UK House of Commons rejects May's Brexit motion; Russia arrests US businessman suspected of fraud
(Baonghean.vn) - Russia arrests American businessman suspected of fraud; British House of Commons rejects Mrs. May's Brexit proposal; US-China trade negotiations end without breakthrough; North Korea confirms kidnapped Japanese citizen is living in Pyongyang... are the world's top news in the past 24 hours.
US-China trade talks end without breakthrough
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| Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (right) and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (left) at the negotiation round in Beijing, China on February 14. Photo: THX/TTXVN |
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the United States had “productive” talks with China on their trade dispute, after a round of high-level trade talks in Beijing ended on February 15 without any sign of concrete progress.
Posting on Twitter after the talks ended, Mr. Mnuchin said he and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had "productive" meetings with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. The talks ended at noon on February 15 and the two negotiating teams left without any announcement. Reuters news agency quoted the South China Morning Post as reporting that China and the US have agreed to continue trade talks next week in Washington. According to the newspaper, an unnamed source said the two sides agreed to continue negotiations after the talks in Beijing ended "with progress" but not enough to reach an agreement.
British House of Commons rejects Mrs. May's Brexit motion
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| British Prime Minister Theresa May. Photo: Reuters |
British Prime Minister Theresa May suffered another bitter defeat when the government's motion calling for support for the Prime Minister's efforts to amend the content of the agreement to take Britain out of the European Union (EU) was rejected by the House of Commons by a significant margin.
With 303 votes against 258 votes in favor, the British House of Commons on the evening of February 14th voted to reject the support for Theresa May's current Brexit handling method. Legally, this vote is considered of little value, but politically, the fact that the British House of Commons continues to refuse to support Mrs. May shows that the British Prime Minister has not yet been able to successfully gather the support of the majority of British Parliamentarians at a time when Brexit is only 6 weeks away from officially taking effect.
Russia arrests American businessman suspected of fraud
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Baring Vostok investment fund founder Michael Calvey. Photo:CNN. |
A spokesman for the Basmanny Court in Moscow said on February 15 that US citizen Michael Calvey, founder of private investment fund Baring Vostok, was arrested on charges of fraud related to the Vostochny Bank dispute.ReutersThe judge will decide on February 15 whether to detain Calvey, the spokesman said. Baring Vostok confirmed that four of its members were being held by Russian authorities but did not provide their identities.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Anton Siluanov said that if foreign investors are found guilty, they will be severely punished according to the law. "If this is a fraud, what I want to say is do not violate Russian law. If the crime is proven, no one will be able to escape punishment, be they Russian citizens or foreigners," he said. Russia's move comes amid tensions between Moscow and Washington that show no signs of easing after a series of mutual arrests of citizens on both sides.
The US officially passed the border security bill.
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| US soldiers participate in an exercise in the Hidalgo area, Texas, on the border with Mexico, November 5, 2018. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
The US House of Representatives on February 14 passed a border security bill to avoid a partial US government shutdown and sent the bill to President Donald Trump, which includes new fencing along part of the US-Mexico border, rather than the $5.7 billion he sought. By a vote of 300 to 128, the Democratic-led House backed a spending bill that provides more than $300 billion for several government departments and agencies.
The bill was passed by the Senate earlier in the day. The White House said it would be signed into law by President Trump.
North Korea confirms abducted Japanese citizen is living in Pyongyang
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| A photo of Mr. Tanaka Minoru when he was young. Photo: english.kyodonews.net |
A Japanese government official said on February 15 that North Korea has confirmed that one of the Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the late 1970s is living in Pyongyang with his wife.
According to Kyodo news agency, the man, Tanaka Minoru, went missing at the age of 28. Since 2014, North Korean officials have repeatedly informed the Japanese government that Tatsumitsu Kaneda, who worked at the same restaurant as Mr. Minoru in Kobe (Japan) and disappeared at the age of 26, is currently living in North Korea. Both had children after coming to North Korea and do not want to return to Japan. So far, Japanese officials have not met with either man. A senior official at the Japanese Foreign Ministry has refused to comment on the matter.
