Russia and US blame each other for withdrawing from INF; Japan removes South Korea from 'white list'
(Baonghean.vn) - The US and Russia officially withdrew from the nuclear treaty; Japan removed South Korea from the "white list"; Chief of Staff of the President of Ukraine resigned after 2 months in office... are the world's outstanding news in the past 24 hours.
US, Russia officially withdraw from nuclear treaty
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| Missiles of the US company Lockheed Martin are displayed at the Eurosatory international defense and security exhibition in Villepinte, France, June 13, 2016. Photo: AFP/TTXV |
According to AFP, on August 2, Russia officially announced the termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty after the US initiated the withdrawal process this year. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated: "On August 2, 2019, with the US initiating the treaty between the (former) Soviet Union and the US on the elimination of short- and intermediate-range missiles... terminated."
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on the same day that the US officially abandoned the INF Treaty with Russia, accusing Moscow of deliberately violating this Cold War-era arms control treaty. Speaking at a regional conference held in Bangkok, Thailand, Mr. Pompeo affirmed: "The US withdrawal from the treaty takes effect from today. Russia is the only party responsible for the termination of the treaty."
Trump unexpectedly announces $300 billion tax on Chinese goods
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| US President Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters |
US President Donald Trump announced that he will impose a 10% tariff on a total of $300 billion worth of Chinese goods starting September 1. President Trump then wrote four tweets in a row about imposing a new round of import tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. This means that almost all Chinese goods imported by the US will be taxed, and marks the end of the temporary truce in the trade war between the two countries.
On the same day, the Chinese Foreign Ministry protested the US's decision to impose new tariffs and announced that it would take countermeasures. Reuters news agency quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying as saying, "Beijing does not want a trade war with the US, but is ready to fight one."
Chief of Staff of Ukrainian President resigns after 2 months in office
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| Mr. Andriy Bogdan. Photo: ft.com |
After two months in office, the Chief of Staff of the President of Ukraine, Mr. Andriy Bogdan, has submitted his resignation to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The Ukrainian leader's website confirmed the information on August 2, but said that President Zelenskiy has not yet approved the resignation. The reason for Mr. Bogdan's resignation is currently unknown.
After taking office on May 31, President Zelenskiy appointed Mr. Andriy Bogdan to head the Presidential Office. This decision caused a lot of controversy because Mr. Bogdan used to be the lawyer for Ihor Kolomoisky - one of the powerful "tycoons" of Ukraine and the relationship between Mr. Zelenskiy and this person was the focus of attention in the president's election campaign since early 2019.
Japan removes South Korea from 'white list' for preferential export treatment
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| Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono (left) shakes hands with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung Wha in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: AP |
On August 2, the Japanese Cabinet approved a proposal to remove South Korea from the White List. According to the decision, from August 28, more than 1,000 Japanese export items to South Korea will have to be approved by the government for each order. The Japanese government can also arbitrarily adjust the review time for export orders.
Japanese officials say the changes will have no long-term impact on legitimate exports, but Seoul says they could have major consequences for its already struggling economy.
The New Zealand government does not have enough money to buy back guns from its people.
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Guns in New Zealand. Photo: Daily News. |
The New Zealand government said on August 2 that so far, the country has spent more than 12 million New Zealand dollars (NZD) to buy back guns from more than 4,000 owners under its gun buyback scheme. With the current level of purchases, the New Zealand government believes that the 200 million NZD allocated for this scheme will not be enough.
KPMG, an accounting firm commissioned by the New Zealand Government to estimate the cost of the gun buyback, said that people in this country currently own many new, high-value semi-automatic guns and some very rare guns, worth between NZ$10,000 and NZ$100,000. Therefore, the actual cost of the gun buyback plan could be more than NZ$750 million.
