Ukraine opposes Russia’s return to PACE; President Trump imposes more heavy sanctions on Iran
(Baonghean.vn) - Ukraine "strike" to protest Russia's return to the European human rights agency; President Trump imposes more heavy sanctions on Iran; Israel blocks fuel shipments to the Gaza Strip... are the world's top news in the past 24 hours.
President Trump imposes additional heavy sanctions on Iran
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| US President Donald Trump announced additional sanctions against Iran at the White House on June 24. Photo: Reuters |
News agencyReutersUS President Donald Trump signed an executive order on June 24 imposing new sanctions aimed directly at Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whom he said was responsible for Tehran's "hostile behavior." "The sanctions imposed by the executive order will deny Iran's supreme leader, his office, and those close to him access to financial resources and support," Trump said.
The US president said the sanctions could end on June 25, or “last for years,” depending on Iran’s response. Mr. Trump said he was still open to talks with Iranian leaders. However, Tehran has rejected the offer of talks unless Washington lifts sanctions.
Ukraine 'strike' to protest Russia's return to European human rights body
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A session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France in 2011. Photo: AFP |
MEP Volodymyr Ariev, head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), announced on June 25 that they had decided to "temporarily suspend participation in the work of PACE, except for issues related to the deprivation of the Russian delegation's rights" at the body, in response to the decision to readmit Russia.
Earlier, PACE, the Council of Europe's human rights watchdog, decided to allow Russian representatives back into the council, after they were stripped of their voting rights over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was disappointed with the decision. "I tried to convince French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the return of the Russian delegation to PACE is possible only after Moscow meets the council's main demands. It is a pity that our European partners did not listen to us," Zelensky wrote on Facebook. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised PACE's decision. "This is a very positive event. PACE cannot fully function without Russia's participation," he said, adding that it was a "victory of common sense."
South Korea and Japan leaders do not meet bilaterally on the sidelines of the G20 Summit
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South Korean President Moon Jae-in (left) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not meet bilaterally on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
The South Korean presidential office (Blue House) said on June 25 that no meeting has been scheduled between the leaders of South Korea and Japan on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit scheduled to take place in Osaka, Japan this weekend. An unnamed official from the Blue House said that the meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will not take place at the G20 Summit. The official stressed that South Korea is always ready to host this meeting, but Japan is not. Tokyo has yet to respond to Seoul's request for a summit.
Relations between South Korea and Japan have been strained since the South Korean Supreme Court ruled that Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. must compensate Korean victims of wartime forced labor. South Korea has proposed establishing a joint compensation fund to address the issue, but Japan has rejected it.
Israel blocks fuel shipments to Gaza Strip
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| Trucks pass through the Kerem Shalom border crossing in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. Photo: THX/TTXVN |
Israel on June 25 blocked fuel shipments to the Gaza Strip in response to incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian coastal enclave into its territory. In a statement, COGAT, the Israeli military unit in charge of Palestinian civil affairs, said the decision was made after "an incendiary balloon launch from the Gaza Strip into Israel" that caused a fire in the border area. Fuel shipments were suspended at the Karem Shalom trade crossing on the morning of June 25 and Israel will keep the crossing closed "until further notice."
The Qatar-funded fuel shipments to Gaza across the Israeli border are part of a ceasefire agreed late last year between Israel and the militant Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. The UN-sponsored deal aims to ease fuel shortages in the enclave, which is suffering from an Israeli blockade.
Conservative Party to announce new British Prime Minister on July 23
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| British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (left) and former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Photo: AFPTTXVN |
The UK's ruling Conservative Party announced on June 25 that the winner of the race to become the party leader and the successor to Theresa May will be announced on July 23. On June 20, Conservative MPs in the UK House of Commons held a vote to select the final list of candidates for the position of party leader and British prime minister to replace May.
As a result, the two candidates, former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, won the highest number of votes to enter the decisive voting round. These two candidates will have 1 month to campaign and convince 160,000 Conservative Party members through debates and questions nationwide.
