OUAGADOUGOU, 22 January 2023, (TON): Sixty-six women and children kidnapped by armed assailants in northern Burkina Faso last week have been freed, national broadcaster Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina said.

The mass kidnapping was unprecedented in Burkina Faso, which is facing a violent terrorist insurgency that spread from neighbouring Mali in 2015.

On January 12 and January 13, armed men seized the women and their children while they were scouring the bush for fruit and leaves outside two villages in the district of Arbinda, in the Sahel region’s Soum province.

Security forces staged a rescue operation and found 27 adult women and 39 babies, children and young girls in the adjacent Centre-North province.

RIYADH, 21 January 2023, (TON): Saudi Arabia will not normalise ties with Israel in the absence of a two-state solution with the Palestinians, the kingdom’s top diplomat has said, according to a tweet by the foreign ministry.

The comments by Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed normalisation with Saudi Arabia in talks with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Jerusalem.

Prince Faisal told Bloomberg at the summit “true normalisation and true stability will only come through… giving the Palestinians a state.”

SEOUL, 21 January 2023, (TON): About 500 South Koreans were forced to flee their homes after a fire spread through a low-income neighborhood in southern Seoul and destroyed at least 60 homes.

Officials said “firefighters were bringing the fire under control at Guryong village and there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.”

Shin Yong-ho, an official at the fire department of Seoul’s Gangnam district, said rescue workers were continuing to search areas affected by the fire but that it was believed that all residents there have safely evacuated.

More than 800 fire fighters, police officers and public workers were deployed to fight the flame and handle evacuations after the fire broke out around 6:30 a.m.

NEW YORK, 21 January 2023, (TON): Charges against a New York City police officer accused of spying on behalf of China were formally dropped after US prosecutors said they uncovered new information that warranted the dismissal.

It ended a two-year ordeal for Baimadajie Angwang, a naturalized US citizen born in Tibet, who spent about six months in custody before being granted bail.

He had been accused of spying on expatriate Tibetans in New York on behalf of officials at the Chinese consulate in the city.

Assistant US Attorney Matthew Hagans told the judge “the decision was based on all the evidence and information developed.”

TOKYO, 21 January 2023, (TON): Japan’s Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa held a telephone talk with his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen and stated that Japan is concerned about recent unilateral measures that have caused an escalation of tensions in the region, although he did not clarify what measures he was referring to.

Hayashi explained Japan’s approach of assisting Palestinians in order to achieve a two-state solution, and asked for cooperation from Israel.

Cohen stated that Israel respects the status quo with regard to holy sites.

TAPA, 21 January 2023, (TON): Britain said “it would send 600 Brimstone missiles to war-torn Ukraine to help its fight against Russian forces.”

British Defense Minister Ben Wallace made the announcement after attending a donor meeting with several of his counterparts at Estonia’s Tapa military base.

He told reporters “today I can say we’re also going to send another 600 Brimstone missiles into theater, which will be incredibly important in helping Ukraine dominate the battlefield.”

Britain made its latest pledge just days after it became the first country to meet Ukraine’s request for Western heavy tanks.

WASHINGTON, 21 January 2023, (TON): President Joe Biden’s administration launched a program to encourage ordinary Americans to sponsor refugees as admissions languish despite record displacement around the world.

In what he billed as the biggest innovation in US refugee resettlement in four decades, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the new Welcome Corps would aim to ask 10,000 Americans in its first year to offer a hand to new refugees.

Blinken said “by launching the Welcome Corps, we build on a proud tradition of providing refuge and demonstrate the spirit and generosity of the American people as we commit to welcoming refugees in need of our support.”

US citizens or permanent residents in groups of five or more can sponsor refugees by helping them with basics such as winter clothing, furniture and security deposits for housing as the new Americans seek work.

TOKYO, 20 January 2023, (TON): This latest NEA report compiles and shares some of the lessons learnt from implementing post-Fukushima actions related to human and organisational factors, including at nuclear facility operating companies, technical support organisations, research institutions, and regulatory authorities.

It summarises a two-phase information-gathering exercise about the requirements and guidelines that countries and nuclear licensees have adopted since the accident.

The report discusses the central role of human and organisational performance in mitigating extreme external events and the management of severe accidents.

MOSCOW, 20 January 2023, (TON): Dmitry Medvedev, an outspoken former Russian president who is close to Vladimir Putin, has warned NATO that Moscow’s defeat in Ukraine could trigger a nuclear war.

“The defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war may trigger a nuclear war,” Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Putin’s powerful security council, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

“Nuclear powers have never lost major conflicts on which their fate depends,” said Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012.

He also said “the military alliance and other Western defence leaders, due to meet at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to discuss support for Ukraine, should consider the risks of their policy.”

The Kremlin was quick to endorse Medvedev’s remarks, saying they were in full accordance with Moscow’s principles.

LONDON, 20 January 2023, (TON): The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this morning to congratulate him on his re-appointment.

The leaders looked forward to working together to advance the UK-Israel relationship, including on trade where the UK is already Israel’s most important partner in Europe.

They agreed the UK-Israel Free Trade Agreement, currently being negotiated, could unlock further opportunities for both our countries, building on our shared leadership in areas like technology and services.

The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Netanyahu also discussed cooperation between the UK and Israel on security issues, where both countries have an interest in promoting regional stability.