Trump expected to meet Putin in July
Xinhua, Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he will probably meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during his scheduled trip to Europe in July.
Trump’s remarks came hours after Kremlin said the two leaders will get together “in a third country,” with the date and venue to be announced Thursday.
The idea of a Trump-Putin summit, floated for months, comes amid still strained ties between Washington and Moscow, with little solid outcome expected by experts.
US presses UNSC to sanction Iran
AFP, United Nations
The United States urged fellow UN Security Council members Wednesday to punish Iran for “malign behavior” in the Middle East, at a meeting on implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.
“When confronted with a country that continually violates this council’s resolutions, it is imperative that we pursue meaningful consequences,” said Jonathan Cohen, the US deputy ambassador to the United Nations.
Italian PM to visit US July 30
AFP, Washington
US President Donald Trump will meet Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in Washington on July 30, the White House said on Wednesday. “Italy is an important NATO Ally, a leading partner in Afghanistan and Iraq, and key in bringing stability to the Mediterranean region,” it said in a statement.
“Together, the United States and Italy will look to deepen cooperation in addressing global conflicts and promoting economic prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic,” the White House said.
US SC Justice Kennedy to retire
Reuters, Washington
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said on Wednesday he plans to retire after three decades as a pivotal vote on the highest U.S. judicial body, giving President Donald Trump an opportunity to make the court more firmly conservative.
Kennedy, who turns 82 in July and is the second-oldest justice on the nine-member court, has become one of the most consequential American jurists since joining the court in 1988 as an appointee of Republican President Ronald Reagan. A traditional conservative, he advanced gay rights, buttressed abortion rights and erased political spending limits.
Market fire kills 15 in Kenya capital
AFP, Nairobi
A fire at Nairobi’s Gikomba market killed 15 people on Thursday, a government official said, less than a year after a blaze to destroyed much of the Kenyan capital’s largest open-air market.
“We have lost 15 people from this tragedy this morning,” said regional coordinator Kangethe Thuku. “We’re yet to establish the cause of this fire,” he said, which is believed to have started in a timber yard.
