HOUSTON, 17 June, 2021 (TON): An initial payment of $250 million has been announced by the Texas Governor Greg Abbott to build its border barrier with Mexico.

On Wednesday, in a press conference, Abbott said, "Texas will build a border wall in our state to help secure our border."

Also on Wednesday, Abbott directed the Texas Facilities Commission to hire a program manager for the construction, but he did not give details about it.

He said, "My belief based upon conversations that I've already had is that the combination of state land, as well as volunteer land, will yield hundreds of miles to build a border wall in Texas."

According to the media report, Abbott hinted last week that he would create a border barrier to stem the flow of immigrants and illegal drugs into the state.

It was note that no details were given on where the barrier would be built or how it would be funded.

However, the funds for the state's $250 million payment will come from the state budget, as the lawmakers will allocate money from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice into a disaster account, which will then be moved to the Texas Facilities Commission for the border wall construction.

TRIPOLI, 17 June, 2021 (TON): Aguila Saleh, Speaker Libyan House of Representatives (parliament), rejects attempts to obstruct this year’s general elections.

The media reported that Saleh made the remarks during the meeting with head of the Libyan Higher National Commission of Elections Imad Al-Sayah in the eastern city of al-Qubba on Wednesday.

House issued a statement that said, "During the meeting, (Saleh) confirmed his rejection of any attempts aimed at obstructing and postponing the elections beyond the date of December 24 of this year."

It added, "Al-Sayah stressed, during the meeting, the technical readiness of the commission to organize the elections on the scheduled date of December 24, 2021."

However, a new executive authority of a unity government and a presidency council has been selected by the UN-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) responsible for the preparations of the elections.  

SAN FRANCISCO, 17 June, 2021 (TON): London Breed, Mayor Sans Francisco joined youth and community partners for the first official day of the 'Summer Together Initiative' program.

The program focuses on providing support physical health emotional well-being, and educational achievements of local children and youth, especially those in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19, media reported.

The program will operate at sites across the city, through which the coalition of San Francisco community-based organizations, non-profits, businesses.

"Today's launch is a celebration of how our city has come together to support our children and young people and make sure they have the resources and tools to succeed within and beyond the classroom," Breed said on Wednesday.

"The last year has been so hard on our young people, and we know we have a lot of work to do to support them. As we prepare to reopen our public schools for in-person learning this fall, we must continue to provide these opportunities for youth to not just pass their classes, but also expand their horizons, pursue their goals, and shape their own futures, regardless of their background," she added.

However, San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and city departments are partnering to provide free in-person and virtual opportunities for 26,000 public school students, and employing over 4,000 educators, youth development professionals, and support staff.

RIYADH, 17 June, 2021 (TON): On Wednesday, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and the U.S. climate envoy John Kerry discussed global efforts to cater climate change.

In order to conduct talks on climate change actions, Kerry arrived in the kingdom after his visit to Abu Dhabi this week.

A joint statement issued by the two leaders said, The US and Saudi Arabia " are committed to addressing the increasing climate challenge with seriousness and urgency,"

The US and Saudi Arabia " are committed to addressing the increasing climate challenge with seriousness and urgency,"

"Both countries affirm the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and taking adaptation actions during the 2020s to avoid the worst consequences of climate change."

According to the media, during the meeting, the officials "discussed the kingdom's initiatives in confronting climate change, reducing emissions and preserving the environment and its components", Saudi Arabia's state news agency reported.

The kingdom has introduced several programs aimed at slowing environmental degradation and tackling the climate emergency.

The statement said, "The talks focused on Saudi Arabia's Green Initiative and the Green Middle East in addition to its efforts during the G20 summit in pushing the adoption of a circular carbon economy."

However, the meeting was attended by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Prince Khalid bin Salman, Deputy Minister of Defense, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Abdulrahman Al Fadly, the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture.

GENEVA, 17 June 2021, (TON): Russian President Vladimir Putin said he and US President Joe Biden agreed in a constructive summit to return their nations’ ambassadors to their posts and begin negotiations to replace the last remaining treaty between the two countries limiting nuclear weapons.

Putin said “there was no hostility during the talks that wrapped up more quickly than expected.”

The two sides had said that they expected to meet for four to five hours but spent less than three hours together, including an opening meeting with just the two presidents and each one’s top foreign aide.

When it was over, Putin had first crack at describing the results at a news conference. Biden followed with his own session with reporters.

Putin acknowledged that Biden raised human rights issues with him, including the fate of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Putin defended Navalny’s prison sentence and deflected repeated questions about mistreatment of Russian opposition leaders by highlighting US domestic turmoil, including the Black Lives Matter protests and the Jan 6 Capitol insurrection.

Putin held forth for nearly an hour before international reporters. While showing defiance at queries about Biden pressing him on human rights, he also expressed a significant measure of respect for Biden as an experienced political leader.

Putin said he and Biden agreed to begin negotiations on nuclear talks to potentially replace the New START treaty limiting nuclear weapons after it expires in 2026.

The Russian president said there was an agreement between the leaders to return their ambassadors to their respective postings. Both countries had pulled back their top envoys to Washington and Moscow as relations chilled in recent months.

TEHRAN, 17 June, 2021 (TON): Ahead of the Friday’s presidential elections in Iran, two candidates withdrew.

The remaining candidates for the elections are 5, according to the media.

Now, besides Hemmani and Raisi, the three remaining candidates are Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, a conservative MP since 2008; Mohsen Rezaei, a senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and current secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council; and Saeed Jalili, a conservative diplomat and former Iran's nuclear negotiator.

On Wednesday, the former Vice President Mohsen Mehralizadeh withdrew after informing the Interior Ministry.

The media reported, the withdrawal of Mehralizadeh will likely boost the chances of former Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Abdolnaser Hemmati.

According to the media debates, Mehralizadeh along with Hemmati was critical of other five principle candidates' viewpoints and policies.

The lawmaker Alireza Zakani, announced his withdrawal from the presidential race in favor of Ebrahim Raisi, the incumbent Judiciary Chief who is widely seen as the front-runner.

However, according to the Iranian policies, due to two terms in the office, President Hassan Rouhani cannot stand for re-election.

CAIRO, 17 June, 2021 (TON): On Wednesday, the Foreign Minister of Egypt Sameh Shoukry encouraged the newly elected Israeli government to take courageous choices on the regional peace deal.

On meeting with his visiting Luxembourg counterpart Jean Asselborn, he said, "The new government represents the choice of the Israeli people."

According to the statement, "Egypt works on exploring the efforts that will lead to the peace in the region and reaching an agreement based on the two-state solution."

He stressed that the Egyptian government looks forward working with the new Israeli government in the effort to trigger the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and to establish an independent Palestinian state.

JAKARTA, 17 June, 2021 (TON): A sum of 800 Million USD loan to support the Indonesian investment and trade policies have been approved by the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors on Wednesday.

The loan also aims to help the country in boosting its economic recovery and transformation.

The loan is intended to aid Indonesia’s ambitious reform program to attract investment and increase the country’s economic competitiveness, said Satu Kahkonen, WB Country Director for Indonesia and Timor-Leste.

“These reforms have the potential to support an economic transformation away from commodities and towards higher value-added sectors. This could provide a much-needed boost to the post-pandemic economic recovery.”

However, Indonesia is restricted to attract export-oriented foreign investments due to barriers in investments and trade, which has reduced its unity into the global community of economies and increased the rate of food in the country.

This has also limited the growth of manufacturing and non-commodity sectors. Moreover, due to the pandemic, it has unduly faced exacerbated economic challenges.

CAIRO, 17 June, 2021 (TON): On Wednesday, the Secretary General of the Cairo-based Arab League (AL) Ahmed Aboul-Gheit warned against the ongoing Lebanese political impasse that has caused serious social and economic crisis.

During a meeting with the Lebanese Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo, Gheit said in a statement, "It is important to swiftly form a new technocratic government that would be able to make necessary reforms."

"The Arab League stands in solidarity with Lebanon in the light of the difficult humanitarian, economic and political conditions the country passes through," he added.

In their last meeting held in March, Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri have failed to reach a consensus on cabinet formation, raising concerns about further instability and a total economic and financial collapse in the country.

There is a political deadlock in Lebanon because of the factions' disagreements over the assignment of ministerial posts and the form and nature of the future government.

YANGON, 17 June, 2021 (TON): As clashes emerged between the security forces and the local guerillas, a village in the center of Myanmar has been burned down that resulted two casualties.

The media reported that according to the residents, 200 of the 240 houses in Kin Ma were destroyed by the military on Tuesday.

The incident started after the forces clashed with a local militia that is against the governing body, the media reported.

Dan Chugg, UK ambassador to Myanmar, has condemned the attack.

According to a facebook post, "Reports that the junta has burned down an entire village in Magway, killing elderly residents, demonstrate once again that the military continues to commit terrible crimes and has no regard for the people of Myanmar."

However, the media blamed the fire on the terrorists and extremists groups.