan and led negotiations with the British government. This resulted in the partition of India and the creation of the state of Pakistan on August 14th 1947.

Jinnah was a political giant of the sub-continent. Jinnah’s fascination with the world of politics started from his early days in London. Upon returning to India, Jinnah entered the world of politics as a Liberal nationalist and joined the Congress despite his father’s fury at his abandoning the family business. The 20th annual session of the Congress in December 1904, was the first attended by Jinnah in Bombay.

Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a true and upright leader whose devotion and committed efforts resulted in the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the Sub-continent. He with his leadership qualities and his vision changed the shape of the world. The new generation should make Quaid-e-Azam their role model and follow his principles. Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a lawyer and politician and served as leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until Pakistan’s independence on 14 August 1947, and then as Pakistan’s first Governor-General until his death on September 11, 1948.

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah not only won a separate homeland for Muslims living in the Subcontinent but also identified the core issues that confronted the new state and needed to be addressed on a priority basis. He remained focused on identifying how Pakistan could be made happier and more prosperous. In his address to the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, he said that the first duty of the state was to uphold law and order so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its citizens were completely protected. He observed that bribery and corruption were poison and should be put down with a firm hand. He also identified black-marketing, nepotism and jobbery as the other ills afflicting society, which had to be eliminated.

Unlucky that even after more than seven decades of independence, we as a nation have failed the national vision of the founder of Pakistan and to implement the priorities drawn by him. All the ills identified by him have made profound inroads into our national life and it is time to put Pakistan on the road to prosperity. Our past civilian and military rulers have largely worked to perpetuate the ancient colonial system of governance with inbuilt avenues of corruption and entitlement which has the national fabric of Pakistan.

As a respectable and sovereign nation we should correct our fault lines on a priority basis, which could be done by rediscovering our national philosophy and the way we were supposed to follow in regard to the consolidation of gains of independence and economic prosperity with the commandants of Allah Almighty highlighted in the holy Quran and Sunnah.

WASHINGTON, 25 December 2022, (TON): The United States on Friday derisively called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to acknowledge reality and pull troops from Ukraine after he finally called the conflict a war.

Since Putin ordered the invasion in February, Russia has officially spoken of a “special military operation” and imposed a law that criminalizes what authorities call misleading terminology.

But at a news conference, Putin himself used the word “war” as he said that he hoped to end it as soon as possible.

MOSCOW, 25 December 2022, (TON): Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday called for de-escalation in Azerbaijan’s Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh, a region which has sparked two wars between the Caucasus neighbours.

Lavrov told reporters “we need to de-escalate the situation as soon as possible.”

According to Lavrov, Armenia’s representatives were expected at the talks but pulled out at the last moment.

For more than a week Azerbaijani activists have blocked the only land link connecting Karabakh to Armenia, the Lachin corridor, to protest what they claim is illegal mining.

LONDON, 25 December 2022, (TON): The Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has issued a statement on Fiji’s new Prime Minister.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said “congratulations to Sitiveni Rabuka on his appointment as Fiji’s Prime Minister and all Fijian people on their democratic process.”

As a Commonwealth partner, I look forward to working closely with Prime Minister Rabuka and his government on shared priorities, including green growth, security and justice.

KYIV, 25 December 2022, (TON): A top Ukrainian presidential aide called for the liquidation of Iranian factories making drones and missiles, as well as the arrest of their suppliers, as Kyiv accused Tehran of planning to supply more weapons to Russia.

Writing on Twitter, Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said “Iran blatantly humiliates the institution of international sanctions, before calling for the destruction of Iranian weapon factories in response.”

MUSCAT, 25 December 2022, (TON): Saudi Minister of Commerce Majid Al-Qasabi recently visited Oman, where held meetings with several ministers and officials.

Al-Qasabi, who is also the chairman of the General Authority for Foreign Trade, met with Omani Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion Qais bin Mohammed Al-Yousef; Minister of Foreign Affairs Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi; Minister of Finance Sultan bin Salem Al-Habsi; and Minister of Information Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Harrasi.

The Saudi minister also met with the head of Oman’s Vision 2040 implementation follow-up unit, Khamis bin Saif Al-Jabri; the chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Faisal bin Abdullah Al-Rawas; and the president of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, Halima bint Rashid Al-Zaria.

KYIV, 25 December 2022, (TON): presidential aide Kyrylo Tymoshenko said “at least five people were killed and another 20 wounded by a Russian strike on the center of Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson.”

Shortly after, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attacks as an act of terror.

“These are not military facilities,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram, adding that the attacks were “killing for the sake of intimidation and pleasure.”

MOSCOW, 24 December 2022, (TON): The Kremlin accused Kyiv and Washington of turning a deaf ear to its concerns and charged the United States was using Ukraine as a battleground to weaken Russia.

It came as President Vladimir Putin insisted Russia was aiming for a speedy end to the fighting.

“Our goal is to end this conflict. We are striving for this”, he told reporters. “We will seek to make sure that it all ends, and the sooner, the better”.

Putin said “all conflicts end, some way or another, with talks… The faster our adversaries (in Kyiv) understand that, the better it will be.”

Moscow s military chief has said Russian forces are now concentrated on wresting control of the eastern Donetsk region where the battered city of Bakhmut has become an epicentre of fighting.

LONDON, 24 December 2022, (TON): According to reports by the South Korean military “North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles from its capital Pyongyang’s Sunan area.”

An FCDO spokesperson said “North Korea’s ballistic missile launches on 23 December are a breach of multiple UN Security Council resolutions. North Korea’s repeated testing of ballistic missile technology poses a threat to our regional partners and global security.”

North Korea must return to dialogue and take credible steps towards denuclearisation in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.