Mayor shot dead during flag salute; Libya loses tens of millions of dollars every day

Russia - US promote summit

On July 2, a US congressional delegation met with senior Russian officials in St. Petersburg, as officials from both sides rushed to prepare for a summit between the two countries' leaders scheduled to take place in mid-July.

Alabama Republican Congressman Richard Shelby, who led the US delegation, called for dialogue between the two sides. It is not yet clear whether the US congressional delegation will later meet with host country President Vladimir Putin.

On the same day, the Kremlin said that at the upcoming summit this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump could discuss "all other issues" except Crimea - the peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014.

Anti-money laundering agency maintains strongest measures against North Korea

Source: AliExpress.com

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international anti-money laundering body, has decided to maintain its highest level of countermeasures against North Korea regarding illicit financial activities, Seoul's Financial Services Commission (FSC) said on July 2.

The decision was made at the FATF's regular meeting in Paris (France) last week, with the participation of 37 members, including South Korea, Japan, China, the US...

At the meeting, FATF expressed concern that North Korea "failed to address major issues in the fight against money laundering, as well as the fight against terrorist financing".

Thai soccer team survives 10 days trapped in flooded cave

The military and professional rescue teams have been mobilized to Tham Luang Nang Non cave to search for the missing members.

Chiang Rai provincial authorities announced on the evening of July 2 that they had found 12 teenagers and their soccer coach trapped in Tham Luang cave for the past 10 days. All survived. The group of 13 missing people were found thanks to the "Seal" force, a special unit of the Thai Navy.

The rescue team’s current mission is to get the 13 boys out of the cave safely. This remains a challenge because most of the Tham Luang cave is still submerged in water and mud.

Stopping oil exports, Libya loses tens of millions of dollars every day

Source: Al Jazeera

On July 1, the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC), under the management of the Government of National Accord (GNA), said that the recent suspension of oil and natural gas production and export in the oil crescent region due to the impact of the obstruction and blockade activities of the Eastern Army (LNA) has caused NOC to lose about 67.4 million USD per day.

The eastern Libyan army, led by General Khalifa Haftar, recently defeated terrorist groups occupying the oil crescent and took control of the area.

The oil crescent is considered the main and important oil producing region of Libya as it concentrates the country's largest oil ports, located about 500 km east of the capital Tripoli.

He rehearsed the situation after the queen died.

Queen Elizabeth II is 92 years old this year. Photo: Reuters

SheetThe Sunday TimesBritish ministers have just taken part in a secret exercise of “unprecedented scale” to prepare for the situation after the Queen’s death. The exercise is said to have nothing to do with Queen Elizabeth II’s health condition.

The exercise, dubbed Castle Dove, focused on planning for the 10 days following the Queen’s death, when 600 members of the Privy Council were expected to gather at Buckingham Palace to prepare for the new monarch’s accession.

Queen Elizabeth II is 92 years old this year and plans for “London Bridge”, the situation after the Queen's death, have been prepared for a long time.

The US has not considered withdrawing from the World Trade Organization.

US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. Source: Reuters

Reuters reported that US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on July 2 that it would be premature for the US to discuss any decision to withdraw from the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Speaking on CNBC, Secretary Ross said: "The WTO knows that it needs some reform. I think there is a real need to update and synchronize its activities and we'll see where that leads. But I think it's a little premature to talk about withdrawing from the organization."

Secretary Ross's comments come after US President Donald Trump sharply criticized the global trade body.

• Mayor Antonio Halili in his office in this photo taken on July 18, 2016. Photo: AP

According to The Inquirer, Mr. Antonio "Thony" Halili - mayor of Tanauan city in Batangas province southwest of Manila, was murdered while attending the flag-raising ceremony on the morning of July 2.

Mr. Halili is the man who organized the parade of drug suspects in his city known as the "Parade of Shame."

Mayor Halili was also on a list of local government officials accused of involvement in the illegal drug trade, released by the Philippine National Police Commission in 2017. Halili has denied the allegations.