Petition demanding Zelensky's resignation has over 15,000 signatures; US entices South Korea to 'oust' Huawei

US entices South Korea to 'kick out' Huawei

Outside Huawei's research center in Shanghai (China). Photo: Reuters

Threat messages from Huawei were repeatedly delivered by the US in meetings, the newspaper said.Chosun IlboA South Korean diplomatic official told the South Korean news agency on May 23 that in a recent meeting, a US diplomatic official warned LG U+ about using telecommunications equipment made by Huawei. The official asked Seoul to limit the company's activities in "sensitive areas" in South Korea, where US military bases are located.

"Huawei must be pushed out of South Korea",Chosun Ilboquoted a US official. A South Korean Foreign Ministry official later responded that they were aware of Washington's concerns but maintained their stance of not interfering in the business affairs of private companies. According toChosun IlboThe US State Department even held a closed-door meeting in Thailand with South Korean officials and representatives of several businesses to seek ways to penetrate the telecommunications equipment market in Southeast Asia.

A petition calling for Mr. Zelensky to resign has received more than 15 thousand signatures.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Photo: Sputnik

A petition calling for the resignation of Ukraine's new leader appeared on May 22, two days after Mr. Zelensky was officially inaugurated as President of Ukraine. The petition "demanding the resignation of President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky", published on the Ukrainian leader's website, has collected more than 15,000 signatures. Accordingly, as of 4:45 p.m. on May 23, 15,215 people have signed the petition.

To be considered, the petition needs at least 25,000 signatures. To collect the remaining signatures in support of Mr. Zelensky's resignation, the author of this proposal has 92 days left.

Indian Election: Modi's Party Wins a Huge Victory

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: Reuters

The 17th Indian parliamentary election, which lasted more than a month, ended on May 19. Counting of more than 600 million votes began at 8 a.m. on May 23 (local time) and the final results are expected to be announced tonight. This is the first time since 1984 that a political party has consecutively won more seats than the minimum requirement of 272 seats to form a government, according to Reuters. The official results announced at noon on May 23 also showed that the opposition Congress Party won only 51 seats. Thus, Mr. Narendra Modi, 68 years old, is likely to continue to lead the country of more than 1.3 billion people for another 5 years.

Summing up the election that lasted more than a month with nearly 900 million voters casting their ballots, the National Democratic Alliance with the BJP as the core won 324 seats, the United Progressive Alliance of the Congress Party won 111 seats. The BJP's "great" victory, as described by Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, a key member of the BJP, will allow Mr. Modi to continue promoting the fight against rural unemployment and many other policies such as "Make in India".

Russia wins big because the US embargoes oil imports from Venezuela

Russian-flagged oil tanker at Tripoli naval base. Photo: Reuters

Sputnik cited an article in Bloomberg that reported that in early May, the US received a total of 13 tankers carrying 5 million barrels of crude oil and oil products from Russia, amid a cut in Venezuelan crude oil products due to sanctions. The newspaper described Russia's crude oil exports as on the rise, with the total amount of Russian oil imported into the US expected to triple.

According to Bloomberg, US oil imports in February 2019 were around 16 million barrels, while the figure was 20 million barrels a year ago. In 2017, the US imported 1.5 million barrels of oil from Russia, but by 2018, this figure had reached 7.5 million barrels.

Syrian army intensifies campaign to repel rebels in the Northwest region

Syrian soldiers during a campaign to clear rebels in Hama province. Photo: THX/TTXVN

Syrian government aircraft carried out airstrikes on rebel positions in several towns in Idlib province in the country's northwest on May 23, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said. Idlib province, which is considered a rebel stronghold in northwestern Syria, is one of four de-escalation zones established under an agreement reached in May 2017 at the Astana talks (of the Russia, Iran, Türkiye) on peace for Syria.

In neighboring Hama province, the Syrian army entered a third straight day of fighting to repel a rebel counterattack in the town of Kafr Nabuda. The fighting left 15 people dead, including 11 militants. The Syrian government liberated Kafr Nabuda on May 8, but rebels retook parts of the town on May 22. In total, more than 100 people have been killed in fierce fighting near Kafr Nabuda since May 21.

Huu Quan