Russia ready for dialogue with US on disarmament; Trump warns Iran 'one day you will get your hands cut off'

Russia ready to intensify dialogue with the US on disarmament

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on July 4 that Russia is ready to step up dialogue with the United States on disarmament and strategic stability.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, President Putin stressed that Russia and the United States reaching concrete solutions on strategic and disarmament issues would contribute to strengthening international stability. Russia has the political will to implement this.

Mr. Putin also added that during his meeting with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the recent G20 Summit in Japan, the two sides discussed these contents, and said that the implementation results would depend entirely on the US side.

Canada rescues dozens trapped in mine

A potash mine in Saskatoon. Photo: Saskatoon StarPhoenix/TTXVN

Canadian fertilizer manufacturer Nutrien announced on July 4 (Vietnam time) that it had successfully rescued a total of 34 maintenance workers trapped for 24 hours in a mine in Saskatchewan province.

The incident occurred during summer maintenance at the potash mine southwest of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan’s largest city, after an elevator in the mine broke down on the afternoon of July 2. Maintenance workers were unable to reach the surface and were trapped at the bottom of the mine, about 1km below the surface, for nearly a day.

President Trump warns Iran 'one day you will get your hands cut off'

On July 3, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that after July 7, the country will enrich uranium beyond the 3.67% level stipulated in the agreement called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed by the country with the P5+1 group (5 members of the UN Security Council and Germany) in 2015.

Responding to President Rouhani's statement, President Trump wrote on Twitter: "Iran just issued a new warning. Rouhani said they will enrich uranium to "any amount we want" if there is no new nuclear deal. Be careful with this threat, Iran. Playing with knives like this can cut your hand."

President Donald Trump's border wall plan continues to face obstacles

Migrants climb over the Mexico-US border wall, near the El Chaparral border crossing in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, November 25, 2018. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

On July 3, a federal appeals court refused to lift an injunction preventing the Trump administration from using $2.5 billion earmarked for the war on illegal drugs to build a wall along the southern border with Mexico.

The court ruling is another setback for President Trump's efforts to build a border wall, one of his top pledges during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Leaked high school graduation math exam questions in France

Math exam leaked via text message. Photo: leparisien.fr

French authorities are investigating the leak of maths questions from the high school graduation exam in June. Police arrested 19 high school students on July 2 and 3 in the cities of Marseille and Paris.

Seven students have been released, while the remaining 12 remain in custody and face possible charges of exam cheating, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

Thousands of students had previously shared leaked maths exams via text messages and WhatsApp. About 50% of the 740,000 high school students had already taken the exams this year. French authorities have decided not to cancel the final exams for now.

This is not the first time exam papers have been leaked in France. A similar incident occurred in 2011 on an Internet forum, and four students were subsequently given suspended prison sentences.

Shipwreck off Tunisia, 82 people missing

Migrants after being rescued by the Tunisian coast guard, early June 2019. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

On July 4, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said a boat carrying 86 migrants from Libya sank in the Atlantic Ocean, leaving 82 people missing and only 3 survivors. According to IOM, the sinking occurred on the night of July 3 off the coast of the Tunisian city of Zarzis.

IOM Tunisia head Lorena Lando said Tunisian fishermen found the sunken boat and rescued four people but were unable to find the others. One of the four rescued has died, while the other three are in hospital.

Nearly a month earlier, also off the coast of Tunisia, a migrant boat sank, killing at least 65 people.