China spends $70 billion to get the US to drop tariffs; NATO refuses to admit Qatar
(Baonghean.vn) - The world over the past 24 hours has featured news such as: Russia will deploy a Pantsir-S1 artillery-missile division in Crimea; China "offers to buy 70 billion USD worth of goods" to get the US to lift tariffs; Singapore restricts airspace during the US-North Korea Summit; NATO gives reasons for refusing to admit Qatar into the military alliance...
President Putin: Russia and EU both want to remove sanctions
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| Russian President Putin and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. |
According toTASSDuring a meeting with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on June 5 in Vienna, Mr. Putin said that sanctions cause losses to everyone, including Russia, and all sides hope that the sanctions will be removed.
“Of course, we understand that it is difficult for the EU member states to say that (removing sanctions). But that does not hinder the development of bilateral relations between Russia and Austria. We will use every opportunity to do this better and implement the plan I just mentioned,” Putin said.
“Russia does not lack confidence, Russia continues to maintain an open attitude and wishes to cooperate with other countries” – President Putin emphasized.
China "offers to buy $70 billion worth of goods" to get the US to drop tariffs
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| US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in Beijing on June 3. Photo:AFP |
According toWall Street JournalVice Premier Liu He, who led the Chinese negotiating team, told US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that Beijing would buy about $70 billion in US agricultural and energy products, including soybeans, corn, natural gas, crude oil and coal.
However, according to sources close to the negotiations, Mr. Liu told US officials that the above proposal would be canceled if the Donald Trump administration imposed tariffs of 50 billion USD on Chinese goods as long threatened.
Hezbollah and Iran will not withdraw until Syria is liberated
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Hezbollah armed forces soldiers. |
According to Sputnik news agency, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri said that Hezbollah and Iranian armed forces will not leave Syria until the country is completely liberated from terrorists.
Berri said Iranian officers and Hezbollah soldiers are in Syria at the request of the Syrian government, just like the Russian air force. The presence of Hezbollah in Syria is to prevent IS terrorists from entering Lebanon. “If Hezbollah were not in Syria, IS would be in the country,” Berri said.
Singapore restricts airspace during US-North Korea Summit
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Scene at Singapore airport. Photo: Livemint. |
In a notice sent to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Singapore's aviation authority said on June 6 that the country will restrict its airspace during the US-North Korea Summit scheduled for June 12.
The announcement stated that Singapore's airspace will be temporarily restricted on June 11, 12 and 13. Accordingly, all aircraft arriving at Changi International Airport will be required to reduce speed and be subject to some restrictions on runway use for national security reasons.
NATO gives reasons for refusing to admit Qatar into the military alliance
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| Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohamed Al-Attiyah. Source: AFP/TTXVN |
According to French news agency AFP, on June 6, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) rejected Qatar's request to join the Western military alliance, saying that membership was only for the US and Europe.
Earlier, on June 5, Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohamed Al-Attiyah said that the country's long-term strategic "ambition" is to join NATO.
Qatar's desire to join NATO comes amid a year-long diplomatic row with its Gulf neighbors that has seen Doha isolated by its former regional allies.
Volcano eruption in Guatemala: difficult to rescue nearly 200 people still missing
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Rescue workers carry the body of a victim of the Fuego volcano out of the San Miguel Los Lotes community in Escuintla, June 4. Photo: Reuters |
Guatemalan civil protection officials say 192 people are still missing after the Fuego volcano in the country erupted, killing at least 75. The director of Guatemala's National Coordination for Disaster Reduction (Conred), Sergio Cabanas, said a list of the missing people had been compiled.
Rescuers said the search for bodies in villages buried under layers of ash was progressing slowly due to the difficult terrain and thick layers of mud and rock. Cabanas said the search would continue until the last victim was found, although the prospect of finding more survivors was slim.
Facebook shared user data with 4 Chinese companies
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| The Facebook logo at an Internet conference in Beijing in April 2018. Photo: AP |
According to the New York Times, this information was announced by Facebook on June 5. The cooperation agreements were signed since 2010, allowing at least four major Chinese companies, Huawei, Levono, Oppo and TCL, to access Facebook user data.
What's worrying here is that Huawei, one of four Chinese companies that Facebook allowed access to user data, is a telecommunications equipment supplier that has been flagged by US intelligence officials as a national security risk.
All four of these partnerships are still in effect. However, in a recent interview, Facebook officials said the company will gradually reduce its partnership with Huawei by the end of this week.
