Russia won't deploy new missiles if US 'shows restraint'; Gibraltar rejects Washington's request
(Baonghean.vn) - Russia sets conditions for not deploying new missiles when the INF Treaty collapses; IS claims responsibility for the wedding bombing in Afghanistan that killed 63 people; Gibraltar rejects the US's last-minute request to recapture the Iranian oil tanker; Rescuing more than 330 migrants off the coast of Libya... are the world's outstanding news in the past 24 hours.
IS claims responsibility for wedding bombing in Afghanistan that killed 63
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| Shoes and sandals of the victims were collected after the bombing. Photo: Reuters |
According to the Afghan Interior Ministry, at least 63 people were killed and 182 injured in a suicide bombing on the evening of August 17 targeting a wedding in the west of the capital Kabul.
The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for the bombing. IS has been behind many of the deadliest attacks in Afghan cities in recent years, some of which have targeted the Shiite minority.
Russia sets conditions for not deploying new missiles if INF Treaty collapses
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A Harpoon missile is launched from the US destroyer USS Fitzgerald during a live-fire exercise at sea near Guam. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on August 18 that Russia has also withdrawn from the INF Treaty. However, the country has no plans to deploy new missiles if the US does not have such systems in Europe.
The statement was made after the US officially withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia in early August, causing public concern that a new arms race could occur.
US exempts $7.8 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% tax
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Cargo containers at Yangshan Port, Shanghai, China. Photo: Reuters |
The Office of the US Trade Representative has just announced a list of 44 Chinese products exempted from the 10% tax, worth about 7.8 billion USD.
The list of new tariff exemptions released by the Office of the US Trade Representative includes household furniture, children's products, internet modems and wifi routers, and certain chemicals used in plastics manufacturing.
These products will be excluded from the $300 billion worth of Chinese goods that were hit with a 10% tariff on September 1 and December 15, including some items that were already subject to a 25% tariff from the previous round of tariffs.
More than 330 migrants rescued off Libya coast
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| Migrants wait to be rescued off the coast of Libya on July 5, 2019. Photo: AFP/ VNA |
According to a source from the Libyan Navy on August 18, within the framework of special operations north of the capital Tripoli, this force rescued 335 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean.
Libyan Navy spokesman General Ayoub Kacem said a coast guard patrol rescued 57 illegal migrants on a wooden boat 40 nautical miles north of Zouara on August 17, including 17 women and nine children. The migrants were from Ethiopia and Egypt.
Earlier, on August 13, another Libyan navy patrol also rescued 278 migrants on four inflatable boats northwest and northeast of Tripoli.
According to the Libyan navy, the migrants included 128 Sudanese and the rest were from Chad, Egypt, Nigeria, Benin and Eritrea.
Gibraltar rejects last-minute US request to recapture Iranian oil tanker
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Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 in waters off Gibraltar on August 15. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
According to Sputnik, on August 18, Gibraltar authorities refused to comply with the US request to detain the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1. The Gibraltar government statement said: "We cannot comply with the request because we operate under European Union law and because there are differences in sanctions against Iran between the US and the European Union. The European Union's sanctions against Iran - applied in Gibraltar - are much narrower in scope than the sanctions applied by the US."
On August 16, the US Department of Justice announced a warrant to seize the Grace 1 oil tanker. The department accused Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of conspiring to illegally access the US financial system to support illegal shipments from Iran to Syria.