NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Friday / May 27
North Korea sanctions
China and Russia vetoed on Thursday a U.S.-led push to impose more United Nations sanctions on North Korea over its renewed ballistic missile launches. The UN Security Council splitted for the first time since it started punishing Pyongyang in 2006.
The remaining 13 council members all voted in favor of the U.S.-drafted resolution that proposed banning tobacco and oil exports to North Korea. Kim Jong Un is a chain smoker. It would also have blacklisted the Lazarus hacking group, which the United States says is tied to North Korea.
The UN General Assembly will now discuss North Korea in the next two weeks under a new rule requiring the 193-member body to meet every time a veto is cast in the Security Council by one of the five permanent members.
The remaining 13 council members all voted in favor of the U.S.-drafted resolution that proposed banning tobacco and oil exports to North Korea. Kim Jong Un is a chain smoker. It would also have blacklisted the Lazarus hacking group, which the United States says is tied to North Korea.
The UN General Assembly will now discuss North Korea in the next two weeks under a new rule requiring the 193-member body to meet every time a veto is cast in the Security Council by one of the five permanent members.
Luka expands army
Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday ordered the creation of a new military command for the south of country, bordering Ukraine.
"A new front has opened and we can't fail to pay attention to it," Lukashenko, wearing military uniform, told a televised meeting of defence officials.
He said the new command had been proposed last year but needed to be set up immediately. "Even before creating it, we are obliged today - quickly, on the run, to work out the defence of our southern borders," Lukashenko said.
Draghi calls Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday discussed ways to help ease the international food crisis, with the Kremlin saying this could be done only if the West lifts sanctions.
"Vladimir Putin emphasized that the Russian Federation is ready to make a significant contribution to overcoming the food crisis through the export of grain and fertilizers, provided that politically motivated restrictions from the West are lifted," Moscow said in a statement.
Ukraine has described the Russian position as "blackmail", and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Thursday that Putin was "trying to hold the world to ransom" by weaponising the food crisis created by his war on Ukraine.
The White House said there were no talks being held about relaxing sanctions on Russia in order to secure grain exports.
In a news conference held on Thursday evening, Draghi said he took the initiative of calling the Russian leader. Draghi said Putin told him the food crisis was the fault of sanctions. Russia's blockade of Ukrainian ports has prevented shipments of grain, of which both countries are major exporters.
US weapons to Ukraine
As the United States and its allies provide Ukraine with increasingly sophisticated arms, Washington has held discussions with Kyiv about the danger of escalation if it strikes deep inside Russia.
"We have concerns about escalation and yet still do not want to put geographic limits or tie their hands too much with the stuff we're giving them," said one of the three U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
President Joe Biden's administration and U.S. allies have been increasingly willing to give Ukraine longer-range weaponry, including M777 howitzers, as Kyiv battles Russia's invasion forces with more success than American intelligence officials had predicted. The Pentagon's announcement last week that Denmark will provide Ukraine with Harpoon anti-ship missiles would further extend Kyiv's reach. Senior Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, have pleaded in recent weeks for the US and its allies to provide the Multiple Launch Rocket System, or MLRS. CNN reports Washington mulls the decision expected as early as next week.
US stocks
Wall Street closed sharply higher on Thursday after optimistic retail earnings outlooks and waning concerns about overly aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve put investors in a buying mood.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 516.91 points, or 1.61%, to 32,637.19; the S&P 500 gained 79.11 points, or 1.99%, to 4,057.84. The Nasdaq Composite added 305.91 points, or 2.68%, to 11,740.65.
US urges Saudis to increase oil
Two senior US officials visited Saudi Arabia this week for talks that included global energy supplies, Iran and other regional issues, the White House said on Thursday.
Meeting senior Saudi officials in Riyadh were Brett McGurk, Biden's top White House adviser on the Middle East, and Amos Hochstein, the State Department's energy envoy.
