DOHA, 16 January 2023, (TON): Qatar and France are discussing joint cooperation in humanitarian and development aid for Syria, Qatar News Agency reported.

Talks were held between officials from Doha’s Foreign Ministry, Fund for Development, Education Above All Foundation and Qatar Charity, and French Special Envoy for Syria Brigitte Curmi, who is visiting the country.

The meeting was also attended by French Ambassador to Qatar Jean-Baptiste Faivre.

DNIPRO, 16 January 2023, (TON): The death toll from a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro rose to 29 Sunday, the regional governor reported as rescue workers scrambled to pull survivors from the rubble.

Emergency crews worked through the frigid night at the wrecked multi-story residential building, the site of the worst casualties from a widespread Russian barrage.

The deaths reported in Dnipro were the most civilians killed in one place since a Sept. 30 strike in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, according to The Associated Press-Frontline War Crimes Watch project.

Russia also targeted the capital, Kyiv, and the northeastern city of Kharkiv on Saturday, ending a two-week lull in the airstrikes it has launched against Ukraine’s power infrastructure and urban centers almost weekly since October.

JERUSALEM, 16 January 2023, (TON): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended a controversial judicial reform amid mass protests against the changes.

Thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv to protest plans by the Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the legal system.

Proposed by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the reform, if enacted, would be the most radical change ever in the system of government in Israel.

The proposed changes will severely limit the power of the Supreme Court of Justice, and give the government the power to choose judges, and end the appointment of legal advisers to ministries by the Attorney General.

KAMPALA, 16 January 2023, (TON): At least 10 people were killed and 15 wounded in a suspected terrorist bomb attack services in a church in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to Lt. Apollo Mwanamboka, a security officer in eastern Congo, the blast took place at the Spak Church in the town of Kasindi in the restive North Kivu province, less than a mile away from the Mpondwe border post with Uganda.

Julius Kasake, an eyewitness, said he was passing near the church when he heard a noisy blast. He said people from nearby homes ran into the church to help those hit by the blast.

In a phone interview with Anadolu, Congo Army spokesman Anthony Mualushay said the attack was likely carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan terrorist group that has allegiance to the terrorist group Daesh/ISIS.

NEW YORK, 15 January 2023, (TON): A New York judge on Friday fined Donald Trump’s family business the maximum penalty possible of $1.6 million for committing tax fraud.

The sum, paltry to the billionaire real estate developer’s amassed fortune, is nevertheless symbolically significant as the ex-president eyes the White House again amid a host of legal woes.

The Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corp., entities of the Trump Organization, were found guilty last month of running a years-long scheme to defraud and evade taxes through falsifying business records.

They were convicted on all 17 counts following a trial, marking the first time the companies had ever been found guilty of crimes.

BERLIN, 15 January 2023, (TON): Germany’s Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht has decided to step down from her post, several major national media reported on Friday, after she came under fire over a series of gaffes.

The plan to resign came from Lambrecht herself, and not from the chancellery, said Bild daily, which first reported on the move without citing its sources.

Separately, Sueddeutsche daily said the minister, who is from Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), is looking at stepping down in the coming week.

Rolling news channel NTV added that the search was on within the SPD for a replacement for the 57-year-old.

BRASILIA, 15 January 2023, (TON): Brazilian far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro will be included in an investigation into the origins of the January 8 sacking of government buildings in Brasilia, a Supreme Court judge announced.

The probe of the former leader comes at the request of the office of the prosecutor general, which cited a video Bolsonaro had posted “questioning the regularity of the 2022 presidential elections.”

By doing so, “Bolsonaro would have publicly incited the commission of a crime,” the PGR said in a statement.

Thousands of so-called “bolsonaristas” invaded the seats of government in Brasilia Sunday, breaking windows and furniture, destroying priceless works of art, and leaving graffiti messages calling for a military coup in their wake.

WARSAW, 15 January 2023, (TON): Polish scientist Maciej Walczak has been released from prison in Iran and has returned to Poland, the Polish foreign ministry said.

“Achieving this goal was one of the priorities of Poland’s diplomatic and consular services last year,” the ministry said in a statement.

In July, Iranian state television reported that the Revolutionary Guards had arrested several foreigners for acts that included taking soil samples in restricted areas. The report identified one of those as Walczak.

LONDON, 15 January 2023, (TON): The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.

The leaders reflected on the current state of Russia’s war in Ukraine, with successive Ukrainian victories pushing Russian troops back and compounding their military and morale issues.

They agreed on the need to seize on this moment with an acceleration of global military and diplomatic support to Ukraine.

The Prime Minister outlined the UK’s ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine, including through the provision of Challenger 2 tanks and additional artillery systems.

UNITED NATIONS, 15 January 2023, (TON): The rule of law forms the bedrock of all international cooperation and the ability of multilateralism to operate effectively, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council, describing it as “foundational” to the whole United Nations.

“From the smallest village to the global stage, the rule of law (ROL) is all that stands between peace and stability, and a brutal struggle for power and resources”, he said, arguing that it protects the vulnerable; prevents discrimination; bolsters trust in institutions; supports inclusive economies and societies; and is the first line of defence against atrocity crimes.

The UN chief painted a grim picture of civilians around the world suffering from devastating conflicts, rising poverty, and surging hunger, warning that “we are at grave risk of the Rule of Lawlessness”.