NEW YORK, 09 June 2021, (TON): The United Nations Security Council backed Secretary General Antonio Guterres for a second term, recommending that the 193-member General Assembly appoint him for another five years from Jan 1 of next year.

Council president for this month, Estonia’s UN Ambassador Sven Jrgenson, said that the General Assembly was likely to meet to make the appointment on June 18.

Guterres said in a statement “I am very grateful to the members of the council for the trust they have placed in me. I would be deeply humbled if the General Assembly were to entrust me with the responsibilities of a second mandate.”

Guterres succeeded Ban Ki-moon in Jan 2017, just weeks before US president Donald Trump took office. Much of Guterres’s first term was focused on placating Trump, who questioned the value of the United Nations and multilateralism.

Guterres was prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and then head of the UN refugee agency from 2005 to 2015. As secretary-general, he has been a cheerleader for climate action, Covid vaccines for all and digital cooperation.

ROME, 09 June 2021, (TON): An Italian military plane headed for Afghanistan was refused permission to use United Arab Emirates airspace, triggering a formal diplomatic complaint from Rome to Abu Dhabi.

The plane was taking journalists and military officers to a ceremony for the withdrawal of Italian troops from Afghanistan, where they were stationed as part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission.

Because of the UAE’s refusal, the aircraft was forced to make an unplanned stop in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and then continued its journey via a longer route.

The Italian foreign ministry said in a statement “it had summoned the UAE ambassador to Rome, Omar Obaid Al Shamsi, in protest.”

The ministry’s top civil servant conveyed to the ambassador his surprise and strong disappointment for a gesture that is hard to understand.”

The Italian media linked the snub to Italy’s decision earlier this year to make permanent a freeze in arms sales to UAE due to the country’s role in the Yemen.

The ceremony for the Italian military pullout in the western Afghan city of Herat still went ahead, but was delayed to allow for the late arrival of the plane from Rome.

PARIS, 09 June 2021, (TON): French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face while greeting a crowd in southeast France, a security scare that drew widespread condemnation ahead of regional elections this month.

Video footage on social media showed Macron approach a barrier to meet and shake hands with voters, where a man in a green T-shirt took hold of his elbow and said a few words before slapping him.

Local officials said that Macron’s bodyguards quickly intervened and two people were detained afterwards.

The prefecture for the Drome region said, “At around 1:15pm the president got into his car after visiting a high school, but got back out because onlookers were calling to him.”

It said, “He went to meet them and that’s when the incident took place.”

The local prosecutor’s office said “two 28yearold men living in the region are being questioned, but at this stage of questioning, their motives remain unknown.”

WASHINGTON, 9 June, 2021 (TON): Hundreds of sanctions will remain in place even if both countries; U.S. and Iran return to compliance with the nuclear deal, said U.S. Sec. of State Antony Blinken.

In a hearing, the official told the Senate Appropriations Committee, "I would anticipate that even in the events of a return to compliance with the JCPOA, hundreds of sanctions will remain in place, including sanctions imposed by the Trump administration."

"If they are not inconsistent with the JCPOA, they will remain, unless and until Iran's behavior changes," he added.

Blinken again raised doubt about whether Tehran is willing to take steps to come back into compliance.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted in response to Blinken’s Monday’s comments, saying, "It remains unclear whether @POTUS (President Joe Biden) and @SecBlinken are ready to bury the failed 'maximum pressure' policy of Trump and cease using #EconomicTerrorism as bargaining 'leverage.'"

However, since April this year, the United States and Iran have held five rounds of indirect negotiations in Austria's capital Vienna that aimed at reviving the nuclear deal.

Moreover, Abbas Araqchi, the head of Iran's negotiating team, said last week that the next round of talks in Vienna could be conclusive and lead to an agreement.

ONTARIO, 08 June 2021, (TON): Police in the Canadian province of Ontario say a driver intentionally struck a family because they were Muslim, killing four people and seriously injuring a nine-year-old boy in what has been denounced as an ‘act of unspeakable hatred’ and ‘Islamophobia’.

The victims, all members of the same family, were hit while waiting to cross a street in the city of London, about 200km (124 miles) southwest of Toronto.

Police said the victims were two women aged 77 and 44, a 46 year old man and a 15 year old girl. A nine year old boy also was seriously injured and is recovering in hospital. Local authorities did not release the names of the victims.

London Police Service Superintendent Paul Waight said “There is evidence that this was a planned, premeditated act motivated by hate. It is believed these victims were targeted because they were Muslim.”

The attack came amid rising concerns about Islamophobic attacks in provinces across Canada and widespread calls for authorities to tackle racism, hate-motivated violence and the prevalence of far-right groups.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said “he was horrified by what he described as an act of hatred”.

SYDNEY, 08 June 2021, (TON): A defamation trial opened pitting one of Australia’s most decorated soldiers against three major newspapers that accused him of war crimes in Afghanistan.

A former member of Australia’s elite Special Air Services regiment, Ben Roberts-Smith, is suing the newspapers as well as individual journalists from all three over articles from 2018 that alleged he committed murder and other atrocities while serving in Afghanistan.

According to court documents, the defendants, including the Sydney Morning Herald, The Canberra Times, and Melbourne’s The Age, will argue the reports were truthful.

Australia’s military and police are both investigating numerous war crimes alleged to have been committed by members of elite SAS soldiers in Afghanistan.

Court documents show that among the witnesses for the defence are at least four Afghan villagers who are set to appear via video-link from Kabul.

Roberts-Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross and the Medal for Gallantry for his service in Afghanistan, among Australia’s top military honours. He is now an executive for Channel Seven television in Queensland state.

A court official said that the Federal Court trial will last for eight to ten weeks, with around 60 witnesses expected to take the stand.

ANKARA, 8 June, 2021 (TON): On Monday, Turkey vowed to provide defense at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in the Afghan capital, if a number of key conditions were met.

After weeks of uncertainty over whether Ankara would pull its troops from the airport in Kabul, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the military would stay if its allies committed to certain political, financial, and logistical support.

This decision has also been under discussion with Washington and was also discussed during recent meeting of NATO defense ministers.

Several countries had considered closing their embassies in Afghanistan if the city airport was not secured.

Hamid Karzai international in Kabul is the primary airport of the country and also serves as a large military base but Afghan authorities do not have the capacity to provide full security at the site where air traffic control has been operated by NATO military staff since 2002.

Consequently, the airport’s security was important not only for military flights but also for supporting international organizations and NGOs distributing humanitarian aid.

DHAKA, 8 June, 2021 (TON): On Monday, PM Sheikh Hasina remarked that the historic Six-Point Charter contained the single point that was independence.

The prime minister recalled the days of the Six-Point Movement in a recorded address to an event, organized by the committee on Bangabandhu’s birth centenary celebrations, to mark the Six-Point Day on Monday.

“The Six-Point Charter actually consisted of one point that was independence. At least we, the family members, knew it. He (Bangabandhu) always told us that Six Points meant one point - independence. Now, we are an independent nation,” Hasina said.

“The Six Points reflected the thoughts he (Bangabandhu) nurtured to change the fate of Bengalis since the creation of Pakistan. And he got the opportunity (to forge the Six Points) when the 1965 India-Pakistan war laid bare the insecurity of the people of this land,” Hasina recalled.    

The PM also remembered the 11 martyrs killed in the Six-Point Movement that led to the 1970 general elections.

RIYADH, 8 June, 2021 (TON):  A royal order for promoting and appointing 160 judges at the Ministry of Justice to various ranks has been issued by King Salman.

Justice Minister and President of the Supreme Judicial Council Sheikh Dr. Walid bin Mohammed Al-Samaani thanked King Salman for his continuous support to the judiciary.
Recently, the ministry launched an e-notarization system to provide several services.

However, the Kingdom is taking measures to revolutionize its judicial system.

WASHINGTON, 8 June, 2021 (TON): The American President Joe Biden reaffirmed Washington's support to Kiev in a call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

On Monday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a White House briefing, “Biden told Zelensky that he will stand up firmly for Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and its aspirations and looks forward to welcoming him to the White House here in Washington this summer."

The phone call came as Kiev raised concern about Biden's 16 June meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the US' recent move on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project between Russia and Germany.

The Ukrainian leader had also expressed the hope to meet with Biden before the US-Russia summit.

However, Sullivan on Monday stressed that Biden's meeting with Putin was not a reward for Russia, but an attempt to "manage our differences and to identify those areas where we can work in America's interests to make progress".

Meanwhile, he noted the Biden administration does not expect significant deliverables from the summit.