US imposes sanctions on Russian oil giant Rosneft to press Venezuela
AFP, Washington
The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions against a subsidiary of Russian state-controlled oil giant Rosneft over its key role in Venezuela, stepping up international pressure to break leftist President Nicolas Maduro’s grip on power.
Rosneft Trading SA, which has helped sell Venezuelan oil despite unilateral US sanctions, and Rosneft vice president Didier Casimiro were targeted by the US Treasury Department.
Assange’s health improving in prison, says spokesperson
Reuters. London
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is no longer being held in solitary confinement and his health is improving, his colleague and spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson told reporters on Tuesday.
Assange, 48, is in prison in London, fighting an extradition request from the United States, where he faces 18 counts including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law. He could spend decades in prison if convicted.
Israel to allow hundreds more Gazans to enter for work
AP, Jerusalem
Israel will provide hundreds of additional work permits for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli defense body said Tuesday, in a new step aimed at solidifying an informal cease-fire with the Hamas militant group.
COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for civilian Palestinian affairs, said it was lifting certain restrictions on the territory starting Wednesday following days of “relative quiet” in the area surrounding Gaza.
US lawmaker defends meeting with Iran FM in Munich
AP, Washington
Sen. Chris Murphy on Tuesday defended a weekend meeting he held with Iran’s foreign minister in Europe, after his actions were questioned in conservative media andas President Donald Trump suggested they may have violated U.S. law.
The Connecticut Democrat said his Saturday meeting with Mohammed Javad Zarif was important because it is “dangerous not to talk to one’s enemies.”
Murphy said he wanted to see Zarif because there has been no U.S. diplomatic channel with Iran since Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal two years ago.
