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38 Sunday, 04 August 2019- edited by Ilaria
Saltarelli and Martina
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The
US withdraws from the Intermediate-Range
Nuclear Forces Treaty
(INF
treaty). It was signed in 1987 by the Us and
Soviet Union leaders Ronald Reagan and Mikhail
Gorbachev to eliminate land-based nuclear
missiles and medium-range arsenals from
Europe. In October 2018 the United
States accused Russia of violating the deal
and announced its intention to withdraw from
the Treaty. In December 2018 the US announced
that would suspend its treaty obligations in
60 days if Russia did not return to compliance in
that time. In February, Trump set a 2 August
deadline for the US to withdraw if Russia did not
comply with US and Nato demands.
In
a statement issued by his spokesperson, Antonio
Guterres, UN Secretary general noted that “in the
current deteriorating international security
environment previously-agreed arms control and
disarmament agreements are increasingly under
threat”. Guterres calls on Russia and the US
“to extend New START and to undertake negotiations
on further arms control measures”, concluded the
statement.
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As
thousands of riot police flooded central Moscow on
Saturday to curb protests calling for fair and
free elections, the Russian authorities announced
they had opened a criminal money-laundering
investigation against the Anti-Corruption
Foundation, an organization led by Russia’s
most prominent opposition activist, Aleksei A.
Navalny. The case involved funding for the
anticorruption group’s work of 1 billion rubles
(around $15 million) in “money obtained by
criminal means.”
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On
Wednesday 31st July the U.S. Department of
the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control
(OFAC) imposed sanctions against the Iranian
regime’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif
(Javad Zarif). “Javad Zarif implements the
reckless agenda of Iran’s Supreme Leader, and is
the regime’s primary spokesperson around the
world. The United States is sending a clear
message to the Iranian regime that its recent
behavior is completely unacceptable,” said
Treasury Secretary Steven T.
Mnuchin.
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Libya
plans to shut down three of its biggest migration
detention centres, the country's Interior Minister
Fathi Bashagha has announced.The centres in
question are in Misrata, Tajoura and
Khoms. Vincent Cochetel, the Special Envoy
of the UNHCR for the Central Mediterranean
situation said “this will be a very good
1st step when it happens. We are asking for
the same closure of detention centres in ALL parts
of the country, including those not under the
GNA’s control”.
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Hong
Kong. the city enters its ninth
consecutive week of protests. Thousands of civil
servants, medical workers and staff from the
city’s finance sector rallied on Thursday and
Friday, while further protests were planned
through the weekend. Demonstrators have also
called for a citywide strike on Monday. In recent
days, Beijing has ramped up its condemnation of
the protests, which it describes as “riots”, and
has accused the US and other western powers of
instigating the unrest to hurt China.
On
Thursday, Chen Daoxiang, the head of the Chinese
army garrison in Hong Kong, said the military was
“determined to protect [the] national sovereignty”
of Hong Kong and would help put down the
“intolerable” unrest if requested. The army
released a promotional video showing tanks and
soldiers firing on citizens in an anti-riot
drill.
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Sudan's
ruling military council and main opposition
coalition have agreed on a constitutional
declaration which will pave the way for a new
period of transitional government. African
Union mediator Mohamed Hassan Lebatt made the
announcement early on Saturday, without giving any
details.
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