CAIRO, 9 February, 2021 (TON):  A meeting of Arab Foreign ministers was hosted by the Egypt on Monday, for discussing regional developments, the policies of the new U.S. administration, and the structure and functioning of the Arab League.

The organization was keen to find a comprehensive and just solution to the Palestinian issue,

Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary-general of the League of Arab States said.

Any threat to Arab land was a threat to the entire nation, and that the region was on the threshold of a new phase, he told a meeting of the Arab League Council.

He said the emergency meeting delivers a message to the world, that Arab countries spoke with one voice when it came to Palestine, and that the Palestinian issue would remain at the heart of Arab concerns until it was resolved by establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

He stressed the need for the international community to make this issue its priority.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned of any change in the status of Jerusalem and said that Cairo was working to facilitate Palestinian dialogue toward reconciliation.

The importance of the right of return of Palestinian refugees and that Egypt adhered to a Palestinian state with 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital, he added.

According to the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Arab countries were united to face the challenges.

He called on the international community to put an end to Iran's violations and threats to the region, saying the Iranian regime threatened the security and stability of Arab countries through its militias. He condemned the Houthi targeting of civilian facilities.

He urged that the countries most affected by Iran's threats be part of any future agreement, noting that Iran's nuclear activities and ballistic missiles threatened regional security.

The Saudi foreign minister welcomed the Yemeni parties' implementation of the Riyadh Agreement. He emphasized the Kingdom's adherence to a Palestinian state with 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital.

Arab sources said earlier that the meeting of Arab foreign ministers would issue a decision submitted by Egypt and Jordan stressing the need to adhere to the two-state solution and obliging all Arab countries to provide support to Palestine.

All the ongoing issues within the region was discussed in the meeting with the Palestinian issue in focus and proposed that he two state solution was the solution to calm the conflict between Israel and Palestine. However, the decision of the Arab ministers demands the Israeli side to respond and have talks on the Arab peace initiative.

RIYADH, 9 February, 2021 (TON): Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince announced plans to approve a set of new draft laws designed to enhance the efficiency and integrity of the kingdom's judicial system on Monday.

A series of social and economic reforms aimed at modernizing the conservative kingdom, which has no codified system of law to go with the texts making up sharia, or Islamic law have been launched by the prince, MBS.

The media quoted the prince on Monday as saying that four new laws, the personal status law, the civil transactions law, the penal code of discretionary sanctions and the law of evidence  are currently being finalized and will then be submitted to the cabinet and relevant bodies as well as the advisory Shura Council, before they are finally approved.

"The new laws represent a new wave of reforms that will ... increase the reliability of procedures and oversight mechanisms as cornerstones in achieving the principles of justice, clarifying the lines of accountability," Prince Mohammed said in the statement.

Setting clear codes to four major and fundamental laws through applying the best international practices and standards means the kingdom is "definitely moving towards codifying the entire law" to meet the needs of the modern world while adhering to Islamic Sharia principles, a Saudi official told the media.

"While there is a decent and independent judiciary, the main criticism is that it is not consistent and judges have significant discretion on many of these issues, which leads to inconsistency and unpredictability," the Saudi official said.

As we know already that Saudi Arabia had no written laws that resulted discrepancy in court rulings when certain incidents happen, that had hurt many Saudis, mostly women. However, this step would lead to an entirely codified law.

KATHMANDU, 8 February, 2021 (TON): The ongoing border disputes with India will be resolved through diplomatic talks said Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday.

Although last month, the two held talks in Delhi that involved ministers but the two sides could not hammer out the differences after the Himalayan nation unveiled a new map in May 2020.

He made the remarks at a seminar titled, 'Nepal's International Border Security and Areas of Coordination among Border Management related Agencies', organized by the Nepal Army.

The relations with neighboring nations could be made cordial and emboldened only on the basis of facts, equality, respect and justice and not on hegemonic measures, said Oli, also the defense minister.

"In order to consolidate the Nepal-India ties in a cordial manner, we had to print the map and talk to India. Our relations could turn cordial by only returning our territory through dialogue. Border disputes are prevailing in Susta and Kanchanpur," he said.

Addressing Monday's seminar, Oli further said that open and friendly dialogue would be held with India regarding the issue of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani based on facts and evidences.

"We must retain our territory. Both the nations should consider fact and truth in maintaining

relations. Are both the countries in position to claim other's territory?" he queried.

"There have been some historically-unsolved border problems. The issue of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani has remained unaddressed for the past 58 years. We were forced to get displaced silently when the then ruler did not dare to speak up against the intrusion."

It is also true that our move has increased misunderstanding with India, Oli said, adding: "We need to assert claim on our territory at any cost."

The two countries have been in row over the border issue since 2014, now the talks will prove to be an integral part of national security as the nations cannot stay calm without border security.

WASHINGTON, 8 February, 2021 (TON): Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has said that US troops will not leave Afghanistan by May as mentioned in the landmark peace deal inked between Washington and the Taliban, saying "we're going to leave when the conditions are right".

"I like what (Secretary of State Antonny) Tony Blinken and the Biden administration is doing. They're re-evaluating our presence in Afghanistan to keep the footprint low, but not to walk away and lose all the gains we've achieved.

"If we leave too soon without a conditions-based withdrawal, the rebels will come back. Women will suffer greatly," Graham told media.

His comments perceived as no meeting has been held between the Afghan Republic and the Taliban negotiators in Doha over the last 19 days after the peace talks resumed between the two sides on 5 January following a break.

The peace talks started on 12 September, 2020 easing the way for the withdrawal of thousands of US forces in Afghanistan and facilitate the intra-Afghan dialogue.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby claimed that the Taliban was threatening the landmark agreement.

In response, a Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said that the group remained committed to the agreement "and we call on the other side to stay firm on its commitments".

The war in the region caused around 2,500 US military deaths, the longest in the history of America.

NEW DELHI, 8 February, 2021 (TON): PM Modi appealed to the farmers to end protesting and gather on table to have talks resolving the issue while assured the MSP.

Modi while replying to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address said that the MSP will continue and so will the monthly ration scheme to 80 crore people. Appealing to the agitating farmers to end their protest, he said talks should be held to resolve the issue.

Modi said, "The agri-reforms should be given a chance and MSP was very much there and will continue in the future, and I in the House also say that the ration scheme to 80 crore will continue."

"The farmers should end their agitation and sit and talk to resolve the issue," he said.

He pointed that the objections in the House are procedural and even oppositions accepts the country needs agricultural reforms.

CAIRO, 8 February, 2021 (TON): Egypt has been considered a main pillar for national security in the Arab region by GCC’s Secretary (Gulf Cooperation Council) on Sunday.

According to Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady, GCC Secretary General Nayef Al-Hajraf met President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and hailed his role in protecting Arab national security and defending all causes of the Arab nation.

Al-Hajraf said the stability of Gulf states are connected to the security of Egypt, and the opposite is true, he added in statement.

Al-Hajraf also met Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry at the ministry’s headquarters in Cairo. 

Al-Hajraf has recently visited Iraq and Jordan where he discussed cooperation priorities in both countries with their prime ministers. 

GCC has historic and firm rooted ties with Egypt also Egypt is supporting GCC in fighting and coping terrorism.

JERUSALEM, 8 February, 2021 (TON): Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest- serving leader returned to court six weeks prior to national elections.

Protesters hold banners and placards as they demonstrate against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he attends a hearing in his corruption trial in Jerusalem.

His corruption trial resumed on Monday while is all set to formally respond to the charges against him.

The Israeli leader will officially enter his plea to charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three corruption cases.

To this Netanyahu made no immediate statement to reporters on Monday in the Jerusalem court building.

On Sunday told his supporters that "I urge you, for the sake of your health, for the sake of the health of all of us, don't come," in reference to the pandemic.

The trial comes just weeks before national elections in which Netanyahu hopes to extend his 12-year rule.

Netanyahu pleaded not guilty to corruption charges in court, Israeli media reported.

While referring to a January document his lawyers gave to the court that argued he was not guilty of the charges he said, "I confirm the written answer submitted in my name.”

Protesters gathered outside the courthouse could be heard inside the room where the hearing was taking place.

His offenses include accepting of improper gifts such as cigars and champagne as well as trading favors with powerful media moguls, grant of regulatory worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the owner of the Bezeq telecom company in exchange for positive coverage on its news site and a fabricated and ludicrous who claimed to be the victim of a witch-hunt.

His ruling coalition collapsed in December, and he now faces a tough reelection in the March 23 parliamentary elections.

In May the leader came to the court but the trial delayed by the lockdown, it is his second appearance.

According to the Israeli law, Cabinet ministers are to resign when charged with criminal offenses but does not stipulate the case of a prime minister under indictment.

Piketown, 8 February, 2021 (TON): U.S. Senate to begin Trump impeachment trial this week but in rural Pennsylvania, support for the former US president still runs deep.

Months after the federal election, large Trump banners still hang from verandas or cling to the facades of small houses dotted along the road in the small town. Wooden Trump signs are stomped into the snow as if to mark the territory and to say, “It's not over”.

In the region, the political divide between blue Democrats and red Republicans is mirrored in the geographical lines that run between urban and rural.

In Piketown and the surrounding area, around 74% voted for Trump in the November 2020 presidential election.

Trump's impeachment following the riots at the US Capitol on January 6 has found little support among the residents of this small village. They remain loyal to their former president.

"It is no lie that some media are covering up the 80,000 people that are about America," a resident told the media, in reference to the election outcome in Pennsylvania. President Joe Biden officially won the state by some 80,000 votes.

For some Biden is not the right choice for unity, some say accountability matters, some questions on how the country will come together again. These words divide America once for all.

New Delhi, 8 February, 2021 (TON): PM Modi stated on Monday that playing on the term foreign direct investment “FDI”, the country needs to be aware of the deleterious influences from abroad that he referred to as “foreign destructive ideology”.

He used the term in the context of the ongoing farmers' agitation that has, of late, received support from several global celebrities such as pop artiste Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Recapitulating his invitation for talks with the Sikhs mostly leading the farm protests he said, “This country is proud of Sikhs. What have the Sikhs not done for the nation?" he, however, added that one must be aware of a "new category" of people: "Andolanjeevi," roughly translated as the "agitation being".

"We are all ready to meet and talk. I put forth the invitation today in the House," PM Modi said in the Rajya Sabha today while replying to the Presidential address.

"MSP (minimum support price) has been around, MSP is still around, MSP will remain," he said addressing one of the biggest issues raised by the protesting farmers who fear the new laws will eventually dismantle the MSP system.

Thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh have camped outside Delhi over the past two months and more, demanding the repeal of three farm laws that the government claims will reform the sector. The farmers, however, feel these will lead them into a disadvantageous position.

This may be viewed as the PM’s continuum of the aftermath of protests including UN”s urge to ease negotiations between the protestors and government and also to the social media trending handles that resulted removal of about 1,300 accounts.

RIYADH, 8 February, 2021 (TON): Martina Strong, U.S. charge d’affairs said, U.S. commitment to Saudi Arabia remains clear and unshakeable.

“Our commitment to Saudi Arabia just as we have over decades remains unshakeable and remains clear,” she told the media

“We are very clear-eyed about the threats that Saudi Arabia faces and not just Saudi Arabia, because obviously there are several countries here that are part of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) that have been facing some of the deteriorating security situations.” 

She commented on the day when another ballistic missile was launched towards the kingdom.

She said that President Joe Biden had made it “very clear” that the US remained committed to the long-standing security partnership that it had enjoyed with Saudi Arabia for decades.

“It is really what’s key here and beyond our longstanding security ties and cooperation. We have been very closely consulting with Saudi Arabia on all of the developments that you have mentioned, our engagement in Yemen which we also hope will lead to a political settlement and stability in the south of Saudi Arabia.”

On Sunday Biden announced the appointment of a new special envoy for Yemen, Timothy Lenderking, who used to have Strong’s job in Riyadh. 

Both the countries seem to invest their resources in each other’s lands to enhance prosperity and facilitate the citizens.