WASHINGTON, 13 December 2022, (TON): The United States has announced sanctions against Emmerson Mnangagwa Jr, the son of Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, ahead of a summit of African leaders in Washington, DC.

The penalties against Mnangagwa Jr were laid out in a US Treasury Department press release, alongside sanctions for three other individuals and two entities.

The press release states “the Zimbabwe sanctions programme targets human rights abusers and those who undermine democratic processes or facilitate corruption. US sanctions do not target the Zimbabwean people, the country of Zimbabwe, or Zimbabwe’s banking sector.”

The sanctions come one day before US President Joe Biden is scheduled to host a summit of African leaders in Washington, DC, to discuss issues such as climate change and food insecurity. About 50 African leaders are expected to participate.

BRUSSELS, 13 December 2022, (TON): Ministers of the European Union of Foreign Affairs have imposed new sanctions on Iranian religious leaders, senior officials and top state media employees over new crackdowns on antigovernment protests and supplying drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.

Twenty individuals and one entity were sanctioned over human rights abuses, while four more people and as many entities were added over the issue of drones. Sanctions include freezing of assets and travel bans to the EU.

The state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting had its assets frozen; the EU said the media outlet was a mouthpiece for the violent response to the recent demonstrations in Iran.

Iranians have protested against the government’s restrictions on their daily lives since late September, following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.

KYIV, 13 December 2022, (TON): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held talks with US President Joe Biden and with the leaders of Turkiye and France on Sunday, an increase in diplomatic activity around the war started by Russia that is dragging into a 10th month.

“We are constantly working with partners,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address, adding that he expects some important results next week from a series of international events that will tackle the situation in Ukraine.

While Zelensky has held numerous talks with Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan since Russian forces invaded in late February, the accumulation of discussions in just one day is not a regular event.

KUWAIT, 13 December 2022, (TON): Saudi Press Agency reported “Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, who is on an official visit to Kuwait, met the country’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.”

Prince Abdulaziz passed on greetings from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the prince and Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

Sheikh Mishal in turn conveyed his greetings and appreciation to the king and crown prince, wishing them health and prosperity.

RIYADH, 13 December 2022, (TON): Saudi Press Agency reported “Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Dr. Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf has called for closer GCC-Ukrainian ties.”

It came during the GCC secretary-general’s meeting with Ukrainian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Anatolii Petrenko on Monday in Riyadh.

During the meeting, the two reviewed Gulf-Ukraine relations as well as regional and international developments.

The ambassador said the meeting was a “vital opportunity to discuss priorities of the Ukraine - GCC cooperation framework and to elaborate further joint efforts for the benefit of Ukraine and all Gulf countries.”

KYIV, 13 December 2022, (TON): Russian missiles, artillery and drones have hammered targets in eastern and southern Ukraine, as global economic powers pledged to beef up Kyiv’s military capabilities with a focus on air defences.

The G7 promised on Monday to “meet Ukraine’s urgent requirements” after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to the virtual G7 meeting for modern tanks, artillery firepower and long-range weapons against Russia’s devastating invasion.

He also urged the G7 to help Kyiv obtain an extra 2 billion cubic metres of natural gas in light of Ukraine’s dire energy shortages as millions languish without power in subzero cold after further Russian air raids on critical infrastructure.

MOSCOW, 13 December 2022, (TON): Russia launched what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine because it felt ‘betrayed’ after its concerns around peace accords between Kyiv and Russian-backed separatists were ignored, news agencies quoted a Kremlin spokesman as saying.

President Vladimir Putin last week bemoaned the failure to implement the Minsk agreements between Kyiv and Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine brokered in 2014 and 2015 by Russia, France and Germany.

Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of violating the deal.

DHAKA, 13 December 2022, (TON): Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming has said Bangladesh has become a role model for development studies across the globe under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, an extraordinary female figure.

He said "as a gesture of cordial friendship, several megastructures built by China are named after Bangabandhu and Bangamata. Wherever I go, local people give me a thumbs-up for the Chinese contribution to Bangladesh's modernization.”

Ambassador Jiming, who left Dhaka, in a farewell message said "more than three years on, now I am filled with satisfaction by what my embassy and I have achieved with the assistance and support of all colleagues and friends."

WASHINGTON, 13 December 2022, (TON): US efforts to negotiate the freedom of a former Marine held in Russia as part of the swap involving basketball star Brittney Griner were thwarted by Moscow’s demand for the release of a convicted murderer held in Germany, according to a top US official and media reports.

The swap of Griner for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout raised questions as to why the US side had failed to secure the simultaneous release of Paul Whelan, a former Marine accused by Moscow of spying a charge Washington flatly rejects.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby was asked Sunday about reports negotiations stumbled over a demand for the release of Vadim Krasikov, a former colonel in Russia’s domestic spy organization serving a life sentence for murder in Germany.

BEIJING, 13 December 2022, (TON): China will drop a travel tracing requirement as part of an uncertain exit from its strict “zero-COVID” policies that have elicited widespread dissatisfaction.

At midnight on Monday, the smart phone app will cease to function, meaning residents’ travels will not be traced and recorded, potentially reducing the likelihood they will be forced into quarantine for visiting pandemic hot spots.

China’s ruling Communist Party allows no independent parties to conduct verification and such apps have been used in past to suppress travel and free speech. It’s part of a package of apps that includes the health code, which has yet to be disabled.

The move follows the government’s snap announcement last week that it was ending many of the most draconian measures.