World News Roundup: EU travel recommendations may impede Americans and Russians; Migrant workers need support, jobs at home after pandemic disruption: ILO and more

But the site near the city of Jajarm is also home to a secret facility set up by Iran’s elite security force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, that has been producing aluminium powder for use in its missile programme, according to a former Iranian government official and documents relating to the facility he shared with Reuters.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

EU travel recommendations may impede Americans and Russians

The European Union (EU) hopes to reopen borders for outsiders from July, but will review individual nations' COVID-19 situation fortnightly, according to diplomats and a document laying out criteria that could keep Americans and Russians out. The 27-nation bloc is eager to restart tourism, which has taken a massive hit during the coronavirus pandemic, but fears of second spikes have so far only allowed for partial and patchy reopening of borders with multiple health and security curbs.

Migrant workers need support, jobs at home after pandemic disruption: ILO

The U.N. labour agency appealed to governments on Wednesday to support tens of millions of migrant workers forced to return to their homelands due to the coronavirus pandemic only to face unemployment and poverty. Governments should include returning workers, many of whom had lost jobs overnight, in their social protection measures and reintegrate them into national labour markets, the International Labour Organization said in a report.

North Korea suspends military action plans against South Korea

North Korea has decided to suspend military action plans against South Korea, the official KCNA news agency reported on Wednesday, as a report suggested North Korean troops were taking down loudspeakers recently reinstalled at the fortified border. Political tensions between the rival Koreas had been rising over Pyongyang's objections to plans by defector-led groups in the South to send propaganda leaflets into the North. Stalled negotiations regarding economic sanctions imposed because of the North's nuclear weapons programme had also fuelled tensions.

Lawmakers in Europe call on Israel to ditch annexation plans

Any Israeli move to annex parts of the West Bank would be "fatal" for Middle East peace hopes and must be prevented, if necessary with countermeasures, more than 1,000 lawmakers from across Europe said in a letter to European governments. The June 23 letter, signed by 1,080 lawmakers from 25 countries and made public on Wednesday, raises parliamentary concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's Israeli-Palestinian peace plan. The signatories said annexation would break international law.

Pakistan accuses India of funding militants as diplomatic relations dive

Pakistan accused old foe India on Wednesday of funding militant groups, a day after the nuclear-armed neighbours said they would expel half the other's embassy staff for the first time in nearly two decades. Tuesday's announcement of planned expulsions followed weeks of accusations and counter-accusations including espionage and the harassment of rival diplomats as relations plummet.

Saudi-led coalition deploys troops to monitor truce between Yemeni allies

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said on Wednesday it deployed troops in the province of Abyan to monitor a ceasefire between the internationally recognised government and the southern separatists. Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and the United Arab Emirates-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) have agreed on a ceasefire and they will begin talks in Saudi Arabia on implementing a peace deal, the coalition said earlier this week.

Special Report: Inside Iran’s secret project to produce aluminium powder for missiles

At the edge of the desert in North Khorasan province in northeast Iran, near the country’s largest deposit of bauxite, sits an aluminium production complex that the government has publicly hailed as a key part of its efforts to boost output of the metal. But the site near the city of Jajarm is also home to a secret facility set up by Iran’s elite security force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, that has been producing aluminium powder for use in its missile programme, according to a former Iranian government official and documents relating to the facility he shared with Reuters. Aluminium powder, derived from bauxite, is a key ingredient in solid-fuel propellants used to launch missiles.

British PM Johnson dismisses criticism on local lockdowns, coronavirus app

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed criticism on Wednesday of his government's plans to implement local lockdowns if there are flare-ups of the novel coronavirus and of an app to trace the spread of the virus. At prime minister's questions in parliament, the opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer suggested both systems were not yet ready before England eases its coronavirus lockdown from July 4.

Iran says it's ready for talks if U.S. apologises over nuclear pact

Iran would be open to talks with the United States if Washington apologises for exiting a 2015 nuclear deal and compensates Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, cautioning that U.S. calls for discussions were insincere. The confrontation between arch foes Tehran and Washington has worsened since 2018, when U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with major powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.

No sweet victory for Assad as economy collapses and U.S. sanctions hit

Just last year, President Bashar al-Assad seemed on the brink of crowning military victories by easing his diplomatic isolation and recovering more of Syria without a bullet being fired. Not only had U.S.-allied Kurds invited government forces back to the northeast, but businessmen from the once hostile United Arab Emirates visited Damascus to scout out investment opportunities and regional trade had started to pick up.

(With inputs from agencies.)