Russia vows to retaliate against new US sanctions; Ukraine dissolves majority coalition in parliament

Russia vows to respond proportionately to new US sanctions

Illustration: Sputnik

The Kremlin said on May 17 that Russia would respond proportionately to new sanctions imposed by the United States earlier in the day on Russian citizens, affirming that the response would be in line with Moscow's national interests.

The Kremlin's statement came after the United States imposed sanctions on a group in Russia's Chechnya Republic and five individuals, including at least three Russians, on May 16 for alleged violations of the Global Magnitsky Act. The sanctions came two days after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, where the two sides expressed optimism about the prospects for cooperation in many areas.

Ukraine dissolves parliamentary majority coalition

The main meeting room of the Ukrainian Parliament. Photo: Kiev Post

On May 17, the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), Andriy Parubiy, announced the end of the coalition in the country's parliament, paving the way for lawmakers to have 30 days to form a new majority coalition. Parubiy's announcement came shortly after the Popular Front party (holding 81 parliamentary seats) withdrew from the majority coalition of incumbent President Petro Poroshenko, meaning the collapse of the ruling coalition.

With the move, the Ukrainian parliament will have a statutory one-month deadline to form a new majority coalition, or the country's president can dissolve parliament and call for early parliamentary elections. Previously, the Ukrainian parliament also set the date for President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be officially sworn in as May 20, 2019.

President Trump proposes reform of US immigration system

A ceremony to grant naturalization decisions to immigrants in the US. Photo: AP

On May 16, US President Donald Trump called on Congress to reform the immigration system to create job opportunities for skilled and English-speaking immigrants over those with family ties to Americans. President Trump said this would help the US catch up with other countries and increase global competitiveness.

Speaking to cabinet members at the White House, Mr. Trump said that about two-thirds of the 1.1 million immigrants who come to the United States each year are currently granted green cards confirming their permanent resident status through family ties. Mr. Trump proposed maintaining the total number of legal immigrants, but switching to a system of granting green cards based on skills and qualifications, thereby increasing the proportion of skilled immigrants from 12 to 57%. The proposal also requires immigrants to know English and pass a test of citizenship before being granted residency.

Venezuelan government and opposition hold first meeting in Norway

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (right) and opposition leader Juan Guaido. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

On May 16, Venezuelan Ambassador to the United Nations Jorge Valero announced that a delegation of the Venezuelan government and representatives of the opposition in the country had met in Oslo, Norway to seek the possibility of conducting dialogue to resolve the current crisis in the South American country. According to Russia's RT news agency, speaking to reporters in Geneva, Switzerland, Mr. Valero said: "I can confirm that there was a dialogue between the two sides, but I cannot go into details."

Mr. Valero emphasized that the opposition participating in this meeting includes "democratic" members. Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido confirmed that he sent a delegation to Norway, but denied that there was a dialogue between the two sides. This is the first contact between the Venezuelan government and the opposition since the South American country was plunged into a political crisis after Mr. Guaido declared himself "interim president" of the country on January 23.

Japan relaxes visas for foreign nurses

Foreign nurses working in Japan. Photo: The Japan Times

Japan has decided to relax visa regulations for foreign nurses from countries that have signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the country. Currently, Japan is facing a shortage of human resources in the field of nursing and medical care. According to forecasts, the country will lack about 340,000 nurses by fiscal year 2025.

Accordingly, foreign nurses who come to Japan under EPAs and have about 4 years of work and training experience in Japan can switch to the resident status of "specific skilled workers" that the country has started applying since April 1, 2019. These cases do not need to pass the national exam as before, as long as they meet certain conditions such as answering at least 50% of the questions in the most recent nursing technical examination.