US President Donald Trump levied metals tariffs affecting steel and aluminum imports of 25% and 10% respectively on the pretext of national security. Objectively speaking, it’s a rather silly move to claim that importing raw materials from Canada presents a threat to America’s national security, with Canada being a long time ally and major trade partner.
So much for sovereignty. Poland’s government is due to implement a controversial law which would de facto force some of its supreme court justices into early retirement, opening up the way to stack the judiciary deck in the government’s favour. The EU, on the other hand, sees the move as an assault on the rule of law, and is therefore opening up a lawsuit against Poland, and threatening sanctions, over the matter. Sanctions, however, would require unanimity, which is unlikely to appear, meaning that they aren’t likely to see the light of day.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has found her Chancellorship and governing coalition in clear and present danger via a dispute over migration with her Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer, who is also the leader of the conservative Christian Social Union party.
The next installment in the Astana format meetings on Syria will be held in Sochi on July 30-31, according to the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin. Ceasefire guarantors Iran, Turkey, and Russia will be meeting together with observers and Syrian parties.
TASS reports:
Japan and American haven’t exactly been seeing eye to eye lately with Trump’s trade tariffs and all, but one thing they can hold hands over is blowing lots of big bucks for defense against the countries that America doesn’t like.
If Washington backed NGOs can’t participate in counter terrorism deliberations and plans, then the US has no use for the UN Counterterrorism Office under those circumstances, and therefore is withdrawing its pledge of $2 million to the Office’s fund.
Following an EU summit in Brussels aimed at addressing the migration issue facing Europe, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini declares that his government has won about 70% of its goals on the matter. The summit primarily served the purpose of alleviating political tensions related to the EU migrant quota, secondary migration, and the disproportionate distribution in migrants.
Between the Skripal poisonings and the staged Douma chemical attack, the West has been on a mission to find a solid pretext for ramping up their hysteria against Russia even further, to ever more so isolate it, and for developing a good excuse to escalate the West’s military participation in Syria with an aim of eliminating the Assad government.
For the first time in 67 years, the United States will not lead the United Nations migration agency. Isaacs is considered to hold opinions which run counter to the purpose of the agency, including his perspectives on Islam and climate change, which both happen to be major factors impacting the migration of peoples around the globe.
European leaders are sticking to their guns on the anti-Russia bandwagon approach as the the European Council elected to extend economic sanctions against Russia for another six months, with the logic being that the EU still insists that Russia is responsible for the conflicts in the Ukraine.
Deutsche Welle reports:
