By AFP  February 16, 2018 | 08:56 am GMT+7 U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley briefs the media in front of remains of Iranian Iran has strongly denied arming Yemen’s rebels and accused the U.S. of presenting ‘fabricated’ evidence. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Thursday that it was “time for the Security Council to act” following the release of a report by UN experts concluding that Iran had violated the arms embargo on Yemen. The report found that Tehran had failed to block supplies to Yemen’s Huthi rebels of ballistic missiles that were fired at Saudi Arabia. “This report highlights what we’ve been saying for months: Iran has been illegally transferring weapons in violation of multiple Security Council resolutions,” Haley said in a statement. The ambassador added that “the world cannot continue to allow these blatant violations to go unanswered” and that Tehran must face “consequences.” “It’s time for the Security Council to act.” Iran has strongly denied arming the Huthis and has accused Haley of presenting “fabricated” evidence that a November 4 missile fired at Riyadh airport was Iranian-made. Diplomats said the Iranian violations are likely to be addressed in a draft resolution renewing sanctions on Yemen that the council is set to adopt later this month. It remains unclear however if Russia will back any move that punishes Iran. Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia last month cast doubt over the report’s findings, which AFP first reported on in January when the document was confidentially sent to the… [Read full story]
The US administration has proposed a new shield in Europe to stop missiles fired by Iran against the US and its allies. The New York Times on May 22 reported that the proposal called for installing 10 anti-missile interceptors by 2011. Poland and the Czech Republic are among the nations under consideration for the site, which is expected to be recommended to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. According to the Xinhuanet, the Pentagon has asked the US Congress for 56 million USD to begin initial work on the long-envisioned anti-missile site. The final cost is estimated at 1.6 billion USD. The…... [read more]
The United States, Britain, France and Germany sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council's Iran sanctions committee on October 21 notifying it of Tehran's recent missile test and demanded action in response to what they said was a violation. The letter, which was sent to the committee by the United States on behalf of the four countries, said the launch was in breach of Security Council resolutions and reiterated that the ballistic missile was "inherently capable of delivering a nuclear weapon." "We trust that this information will assist the Committee in its responsibility to examine and take appropriate…... [read more]
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is seen during the filming of an interview with the BBC, in Damascus February 9, 2015. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dismissed on Monday remarks made by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that Assad should be included in negotiations to reach a political transition, saying "declarations from outside do not concern us". In a Sunday CBS interview, Kerry did not repeat the standard U.S. line that Assad had lost all legitimacy over the shattering civil war in Syria and so had to go. "We have to negotiate in the end," Kerry said when asked whether the…... [read more]
ĐẮK LẮK - Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam has asked Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) provinces to take drastic measures to stop the spread of dengue fever in the region. He said at a conference on strengthening dengue fever prevention work held by the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Đắk Lắk Province on Sunday that localities should closely monitor the situation to detect and treat the disease early as well as to limit and control the disease outbreak. The Deputy PM requested the provinces intensify their communication campaign to raise public awareness on disease prevention. Local residents are encouraged to…... [read more]
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged related agencies and ministries to speed up investigation and legal proceedings in eight major corruption cases during the first months of this year. Speaking at the national conference to review last year's anti-corruption efforts and prepare this year's programme, the Prime Minister asked participants to quickly complete proceedings and announce judgements on eight cases of corruption to the public. The eight cases include the installation of fake electricity meters by HCM City's power company; the abuse of power by Mac Kim Ton, director of the Education and Training Department in Thai Binh; the bribery…... [read more]