World News Roundup: Albanian opposition resume protest to oust PM; Iran makes new nuclear threats


Reuters | Updated: 09-07-2019 05:28 IST | Created: 09-07-2019 05:24 IST
World News Roundup: Albanian opposition resume protest to oust PM; Iran makes new nuclear threats
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Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

New Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis takes over, Tsipras bows out

Conservative politician Kyriakos Mitsotakis was sworn in as Greece's new prime minister on Monday after storming to victory on a pledge to create jobs and lure investment to the crisis-hit nation. Mitsotakis's New Democracy party won an outright majority with 158 seats in the 300-seat legislature. His pledges for more investments, well-paid jobs and fewer taxes appeared to have won over Greeks worn out by years of EU-prescribed austerity and the euro zone's highest unemployment.

Iran makes new nuclear threats that would reverse steps in pact

Iran threatened on Monday to restart deactivated centrifuges and ramp up enrichment of uranium to 20% purity in a move away from the 2015 nuclear deal, but the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards insisted the world knows Tehran is not pursuing nuclear arms. The threats to ramp up enrichment, made by Tehran's nuclear agency spokesman, would go far beyond the small steps Iran has taken in the past week to nudge stocks of fissile material just beyond limits in the pact that Washington abandoned last year.

Russia nuclear sub fire could have caused catastrophe: report cites navy official

A fire aboard a top-secret Russian nuclear submarine could have led to a "catastrophe of global proportions" if not for the selfless actions of the crew, a senior navy official was cited by a Russian media outlet as saying. Fourteen submariners were killed on July 1 during a fire in a deep-water research submersible that was surveying the sea floor near the Arctic, according to Russia's Defence Ministry.

Hong Kong singer-activist urges U.N. rights body to defend territory

China is tightening its grip on Hong Kong and the territory's autonomy and democratic freedoms are slipping away, a prominent Hong Kong activist told the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday in a plea for international action. Beijing's delegation twice interrupted the speech by Denise Ho, a Hong Kong singer, producer and pro-democracy activist who is banned in mainland China.

Leak of ambassador's memos about Trump could harm UK-U.S. relations: British minister

The leak of confidential memos from Britain's ambassador to the United States in which he describes President Donald Trump's administration as "dysfunctional" and "inept" could damage relations, a British minister said on Monday. Trade Minister Liam Fox, who is on a visit to Washington, said he would apologise to the president's daughter Ivanka Trump who he is due to meet during his trip.

Saudi-led coalition intercepted a Yemeni Houthi drone launched at kingdom: SPA

The Saudi-led military coalition spokesman said late on Monday that the coalition had intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi group at civil targets in the kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported. “The drone has not achieved its targets,” a coalition statement said.

U.S. State Department approves possible $2.2 billion arms sale to Taiwan

The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale to Taiwan of M1A2T Abrams tanks, Stinger missiles and related equipment at an estimated value of $2.2 billion, the Pentagon said on Monday, despite Chinese criticism of the deal. China's Foreign Ministry said last month when the possible sale was first reported that it was seriously concerned about U.S. arms sales to self-ruled Taiwan, and it urged the United States to halt the sales to avoid harming bilateral ties.

Seized Iran supertanker was loaded to capacity with crude oil: Gibraltar government

Tests have shown an Iranian supertanker seized in Gibraltar last week was fully loaded with crude oil, the government of the British territory said on Monday. British Royal Marines boarded the ship, Grace 1, off the coast of Gibraltar on Thursday and seized it over accusations it was breaking sanctions by taking oil to Syria.

Albanian opposition resume protest to oust PM

Albanian opposition supporters rallied on Monday in their tenth national protest since February to pressure Prime Minister Edi Rama to quit over what they say is election fraud. Several thousand people, some wearing shorts to cope with the summer heat, chanted for Rama to go and "Albania to become like the rest of Europe", the 1990s cry of crowds that toppled Communism repeated now as Albania seeks to join the EU.

Mexican government watchdog concerned about National Guard's detaining migrants

Mexico's newly created National Guard has detained U.S.-bound migrants and the government should make public the rules governing their power to curb immigration, the head of the government's human rights ombudsman said on Monday. The National Guard is a security force created by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to bring down record homicide rates. But now it has been tasked with patrolling the border to placate U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to slap tariffs on Mexican imports unless the country did more to stem the flow of Central American migrants heading to the United States.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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