European Court of Human Rights Rejects Kiev's Complaint; US Continues Military Presence in Syria

European Court of Human Rights Rejects Kiev's Complaint Over Kerch Strait Incident

Ukrainian naval ship captured by Russia. Photo: Sputnik

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has not responded to Kiev’s request for new safeguards in connection with the seizure of Ukrainian naval vessels in the Kerch Strait, according to a report on the Russian Justice Ministry website. The request was based on information about the health conditions of the crew members. Lawyers and relatives claimed that three prisoners needed specialized medical care. Kiev also sought to complain about the quality of medical care provided by Russian doctors.

The European Court of Human Rights found that the request contained no new arguments and was identical to the previous application, which had been thoroughly answered by the Russian authorities.

In a move seen as an attempt to appease its allies, the US government said on February 21 that it would continue to maintain its military presence in Syria. The decision was made after a phone call between President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart, Tayyip Erdogan.

A small peacekeeping force of about 200 people will remain in Syria for a while after the US withdrawal, according to White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders. However, the issue of how long these troops will stay and where they will be deployed was not mentioned. The US currently has an estimated 2,000 troops deployed in Syria and according to sources, the withdrawal process is expected to begin in the next few weeks. The announcement comes as the US and its Arab and Kurdish allies prepare to declare a complete victory over the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) in Syria.

2,600 foreign reporters registered to cover the US-North Korea event

Foreign press gathered in front of the Government Guest House in Hanoi to catch news of sideline activities on February 21 ahead of the second US-North Korea summit. Photo: Nam Tran

Responding to the press, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam - Mr. Le Hoai Trung said that there were about 2,600 foreign reporters registered to work at this event. Up to February 22, there were many journalists from major radio stations, newspapers, and news agencies of Korea and Japan such as KBS, NHK, Yonhap... present in Vietnam. The US, Korea and Japan are the 3 countries with the largest number of reporters registered to work at the Trump - Kim event in Hanoi.

According to Mr. Le Hoai Trung, Vietnam only had 20 days to prepare for the talks after US President Donald Trump officially announced Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, as the venue for the event. Meanwhile, for the previous talks, Singapore had nearly 2 months to prepare.

Belarus considers joint response with Russia if US deploys missiles

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has warned that his country and Russia will be forced to consider a joint response if the US deploys new intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Photo: DocumentaryTube

On February 22, Belta news agency quoted Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko as warning that his country and Russia would be forced to consider a joint response if the US deployed new medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe.

According to Mr. Lukashenko, such a move would be necessary if Washington moves forward with the deployment of new missiles after it withdraws from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The Belarusian president stated: "We will be forced to consider response measures together with Russia (if the US deploys missiles)."

US may ease conditions for easing sanctions on North Korea

"The American people should know that we have imposed the toughest economic sanctions ever imposed on North Korea and will not ease them until we are confident that the threat has been significantly reduced,"AP"For the safety of the American people, we must reduce the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons. Then we can get to work on peace, security on the peninsula and a bright future for the North Korean people," Pompeo said when asked if the US was willing to compromise on the goal of complete, verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

According to AP, this comment by the US Secretary of State seems to leave open the possibility that Washington will ease sanctions on Pyongyang without the country's complete and verifiable denuclearization, a condition that the US has always firmly maintained. Pompeo expressed hope that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will make good on his commitment to give up nuclear weapons in the second summit with US President Donald Trump, scheduled to take place in Hanoi on February 27-28. However, the US Secretary of State refused to disclose details about what the two sides are willing to do to promote negotiations.

There are 120,000 Thai citizens registered to vote abroad.

According to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 120,000 Thai citizens have registered to vote abroad, with the largest number in Sydney, Australia, with more than 10,000 registered. Overseas voting registration is done online or in person at 94 embassies, consulates and the Thai Economic and Trade Office from January 28, 2019 to February 19, 2019.

Earlier, Thai media quoted Election Commission Secretary General Jarungvith Phumma as saying that more than 1.5 million voters had registered to vote early before the general election on March 24. This election has more voters registering to vote early than previous elections. Thai citizens abroad will vote at the nearest embassy, ​​consulate and Economic and Trade Office in the country where they reside from March 4-16.