RIYADH, 28 December 2022, (TON): Saudi Arabia’s Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Fayyadh Al-Ruwaili and his Egyptian counterpart Lt. Gen. Osama Askar held talks on expanding defense and military cooperation relations.

The Kingdom’s defense ministry said “the head of the Egyptian Armed Forces was received with an official reception ceremony upon his arrival in the capital, Riyadh.”

The ministry statement said ”the two sides reviewed their strategic relations, especially in the field of defense and military cooperation, and ways to enhance it.”

WASHINGTON, 28 December 2022, (TON): The Supreme Court is keeping pandemic-era limits on immigration in place indefinitely, dashing hopes of immigration advocates who had been anticipating their end this week.

In a ruling Tuesday, the Supreme Court extended a temporary stay that Chief Justice John Roberts issued last week. Under the court’s order, the case will be argued in February and the stay will be maintained until the justices decide the case.

The limits, often referred to as Title 42 in reference to a 1944 public health law, were put in place under then-President Donald Trump at the beginning of the pandemic.

Under the restrictions, officials have expelled asylum-seekers inside the United States 2.5 million times and turned away most people who requested asylum at the border on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.

ROME, 28 December 2022, (TON): His office said “Iranian ambassador to protest the unacceptable response to women-led protests in the Islamic republic.”

Ambassador designate Mohammad Reza Sabouri has been called in to a meeting, the foreign ministry said in a note to the media.

Tajani has previously condemned the situation in Iran as an unacceptable shame, saying Rome took a hard line in defense of women.

Speaking, he said however that new Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government wanted to “keep open the door to diplomacy” with Tehran, notably over Iran’s nuclear program.

ANKARA, 28 December 2022, (TON): Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan received the credentials of Israel’s new ambassador to Turkiye on Tuesday, as the two countries normalize ties after four years of strain.

Turkiye and Israel began improving relations with high-level visits this year including Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Ankara. They agreed to appoint ambassadors mutually in August.

After Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu won elections last month, he and Erdogan agreed to “work together to create a new era in relations” on a basis of respect for mutual interests.

SEOUL, 28 December 2022, (TON): South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said “he would advance the creation of a military unit specialising in drones, criticising the military response to a border intrusion by North Korean drones.”

Five North Korean drones crossed into South Korea on Monday, prompting Seoul to scramble fighter jets and attack helicopters, and try to shoot them down, in the first such intrusion since 2017.

The incident rekindled questions about South Korea’s air defences at a time when it is trying to rein in the North’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.

JERUSALEM, 28 December 2022, (TON): Over 1,000 senior Israeli air force veterans, including a former Israeli chief of staff, on Monday urged the country’s top legal officials to stand tough against the incoming government.

In a letter to the chief of Israel’s Supreme Court and other top officials, they said the alliance of religious and ultranationalist parties threatens Israel’s future. The letter was delivered days before the new government is to take office.

The letter said “We come from all strata of society and from across the political spectrum.

It added that what we have in common today is the fear that the democratic state of Israel is in danger.

RIYADH, 27 December 2022, (TON): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received the Speaker of Saudi Arabia’s Shoura Council Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Al-Sheikh.

During a meeting, Erdogan stressed the depth of relations between Saudi Arabia and Turkiye and said he looked forward to developing and strengthening them in various fields.

The president conveyed his greetings to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and prayed that the Kingdom and its people achieve further development, progress, and prosperity under their leadership.

Al-Asheikh said the Kingdom’s Shoura Council and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey are determined to strengthen the bonds that bring the two countries together and raise parliamentary relations to the highest levels.

KUWAIT, 27 December 2022, (TON): Kuwait News Agency reported “Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah met on Sunday US representatives from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and House Homeland Security Committee.”

During their official visit to Kuwait, the US delegation was led by Congressman David N. Cicilline, chair of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism.

The meeting reviewed the two countries’ bilateral relations and cooperation, which have grown stronger over the past six decades.

Sheikh Salem praised the progress made towards realizing shared aspirations in the economic, cultural, educational and security fields.

MOSCOW, 27 December 2022, (TON): The United States and its NATO allies together with Ukraine want to defeat Russia “on the battlefield” in order to destroy it, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the state TASS agency in remarks published Monday.

Lavrov said “the actions of the countries of the collective West and  Zelensky under their control confirm the global nature of the Ukrainian crisis.”

“It is no secret to anyone that the strategic goal of the United States and its NATO allies is to defeat Russia on the battlefield as a mechanism for significantly weakening or even destroying our country.”

TAIPEI, 27 December 2022, (TON): Taiwan will announce a plan to extend compulsory military service to one year from the current four months, according to a senior government official, as the island deals with rising Chinese military pressure.

The office of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said she will call a national security meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss reinforcing the island’s civil defense, followed by a news conference on unspecified new civil defense measures.

Tsai’s security team, including high-level officials from the defense ministry and the National Security Council, has been reviewing Taiwan’s military system since 2020 amid fast-rising Chinese threats, according to the official, who declined to be named because the information was private.

“China’s various unilateral behaviors have become a major concern for regional security,” said the person, who took part in the high-level security discussion.